Photos on the Coastway West - Past and present

[cornish trains jez]

Good afternoon,

 

I've been meaning to start this topic for a while as I live locally to the line and have taken a few photos over the past few months. Should be a nice thread to share some photos - past and present.

 

I'll kick it off with some of DB Shenker liveried 59202 "Alan Meadow Taylor MD Mendip Rail Limited" at Chichester on 17th December 2015 waiting to head back to Merehead Quarry with the empties.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best regards,

 

Jeremy

 

 

[Joseph_Pestell]

A nice pic in the January Hornby Magazine of a Terrier hauling quite a long train into Barnham from the Bognor branch.

[phil_sutters]

Although located firmly on the Coastway East at the end of the Seaford branch, I have a handful of modern photos taken on the Coastway West and one taken by my father in Hove in 1957 :

[Gwiwer]

Shares?  Southern's class 377 on the 16.33 to Southampton Central shares platform 2 at Brighton with FGW's 158749 working the 16.59 Great Malvern service though only to Worcester Shrub Hill on this occasion due to engineering works beyond.

 

 

377440 seen approaching Ford over the River Arun bridge with a Victoria - Portsmouth Harbour via Crawley working.

 

 

Ford again.  377304 seen in the days when these units worked Portsmouth - Brighton stoppers alongside the 313s approaching on an up train and passing a down train stopped in the platform.

 

 

377432 brakes for the stop at East Worthing with the only direct service of the day, the 14.16 from London Victoria, bound for Littlehampton.  This train and the 15.15 up working both call at around 15.35 to assist in clearing the schools loading as evidenced.  The regular half-hourly stoppers are not adequate for this.  How many people even know that East Worthing has a direct London service in both directions?

 

 

Another mix of stock and liveries at the far end of Coastway West.  Portsmouth Harbour is the temporary home of a FGW class 158 arrived from and bound for Cardiff, two trains of SWT class 444 stock on London Waterloo workings (and with those gangway ends owing more than a little to an earlier generation of Waterloo - Portsmouth stock namely the 4Cor sets) and a Southern class 377 bound for London Victoria via Crawley.  

 

 

At last - a use for the Spinnaker Tower???  As an artistic contribution to this view of a Southern 377 at Portsmouth Harbour.

 

 

Finally a slight cheat back in 1971.  This is Southampton (Central - though the suffix wasn't in use at the time) slightly to the west of the Coastway route itself and with class 42 Warship 812 "Royal Naval Reserve" on 1O13, 13.52 Exeter St. Davids - Brighton and deputising for a class 33.  This working ran along the Coastway line from Farlington Junction to Brighton and for many years was the only regular passenger train over the northern side of the Farlington triangle from Cosham.  That has seen much more frequent use in more recent times since electrification.  This was the very last occasion on which this train had its 33 replaced by a 42.  Always a rare and unpredictable event it was due on this occasion to a defective speedometer in the Crompton.  My pictures of this working, which are scans of Instamatic prints, taken farther east along the coast are too dark to be of use here.

 

Edited December 21, 2015 by Gwiwer

[cornish trains jez]

Good morning,

 

Great photos! Keep them coming! Here are another couple from me taken at Ford station one very cold December morning back in 2008 whilst I waited for a steam special to arrive which was running an hour late. I think it was an A4 and I do have a video somewhere which I will dig out.

 

 

 

 

Best regards,

 

Jeremy

[cornish trains jez]

One more form me this morning. In glorious afternoon sunshine, FGW class 158954 speeds through West Worthing with 1O99 Great Malvern to Brighton on 4th July 2015

 

 

 

Best regards,

 

Jeremy

[Gwiwer]

Hard to believe that station once boasted four platforms and quite substantial buildings and canopies on both sides!

 

It's also nice to see FGW can occasionally manage the correct 3-car 158 for the Brighton working.  Far too often it's a 2-car 158 or even a 150  Both play merry hell with the seat reservations and can lead to overcrowding.  There's one Sunday trip booked for 2x2-car 158.

[James Makin]

Lovely snaps, I've got a ton on disc I'll have to dig out, I used to take a load in the 98-06 period around Worthing. The best days were at College next to Durrington-on-Sea between 02-04, I'd be in class and the only one absolutely craning my neck round at the line at the slightest sound of a 'foreign' diesel haha!

 

My favourites were the old grey and orange Serco trains bringing in top n' tail RES 47s, 67s and even saw a pair of 66s once, Unbelievable Jeff!

[phil_sutters]

Another at the Brighton end of West Coastway, from Dad's photos. I also found one of mine in more recent years at Barnham

Edited December 21, 2015 by phil_sutters

[phil_sutters]

Hard to believe that station once boasted four platforms and quite substantial buildings and canopies on both sides!

 

It's also nice to see FGW can occasionally manage the correct 3-car 158 for the Brighton working.  Far too often it's a 2-car 158 or even a 150  Both play merry hell with the seat reservations and can lead to overcrowding.  There's one Sunday trip booked for 2x2-car 158.

You can see from one of my photos above, they are not above borrowing a SWT 159!

Straying over to East Coastway, Seaford has two direct morning rush-hour services to Victoria each day and one back. The rest of the time that journey necessitates a change at Lewes onto Eastbourne & Hastings line trains.

Edited December 21, 2015 by phil_sutters

[Gwiwer]

You can see from one of my photos above, they are not above borrowing a SWT 159!

 

 

There was a roster for a hired SWT 159 on the Bristol - Brighton - Bristol leg of the duty.  It ran every day (M-F) for the entire summer.  A few knowing locals even adjusted their working hours in Brighton to make use of it for their homeward commute.  While the 158s are OK and anything beats a 313 for comfort the 159 quickly proved extremely popular with much better seating than anything else along the coast.

[phil_sutters]

There was a roster for a hired SWT 159 on the Bristol - Brighton - Bristol leg of the duty.  It ran every day (M-F) for the entire summer.  A few knowing locals even adjusted their working hours in Brighton to make use of it for their homeward commute.  While the 158s are OK and anything beats a 313 for comfort the 159 quickly proved extremely popular with much better seating than anything else along the coast.

Thanks for that info. My grandchildren and I just happened upon it, running late, as we returned from the Tangmere Aviation Museum, so I wasn't sure why we had its relative luxury. 

[Claude_Dreyfus]

A few from me:

 

377123 by Claude_Dreyfus, on Flickr

377123 approaches Ford - 17th September 2013

 

377142 by Claude_Dreyfus, on Flickr

377142 stands at Littlehampton - 28 June 2014

 

377463 by Claude_Dreyfus, on Flickr

377463 approaches Ford - 17th September 2013

 

313201 by Claude_Dreyfus, on Flickr

313201 at Barnham - 19th September 2013

[Gwiwer]

158766 (2-car instead of 3-car yet again) calls at Barnham with the 08.59 Brighton - Great Malvern service.

 

 

158766 departs Barnham for Chichester and point west.  The new signalling centre is to the right of the track having replaced the well-known box on the platform end.

 

 

One of the dreadful class 313/2 units, almost the oldest rolling stock on the national network after the Isle of Wight units, runs into Barnham from the west on a Portsmouth & Southsea - Littlehampton stopper.  Many users detest these trains as they have low-grade seating, are rougher-riding than the 377s, are only three cars instead of four and overcrowd and they don't have toilets.  They were originally only for use on Brighton - West Wrothing / Seaford locals but can be found working most Coastway trains between Eastbourne and Portsmouth.  They are not permitted at Southampton meaning those duties must be 377-worked.  The regulars know it and try to use a Brighton - Southampton train when they can.

 

The Bognor Regis branch crosses the down bay to down line connection on a pair of diamonds.  The large building on the left is the original 1930s substation dating from the electrification of the route.

 

 

377416 departs Barnham down bay for Bognor Regis having arrived only moments earlier on the shuttle.

 

[Gwiwer]

And a couple of videos shot late night at East Worthing.

 

https://gwiwer.smugmug.com/photos/i-wKvBkdL/0/1920/i-wKvBkdL-1920.mp4

 

https://gwiwer.smugmug.com/photos/i-J4fK2dq/0/1920/i-J4fK2dq-1920.mp4

Edited December 23, 2015 by Gwiwer

[phil_sutters]

Shares?  Southern's class 377 on the 16.33 to Southampton Central shares platform 2 at Brighton with FGW's 158749 working the 16.59 Great Malvern service though only to Worcester Shrub Hill on this occasion due to engineering works beyond.

 

 

377440 seen approaching Ford over the River Arun bridge with a Victoria - Portsmouth Harbour via Crawley working.

 

 

Ford again.  377304 seen in the days when these units worked Portsmouth - Brighton stoppers alongside the 313s approaching on an up train and passing a down train stopped in the platform.

 

 

377432 brakes for the stop at East Worthing with the only direct service of the day, the 14.16 from London Victoria, bound for Littlehampton.  This train and the 15.15 up working both call at around 15.35 to assist in clearing the schools loading as evidenced.  The regular half-hourly stoppers are not adequate for this.  How many people even know that East Worthing has a direct London service in both directions?

 

 

Another mix of stock and liveries at the far end of Coastway West.  Portsmouth Harbour is the temporary home of a FGW class 158 arrived from and bound for Cardiff, two trains of SWT class 444 stock on London Waterloo workings (and with those gangway ends owing more than a little to an earlier generation of Waterloo - Portsmouth stock namely the 4Cor sets) and a Southern class 377 bound for London Victoria via Crawley.  

 

 

At last - a use for the Spinnaker Tower???  As an artistic contribution to this view of a Southern 377 at Portsmouth Harbour.

 

 

Finally a slight cheat back in 1971.  This is Southampton (Central - though the suffix wasn't in use at the time) slightly to the west of the Coastway route itself and with class 42 Warship 812 "Royal Naval Reserve" on 1O13, 13.52 Exeter St. Davids - Brighton and deputising for a class 33.  This working ran along the Coastway line from Farlington Junction to Brighton and for many years was the only regular passenger train over the northern side of the Farlington triangle from Cosham.  That has seen much more frequent use in more recent times since electrification.  This was the very last occasion on which this train had its 33 replaced by a 42.  Always a rare and unpredictable event it was due on this occasion to a defective speedometer in the Crompton.  My pictures of this working, which are scans of Instamatic prints, taken farther east along the coast are too dark to be of use here.

 

I have taken liberties with the Spinaker - once by accident and once fully intentionally! As they are not relevant here, I will just put the links in http://www.ipernity.com/doc/philsutters/25824191

http://www.ipernity.com/doc/philsutters/26365799

[Gwiwer]

The 313 reference is very apt.

[cornish trains jez]

Good evening,

 

Headed over to Chichester this morning to catch the Merehead Quarry to Chichester Reception Yard working. Here are a few photos of 66074 waiting while its train is being unloaded this morning.

 

 

 

 

 

Best regards,

 

Jeremy

[Neal Ball]

Silly question - Why is Chichester used for these stone deliveries? Is the stone for onward trans-shipment?

Thanks, Neal.

[Neal Ball]

Last December I happened to be at Littlehampton and took this photo of the Semaphore signal and the signal box:

 

[phil_sutters]

I have just spotted a shot from Shoreham that I don't seem to have uploaded before, although one in the same folder, from Hove, does appear above.

[FJ1701]

Good evening,

 

Headed over to Chichester this morning to catch the Merehead Quarry to Chichester Reception Yard working. Here are a few photos of 66074 waiting while its train is being unloaded this morning.

 

P3240003.JPG

 

P3240006.JPG

 

P3240012.JPG

 

 

Best regards,

 

Jeremy

Hi any idea what those hoppers are? As i'm modelling the West Coastway line and need these in model form, many thanks.

 

Rory

[phil_sutters]

A couple taken on a visit to a well-known shop at Ford. I had forgotten how different some modern model shops are from the W&H and Hamblings of my model making days in the '60s. Everything in sleek well-lit display cases, at prices I wouldn't want to spend. None of the boiler fittings or other small parts. I bought a couple of points and left. 

 

How is it that these 377s look so much better than those hideous Scotrail 385s and indeed SWT/R 444s with their ugly projecting corridor connections?

[phil_sutters]

Platforms 1 & 2 at Brighton serve the West Coastway.

 

At the other end of the run on a trip to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard with a couple of grandchildren we came across this. Presumably it has other functions than Overhead Line Inspections as we were deep into 3rd rail electrification territory.

Only a bit of this loco as my camera locked up for some reason after taking that shot. ( A bit of the 'turn off - remove the battery and card - put them back in, then turn on again' routine eventually got it back to life)

 

and a few more taken at Hove

Edited December 13, 2017 by phil_sutters

[Gwiwer]

 

 

Platforms 1 & 2 at Brighton serve the West Coastway.

Also the inner end of platform 3 which (just) accommodates a 4-car 377 inside the point and signal clearance.  That is used at times of need and once a night for the last Victoria - Worthing service which runs via Brighton though does not pick up passengers there.  As required a longer train can enter platform 3 from London and be divided with the "London end" portion then being shunted clear to permit the unit closest to the buffers to depart to the west.

 

Platform 3 (the inner end) is the only one at Brighton with access to all of east and west coasts and the main line.  It was used for the hourly West Worthing - Seaford through trains for the few years that they ran and it is still very occasionally used to transfer a unit from east to west when the need arises.  East Coastway services normally use platforms 7 and 8.