Network SouthEast services from Salisbury to Southampton and beyond

[Drsatan]

Good morning

I have a couple of books which contain photographs of Thumpers painted in NSE livery on local services, as the thread title says, from Salisbury to Southampton Central and beyond.

The British Rail September 1991 to May 1992 timetable, which I have a copy of, lists such services. I'm curious to know when these local services were withdrawn. Was it because the Thumpers needed were withdrawn early or did either the Wales & West or South West Division franchise agreements leave out these services?

 

[AM9]

Good morning

I have a couple of books which contain photographs of Thumpers painted in NSE livery on local services, as the thread title says, from Salisbury to Southampton Central and beyond.

The British Rail September 1991 to May 1992 timetable, which I have a copy of, lists such services. I'm curious to know when these local services were withdrawn. Was it because the Thumpers needed were withdrawn early or did either the Wales & West or South West Division franchise agreements leave out these services?

Wasn't it when the lines from Hilsea to Fareham, Eastleigh and St Denis were electrified that 4CIG/4VEP stock took over (including the Waterloo to Portsmouth service via Eastleigh), rendering diesel operation east of Southampton unnecessary. When the programme to remove all slammers kicked off, the Southampton/Eastleigh to Salisbury services were replaced by modern DMUs.

 

[yorksrob]

I remember a very well kept looking 205 with Portsmouth - Southampton route maps turning up on the Marshlink at about that time. It looked as though it had only been recently re-upholstered !

 

[30907]

ISTR the stoppers were subsumed into cross-Salisbury services (less than hourly interval) for some years about then, worked from the WR end, before the present SWT service was introduced. However, that's almost certainly an over-simplification and I don't have the timetables immediately to hand.

Do I also recall correctly that some years earlier the through Portsmouth-Cardiff service (which had almost died out) was reintroduced using 6-H formations alternating with 6-WR DMMU? Those apart, I don't think the 205s ever worked regularly to Westbury.

 

[nw1]

As said above, they were withdrawn from the Portsmouth area services in May 1990 on electrification.

By 1993 (May) Dunbridge and Dean were served wholly by "Wales and West" Regional Railways services, largely 150s; rather erratic - ISTR the times out of Southampton for many years in the 1990s were (ish, not clockface):

0830
0930
1230
1330 (from Brighton, 158)
1630
1730
1830 (from Brighton, 158)

Exactly what happened in the intervening three years I'm not sure, but as suggested there might have been a period of Southampton to Salisbury shuttles using 205s before the line passed fully to RR.

 

[Muzer]

In the latter days these services were 150s or 153s, operated by Wessex Trains. They called at local stations towards Romsey. I remember often seeing 153s in HOWL livery at Salisbury when I commuted from school; my friend living in Romsey tended to use them (he was also very excited about First taking over the franchise as he thought it meant they would replace the trains with Networkers! Oh dear...). They tended to come from Westbury or Bristol. Looking at a PDF timetable on archive.org there also seemed to be a one-train-per-day Southampton to Yeovil Junction via Eastleigh SWT service(!) which also called at these local stations. Local Southampton stations were picked up by the South West Trains London services, until Chandlers Ford station reopened and the Romsey to Totton services replaced these. A few years later these services were altered again to terminate at Salisbury via Romsey, instead of Totton (itself served by the London to Poole stoppers), and the former Wessex Trains services either withdrawn or altered to run fast between Romsey and Salisbury.

All this left Mottisfont & Dunbridge and Dean as well-known examples of stations served entirely by an operator other than that which operates the station.

 

[AM9]

As said above, they were withdrawn from the Portsmouth area services in May 1990 on electrification.

By 1993 (May) Dunbridge and Dean were served wholly by "Wales and West" Regional Railways services, largely 150s; rather erratic - ISTR the times out of Southampton for many years in the 1990s were (ish, not clockface):

0830
0930
1230
1330 (from Brighton, 158)
1630
1730
1830 (from Brighton, 158)

Exactly what happened in the intervening three years I'm not sure, but as suggested there might have been a period of Southampton to Salisbury shuttles using 205s before the line passed fully to RR.

I moved out of Hampshire in 1993 so suppose that the through trains Portsmouth to Bristol comprising a class 33 and about 6 MKIs were phased out in those years.

 

[NSEFAN]

I moved out of Hampshire in 1993 so suppose that the through trains Portsmouth to Bristol comprising a class 33 and about 6 MKIs were phased out in those years.

Indeed, replaced with state-of-the-art two carriage class 155 DMUs!

 

[Drsatan]

Thanks for your replies everyone.

Yes, I remember the 150s and 153s which stopped at Dunbridge & Dean up until December 2007 (when the 'figure of six' service from Salisbury to Romsey via Southampton Central was introduced).

A glance at the Wessex Trains South Coast to Bristol & South Wales timetable from December 2004 to June 2005 shows a roughly two-hourly service in each direction Mondays to Saturdays, with four trains northbound and five southbound on Sundays.

I believe some of these services carried on from Bristol to Gloucester, Cheltenham Spa and Great Malvern

 

[Cowley]

I moved out of Hampshire in 1993 so suppose that the through trains Portsmouth to Bristol comprising a class 33 and about 6 MKIs were phased out in those years.

Yes I think late 1987 or early 1988 the 33s were phased out. To be replaced by 155s...

Indeed, replaced with state-of-the-art two carriage class 155 DMUs!

Which then had door problems and were replaced again by loco-hauled stock for a few months (while they were sorted out), but this time powered by 47/4s.

 

[Taunton]

There were of course a range of alterations over time. But when the 2H units were introduced, through the 1960s and 70s, they ran Portsmouth to Salisbury, while WR through services used Hymek diesels, subsequently downgraded to 3-car WR cross country dmus. Later, the SR units had some diagrams extended to Bristol. By the time NSE came along in 1986, which embraced the whole of the old Southern Region, it was still a mix of these two types of dmu until the Portsmouth electrification, which made this remaining diesel operation a bit of an orphan. Class 33 and either hauled stock or 4TC then turned up on the main through trains, but didn't supplant the multiple units completely.

The Cardiff-Portsmouth service was long sustained by Royal Navy personnel going to/from base, this traffic diminished with the run down of the Navy. Previously, lasting from steam days and the inconvenience of changing locos, they had run direct from Newport to Bath via the East curve at Bristol, and called at the inner suburban Stapleton Road station instead, avoiding Temple Meads (but visible from the end of the platforms there if you knew when and where to look).