Enthusiasts celebrate Southern class 313 trains on rail tour

Rail fans young and old joined the Sussex Rambler rail tour as it made its way across the county's tracks on Saturday.

Train enthusiasts taking pictures at Chichester Station (Image: Andrew Gardner / The Argus)

They were boarded the six-car train, which consisted of two Southern class 313 units, both ready for retirement on May 21 when the new timetable is introduced.

Among those in the 47-year-old train was TikTok star Francis Bourgeois, who said he "shed a tear" at the departure of the units.

The tour left Brighton Station at 9am and visited Portsmouth, Littlehampton, Three Bridges, Hastings and Eastbourne among other destinations throughout the day.

For enthusiasts, it was a chance to ride along lesser-used parts of the network such as the middle siding at Bognor and the former Newhaven Marine station.

Left to right: Max Hamilton, Elliott Lawrence, Brian Braithwhaite, Antony Budgen, Liam Doyle (Image: Andrew Gardner / The Argus)

For Max Hamilton and friends Elliott Lawrence, Antony Budgen, Brian Braithwhaite and Liam Doyle, it was the first time they had met in person after speaking with each other online using gaming platform Roblox.

Max, 11, from Farnham, said: "I've never been on a 313 before so this will be my first and last time. And I quite like the trains, although they are very old and bouncy.

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"I wanted to come and see them off."

The rail tour crossing over the Ouse Valley Viaduct (Image: Andy Gardner)

Neil Dinnen, a controller for Irish Rail, turned the Sussex Rambler into a holiday away from his home in Tipperary.

He said: "I've been interested in railways all of my life. I've got a soft spot for the class 313s so as soon as I heard about this I booked my tickets. It's sad, they've been around for quite a while."

Will onboard a 313 (Image: Andrew Gardner / The Argus)

A regular user of the 313 trains is 19-year-old Will Quibell, from Eastbourne.

He said: "It feels very odd to see so many people out to celebrate them and this trip feels like a fitting finale for the units.

"I've never been to Newhaven Marine before so to do it on my favourite train was brilliant.

"The 313s have so much character and it is amazing that a train nearly 50 years old is still running in mainline operation."

They were looking at track diagrams (Image: Andrew Gardner / The Argus)

Long time rail fans Neil Greenwood, Eddie Humphrey and Rob Moorcroft also got together for the trip. Neil said: "It's something we've all spotted for many years, and we have grown up around these trains.

"They were around in the mid-70s when we were youngsters and obviously this is a farewell to them, which is a great way to see them off in style with some friends and have a nice day out.

"This is about celebrating the good, sterling service of the 313s as we move on to the next generation of trains."

The team working on the rail tour at Littlehampton station (Image: Andrew Gardner / The Argus)

The day was organised by enthusiast group the Branch Line Society with Govia Thameslink Railway. 

Kev Adlam, fixtures secretary at the Branch Line Society, who travelled from Gleneagles for the tour, said: "The units have served the coastway route exceptionally well for a very long time and to mark this occasion with a rail tour is brilliant.

"The passengers really enjoyed the day, the weather was fantastic and we raised a lot of money for good causes as well.

"The feedback has been amazing. The passengers had hoped to see the blue and grey 313 201 on the tour, and we managed to do just that. There have been hundreds not only on the train but also on the platforms and side of the track to send off the units."

The day raised more than £20,000 for the Chestnut Tree House children's hopsice and Railway Children charity through ticket sales and merchandise.

Alison in front of the class 313 train (Image: Andrew Gardner / The Argus)

Alison Taylor, corporate fundraising manager at Chestnut Tree House near Arundel, was at Littlehampton Station to welcome the tour.

She said: "We cover the whole of Sussex so the train is going through lots of the areas we cover.

"I never knew there would be so many people here today to celebrate the train but also what we do. It's wonderful to be a part of this amazing event."

A view from the cab over the Ouse Valley Viaduct (Image: Andrew Gardner / The Argus)

The 313 trains will be replaced by more modern Class 377 and 387 trains on the Coastway routes as part of the May timetable change later this month.

Simon Willard, one of the four drivers on the tour, said it was a "privilege" to take part.

Chris Fowler at Lewes station (Image: Andrew Gardner / The Argus)

Govia Thameslink Railway's network operations director Chris Fowler said: "Although lots of people on this tour are sad to see the 313s go, I am absolutely delighted because the trains we are replacing them with will be much better.

"These have been workhorses and they've served the communities along the coast very well so we feel it was only right to give them a proper send off."