Thumping back to Charring Cross

1001 passes through Waterloo East working the Dave Markwick Memorial Tour. Little has changed in this view since the units were in regular service on this line- a stark contrast to London Bridge which would be barely recognisable to the 'Thumper'. 06/04/2019.

One of the more interesting heritage trains running on the national network is the 'Hastings Diesel' 1001, formed up from various DEMU vehicles which worked the Hastings to London Charring Cross service from 1957 to 1986. Since preserved by Hastings Diesels Limited the unit makes several trips each year from its base at St Leonards Depot, usually around London and the South East. The DEMU's, affectionately known as 'Thumpers' due to the sound of their 4-SRKT engines are also distinctive in having flat sides brought about by the narrow 'Hastings' gauge because of the narrow tunnels on the route (these having been single tracked during electrification). 1001 has seen a lot of work since the end of its BR career- the unit is now fitted with all modern safety systems and has more recently had a sympathetic central door locking system fitted to its slam doors.

1001 stands at Charring Cross waiting its departure back to Hastings, a journey which would have been very familiar to the unit during its BR career. 06/05/2019.

The train was captured on Saturday 6th April while working the Dave Markwick Memorial Tour, named in honour of a long standing volunteer of Hastings Diesels Limited who had served the group for 32 years. The train ran from Hastings to London before taking in freight branches to Grain and Angerstein Wharf before returning once again along its old stamping ground from Charring Cross to Hastings.
Further details of Hastings Diesels Limited and upcoming tours can be found on their website.

From the Archives- Last Scheduled 'Thumpers' 24th September 2004

205028 awaits departure from London Bridge with the 18:12 to Uckfield. 205032 was on the rear. The scene has changed somewhat in the intervening 13 years with the trains replaced and the station entirely re-built. 24/09/2004

A conversation at work in the last week turned to 'Thumpers' - the SR DEMU's which plied non-electrified lines from the late 1950's right up until the mid-2000's.

205001 on the blocks of platform 11 with stock for the 17:10 to Uckfield.
4-VOP 3917 occupies platform 10. 24/09/2004.

I caught only the very end of these distinctive units mainline careers; discovering them on one of my early outings in 2003. I went for a run on the two routes which were by this time the final stomping ground of the class 205 and 207, Oxted - Uckfield and Hastings - Ashford. As well as these fairly rural services (which were some way from home) there were two workings each weekday peak into or out of London. Due to the price of a peak travelcard (a large consideration back then, even on child fares!) I never covered the inbound runs from Uckfield to London, however the evening runs, the 17:10 London Bridge - Uckfield and the 18:02 Victoria - Uckfield (Later 18:12 London Bridge - Uckfield) became a regular way to spend my evening.

Guards accommodation on 205009.

I missed plenty of other trains in the process- but quite frankly at 17:00 on a weekday if I was out there was only one place I would be and that was at the end of the high level platforms at London Bridge waiting for the inbound 'Thumper' ECS.

Friday 24th September 2004 wasn't a normal day for the Thumpers. Or in many ways it was. This was the *last* normal day for the Thumpers out of London. From the following Monday the new class 170 'Turbostars' would take over the peak trains, having already replaced the Thumpers on the branches. This was the last booked day of the Thumpers- and I wasn't going to miss it.

205009 at East Croydon with the 17:10 London Bridge - Uckfield. 24/09/2004

I headed up to London Bridge after school and by the time I arrived and met my friends the ECS for the 17:10 to Uckfield was already sitting under the LB&SCR Roof on platform 11 formed of 205001 and 205009. Both the London peak trains were booked to be formed of 6 coaches, but regularly turned up as 5 car formations (and occasionally a very cosy 4!). 205001 was one of the 2-car units technically dedicated to the branch duties. The train was formed up with the 'triangle end' power car of 205001 at the buffers and the power car of 205009 the same way round, with the non-powered trailer leading. The train was even busier than normal with enthusiasts who had come to say goodbye to the ancient DMU's so we ended up travelling in the guards van of 205009.

4-VEP 3403 at East Croydon shortly after departure of the first Uckfield Thumpers with a service to East Grinstead. 24/09/04

Far from the best photo I have ever taken- 205032 at Uckfield following
arrival with the last scheduled service from London Bridge. 24/09/2004.

At East Croydon, as was usual, we left the Uckfield train. Something must have gone wrong at this point as it was usually possible to take a 'Slammer' back to London Bridge (often a VEP via Crystal Palace if memory serves me correctly) to make the 18:12 departure, but on this occasion my photos reveal we travelled on a 455, possibly to make sure we didn't miss what could have been the very last train. Whatever the reason for the 455 we overtook the ECS stock at Norwood Junction and arrived into London Bridge in plenty of time to see 205032 and 205028 arrive for the 18:12 to Uckfield. This train used platform 9 and before long (and after taking many appallingly blurred photos!) we boarded the power car, both of which were in the middle, of 205028 for the full journey to Uckfield. 205028 was one of the units I had seen comparatively little so it was good to get a further run onboard. It was unusual to take the train beyond East Croydon (and out of Travelcard territory) but this was a special occasion. Furthermore Southern who operated the service at the time had agreed to run the ECS from Uckfield to Selhurst in service to East Croydon (the earlier peak train was booked to return in service, but not the 18:12) in order to appease the enthusiasts, and get us home!

The run was noisy as ever on the crowded train- windows were wide open and heads were out (those 2-piece window bars never were very effective!). It was always fun riding this train, but it was fair to say this occasion was tinged with sadness knowing that we may never again fly down the mainline to the sound of two 4-SRKT English Electric diesel engines on non-corridor stock from a different railway era.

The interior of 205032 on the return 'special' to East Croydon.
Only enthusiasts remain on board but the train is still
reasonably busy- testament to the popularity of these trains,
and the fact we probably all crowded into the power car! It is
difficult to imagine traveling in a train looking like this today.

At Uckfield some enthusiasts climbed onto the front of the unit and adorned it with stickers of its old number, 1128- a practice that definitely wouldn't be permitted today, and in all likelihood probably wasn't in 2004 either! Many photos were taken of the train, possibly the last 6 car to reach Uckfield in normal service- I distinctly remember one chap with what can only be described as a floodlight taking his photos of 205032 on the London end of the train. To say that the driver was not amused would be an understatement. Maybe Southern had failed to inform him that this was the last run of the Thumpers. Certainly he was even less amused when the gathered enthusiasts informed him that he was taking us back to East Croydon in service. A few phone calls were made to control and much to his dismay he was indeed in service back to Croydon non-stop. Here a final photo call was made before the assembled enthusiasts with much jollity savored the final English Electric departure to the depot. That was the end of scheduled Thumpers on Southern and the end of non-corridor stock.

A final photo shoot with 205032 at East Croydon before the train headed off to Selhurst Depot. 24/09/2004

Fortunately the 'slammers' were still going strong at this point and the evening wasn't quite over with 'phase 1' 4-CIG 1704 being enjoyed to Clapham Junction. The Phase 1 units were always a particular joy to travel on with the additional headrests on the seats and some compartments even still featuring string luggage racks!

Phase 1 CIG 1704 at Clapham Junction with a Littlehampton - Victoria
service. 24/09/2005.

Of course this didn't quite turn out to be the final run for the Thumpers- several units were kept available to cover for unavailable Turbostars for several more weeks and I had one more ride with 205028 and 205032 in regular service less than a week later on 30th September- this pair covering the 17:10 while 205001 and 205009 worked the 18:12. That occasion however was to be my last mainline run besides the public farewell tour on 27th November 2004. It is hard looking back to think that it is now over a decade since the Thumper Farewell - certainly penning this article brings back some fond memories. Thankfully all bar one of the final Southern units were preserved, and with the exception of 205028 which lies out of use and damaged at Meldon Quarry all of the units in use that day can still be enjoyed in preservation.

Double Thumpers at the Spa Valley

Different styles of Thumper meet at Eridge on the Spa Valley Railway. 1317 and 1133 on loan from the Lavender Line.

The weekend of 4th and 5th July 2015 marked a historic occasion for the Spa Valley Railway- it was 30 years since the closure of the original line from Eridge to Tunbridge Wells.
To mark the anniversary it was decided to do something special, and thanks to many very generous donations to raise the funds for road transportation it was agreed to bring a 'guest' class 205 Thumper unit to the line to join the resident class 207.

'Oxted' 2D 1317 was one of the units working on the line on its very last day, so it was fitting that the DEMU was purchased by the Spa Valley Railway when it finished its service with Southern (numbered 207017) in 2004. It has been restored to blue/grey livery as it would have worn on the last day of service. In the future the the unit will also be re-united with it's original trailer coach which is currently being restored. 1317 has been restored beautifully and is in many ways the best example of a thumper in preservation- it will be the only three car set, and also unlike the remainder of it's class mate and the class 205's it retained its original filament lamps throughout it's BR career while other units received more modern strip lighting. The units has been finished internally with prototypical 'trojan' moquette seat covers and looks quite the part.

1133 at Eridge. The author recalls traveling on the Uckfield
line with this unit on many occasions- and photographing it in
the near platform - still used by Southern services today.

1133 is a slightly older 'Hampshire' unit which passed to the Lavender Line on completion of its service with Southern (as 205033) on the (London)-Oxted-Uckfield and Ashford-Hastings routes. The motor car has been restored to a high standard and currently runs with the restored driving trailer coach from 205021, on loan from Hastings Diesels. While 1133 did not run on the final day of the Tunbridge Wells - Eridge line (that honour befell 1125 which hauled the final train) the unit did take part in the final 'Last Thump' railtours bringing down the curtain of the class running on the British main line for Southern.

Complete with the headboards from 30 years ago 1317 prepares to lead the 4 car train away from Eridge.

On the Saturday the two units operated all services on the line and the weather was beautiful from start to finish making this a fantastic, and well supported day out. Later on in the evening both thumpers joined together to run as a 4 car train. There was even a special photo-shoot organised at Eridge where the units were shunted into adjacent platforms in order to re-create the side by side photograph from 30 years earlier.

Recreating the scene from 30 years previous. 1317 and 1133
stand side by side at Eridge.

The two thumpers pass at Groombridge. The different in front
end styling can clearly be seen.

All in all I think everyone agreed that this was a splendid day out and one which no thumper fan would want to have missed. If you did- 1133 will be staying at the Spa Valley for the summer affording a few more opportunities to catch the DEMU's together- the next at the railways summer diesel gala from 30th July- 2nd June.

1121's trailer leads 2H 1133 at Ford Farm Crossing. The second
track is the mainline from Oxted to Uckfield.

Also running on the Saturday was another DEMU- Hastings Diesels 1001, these days the only Thumper to get a chance to stretch its legs on the mainline network. A sighting of 1001 working the Warwickshire Wanderer tour brings the total number of 4-SRKT engines heard for the day to four- not something easy to achieve since 2004 when thumpers bowed off the main line!

1001 with the Warwickshire Wanderer railtour bound for Stratford on Avon seen passing Wandsworth Town.

The 'Portrush Thumper' Railtour

Power car 83 is on the rear of the 'Portrush Thumper' tour as it waits at Drogheda to be passed by an 'Enterprise' to Belfast

Power car 89 awaits the departure from Dublin Connolly

With the final run of the much-loved class 205 and 207 'Thumper' DEMU's on British tracks in 2004 it was the end of mainline running on the UK mainland. However it was not the end of Thumpers' running in the UK- Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) was still using two classes of 'Thumper', the Mk2 based '80 class' dating from 1974 and the much more modern '450 class' of 'Castles' as they were commonly known, based on the BR Mk3 bodyshell and dating from 1985.
Those lamenting the sound of the 4-SRKT in southern England still could experience their sound, and for many an '80 class' railtour organised by the Irish Traction Group (ITG) and promoted on the mainland UK by Pathfinder tours was the perfect opportunity to head across the Irish Sea to meet these strange Mk2 based 'Thumpers'.

The date was 8th April 2006 and following an overnight ferry crossing from Holyhead to Dublin I made my way to Connolly station to be greeted by the welcoming sound of a 'Thumper'. The sight however certainly took some adjusting to. The Mk2 based '80 class' are very different in aesthetics to the SR DEMU's I was used to both inside and out.

A four car '80 class' set is passed at Coleraine with sets 82 and
98. This train was the day's regular power on the branch line to
Portrush- one of the final booked '80 class' duties.

The railtour itself had originated with the stock from Belfast, but now the majority of tour participants were on board the train with sets 089 and 083 was ready to depart from the Irish capital to take us back to the UK city of Belfast. This full journey is usually only possible on the 'Intercity Enterprise' service offered as a joint venture between Irish Railways (IE) and NIR. Indeed a lengthy passing stop was necessary at Drogheda to allow one of these loco hauled trains to overtake us.

This was my first trip 'abroad' to see trains and they were certainly different to what I was used to. The IE locos by General Motors were certainly 'foreign' compared to anything I had seen back home, and of course the idea of a Mk2 or Mk3 DEMU was something I had never seen before- however there were still many similarities (and the difference in gauge so negligible that one could easily forget it entirely!). Here, despite the garish black and orange livery of IE were trains formed of Mk2 and Mk3 rolling stock- something I would definitely like to see more of.

This trip was supposed to be something of a farewell for the '80 class', their use by this time having diminished greatly following the delivery of new '3000 class' DMU's from CAF in Spain. The class did retain some limited workings, including the short branch from Coleraine to Portrush. The 'Castle' class were still in full squadron service.

Power car 89 stands in a patch of sun at Portrush the days
weather had been somewhat changeable since leaving Dublin.

With such a small network in Northern Ireland the train covered it almost in its entirety, even including the technically closed Lisburn route. The only omission from the schedule was the route from Coleraine to Londonderry.

Amazingly this 'farewell' railtour proved to be somewhat premature for the '80 class' continued in passenger service with NIR until 2011, several units being overhauled and refurbished in the UK to extend their working lives. For me personally this railtour was something of a new adventure, and my first foray into railways overseas (further than the Isle of Wight at least). It was certainly not to be my last- I would return to Ireland the following year for my first full 'rail holiday' abroad.

The sound of the 4-SRKT engines isn't hard to imagine from this view thundering along the Dublin to Belfast main line!