This page was assembled on 4 October 2007
This is a chronological listing of all public railtours which HDL has operated, since our train’s return to main-line running in 1996, up to the present time.
Note that this archive does not include railtours run by other operators (e.g. Branch Line Society), or other excursions our train has worked (e.g. Portsmouth – Cardiff rugby specials).
All tours began at Hastings.
Most railtours since 2001 were advertised on this website. The archived publicity material for each has been made available through the links shown.
| Saturday 11 May 1996 | The Hastings DEMU Phoenix Tour | Our return to the main line was 10 years to the day since the Hastings DEMUs’ final day of operation. The tour began with a circular trip via Ashford, Canterbury West, Minster, Dover Priory, Deal and Margate; continued with a visit to Folkestone Harbour (and 2 shuttles to Folkestone East), before running via Tonbridge to Charing Cross. The tour finished with a non-stop journey from Charing Cross to Hastings. | 4-car train. |
| Saturday 17 August 1996 | The Crewe & Chester DEMU | To Crewe (Works open-day) and Chester, via Kensington Olympia, Watford Junction, Northampton (photo-stop) and Lichfield Trent Valley | 5-car train: CEP coach added |
| Saturday 21 September 1996 | The Quantock DEMU | To Westbury, Frome, Bishops Lydeard & the West Somerset Railway to Minehead, out via Kensington Olympia and Reading and returning through Virginia Water | |
| Saturday 14 December 1996 | The Bath and Cranmore DEMU | To Bath Spa and Cranmore (East Somerset Railway) via Kensington Olympia and Reading | |
| Saturday 8 March 1997 | The Shakespeare DEMU | Via Kensington Olympia, Reading, Oxford, Leamington Spa and Warkwick to Stratford-upon-Avon and the reopened Birmingham Snow Hill | |
| Saturday 10 May 1997 | The Broadsman DEMU | Via Kensington Olympia, Stratford, Shenfield and Diss to Norwich, Lowestoft, Berney Arms and Great Yarmouth | |
| Saturday 27 September 1997 | The Rutland DEMU | Via Clapham Junction to Leicester, a trip via Oakham to Corby and back, return via Oakham, East Coast Main Line, and Kensington Olympia. | Class 31 haulage for part of tour |
| Saturday 6 December 1997 | The Sarum DEMU | Via Waterloo, Salisbury and Sherborne to Yeovil Junction & Yeovil Pen Mill | |
| Saturday 9 May 1998 | The South Devon DEMU | Via Waterloo, Woking and Salisbury to Exeter, Dawlish and Totnes, continuing through to Buckfastleigh; return including Exeter St. Davids - Exeter Central and back, and via Basingstoke & Waterloo | |
| Friday 5 June 1998 | The Downs, Marsh & Weald DEMU | A circular trip via Eastbourne, Lewes, Redhill, Godstone, Tonbridge, Maidstone West, Paddock Wood (reverse) and Ashford to Hastings, rounded off by a return trip to Eastbourne and Lewes | |
| Saturday 19 June 1999 | The North Norfolk DEMU | Via Bromley South, Stratford and Shenfield to Norwich, Wroxham, Cromer and Sheringham | |
| Tuesday 10 & Wednesday 11 August 1999 | The Eclipse DEMU | A railtour nearly 24 hours long, to see the total eclipse of the sun! Ran from Hastings (Tuesday 2230) via Clapham Jn (0020 Weds), Basingstoke (0134), Salisbury (0225-0535), Westbury and Totnes to Buckfastleigh (arr 0900), returning by same route (1330-2157). Eclipse itself was 0958-1234, totality 1113-1114. | |
| Saturday 11 December 1999 | The Fenman DEMU | Via Kensington Olympia, Hitchin, Cambridge and Ely to Kings Lynn, plus a visit to the old Middleton Towers branch | |
| Saturday 26 February 2000 | The Bristolian DEMU | Via Bromley South, Reading, Didcot and Swindon to Bath, Bristol and Weston Super Mare | |
| Saturday 10 June 2000 | The Torbay DEMU | Via Kensington Olmpyia, Reading and Westbury to Exeter, Dawlish, Torquay, Paignton and Kingswear | 6-car train: “BIG” buffet-car added |
| Saturday 15 July 2000 | The Arun Valley DEMU | A midsummer’s-evening trip to Bognor Regis via Hove, return via Arundel | |
| Saturday 9 December 2000 | The Oxford Rover | To Oxford via Tonbridge and Redhill | |
| Sunday 11 March 2001 | All Points of the Kent Compass | A meander around Kent, including the disused Lydd and Dungeness branch, Margate, Sheerness-on-Sea and Maidstone West | |
| Saturday 5 May 2001 | Spalding Flower Special | To Spalding via Kensington Olympia | |
| Saturday 16 June 2001 | Mid-Summer Evening Explorer | To Tonbridge (non-stop) and back to Hastings, then to Folkestone Harbour via Rye, return via Paddock Wood and Tunbridge Wells | 7-car train (just this tour): with motor coach 977940 (ex 1131) |
| Saturday 21 July 2001 | Western Ranger | To Gloucester via Brighton and Eastleigh | |
| Saturday 15 September 2001 | Wessex Wanderer | To Poole via Guildford, return via Woking and London Bridge; including visit to Hythe & Fawley branch | |
| Saturday 8 December 2001 | Salisbury Star | Pre-Christmas trip to Salisbury via Clapham Junction | |
| Saturday 16 March 2002 | Dover Belle | To London Bridge and then to Dover, returning via a reversal at Chiselhurst | |
| Saturday 20 July 2002 | Canterbury Champion | An afternoon/evening trip to Canterbury and Ramsgate | |
| Saturday 31 August 2002 | Cardiff Chieftain | To Cardiff, running out via Salisbury and back via Didcot | |
| Saturday 7 December 2002 | Cambridge Cracker | Pre-Christmas trip to Cambridge | 7-car train: motor coach Mountfield added |
| Saturday 5 July 2003 | Deal Wayfarer | To Deal, with reversal at Dover and photo-stop at Newington | |
| Saturday 6 December 2003 | Medway Cracker | To the Medway towns, plus a trip down the Sheerness branch and a visit to Charing Cross station | 6-car train (just this tour) |
| Saturday 10 April 2004 | Salisbury Bunny | Easter Saturday trip via Guildford to Salisbury | |
| Saturday 25 September 2004 | Suffolk Clipper | To Norwich, Ipswich and Lowestoft | |
| Saturday 13 November 2004 | London Tripper / Hastings Time Traveller | Two return trips between coast and capital, in conjunction with the Lord Mayor’s Show | |
| Sunday 13 March 2005 | Lydd Ranger | Down the Lydd branch to Dungeness, also taking in Canterbury and Dover | |
| Saturday 7 May 2005 | Lincoln Green | To Lincoln, returning through Nottingham | |
| Saturday 25 June 2005 | West Country Cruiser, plus Tarka Special | To Exeter, plus a Special down the “Tarka” line to Barnstaple | |
| Sunday 17 July 2005 | Mid-Hants Venturer | To Alton and the Mid-Hants Railway |