Derivation of EMU, DEMU and trailer unit letter designations
| The meanings of EMU, DEMU and trailer unit single, two and
three letter designations are a frequently raised topic. Below are tables
explaining the origin of these abbreviations. However this information comes
with an important caveat - it is difficult to find an authoritative source,
including in official documentation, to establish and confirm the derivation of
such codes. It is thought possible that some codes had more than one official
origin or that the official designation changed over time. Furthermore it is
known that railwaymen, enthusiasts and passengers alike had their own
variations, some of which may even have crept into semi-official use. What we
display below is believed to be the official or close to official meanings and
is given in good faith. The SREmG and its contributors cannot be held
responsible for errors and omissions. If you spot anything incorrect and can
verify from an independent source your information, you are invited to contact
the
so that we can
make this information as accurate as possible.
The commonly known form of unit designations was introduced by the Southern Railway from 1933 onwards in connection with the Brighton main line electrification scheme. Such designations were not applied retrospectively to existing D.C. suburban stock which were referred to merely by the number of their cars, e.g. "3".; Thus the use of the designation 3 Sub, although seen in publications, is strictly incorrect. When these units were augmented to 4 cars by addition of a car from former trailer units they were referred to as "4". It is believed the designation 4 Sub was only used with the introduction of new stock. The SR designation system was also used by the British Railways Southern Region until TOPS codes finally took over in the 1980s, although in defiance some residual use remained! Today, of all the SR area TOCs, the convention is only maintained on new units by South West Trains and possibly Gatwick Express. You may have noticed that the format of such designations, including the preceding numeral, varies between communications and publications. The SREmG has aligned itself with the Southern Electric Group in conforming to the designations as decided by BR(S) headquarters, though it is recognised that in actual use by railwaymen and even in official communications the correct format and designations have not been used consistently. The BR(S) HQ official format is: numeral (numeral one not used), space (NOT a hyphen), single two or three letter code, full stop (period) if an abbreviation; e.g. 4 Sub., 2 EPB, MLV. As to whether the letter abbreviation is all capitals or mixed case there does not appear to be a consistent convention, and the case used is what was decided by officialdom at the time! This page is only about the origin of unit designations. For further details of the units mentioned please see our Directory of "native" non-steam classes. |
| DEMUs | ||
| SR/BR(S) Code | Derivation | Note |
| B | B uffet | e.g. 6B, Hastings units. |
| D | Oxte D | e.g. 3D |
| H | H ampshire and Sussex | e.g. 2H |
| L | L ong underframe | e.g. 6L, Hastings units |
| R | R eading and Redhill | e.g. 3R, nicknamed Tadpole units. |
| S | S hort underframe | e.g. 6S, Hastings units. |
| T | additional T railer | e.g. 3T, origin of this derivation uncertain . These were not Tadpole units but 2H units supplemented by a DTC from withdrawn 3R units. |
| EMUs - A.C. | ||
| LBSCR Code | Derivation | Note |
| CP | C rystal P alace | LBSC AC stock. |
| CW | C oulsdon and W allington | LBSC AC stock. Some sources query the origin of the W, and it has also been seen given as W andsworth. |
| SL | S outh L ondon | LBSC AC stock. |
| EMUs - D.C. | ||
| SR/BR(S) Code | Derivation | Note |
| Bel. | Brighton Bel le | e.g. 5 Bel. |
| Bep. | B uffet E lectro P neumatic Brake | e.g. 4 Bep. |
| Big. | B uffet IG and B uffet I ntermediate G uard | e.g. 4 Big. IG was the LBSCR telegraphic code for Brighton, on which line these units were first used. |
| Bil. | Bi l avatory | e.g. 2 Bil. A lavatory in each car. |
| Buf. | Buf fet | e.g. 4 Buf. |
| Cap. | C oastway H ap | e.g. 4 Cap. Also see Hap. |
| Cep. | C orridor E lectro P neumatic Brake | e.g. 4 Cep. |
| Cig. | C orridor IG and C orridor I ntermediate G uard | e.g. 4 Cig. IG was the LBSCR telegraphic code for Brighton, on which line these units were first used. |
| Cit. | Cit y | e.g. 6 Cit. |
| Cop. | C orridor O pen P lan | e.g. 3 Cop. |
| Cor. | Cor ridor | e.g. 4 Cor. |
| DD | D ouble D eck | e.g. 4DD |
| Des. | Des iro | e.g. 4 Des & 5 Des. Only used by SWT Control staff and is not recognied by the Rolling Stock Library |
| Dig. | D ouble IG | e.g. 8 Dig. See Big/Cig. |
| EPB | E lectro P neumatic B rake | e.g. 2 EPB |
| Gat. | Gat wick Express | e.g. 8 Gat. was the last 'SR' code to be recognised by the Rolling Stock Library . |
| GLV | G uards L uggage V an | i.e. class 489. |
| Gri. | Gri ddle | e.g. 4 Gri. |
| Hal. | Ha lf l avatory | e.g. 2 Hal. One lavatory in the whole unit. |
| Hap. | Ha lf lavatory with Electro P neumatic Brakes, i.e. EPB version of Hal. | e.g. 2 Hap. |
| Jop. | J uniper o uter suburban units owned by P orterbrook, though could be J uniper o pen p lan. |
e.g. 4 Jop. is an unofficial designation which is not recognised by the Rolling Stock Library |
| Lav. | Lav atory | e.g. 4 Lav. |
| Mig. | M icro buffet IG | e.g. 8 Mig. See Big/Cig. |
| MLV | M otor L uggage V an | i.e. eventually class 419. |
| Nol. | No l avatory | e.g. 2 Nol. |
| Pan. | Pan try | e.g. 6 Pan. |
| Pan. | P arcels a nd n ewpapers | e.g. 2 Pan. 1971 re-use of designation but these were not the same 1930s main line units. These were parcels units converted from Hals. |
| Pep. | P rototype E lectro P neumatic Brake | e.g. 4 Pep. |
| Pul. | Pul lman | e.g. 6 Pul. |
| Rep. | R estaurant E lectro P neumatic Brake | e.g. 4 Rep. |
| Res. | Res taurant | e.g. 4 Res. |
| Sap. | S econd class only H ap | e.g. 2 Sap. See Hap. |
| SL | S outh L ondon | e.g. 2 SL |
| Sub. | Sub urban | e.g. 4 Sub. See text in introduction re. incorrect use of 3 Sub. |
| TEP | T emporary E lectro P neumatic Brake | e.g. 4 TEP |
| Tis. | Vec tis | e.g. 3 Tis. |
| Vab. | V ep a nd b uffet | e.g. 8 Vab. See Vep. |
| Vec. | Vec tis | e.g. 4 Vec. |
| Veg. | Ve p modified for G atwick Airport services | e.g. 4 Veg. See Vep |
| Vep. | V estibuled E lectro P neumatic Brake | e.g. 4 Vep. |
| Vop. | V estibuled o pen p lan | e.g. 4 Vop. |
| Wes. | Wes sex and W essex E lectric S tock | e.g. 5 Wes. Believed to be an unofficial designation that has crept into semi-official use. |
| Wim. | Wim bledon and West Croydon | e.g. 2 Wim. |
| Trailer Multiple Units | ||
| SR/BR(S) Code | Derivation | Note |
| TC | T railer C ontrol set | e.g. 4 TC |
| TCB | TC with B uffet | e.g. 5 TCB. See TC. |
| TLV | T railer L uggage Van | i.e. eventually class 499. |
Directory of "native" non-steam classes
return to the SR Research Centre
This page was updated 10 January 2015
