Farewell to the Lymington slammers

The last slam door trains on the network ran for a final time between Brockenhurst and Lymington Pier stations today, after a reprieve of just over five years. I have to admit that I have a degree of fondness for slam door stock in general, not least because my earliest memories of the railways are of seeing all blue slam door stock on commuter services at Norwood Junction.

My last experience of slam door stock until today had been on the few services that remained in 2005, particularly the 17:25 Guildford services from London Bridge. Anyway, in short – it was good to be reacquainted!

The final day of running for the two class 421 3-CIG slam door trains (1497 ‘Freshwater’ and 1498 ‘Farringford’) was coincidentally the hottest day of the year so far. At times the trains (1498 in the morning, 1497 in the afternoon) were packed to standing point with enthusiasts and tourists heading to Lymington to soak up the festivities.

For my part, I took a morning jaunt from Brockenhurst to Lymington Pier and back, then completed a circular walk from Brockenhurst to the bridge at Shirley Holms and then back to Brockenhurst. After leaving the road the walk through the New Forest National Park was a real pleasure – with some wonderful views of the line.

Mr Photogenic poses... but there's no train in sight!

I came across some cattle on one of the hilltops (don’t ask me to be more specific than that, I’m a city boy!) with one particularly cute individual in a perfect pose. All I needed now was a slam door train to pass by… but by the time 1498 turned up my new friend had moved away. After the service passed Mr Photogenic found another good position, but once again moved before I could get a shot with a train. I have a sneaky feeling he was enjoying this… I gave up to try a less challenging (and less hairy) shot!

Last of the Lymington Slammers... 1497 en route to Brockenhurst

After returning to Brockenhurst I made a final return trip to Lymington Town and then headed home. All in all it had been a great day and a lovely atmosphere in which to say farewell.

More photos from the Last day for the Lymington Slammers