Great to see the Thumper back in action. It reminds me of when my sister in the late 1960s got on one of them at Cannon Street by mistake instead of the usual EMU service to Chatham and beyond. She ended up at High Brooms. When I said to her didn’t she notice the train looked and sounded different, she said ‘no, I just fell asleep’. I guess if one is not a rail fan, they just don’t notice differences.
Those things were so slow on acceleration that one could chase it down the platform as it was pulling out and leap aboard. Even slower than the multi engined Leyland 680 DMU's.
Yeah. Tadpoles were even slower. I like this triple power car configuration for a bit more oomph, although the extra sounded idle until the East Croydon shot.
Had not realised it would be working as a 7 car formation with 5 out of 6 narrow bodied coaches and 2 normal width ones. Is that normal? Brings back memories of the Tadpoles on Reading-Redhill. Good job the clearances in the Hastings line tunnels have been widened :) Well done Hastings Diesels for keeping it operational and main line certified.
Good video.I caught it outbound at Tonbridge. A fair crowd turned out too. The train looked fairly full. I rode this one a few years back. Great memories. 👍 💯🇬🇧
Excellent video 🙂. Excellent shot. I personally saw the Hastings Diesel DEMU Thumper 1001 at Redhill Railway Station on Saturday 6th January 2024 believe this or not and I am certainly most happy and it is a great thrill seeing other videos featuring the Hastings Diesel I saw from recent days. Take care and many best wishes 🙂. Excellent footage you extraordinarily and delightfully captured 🙂. From your new friend Foxy in Brighton, East Sussex, England, UK 🙂🙂🙂.
I grew up in Dorking (born 1972) with the Reading-Tonbridge line running behind my house so the sound of the 206 Tadpole Units was as familiar as bread and butter. Such a wonderful sound. I think when I was very little I found standing on the platform next to the engine room quite scary! I travelled on them right up until they were replaced by the Class 117 DMUs in about 1979-1980. We used to travel to Gomshall quite a lot as kids to see Grandparents and when we heading home they used to thunder down the hill from Guildford direction and I still have a clear memory of how they rocked side to side on the tracks as they went over the pedestrian crossing (Gomshall has a staggered platform). I always thought the black triangle was the train sticking its tongue out at me lol! VERY occasionally an Oxted 207 would show its slimmer face on that line which was always exciting! Thanks for this - wonderful high quality footage!
I grew up 300 yards from HG depot road entrance and used to do HG regularly, often in school uniform at lunchtime. Mid seventies. Foreman would always say it was ok to walk round , but come and see me when you’re off, lads. Cromptons and Ed’s everywhere and four 71s after withdrawal too. Used to lie in bed and hear twelve car Hastings units blasting through the station, three separate lots of exhaust noise, as the middle two combined. Mgr trains going down the dartford loop used to make my bedside light rock gently by the time the last few wagons were rolling by. I used to wonder if the house would fall down if the trains were double the standard 43 hoppers(47 piloting a 45) Good times. And every train to London, either from Lee or HG was an EPB. Or a HAP.
