A trip across the south coast would see BR Class 201/202 'Hastings' DEMU - 1001 travel from Hastings to Weymouth, operated by Hastings Diesels Ltd; battling varied weather conditions as the 'Thumper' made its mark on the region.
The tour began out Hastings, heading up the Hastings Line to Tonbridge where it would continue west to Redhill, where a reversal would see the unit travel onto the North Downs Line to Guildford and on to Reading. The tour would then venture south to Basingstoke to join the South West Mainline for the jaunt to Weymouth. The return working would retrace the route back to Hastings.
Picking up the tour at Guildford, 1001 would accelerate away from the passenger stop as it powers beneath Egerton Road. Moving west, the consist laid down the power as it headed through Worting Junction. Down to Dorset, the unit is seen rounding its way beneath Milton Road as it gets away from Bournemouth. A break in Weymouth provided the opportunity to capture the three power cars on tick over, before the assault of Upwey bank, viewed at Bincombe. Finally, 1001 is seen accelerating away from Poole passing the boating lake at Poole Park as it ascends the 1-in-60 gradient of Parkstone bank; the 'Thumper' sounding in top form.
Hastings Diesel Ltd, who own and operate 1001, currently own 14 vehicles across both Class 201 and Class 202 units. HDL have made no secret of the fact that unit 1001 regularly operates with other 'Hastings' vehicles from their fleet, depending on which vehicles are available for traffic at any given time. In these circumstances, the number '1001' is denoted as an umbrella term for the unit.
The configuration for this tour was S60119 + S60118 "Tunbridge Wells" + S60528 + 69337 + 70262 + S60529 + S60116 "Mountfield". 69337 and 70262 are from other southern region units, due to the unavailablity of genuine 'Hastings' equivilents. The three power cars all come from Class 202 units, with S60116 "Mountfield" being a survivor of 1012, while S60119 and S60118 "Tunbridge Wells" are both from 1013. The final two coaches, S60528 and S60529, are also from unit 1013. The former has just returned from an overhaul, and has swapped out genuine 1001 coach S60501 for 2023, due to necessary maintenance on the latter. As such, this year marks the first time in its preservation service where no vehicle originally from Class 201 - 1001 has operated in the DEMU, with the set presented on this tour being a near complete representation of a Class 202.
Power car S60119 has only recently returned to service following an extensive overhaul, with S60118 acting as insurance while it accumalates trouble-free mileage. This gave enthusiasts the rare chance to capture the 'Hastings' unit with three functioning power cars, providing a wonderful soundtrack across the south.
All footage filmed on Saturday the 8th of July 2023.
Негізгі бет Hastings DEMU - 1001 takes three power cars on 'The Jurassic Coast Explorer' 08/07/2023
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