Trivia: When did the last loco hauled services operate on normal passenger services from each London termini?

[Taunton]

Holborn Viaduct long had late night (especially Saturday night) newspaper trains. When I first moved to Canary Wharf in the mid-1980s I was struck late on periodic weekend nights by hearing what was obviously a Sulzer diesel sound coming from afar over the rooftops, which I initially thought was a Class 47 climbing out of Liverpool Street through Mile End, but which I later discovered was a Class 33 coming through Greenwich. Later research showed me it was the newspaper train down to Kent, which on Saturday nights took a wide variety of routes depending where the weekend works were, and might be a Class 73 if there were no current shutoffs, but more commonly needed a diesel.

 

[Class 800]

45112 on 8th April 2004 worked the last loco hauled train from St Pancras (HSTS excluded)

With which coaching stock? Mk2 / 3?

 

[Darandio]

A Peak was operating in 2004?

Although the majority of the remaining loco hauled services there were 47's I believe Fragonset/Midland Main Line used a 45 on the final day.

With which coaching stock? Mk2 / 3?

Mk2 I think.

 

[StephenHunter]

Although the majority of the remaining loco hauled services there were 47's I believe Fragonset/Midland Main Line used a 45 on the final day.

That was a railtour.

About a month ago I heard from a friend that MML were planning to run a farewell to St. Pancras special with 45112. Ears were kept close to the ground and on the morning the tickets went on sale, my friend Phil hurried along to St. Pancras and badgered the unfortunate booking clerk until 4 savers to Leicester were produced along with seat reservations. Phil was highly motivated to get these tickets – while living in Sheffield he had scratched 49 of the class 45/1 subclass. And the one he never had? – you guessed it, 45112 no less!

 

[Magdalia]

Holborn Viaduct long had late night (especially Saturday night) newspaper trains.

Holborn Viaduct was very close and the most convenient Southern terminus for Fleet Street.

 

[30907]

Fairly sure the last into Cannon Street were the Hastings trains until they converted to DEMUs about 1958

Chatham line steam finished June 1959, via Tonbridge (steam or diesel) 1961 (though at least one of those, 5.47pm down, was DEMU by then). Charing Cross also 1961.

Holborn Viaduct for daytime passenger trains was probably 1925, but I have vague memory hearing there was some sort of late night (around 4am) services for newspaper printers returning home until late 1950s (when they all started getting cars), but don't know if these were EMUs as night trains were often steam hauled.

I believe they remained steam into the 30s but post war they were certainly EMU (apart from parcels trains - Taunton has already mentioned the 0300 papers).

 

[Thornaby 37]

Excluding charters and one off workings

Waterloo - 1993 [class 47/7s on Waterloo - Exeter services]
St. Pancras - 2002 [Fragonset 47s on peak hour MML diagram], or 2021 if you include HSTs
Victoria - 2005 [Gatwick Express 73s]
Liverpool Street - 2020 [Greater Anglia 90s]

 

[jfollows]

Excluding charters and one off workings

Waterloo - 1993 [class 47/7s on Waterloo - Exeter services]

See posts above for the Night Riviera from Waterloo later than this. 1O03/1V29 and D350 in 1995, but it ran later than this too - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Riviera says

Between 29 May 1995 and 26 September 1998 the service was diverted to London Waterloo to provide connection with Eurostar services.

 

[StephenHunter]

• Moorgate Great Northern - never had them, units since opening in 1904.
• Moorgate Thameslink - 1976, when line electrified.
• Broad Street - early 1950s?

 

[Trainman40083]

• Moorgate Great Northern - never had them, units since opening in 1904.
• Moorgate Thameslink - 1976, when line electrified.
• Broad Street - early 1950s?

Blimey 1976 for Moorgate. I remember the 31s on stock at Kings Cross.

 

[Davester50]

There is nothing preventing a Class 43 power car from hauling any LHCS Mark 1, 2 or 3 vehicle provided a) it is air braked and b) has a buckeye coupler.

Caught a naming ceremony of a single power car at Waverley (It might have been the one for the '86 Commonwealth Games) and was the first time I'd seen a Mark 2 coupled with a PC.
(Again, hazy, but it way have been a non-aircon BFK)

 

[Magdalia]

Broad Street - early 1950s?

Broad Street was May 1969 for GN trains, for LNW trains it was 1965 or 1966.

 

[Rescars]

Whilst not BR, should our list of termini also include Baker Street? Superficial research suggests that electric loco working to Rickmansworth came to an end in 1961. No doubt others know more.

 

[40068]

45112 on 8th April 2004 worked the last loco hauled train from St Pancras (HSTS excluded)

When this railtour got back to St Pancras what would have been empty stock to Derby became a relief. It was hauled by 47355 with 45112 on the rear. Therefore this was the last hauled train out of the old train shed.

 

[HamworthyGoods]

Excluding charters and one off workings

Waterloo - 1993 [class 47/7s on Waterloo - Exeter services]
St. Pancras - 2002 [Fragonset 47s on peak hour MML diagram], or 2021 if you include HSTs
Victoria - 2005 [Gatwick Express 73s]
Liverpool Street - 2020 [Greater Anglia 90s]

Nope, wrong for Waterloo.
The overnight to/from Penzance used Waterloo from the opening of Eurostar until September 1998.

 

[Cricketer8for9]

Victoria still gets semi-regular excursions, though not sure if the Orient Express still runs. I hear the throbbing of a class 67 every once in a while when walking through.

 

[StephenHunter]

Victoria still gets semi-regular excursions, though not sure if the Orient Express still runs. I hear the throbbing of a class 67 every once in a while when walking through.

Not the Belmond bit - because of Brexit causing delays, the service now starts at Paris Gare de L'Est.

 

[Siemens Staines]

On Sunday 12th December 2004 47355 + 47832 top & tail worked 1400 Nottingham - St Pancras, 1830 St Pancras - Derby. These were additional trains due to industrial
action. It used what is now the SouthEastern platforms.

On Saturday 18th February 2023 and Sunday 19th February 2023 47813 + 47815 top & tail worked Liverpool St - Peterborough additional trains due to an ECML engineering block.

In both cases, these were charter sets used for additional trains so perhaps they may be not considered to be normal passenger services? But, in both cases normal tickets were valid, so perhaps they do count as normal passenger services? I will leave it to others to conclude what does and what does not count as a normal passenger service.

 

[StephenHunter]

On Sunday 12th December 2004 47355 + 47832 top & tail worked 1400 Nottingham - St Pancras, 1830 St Pancras - Derby. These were additional trains due to industrial
action. It used what is now the SouthEastern platforms.

On Saturday 18th February 2023 and Sunday 19th February 2023 47813 + 47815 top & tail worked Liverpool St - Peterborough additional trains due to an ECML engineering block.

In both cases, these were charter sets used for additional trains so perhaps they may be not considered to be normal passenger services? But, in both cases normal tickets were valid, so perhaps they do count as normal passenger services? I will leave it to others to conclude what does and what does not count as a normal passenger service.

You'd have to include the Class 86 services into Euston recently then.

 

[HamworthyGoods]

You'd have to include the Class 86 services into Euston recently then.

Why? What’s the relevance of those in the context of last loco hauled services at London Termini?

 

[StephenHunter]

Why? What’s the relevance of those in the context of last loco hauled services at London Termini?

They're non-sleeper hauled services at a London terminus, that took regular passengers.

 

[HamworthyGoods]

They're non-sleeper hauled services at a London terminus, that took regular passengers.

Why don’t the overnight trains count as regular loco hauled services?

 

[StephenHunter]

Why don’t the overnight trains count as regular loco hauled services?

They do, but nearly all sleepers are loco-hauled and they're mandatory reservation.

 

[greyman42]

Does anyone know the last one out of Kings Cross?

 

[43096]

Does anyone know the last one out of Kings Cross?

Depends if you count Class 91 and Mark 4s. Otherwise, sleepers diverted from Euston with Class 92s.

 

[deltic]

Does anyone know the last one out of Kings Cross?

Class 91 locos are still operating services out of Kings Cross

 

[The exile]

There is nothing preventing a Class 43 power car from hauling any LHCS Mark 1, 2 or 3 vehicle provided a) it is air braked and b) has a buckeye coupler.

Other than the practicality of what you do when it gets to a terminus that hasn’t got a convenient triangle.

 

[greyman42]

Class 91 locos are still operating services out of Kings Cross

Yes of course they are! I was thinking of the last one using mark 2 stock?

 

[12LDA28C]

They do, but nearly all sleepers are loco-hauled and they're mandatory reservation.

When the Night Riviera 'sleeper' ran out of Waterloo in 1996-98 I travelled on it many times and never once did I have a reservation.

Yes of course they are! I was thinking of the last one using mark 2 stock?

The last regular timetabled daytime 47-hauled train at Kings Cross was the 1D01/1A20 return to Hull which finished on 13th May 1988, I'm not sure if the Class 89 hauled Mark 2s after that...

 

[Magdalia]

The last regular timetabled daytime 47-hauled train at Kings Cross was the 1D01/1A20 return to Hull which finished on 13th May 1988, I'm not sure if the Class 89 hauled Mark 2s after that...

Yes. In 1988/89 0700 Peterborough-Kings Cross and 1736 Kings Cross-Peterborough. There was also a booked working to Leeds on Sundays that was still running in October 1989, the last time in the 20th century that the ECML diverted via Cambridge.