The 313 Farewell - take 2 20230429--092
313201 and 313213 approach Barnham, working the second leg of the "Sussex Rambler" Class 313 Farewell Tour, 1Z32 10.40 Portsmouth Harbour - Littlehampton via Bognor Regis. [Pole, 5.5/6 sections (~7.4m)]
The whole tour, organised by the Branch Line Society in conjunction with Southern, ran as:
1Z31 09.01 Brighton - Preston Park (reverse) - Hove - Barnham - Portsmouth Harbour
1Z32 10.40 Portsmouth Harbour - Barnham (reverse) - Bognor Regis - Barnham - Littlehampton
1Z33 12.59 Littlehampton - Hove - Preston Park - Three Bridges
1Z34 14.11 Three Bridges - Lewes - Eastbourne (reverse) - Hastings - Ore Up Sidings (rev) - Hastings
1Z35 16.14 Hastings - Eastbourne (reverse) - Lewes (reverse) - Newhaven Marine (site of former station)
1Z36 17.39 Newhaven Marine (site of former station) - Haywards Heath Down Sidings (reverse) - Brighton
The tour fare was £62.60 (reflecting a pair of 313s) for adults and £31.30 for accompanied children.
I had been unsure how to use today. The weather forecast had been variable, with different sources over the previous few days suggesting different things, but on Friday evening it looked like the best sun would be on the south coast - although with periods of cloud at various times (and by 6am on Saturday the amount of cloud looked to have increased). 56091 was working the Middleton Towers sand, but there was no guarantee that would be in sun. I'd wanted another visit to the "Coastway" routes before the 313s finished in two weeks' time, and today also coincided with the Farewell Tour.
At 6am there was a cloudless sky at home, but a bank of cloud was approaching from the north-west. The diverted sleeper (1M16) was running a few minutes late, which meant the sun angle was better at my most-local spot (Abbots Ripton), and it was also GBRf-livered 92043 which would give a different shot to those I've done there previously. But as I drove down the A14, Huntingdon was already under cloud - plus the Ouse Valley was in patchy fog... I ended up doing a poor side-on shot (in sun) at St. Neots, and then setting off for West Sussex.
The plan was to get the tour around Barnham, doing a couple of angles I didn't manage on a previous visit which were close to the foot crossings west of the junction. Pictures of the tour away from routes regularly operated by 313s would have been nice, but I'd not found any good locations where the sun angle was right; by the time the train was heading for Hastings, the sun was getting too in-line, although I did think there might be a going-away shot from the A27 bridge on the Eastbourne side of Southerham Jn. (east of Lewes). So I planned to head east, also trying to do some shots between Southerham Jn. and Southease in the (Sussex) Ouse Valley early in the afternoon.
When the gen came through that the Seaford branch was being worked by pairs of 377s (as a result of football at Falmer), I changed my plans and remained around Barnham much longer, getting what will probably be my last photos of 313s on service trains. But the weather forecast had been wrong (yet again)... there was no sign of any cloud bubbling up, just the odd bit of thin "squiff", and it was bright and sunny until it got dark! (Although after downloading this image I realised how close I came to losing this to a tiny cloud - but the cloud didn't come close enough for me to notice it.)
I actually made it here in time for 1Z31 heading west, and did a going-away shot from the side of the field behind me. But I didn't have very long to set up, and couldn't stand very wide without trampling crops (not acceptable), and when I realised I could have stood here (and possibly gone even wider than this), I didn't really have enough time to move. So the "take 1" shot will probably not be uploaded, and, anyway, the sun was still half an hour away from being ideal.
Visit Brian Carter's Non-Transport Pics to see my photos of landscapes, buildings, bridges, sunsets, rainbows and more.
The 313 Farewell - take 2 20230429--092
313201 and 313213 approach Barnham, working the second leg of the "Sussex Rambler" Class 313 Farewell Tour, 1Z32 10.40 Portsmouth Harbour - Littlehampton via Bognor Regis. [Pole, 5.5/6 sections (~7.4m)]
The whole tour, organised by the Branch Line Society in conjunction with Southern, ran as:
1Z31 09.01 Brighton - Preston Park (reverse) - Hove - Barnham - Portsmouth Harbour
1Z32 10.40 Portsmouth Harbour - Barnham (reverse) - Bognor Regis - Barnham - Littlehampton
1Z33 12.59 Littlehampton - Hove - Preston Park - Three Bridges
1Z34 14.11 Three Bridges - Lewes - Eastbourne (reverse) - Hastings - Ore Up Sidings (rev) - Hastings
1Z35 16.14 Hastings - Eastbourne (reverse) - Lewes (reverse) - Newhaven Marine (site of former station)
1Z36 17.39 Newhaven Marine (site of former station) - Haywards Heath Down Sidings (reverse) - Brighton
The tour fare was £62.60 (reflecting a pair of 313s) for adults and £31.30 for accompanied children.
I had been unsure how to use today. The weather forecast had been variable, with different sources over the previous few days suggesting different things, but on Friday evening it looked like the best sun would be on the south coast - although with periods of cloud at various times (and by 6am on Saturday the amount of cloud looked to have increased). 56091 was working the Middleton Towers sand, but there was no guarantee that would be in sun. I'd wanted another visit to the "Coastway" routes before the 313s finished in two weeks' time, and today also coincided with the Farewell Tour.
At 6am there was a cloudless sky at home, but a bank of cloud was approaching from the north-west. The diverted sleeper (1M16) was running a few minutes late, which meant the sun angle was better at my most-local spot (Abbots Ripton), and it was also GBRf-livered 92043 which would give a different shot to those I've done there previously. But as I drove down the A14, Huntingdon was already under cloud - plus the Ouse Valley was in patchy fog... I ended up doing a poor side-on shot (in sun) at St. Neots, and then setting off for West Sussex.
The plan was to get the tour around Barnham, doing a couple of angles I didn't manage on a previous visit which were close to the foot crossings west of the junction. Pictures of the tour away from routes regularly operated by 313s would have been nice, but I'd not found any good locations where the sun angle was right; by the time the train was heading for Hastings, the sun was getting too in-line, although I did think there might be a going-away shot from the A27 bridge on the Eastbourne side of Southerham Jn. (east of Lewes). So I planned to head east, also trying to do some shots between Southerham Jn. and Southease in the (Sussex) Ouse Valley early in the afternoon.
When the gen came through that the Seaford branch was being worked by pairs of 377s (as a result of football at Falmer), I changed my plans and remained around Barnham much longer, getting what will probably be my last photos of 313s on service trains. But the weather forecast had been wrong (yet again)... there was no sign of any cloud bubbling up, just the odd bit of thin "squiff", and it was bright and sunny until it got dark! (Although after downloading this image I realised how close I came to losing this to a tiny cloud - but the cloud didn't come close enough for me to notice it.)
I actually made it here in time for 1Z31 heading west, and did a going-away shot from the side of the field behind me. But I didn't have very long to set up, and couldn't stand very wide without trampling crops (not acceptable), and when I realised I could have stood here (and possibly gone even wider than this), I didn't really have enough time to move. So the "take 1" shot will probably not be uploaded, and, anyway, the sun was still half an hour away from being ideal.
Visit Brian Carter's Non-Transport Pics to see my photos of landscapes, buildings, bridges, sunsets, rainbows and more.