Class 305 Chingford train

[Terry Tait]

I would like to know if any Class 305 vehicles exist in preservation, I have fond memories of these going from Hackney Downs to Chingford as a child in the 70s.

 

[ExRes]

It seems that the AC EMU Group wanted to preserve a driving trailer but the entire fleet was scrapped while they were trying to find the funds

 

[306024]

Good units with big windows and quite nippy when driven hard. A 9 car class 305 (3 x 3 car units) could shift a large number of people. But all those doors being flung open before the train stopped would make you wince today. Yes razor blades the lot of them.

 

[gazthomas]

I guess the closest we have in preservation is the class 308 carriage currently being restored at the Colne Valley Railway. Personally I always found this series of units particularly ugly, made worse by the black band across the windows, no doubt to stop sun glare.

 

[AM9]

I guess the closest we have in preservation is the class 308 carriage currently being restored at the Colne Valley Railway. Personally I always found this series of units particularly ugly, made worse by the black band across the windows, no doubt to stop sun glare.

The class 308s, (and 302s/305/s/307s) all had standard liveries through most of their working lives changing roughly as follows:

all BR green from new
yellow half panel on cab ends
all rail blue with full yellow cab ends
rail blue/grey with full yellow cab ends
NSE blue/white/red with full yellow cab ends​

That is how they ran from c.1960 to c.2000 so how would any black across the windows be there?

 

[gazthomas]

The class 308s, (and 302s/305/s/307s) all had standard liveries through most of their working lives changing roughly as follows:

all BR green from new
yellow half panel on cab ends
all rail blue with full yellow cab ends
rail blue/grey with full yellow cab ends
NSE blue/white/red with full yellow cab ends​

That is how they ran from c.1960 to c.2000 so how would any black across the windows be there?

When they were in West Yorkshire. As evidenced here: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&sou...aw3J_IIJ8wy9nIQi4T-RfbYg&ust=1567025739919974

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I'm pretty sure the 305s that were used in Edinburgh for a while received Regional Railways livery?

 

[AM9]

When they were in West Yorkshire. As evidenced here: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwj0nciI-KPkAhWjyIUKHbXeA_sQjhx6BAgBEAI&url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_308&psig=AOvVaw3J_IIJ8wy9nIQi4T-RfbYg&ust=1567025739919974

That was a livery that they carried right at the end of their lives. Any preservation would probably be more representative in one of the rail blue designs or even the original all BR green

 

[yorksrob]

I guess the closest we have in preservation is the class 308 carriage currently being restored at the Colne Valley Railway. Personally I always found this series of units particularly ugly, made worse by the black band across the windows, no doubt to stop sun glare.

I always thought they had a certain angular beauty when up here in Yorkshire. I'm rather sad that a whole unit wasn't preserved.

 

[Journeyman]

I would like to know if any Class 305 vehicles exist in preservation, I have fond memories of these going from Hackney Downs to Chingford as a child in the 70s.

I guess you'll be talking specifically about the three-car suburban version, rather than the four-car outer-suburban version. Sadly all gone, as others have said. This particular variety of EMU hasn't been well represented in preservation at all - closest you'll get is a two-car class 504 at Bury on the East Lancs.

 

[d9009alycidon]

I'm pretty sure the 305s that were used in Edinburgh for a while received Regional Railways livery?

Yes they did, that liverly aslo featured the "black band" between the windows

 

[simple simon]

I feel sure that I travelled on a 305 in the rush hour on a service via Ilford. This would have been in the 1980's. On one occasion I took a cassette tape player with me, to record the sounds. Usually I would catch the faster trains which ran non-stop Stratford - Ilford but for this journey I specially caught an all-stations train. I never worked out why the 305's were on this route as until then it had always been 306s, 307's, 308's. maybe the reason was the withdrawal of the 306's had began but not enough 315's were in service.

btw, in those days the evening rush hour saw over 20 trains (in one hour) between Liverpool St and Ilford. Nowadays it is just 16 trains and this has to help explain the severe overcrowding.

I think this video will bring back some memories - a still image slideshow with real train sounds (not musak!). Mostly it shows Class 307 trains but other trains are also seen - including a broken down 305 at Stratford (at around 1'12") and a 305 at Ilford Depot shortly afterwards. The pre-DLR view of Stratford might also be of interest. Apologies in advance, a typo means that a 302 is labelled as a 307.

 

[hexagon789]

I'm pretty sure the 305s that were used in Edinburgh for a while received Regional Railways livery?

Yes, they ran like that on the North Berwick branch from electrification in 1991 until withdrawn in about 2000. I believe they either were given initially or gained the ScotRail "Swoosh" logo at some point.

 

[d9009alycidon]

The 305s were not the only Eastern Region EMUs to venture into Scotland, Tilbury units (302) 205,250,258,261 came north in 1959 for driver familiarisation until the first 303s were ready, they ran on the Milngavie branch, ther are one or two photographs of units on the branch and at Hyndland. A pair of class 307s also made it to Shields Road just before the 305s appeared, I assume they were being trialled for the North Berwick service before the 305s were selected instead.

 

[Terry Tait]

Thanks for all the interesting replies

 

[Steamysandy]

I travelled regularly on the 305s on the North Berwick line and saw one of the 307s parked up in the Waverley. 508 was reckoned to be the black sheep and interestingly it was the only one I didn't see while trainspotting in the Liverpool Street area around 1970.

 

[306024]

I feel sure that I travelled on a 305 in the rush hour on a service via Ilford. This would have been in the 1980's. On one occasion I took a cassette tape player with me, to record the sounds. Usually I would catch the faster trains which ran non-stop Stratford - Ilford but for this journey I specially caught an all-stations train. I never worked out why the 305's were on this route as until then it had always been 306s, 307's, 308's. maybe the reason was the withdrawal of the 306's had began but not enough 315's were in service.

That was indeed the reason. The 306s were getting harder to maintain, with various cabs blocked in. Can’t remember if 305s were specifically diagrammed, or just put out on a suitable class 306 diagram, but a 6 car 305 was obviously no match for a 9 car 306 in terms of capacity.

There was one working that became infamous on the radio about that time. Something like the 08.15 Gidea Park to Liverpool St. It was the only diagram that simply did one trip so was of course the first to be cancelled if there was no train available, the travel news wasn’t the same without this cancellation.

Thanks for the video which did indeed bring back memories.

 

[PeterC]

I feel sure that I travelled on a 305 in the rush hour on a service via Ilford. This would have been in the 1980's. On one occasion I took a cassette tape player with me, to record the sounds. Usually I would catch the faster trains which ran non-stop Stratford - Ilford but for this journey I specially caught an all-stations train. I never worked out why the 305's were on this route as until then it had always been 306s, 307's, 308's. maybe the reason was the withdrawal of the 306's had began but not enough 315's were in service.

btw, in those days the evening rush hour saw over 20 trains (in one hour) between Liverpool St and Ilford. Nowadays it is just 16 trains and this has to help explain the severe overcrowding.

I think this video will bring back some memories - a still image slideshow with real train sounds (not musak!). Mostly it shows Class 307 trains but other trains are also seen - including a broken down 305 at Stratford (at around 1'12") and a 305 at Ilford Depot shortly afterwards. The pre-DLR view of Stratford might also be of interest. Apologies in advance, a typo means that a 302 is labelled as a 307.

The units turned up on the Electric Lines infrequently from their introduction. As a schoolboy in the 60s I would be very excited when a train with the "big windows" turned up on the journey home.