Oldest diagrams for the Ashford & Hastings Line

Last modified on 19 May 2004

Introduction

When HDL’s unit 1001 became a more regular sight on the Ashford & Hastings line, it was appropriate to make mention of the Diagrams which make up South Central’s working timetable for the route. With the Summer 2003 timetable also incorporating most refuelling operations being carried out at HDL’s headquarters at St. Leonards depot, we laid the full diagrams out on this website.

These take up quite a lot of space, but it seems a pity to throw away the information when the timetables cease being current. Therefore the most out-of-date timetable information is shown on this ‘archive’ page.

Oldest diagrams

The previous set of diagrams were in use for many months and years up to Saturday 17 May 2003; although far out-of-date, they may become useful in conjunction with the News Archive and the Diary to see what our train did on a particular day. They were as follows:

  1. 05.21 EBN; 06.38 AD; 07.29 HS; 08.24 AD; 09.31 HS (then to Chart Leacon for fuel); 10.52 AD; 12.31 HS; 13.52 AD; 15.34 HS; 16.31 AD; 17.28 HS; 18.26 AD; 19.30 HS; 20.28 AD; 21.22 HS; 22.22 AD to EBN.

  2. 05.47 EBN; 07.24 AD; 08.27 HS; 09.52 AD; 11.31 HS (then to Chart Leacon for fuel); 12.52 AD; 14.31 HS; 15.31 AD; 16.34 HS; 17.25 AD; 18.28 HS; 19.27 AD; 20.28 HS; 21.22 AD to EBN.

  3. 07.40 EBN; 08.54 AD; 10.34 HS (then to Chart Leacon for fuel); 11.52 AD; 13.31 HS; 14.52 AD; (then berth in Hastings, Park Sidings until): 18.06 HS; 18.54 AD to EBN.

When these diagrams were in use, our unit tended to be used on diagram 3 as a first preference, with diagram 2 the more-likely alternative.

Diagrams for Spring/Summer 2003

These diagrams came into use on Sunday 18 May 2003. Trains for the Ashford - Hastings service are based at Eastbourne, and some first and last journeys of the day run from/to there in service.

Mondays to Fridays

Three units are required to run a full Monday-to-Friday service, and their three Diagrams are laid out below.

The 1806 from Hastings to Ashford calls only at Ore, Rye, Ham Street and Ashford; the return working, departing Ashford at 1854, calls only at Ham Street, Appledore, Rye and Hastings. At that point, an Empty path is provided at 1937 from Hastings to Selhurst via Eastbourne, with a return Empty path from Selhurst back to Eastbourne at 2250; this is for fuel and/or unit-swap.

Diagram 901 — Mondays to Fridays
Eastbourne (dep) 0518
St. Leonards depot 12d12
Hastings (dep) 0545 0729 0924 12a22 1224 1424 1806
Ashford Int’l (arr) 0630 0818 1011 1311 1511 1847
Ashford Int’l (dep) 0638 0824 1024 1324 1524 1854
Hastings (arr) 0724 0910 1110 11d15 1410 1610 1935 19d37
St. Leonards depot 11a25
Eastbourne (arr) 20a04
Notes Fuel 1639 to Park Sidings, until 1756 Semi-fast in both directions Empty to Eastbourne or (dep 2009) to Selhurst as required

Journeys in italics are not in passenger service; a d in an arrival time indicates departure time, and an a in a departure time indicates an arrival time.

Diagram 902 — Mondays to Fridays
Eastbourne (dep) 0548
St. Leonards depot 11d12
Hastings (dep) 0616 0827 11a22 1124 1524 1724 1930 2122
Ashford Int’l (arr) 0701 0912 1212 1611 1811 2015 2209
Ashford Int’l (dep) 0724 0924 1224 1624 1826 2028 2222
Hastings (arr) 0812 1010 10d15 1310 1713 1912 2112 2307
St. Leonards depot 10a25
Eastbourne (arr) 2341
Notes Fuel 1321 to Park Sidings, until 1500

The last diagram, 903, begins with an Empty Coaching Stock (ECS) trip from Eastbourne to St. Leonards depot; this trip is sometimes used to “tag on” other units which have been brought down from Selhurst overnight, to get them to St. Leonards depot without having to find another path.

Diagram 903 — Mondays to Fridays
Eastbourne (dep) 0855
St. Leonards depot 09a37 10d12 16d12
Hastings (dep) 10a22 1024 1324 16a22 1624 1828 2028
Ashford Int’l (arr) 1111 1411 1711 1914 2115
Ashford Int’l (dep) 1124 1424 1724 1927 2122
Hastings (arr) 1210 1510 15d15 1810 2014 2207
St. Leonards depot 15a25
Eastbourne (arr) 2249
Notes via Hastings (09a27 to 09d31), then Fuel 1219 to Park Sidings, until 1315 Fuel

Saturdays

As on every day, the first two trains from Hastings to Ashford originate at Eastbourne; on Saturdays it is that on diagram 901 which runs empty from Eastbourne to St. Leonards for fuel, and then on to Hastings, to form the third train. Although this train then sits in Park Sidings for almost an hour (possibly for traincrew break?) it then returns to Hastings station more than an hour-and-a-half before its departure on the 0824 to Ashford. Why? Well, there is no reason for it not to do so — it can sit in the bay (No. 1) platform without being in the way of the other departures — because the others will be using a through platform on their way from Eastbourne!

Even an apparently-simple three-train service over a non-branching route like this is, when more closely examined, full of underlying complexity which “gives the lie” to amount of careful work required to generate the working timetables. And this is before we even begin to consider the traincrews’ rosters!

Diagram 901 — Saturdays
Eastbourne (dep) 0525
St. Leonards depot
Hastings (dep) (05/50) 0824 1724 1924
Ashford Int’l (arr) 0911 1811 2011
Ashford Int’l (dep) 0924 1824 2024
Hastings (arr) 1010 1910 2110 21d15
St. Leonards depot 21a25 22d15
Eastbourne (arr) 2253
Notes from Eastbourne to Park Sidings, Hastings (05a52 to 06d48) 1014 to Park Sidings until 1700 Fuel; path to Eastbourne includes reversal at Hastings (22a25 to 22d30)

Diagram 902 — Saturdays
Eastbourne (dep) 0557
St. Leonards depot 09d06 18d12
Hastings (dep) 0624 09a15 0924 1124 1324 1524 (18/20) 2024
Ashford Int’l (arr) 0711 1011 1211 1411 1611 2111
Ashford Int’l (dep) 0724 1024 1224 1424 1624 2131
Hastings (arr) 0810 08d15 1110 1310 1510 1710 17d15 22d17
St. Leonards depot 08a25 17a25
Eastbourne (arr) 2242
Notes Fuel Fuel, then to Park Sidings (18a22 to 20d07)

Diagram 903 — Saturdays
Eastbourne (dep) 0656
St. Leonards depot 10d12 21d20
Hastings (dep) 0724 10a20 1024 1224 1424 1624 1824 21a31 2134
Ashford Int’l (arr) 0811 1111 1311 1511 1711 1911 2218
Ashford Int’l (dep) 0824 1124 1324 1524 1724 1924 2224
Hastings (arr) 0910 09d15 1210 1410 1610 1810 2010 20d15 23d08
St. Leonards depot 09a25 20a25
Eastbourne (arr) 2341
Notes Fuel Fuel

Sundays

The diagrams for Sundays are, on the face of it at least, considerably less complicated: two trains are in steam, working exactly similar duties an hour apart. There is no stabling at Park Sidings, Hastings, and no refuelling. Since all Saturday diagrams finish with no more than one trip since refuelling, and Monday’s Diagram 901 does three trips before fuel, one could speculate that these DEMUs can manage 10 round trips across The Marsh (plus a return trip to Eastbourne!) on one tank-load. The distance covered must be about 550 miles. The fuel-tanks on the SR DEMUs have a capacity of 340 gallons and a stated nominal range of 800 miles — but to allow for anomalies and sediment in the tank, a sensible limit is around 600 miles!

Diagram 901 — Sundays
Eastbourne> (dep) 0946
Hastings (dep) 1020 1220 1420 1620 1820 2020
Ashford Int’l (arr) 1107 1307 1507 1707 1907 2107
Ashford Int’l (dep) 1117 1317 1517 1717 1917 2117
Hastings (arr) 1204 1404 1604 1804 2004 22d04
Eastbourne (arr) 2233

After the above (901 Sundays) train arrives at Eastbourne at 2233, there is a path in the timetable for an Empty Coaching Stock (ECS) run, train 5F52 from Eastbourne to Selhurst Depot for fuel and/or unit swap at 2312. As it happens, this serves to reduce the maximum mileage between refuellings and thus sheds some light on the comments above.

As stated earlier, weekday evenings incorporate a path that runs from Eastbourne to Selhurst and back again the same evening, for fuel and/or unit swap. The observant reader may have wondered what happens at Eastbourne on Monday mornings if they sent one up to Selhurst the previous night? Sure enough, there’s a Mondays Only balancing working, train 5F53 which leaves Selhurst Depot for Eastbourne at 0320 (booked to run via Brighton, 04a39 to 04d45, arriving Eastbourne 0525)!

Diagram 902 — Sundays
Eastbourne (dep) 0846
Hastings (dep) 0920 1120 1320 1520 1720 1920
Ashford Int’l (arr) 1007 1207 1407 1607 1807 2007
Ashford Int’l (dep) 1017 1217 1417 1617 1817 2017
Hastings (arr) 1104 1304 1504 1704 1904 21d04
Eastbourne (arr) 2133