This takes me back i lived near High Broom station from 81 to 89 and remember these wonderful trains as they used to make the bedroom windows rattle as they pulled out of High Brooms :) the sound was amazing! I was then lucky enough to travel on these daily until electrification as went to college for 3 years from sept 85.Would love to travel on one again thankyou for sharing :).
@simoncatt956 жыл бұрын
This takes me back to my childhood. My grandfather was the stationmaster of High Brooms (then Southborough) station in 1879 (I still have his SER station whistle), and my father was a manager of Southern Region's outdoor engineering. I remember my mother crying about the loss of life in the Hither Green Hastings thumper tragedy, and my father spent many nights away from home as he was involved in the investigation.
@stevehillier70184 жыл бұрын
Was your father based at Purley then Beckenham ?
@Froobyone7 жыл бұрын
Lived on Station Road in Robertsbridge in the 1970s. This is the anthem of my youth.
@HSTPaul9 жыл бұрын
Some great footage there, all we need to do is build a time machine so we can go back to those times haha
@OlafProtАй бұрын
28:20 wonderful hearing the kids in the background dutifully spending time With daddy's filming. They must treasure this now. I went to Reading (from Dorking) in 1979 with mum for a day trip spotting and we couldn't even afford a camera film. Having film of it would be extraordinary!
@IanCunningham-xv3fh3 ай бұрын
Proper trains enjoyed watching then lucky to have a friend of my family use to drive sadly not around he was very passionate loved his job .
@keithwithchina20097 жыл бұрын
when i used to live in Lewisham next to the 4 line the main line between St.Johns and Parks Bridge Junc i used to remember my windows rattle as the hastings unit start up at the signals
@dwstrains4 ай бұрын
Superb video - many thanks for sharing!!!
@fyremoon3 жыл бұрын
Looking at this video and seeing what has changed: The shelter at West St Leonards; No St Leonards Academy and few houses; Tunbridge Wells Central (renamed 2 years later); Grove Junction (removed in 1985); Platform 4 of Hastings station and the siding for the Post Office; the sidings with rolling stock in them and the South Terrace lattice bridge.
@mistressmeeker3 жыл бұрын
I love these videos, a real blast to the past and great memories brought back. Thank you for taking the time to upload them.
@EM-yk1dw9 жыл бұрын
Hellfire machines. I cannot understand why everyone in the early 80s went mad over diesel locos when you had these beauties to ride on and enjoy?
@swiftymorgan5064 Жыл бұрын
Love the sound of these engines For myself, they compare very well with the 37's and 50's
@simonfitch11205 жыл бұрын
My friend and I were train spotting in the early 80s. Around Fareham and Eastleigh the DMUs shared the tracks with endless 47s and 33s. We used to call these DMUs 'bodcarts', for some reason.
@hastingsdiesels5 жыл бұрын
Yes, prior to the Eastleigh - Fareham electrification in the early 1990s, the Eastleigh - Portsmouth service was operated by DEMUs. I thought the term was 'bog cart'!
@simonfitch11205 жыл бұрын
@@hastingsdiesels You are probably right - I was just calling them how I heard it. Can you tell me why some bog carts had a big black triangle on their yellow fronts?
@hastingsdiesels5 жыл бұрын
The SR DEMUs' guard's van is next to the engine-room, and so for 2-car and 3-car DEMUs it would be useful for station staff to determine sooner whether the guard's van was at the front or back of an approaching train: this would enable them to be correctly positioned to offload and load parcels, so reducing delays.
@tonywise19829 күн бұрын
Good ole Thumpers. We used to have some around Portsmouth-Salisbury until the "electrocuted" the line back in 1990. I love to hear their "burble" as they speed along.
@user-hj6dt9nk4n3 ай бұрын
I well remember those trains - can’t believe it’s 40 years ago Seems like yesterday
@steveh13883 жыл бұрын
Fantastic footage. Real essential history pretty sure I could see Platform 1 track pre lifting towards St Leonards?
@hastingsdiesels3 жыл бұрын
At 23:45, yes it appears so.
@HenrysAdventures5 жыл бұрын
Great footage! I really enjoyed watching!
@annescholey65464 жыл бұрын
Drivers used to say the cabs were as hot as hell in summer
@bingbong7316 Жыл бұрын
I've travelled many miles on these, running as 12, they always seemed to have something "extra" over 6. There will be an arcane explanation no doubt :-)
@prof.hectorholbrook46923 жыл бұрын
Outstandingly excellent!!!
@neilfoord91817 жыл бұрын
I remember these in daily service back then. It would be great to see the surviving unit with a more appropriate buffet car because the current formation looks strange with two fat coaches in between the Hastings width cars.
@hastingsdiesels7 жыл бұрын
I agree with the sentiment. Unfortunately there were only 7 Hastings DEMUs that had buffet cars, and of those buffet cars only two survive but both have been heavily modified and one is still in use as the GM's Saloon. The options available to HDL for having buffet services on our train are either to use what we have, or to overhaul and restore an existing 1986-condition carriage AND convert it from scratch into a buffet - which would be many years' work and almost impossibly expensive. Note that having no buffet on our outings would be seen now as incredibly retrograde!
@neilfoord91817 жыл бұрын
Fair enough. Exactly how many slim vehicles do you have?
@hastingsdiesels7 жыл бұрын
The total number is 14. Please see our Fleet List here: www.hastingsdiesels.co.uk/1001/#fleetlist for full details.
@neilfoord91817 жыл бұрын
Impressive. I thought that these had all been cut up. I had no idea that any, let alone 14 vehicles had been saved. That's great
@neilfoord91817 жыл бұрын
Where are all your vehicles based?
@lisaw70892 жыл бұрын
This quality is great for 1984 video - what camcorder was it recorded on, a JVC?
@hastingsdiesels2 жыл бұрын
Sorry, no idea - the videotape was sent in to us by a member of the public many years ago.
@stevehillier70184 жыл бұрын
After the Hither Green Derailment in 1967 involving 1007 and 1017. Did any of the damaged stock undergo repair or was it all scrapped ?
@hastingsdiesels4 жыл бұрын
The four trailer coaches from the leading unit, 1007, were scrapped. The other vehicles were repaired and returned to service.
@OlafProt4 жыл бұрын
The curved glass on the waiting rooms at Tonbridge!! I grew up with the Tadpole Units on the Reading-Tonbridge line so this is a treat. Of course by this time the 117s has taken over, which I see drone past halfway through!! The EMUs were 4BIG units?
@markcf832 жыл бұрын
Don't you mean the Class 119?
@OlafProtАй бұрын
@@markcf83 I did indeed mean 119. 👍🏼👍🏼
@OlafProtАй бұрын
24:33 all that semaphore signalling ❤
@nicnak44754 жыл бұрын
With four engines running how did they link them to run in unison ? thanks :o)
@hastingsdiesels4 жыл бұрын
When the units are coupled together, they all work in multiple. That's the beauty of multiple-unit operation.
@nicnak44754 жыл бұрын
@@hastingsdiesels Yes thanks I wondered how they were connected , electronically or a hydraulic method maybe ?
@hastingsdiesels4 жыл бұрын
It's electrical - the "27-way control wire" is as it says a 27-core cable that runs the length of the train, including between units when separate units are coupled together - the 27-way jumper is the cable very visible on the front of the train which hangs down in a loop and is plugged into a dummy plug (when not coupled up!) on the right-hand side in the direction of travel. The 27 wires include all the functions needed for train operation, including EP braking commands, master controller notches, all engine start, all engine stop, lighting, Loudaphone, and so forth. Re-purposing or multiplexing these to accommodate Public Address, Central Door Locking, et cetera, has been a significant technical challenge over the years!
@nicnak44754 жыл бұрын
@@hastingsdiesels Brilliant ! thanks for the excellent explanation ! :o)
@OlafProt4 жыл бұрын
Hastings Diesels Ltd I always wondered this!!! Thanks 😊