The Southern Railway (SR) gave the designation 2Hal to the electric multiple units built during the late 1930s to work long-distance semi-fast services on the newly electrified lines from London to Maidstone and Gillingham (Kent). This type of unit survived long enough in British Rail ownership to be allocated TOPS Class 402.
Construction
A development of the earlier 2Bil units, the 2Hal units (2-car Half Lavatory stock) were so-called because only one car in each unit had a lavatory. They were built in three batches:
| Units
| Built
| Intended Use
|
| 2601-2677
| 1938
| London to Maidstone and Gillingham
|
| 2677-2692
| 1939
| London Waterloo to Aldershot and Reading
|
| 2693-2699
| 1948
| Post-World War 2 additional units
|
| 2700
| 1955
| Accident replacement unit
|
Formations
The original formations of these units are set out in the table below:
| Unit Numbers
| DMBT
| DTC
|
| 2601-2646
| 10719 to 10764
| 12186 to 12231
|
| 2647-2699
| 10765 to 10817
| 12801 to 12853
|
| 2700
| 12664 (ex 4Sub 4590)
| 12855 (new build)
|
2Pan
In 1971, six units were converted for use conveying parcels and newspaper traffic. They were renumbered 061-066 and designated 2Pan (2-car Parcels and Newspapers stock), reusing the Pan code originally allocated to 6Pan (Pantry) stock. Their life was not extended by long; within two years all had been withdrawn.
