Last modified on 19 May 2004
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 Therefore the most out-of-date timetable information is shown on this ‘archive’ page.
The previous set of diagrams were in use for many months and years up to Saturday 17 May 2003; although far out-of-date, they may become useful in conjunction with the News Archive and the Diary to see what our train did on a particular day.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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 |
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 |
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 |