It still seems incredible to me that I used to travel regularly on both classes prior to my emigration to Australia in 1968, and was still able to film an example of each at Winchelsea in February 1994, when I was back living in England for a time. Those video clips are among my most precious.
As a child of around ten, my 8 year old brother and I often took the train to Basingstoke from Reading to visit my Gran. This was in the 60's, there was nothing to fear as a kid back then and my parents trusted us to be good. I remember Reading West-Mortimer-Bramley and then Basingstoke, although after all these years, I've probably got that wrong.
Thanks for uploading this piece of railway history. I used to love going to Reading from Basingstoke on these & I always tried to sit in the power car - it was like sitting in a loco; the EE medium speed 4 cylinder Diesel and the traction motors could clearly be heard. Always impresses me how little smoke these produce (although they're very dirty when starting from cold due to the very old design English Electric Diesel with no preheating).
The Class 205 (2/3H) and the Class 207 (2/3D) diesel electric multiple unit trains had regular turns on the Reading to Basingstoke line for a number of years. In the stories I write, they're replaced with a type of diesel electric multiple unit train class which has adequate toilet access and sockets for laptops and mobile phones.
I used to commute between Basingstoke and Reading on Thumpers. Totally reliable, with one exception. Broke down at Bramley and was pushed to Reading by the following one. Twice the load didn't seem to make much difference. Unlike the WR DMUs that had to drop down into third on the climb through Chineham. I first met Thumpers when they replaced the M7 Pull & Push trains in Hampshire.
In the 70s and 80s the Thumpers didn't run between Reading and Basingstoke on Sundays because we got a posh train hourly with corridors that went from Reading to Portsmouth Harbour. Until the Late 70s Bramley had double swing gates at the crossing but when the manned signal box was demolished the gates were replaced with single lane drop gates you see here and quite a few years after this video were replaced, again, with dual lane skirted gates.
I remember on nights at Basingstoke on the Platform 9 car set used to come up from Eastleigh, Front 3 car went empty to clapham junction for the Kenny bell second set for the 5.50 to reading and the last 3 shunted from Platform 3 to bay for the 0610 to reading
In childhood, thumpers were a happy sound that ran past the bottom of my granny's garden. As an adolescent, the under-damped suspension, poor track, and boingy seats with a pretty girl sat opposite left me with an unwanted erection more than once. At least the heating worked, unlike the DMUs that replaced them, with their stinking smokey diesel heaters. Happy days!
In the days when the railway was a public service at not a business, as well as being overrun with Buddleia thanks to that government quango Notwork Rail.
Units 1127 to 1133 were built for the Reading to Southampton/ Portsmouth services. They did not run to Salisbury until the services through Basingstoke were electrified.
Propper old school classic DMU'S far better than this modern tin can plastic shite of today modern trash unreliable railways that won't stand the test of time like these old chuggers did!!! 😎
Great footage of these old DMUs with the odd shot of an old emu and loco . Nice footage and thanks for sharing the memories
Just love these thumpers I used to spend alot of time at Hastings and travelling around on them. Thanks for the video!!😎🚃🚃🚃🇬🇧
Great film! I used to go to school on them in the 1960s. Thanks for uploading the video.
Arthur Wellesley aka Duke of Wellington country.
It still seems incredible to me that I used to travel regularly on both classes prior to my emigration to Australia in 1968, and was still able to film an example of each at Winchelsea in February 1994, when I was back living in England for a time. Those video clips are among my most precious.
Much better than those underfloor bus engines that modern units have
As a child of around ten, my 8 year old brother and I often took the train to Basingstoke from Reading to visit my Gran. This was in the 60's, there was nothing to fear as a kid back then and my parents trusted us to be good. I remember Reading West-Mortimer-Bramley and then Basingstoke, although after all these years, I've probably got that wrong.
You remember correctly. They left from platform 2 at Reading and arrived at platform 5 at Basingstoke.
Thanks for uploading this piece of railway history. I used to love going to Reading from Basingstoke on these & I always tried to sit in the power car - it was like sitting in a loco; the EE medium speed 4 cylinder Diesel and the traction motors could clearly be heard.
Always impresses me how little smoke these produce (although they're very dirty when starting from cold due to the very old design English Electric Diesel with no preheating).
Good video of the last days of these early DMU'S!!!
The Class 205 (2/3H) and the Class 207 (2/3D) diesel electric multiple unit trains had regular turns on the Reading to Basingstoke line for a number of years. In the stories I write, they're replaced with a type of diesel electric multiple unit train class which has adequate toilet access and sockets for laptops and mobile phones.
I used to commute between Basingstoke and Reading on Thumpers. Totally reliable, with one exception. Broke down at Bramley and was pushed to Reading by the following one. Twice the load didn't seem to make much difference.
Unlike the WR DMUs that had to drop down into third on the climb through Chineham.
I first met Thumpers when they replaced the M7 Pull & Push trains in Hampshire.
As a kid I used to catch these at Bramley. I remember smacking the seats to make dust fill the carriage.
In the 70s and 80s the Thumpers didn't run between Reading and Basingstoke on Sundays because we got a posh train hourly with corridors that went from Reading to Portsmouth Harbour. Until the Late 70s Bramley had double swing gates at the crossing but when the manned signal box was demolished the gates were replaced with single lane drop gates you see here and quite a few years after this video were replaced, again, with dual lane skirted gates.
I remember on nights at Basingstoke on the Platform 9 car set used to come up from Eastleigh, Front 3 car went empty to clapham junction for the Kenny bell second set for the 5.50 to reading and the last 3 shunted from Platform 3 to bay for the 0610 to reading
In childhood, thumpers were a happy sound that ran past the bottom of my granny's garden. As an adolescent, the under-damped suspension, poor track, and boingy seats with a pretty girl sat opposite left me with an unwanted erection more than once. At least the heating worked, unlike the DMUs that replaced them, with their stinking smokey diesel heaters. Happy days!
Superb. Especially 4:45.......👍👍👍
These were much nicer to ride on than the stuffy cramped sprinter trains that replaced them with horrible noisy revving engines under the floor.
Great footage. 205 029 = R I P Cowden.
I would of thought that there would have been more than one of these beasts preserved sadly not!!!
In the days when the railway was a public service at not a business, as well as being overrun with Buddleia thanks to that government quango Notwork Rail.
Units 1127 to 1133 were built for the Reading to Southampton/ Portsmouth services.
They did not run to Salisbury until the services through Basingstoke were electrified.
Great Memories!
10:17 - 12:09 is definitely the most interesting part👍😁👍
Like my early photo attempts in the 80s😂
Sad, sad day for me, as I spent a lot of my spare time with the "old girls". I was there for it (well, I had to).STATE!!
What rolling stock replaced these units?
They were replaced with Class 165s operated by the NSE "Thames" business unit, based at Reading Depot.
Hastings and Eastbourne were two of the final locations in the late 90s.
Uckfield as well till 2004 and then replaced with 170 turbo stars
used to ride this.. bramley, mortimer, reading west...
Followed by Reading General until 1974.
I'm making an n gauge DMU based on these. Ugly, but my idea of a train when I was a kid, so a fond ugliness.
What wonderful sounding varieties of trains we used to have now all SILENT electric crap junk 😪
Nice one I was born in 1993
I born 26 June 1998!
I born 26 June 1998!
Propper old school classic DMU'S far better than this modern tin can plastic shite of today modern trash unreliable railways that won't stand the test of time like these old chuggers did!!! 😎
Unless they hit something......