The title of today's entry was uttered by the
South West Trains (SWT) guard as he checked mine and m'colleague's tickets as we headed south-west from London aboard the 1035
Class 444 'Desiro' train to Weymouth. And those fond of
SWT's 3CIGs will also, by now, have guessed our intended destination.
Our day started at England's largest station - London Waterloo - where out ten-car SWT '444' loads passengers on Platform 11, bound for Bournemouth and Weymouth For Saturday 22 May was the final day's service for these 1963 stalwart
electric multiple units (EMUs). Designated as
Class 421 mid-way through their introduction, they are probably best known by those perhaps less enthusiastic of the railways as the 'slam-door electric trains that ran into London from the south'. Built between 1964-72 at
British Rail's (BR's) York factory, the trains, known as
4CIGs initially, ran exclusively on the
Brighton Main Line, linking the route's southern-most terminus with London. They were also later to be seen running to/from Portsmouth.
If you're still not sure the traction type to which we refer, hopefully this will make things a little clearer. 1497 approaches Lymington Town from the Pier station on her final day's work
Their original title -
4CIG - derives from the manner in which
British Rail's Southern Region named its traction types. In the case of the slam-door
EMUs, 4 referred to the number of units/carriages and
CIG stood for "
Corridor Br
IGhton Stock". This type of train, however, eventually became synonymous with commuters in the south of England. Privatisation and the influx of newer trains with electronically controlled plug doors eventually sealed their fate.
I'd assumed patronage for Saturday's last-ever day's service would be high and I wasn't disappointed, with the numbers in attendance to mark the passing of a fairly large chunk of British railway history. Here 1497 arrives from the SWT depot ready to relieve sister 1498 During 2005, a decision was taken to remove all slam-door electrics from passenger service in the UK, though
SWT received a special dispensation for their 5.25-mile
Lymington Branch, linking the main London Waterloo-Weymouth line at
Brockenhurst with the idyllic marina town of Lymington. The branch line's existence relies heavily on the ferry service between Lymington and Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight, and to this extent, the small town boasts two train stations:
Lymington Town and
Lymington Pier.Special headboards had been made and were worn at both ends by both 3CIGs M'colleague and I first travelled on the line soon after its outreach from the 2005
Class 421 cull had taken into effect. We were mid-way through our
2005 LEYTR Railrover jaunt and travelled north from
Lymington Pier to
Brockenhurst thence to Pokesdown. On Saturday, almost five years on, the traction type's reign here was at an end:
SWT have now withdrawn both specially-converted
EMUs and have started operating
Class 158 diesel multiple units (DMUs) along the branch on weekdays and '
450' EMUs at weekends.
Many will undoubtedly knock
SWT for their withdrawal - especially along a fully-electrified branch line when they're to be replaced by
DMUs - but travelling on the trains revealed how tired and worn they are now looking. As we both arrived at
Brockenhurst, off an immaculate
SWT Desiro, we were lucky enough to see both units in action -
1498 'Farringford' had worked all journeys up until its arrival into
Brockenhurst at 1224 and
1497 'Freshwater' would then take over for the remainder of the day.
Here we see 1498 'Farringford' after completing the morning shift. The driver was shunting her to the Up sidings where she would be stabled until the ceremonious journey back to the depot attached to 1497 While both trains - named after two vessels that sailed for many, many years between Lymington and Yarmouth - are still officially
Class 421s, they're now referred to as
3CIGs on account of both units losing a carriage when they were removed from main line service and prepared for their retirement along the
Lymington Branch. Both now comprise three carriages - one of which being First Class compartments - another being Standard Class seating and the central one being part-Standard Class, the guard's compartment and an area housing wheelchair users and parents with buggies.
Look familiar? The memories of this type of interior, while being consigned to yesteryear, quickly provoked many memories Both trains have worn heritage liveries since they were saved from the scrap yard.
1497 'Freshwater' carries
BR's blue and grey livery, while sister
1498 'Farringford' wears
BR's all-green livery.
You might assume the timetable would reflect the relaxed operation these two
3CIGs were clearly undertaking. Actually, they increased their daily exercise considerably since being allocated here. While they don't exceed 60mph at any point along the 10.5-mile round trip, they are expected to undertake a tireless 10-min drive, 5-min turnaround for over 16 hours (0559-2224). In fact, the operation is so intensive,
SWT had to overcome problems it identified with running
DMUs with such fast turnarounds.
Despite the
3CIGs now having gone for good, the new
'158' DMUs appear to require additional running time - 1 minute in either direction. It says much about both the diesel engine over electric motors and new over old that a vehicle less than two decades old requires extra time to cover the same distance a vehicle more than twice its age could manage.
You could, therefore, quite rightly ask
SWT for the reason why it decided the withdraw the trains. They cited the necessity for another complete overhaul, both mechanically and internally and the level of cost this would levy, as the prime reason. As we mentioned, both trains weren't in the best of states and while we understand they could have continued running for another year or so, a decision was taken - be it for better or worse - and D-Day was on Saturday.
Some of the design features that have been lost with modern trains were in evidence on Saturday as we both made numerous trips along the line. Firstly, door width is something that has become a lot more generous over the years. The end Standard Class carriage has three doors - one at either end and one in the middle - all of which are incredibly narrow by today's standards and the central one features passengers sat opposite each other as you board. While this was always the case, the ambiance afforded the new generation of
EMU and
DMU has seen passenger seating well away from the much wider entrance doors.
We both jumped aboard
Freshwater's second journey of the day, departing
Brockenhurst at 1259, and I soon cottoned on to the fact that in order to take photos and video, we really needed to board as late as possible and immediately close the door behind. The sliding window could then be lowered for photography. Normally, the loadings along the branch aren't anything to write home about, but today saw a plethora of photographers and families using the line, in addition to tourists heading to/from the Isle of Wight.
SWT had laid on activities at
Brockenhurst station and so too at
Lymington Town.Look how new the platform is, here at Lymington Town. Major alterations were required for DMUs to operate along the branch Within a mile after leaving
Brockenhurst, the line branches off the main Waterloo-Weymouth route and becomes single-track. We head through the southern reach of the New Forest and this is the stretch that sees the trains running at their fastest. We clocked ours, using a GPS device, touching 60mph. Braking for
Lymington Town and a number of curves brings up another aspect of modern-vs-old train operation: the burning smell of the air brakes. This was accompanied with the familiar grinding noise, in direct correlation between the driver pulling his lever and the brakes grinding against the wheels. Today, everything is operated electronically and you seldom find a train that allows you to stick your head out the window while in motion.
After 4.75 miles, we arrived at
Lymington Town. The platform looked almost new and this was due to the work required in readiness for the
DMU operation. As we exited, we saw a selection of awnings in the station car park with a live band playing in front of the
Wilts & Dorset bus depot. Food was on offer (though not as cheap as that being sold in Tesco in the town) and the weather was exceptional - 27C and blue sky as far as the eye could see.
It's not often you see a live band performing with the backdrop of a bus depot, though this is exactly what was on offer at Lymington Town We wandered into the town centre where there was a market in full flow along one of the main streets. A number of
Wilts & Dorset vehicles passed us, from
East Lancs-bodied
Volvos to
Optare Solos. Having taken brief refuge from the temperature in a cafe that served reasonably-priced milkshakes, we headed back to town and caught the 1416 train north, back to
Brockenhurst. At the terminus we stayed on and sat in the familiar
BR seating for the return trip. It was very hot indeed and judging by those aboard, around 80% of travellers today were here to say goodbye to the traction type.
Once again we left
Brockenhurst, passing
'Farringford' that had been stabled along the Up sidings, and south to Lymington. On this occasion we stayed on to the
Pier station terminus. The drivers were constantly asking photographers if there was a special number they'd like displaying on the two-roller number blind. Unless a specific request was made, either 91 or 97 was displayed.
SWT had a number of staff at all three stations, ensuring everything went off smoothly. They all seemed happy to converse with the enthusiasts and one nice gent told me that both
3CIGs would be coupled together at the end of the day and sent off to the depot at Bournemouth. This would have made an excellent and very rare shot, since usually only one
EMU is used on any one day.
Back at
Lymington Pier, our 30 minutes was utilised by witnessing the
Wight Link car ferry from Yarmouth arriving, disembarking and then heading back across the Solent.
There's a fair amount of walking required for drivers on the Lymington Branch. Every 15 minutes they are required to walk the full length of their train. Here the driver of the 1446 ex Lymington Pier awaits the right away from his guard Trains depart
Brockenhurst at xx29 xx59 past each hour, arriving
Lymington Town at xx07 xx37 and
Lymington Pier at xx09 xx39. They return from
Lymington Pier at xx44 xx14,
Lymington Town xx46 xx16 and arrive
Brockenhurst at xx54 xx24. The first train is 0559 ex
Brockenhurst and the last is 2214 ex
Lymington Pier - that's 32 round trips per day.
We caught the 1514 from
Lymington Pier the half-mile to the
Town and hopped off. The weather was very hot indeed and while we knew the
'444' back to London would be air conditioned, still felt the urge to stock up with supplies. We jumped on the service 30 minutes later back to
Brockenhurst and then onto our punctual 5-car
'Desiro' at 1615 to Waterloo.
But what now for the two
'421' 3CIGs that were retired on Saturday? One consideration was that both
EMUs would pass to
Knights Rail Services of Eastleigh, where they'd join a
4CIG being prepared for mainline service. However, the proprietor sold his
4CIG recently to the
Brighton Belle Project for them to use as spares for their
4CIG, which they're fundraising for to enable it to once again return to the main line. It may be that
Freshwater and/or
Farringford could be returned to their 4-car formation and continue in service, albeit in a wholly preserved fashion.