NSEFAN
Established Member
I decided to go on a trip with fellow RailUK member Muzer on the summer saturday Eastbourne express service, worked by a class 442. Starting from Southampton we were sadly not able to catch the morning working from Eastbourne to London, however with our Daysave rovers we intended to catch the return trip in the afternoon. To kill the time, we travelled around various Southern-served stations. Items of particular interest were the grade II listed signal box at Holmwood, a relic from early privatisation days at Warnham and the usage of the bay platform 10 at Watford Junction.
Arriving in good time for the 17:21 Victoria - Eastbourne, the booked departure time came and went with no train to be seen. Staff kept us informed, stating that the train had developed a fault. This fault eventually resulted in the cancellation of our train, with passengers for Eastbourne directed instead towards the 17:46 to Ore. At the last minute however, the 1744 Gatwick Express was cancelled so the unit may be used to reinstate the 1721 to Eastbourne. By this time however, most passengers for Eastbourne were already on the slower train to Ore. The end result was only 4 passengers on the non-stop run to Eastbourne!
It was a gloomy afternoon at Eastbourne however we were glad to have had a good run from Victoria. We departed approximately 23 minutes late however we had recovered 10 minutes by the time we got into Eastbourne. Although it was pleasant to have an entire carriage to ourselves, we felt sorry for all those who had to slum it on the uncomfortable class 377/6 which formed the Ore train!
Arriving in good time for the 17:21 Victoria - Eastbourne, the booked departure time came and went with no train to be seen. Staff kept us informed, stating that the train had developed a fault. This fault eventually resulted in the cancellation of our train, with passengers for Eastbourne directed instead towards the 17:46 to Ore. At the last minute however, the 1744 Gatwick Express was cancelled so the unit may be used to reinstate the 1721 to Eastbourne. By this time however, most passengers for Eastbourne were already on the slower train to Ore. The end result was only 4 passengers on the non-stop run to Eastbourne!
It was a gloomy afternoon at Eastbourne however we were glad to have had a good run from Victoria. We departed approximately 23 minutes late however we had recovered 10 minutes by the time we got into Eastbourne. Although it was pleasant to have an entire carriage to ourselves, we felt sorry for all those who had to slum it on the uncomfortable class 377/6 which formed the Ore train!