XC HST farewell on the Swanage Railway

At 23.35 on Monday, 18 September 2023 an era of main line HST-worked services finally drew to a close when retro-liveried 43007/43008 brought 1E73 from Plymouth into platform 12 at Leeds, just a minute behind schedule, and the curtain came down on HST working by Cross-Country (XC).

But for one final hurrah, a week later (on 26 September 2023) the celebrity set was out one more time, to work a sold-out charter (1Z43) from Leeds (06.35) to Swanage, with a short lunch-time working to Bournemouth and back before returning from Swanage to Leeds (1Z44) at 16.18. 

Having witnessed the final day of HST operation on GWR (18 May 2019), as well as its farewell special (1 June 2019), it seemed a good excuse to take a day trip to delightful Corfe Castle on what was forecast to be a day of sunshine and get a few shots of the special train as it passed on its way to and from the Dorset seaside resort. 

GWR had become the first main line operator to eliminate HSTs on its long distance services, but was soon followed by LNER on 15 December 2019 then by East Midlands Railway on 15 May 2021, leaving just a handful of XC workings between Glasgow/Edinburgh/Leeds and Plymouth for the past couple of years. 

Taking the train to Wareham and then the Purbeck Breezer 40 bus towards Norden and Corfe Castle, my aim was to get a few shots of the farewell special with the picturesque backdrop of Corfe Castle, finishing up with shots of 1Z44 as it arrived back in Wareham on its return to Leeds. 

First up on 26 September was a walk from Norden station to a vantage point just to the south from where there was a good view of Bulleid “Spam Can” (un-rebuilt Battle of Britain Class) 34070 Manston as it departed with the 12.00 to Swanage (photo below).

Then it was a short walk on to join other photographers at Castle View foot crossing where there was a good view of 43007/008 as the special train rounded the curve past the down Corfe Castle distant signal and then a view towards Corfe Castle station.

For the Swanage to Bournemouth working – which was also a sell-out – I picked the station footbridge, where there was a chance to see the train passing the up home signal and then passing the three-car Class 117 DMU and single car Class 121 in sidings adjacent to the running line.

One final view at Corfe Castle was from a foot crossing on the line to the south end of the sidings, where there was a chance to see 43007/008 as the Bournemouth-Swanage special paused and then departed the station, while the regular steam service stood in the up platform.

Finally, another ride on the Purbeck Breezer back to a rather crowded Wareham station, where there was a chance to see the special as it approached wrong line from Worgret Junction and crossed to the up line, before a 10-minute stop. Here a load of VIPs from two road coaches joined the train’s two first class carriages before it set off on its final journey to Leeds at 17.08.

After more than four decades of defining inter-city rail travel across the UK, all that now remains of the once-mighty Class 43 HST fleet in regular passenger service is a handful of Castle (2+4) sets on GWR, that should soldier on into 2024, and the rather larger Inter7City (2+4 and 2+5) fleet on Scotrail, that seems to have a rather longer term future.