Photo by RW Beech. 2 car unit no.766 on a railtour 14th June 2003 Deventer
In 1957 twelve 2-car doghead EMUs entered service between Amsterdam, Antwerp and Brussels. The units were able to work on both the 3000 Volt Belgian system and the 1500 Volt Dutch system. 8 units (1201-1208) were owned by NS, the other 4 (901-904) were owned by the NMBS. Each unit could seat 120 passengers, 24 in the first Class and 96 in the second class. At first the units also had a compartment for custom personnel but these were later removed. During peak hours 3 units would often work in multiple and in The Netherlands they could also work with the “normal” Dutch doghead EMUs and Mat ’46 EMUs.
In 1986 they were replaced by Belgian Class 11.8 locos and Dutch ICR-coaches in a red
and yellow livery after which they soldiered on for one more year on the Dutch network until they were finally withdrawn. One has been preserved in Leuven in Belgium.
The photo shows an unidentified unit at Amsterdam CS. It was taken in the 2nd half of the
1980s, probably 1987. Henk Hartshuiker
