British Rail Class 423 (4VEP) number 417 returns to the mainline after extensive work to restore the unit.
The unit belongs to the Bluebell Railway, after being sold to them for £1 after South West Trains no longer required it. It has been under the care of the South Electric Traction Group, at Strawberry Hill depot since 2015, after periods at the Bluebell Railway, Eastleigh Works, Clapham Yard and Ilford.
The unit was returned to the mainline certified list on 16th January 2024, however it still needs GSM-R and other safety features to be fitted before it can run under its own power. As a result today's trip from Strawberry Hill depot to Waterloo and back was top and tailed by a pair of GB Railfreight Class 73s, 73109 "Battle of Britain 80th Anniversary" and 73119 "Paul Taylor". The Class 73s came from Tonbridge West Yard as 0Z73 0744 Tonbridge West Yard Gbrf to Strawberry Hill C.S.D. and returned to Tonbridge West Yard after as 0Z74 1402 Strawberry Hill C.S.D. to Tonbridge West Yard Gbrf.
Meeting 3417 at London Waterloo was 450046, running as 1Z90 1024 Woking to London Waterloo. One of this service's passengers was Gordon Pettitt, a former General Manager of the Southern Region of British Rail, who 3417 is named after. 450096 arrived at Woking from Clapham Yard as 5Z90 0926 Clapham Yard Sidings to Woking and was planned to return to Clapham Yard after as 5Y29 1130 London Waterloo to Clapham Yard Sidings.
For the outbound journey, I decided to head to Richmond. I presumed that Strawberry Hill would be reasonably busy as it was the first station 3417 passed after leaving the depot and it also had limited options for getting to Waterloo to see 3417 there as well.
The move from Strawberry Hill depot to London Waterloo was lead by 73109 with 73119 on the rear.
3417 arrived at London Waterloo on platform 19. This platform is the one most frequently used for events - such as the first class 701 in passenger service. The platform was closed during the event so barriers were placed across the entrances from platform 18 and 20, and the gateline was set to not allow any tickets through. Platform 18 though is infrequently used on a Saturday, an may have been specifically kept empty, so photos of 3417 and the 73s could be taken without too much difficulty.
73109 stopped at the normal stopping position so remained coupled up to 3417, but 73119 had been uncoupled and moved back towards the country end of the platform. It was far enough from the 4VEP to allow for a clear view of the front but not so far that 450046 couldn't access the platform safely.
It was really good to see the work that the SETG have done to 3417 in person and the standard of work is clearly very high.
One of the popular photos to take was the "Gordon Pettitt" nameplate. The smaller plate beneath with a short summary of why the unit is important to the history of Southern Region EMUs and why it is named after Gordon Pettitt.
Also on platform 19 was 450046, which had run 1Z90 from Woking. After a while, 450046 moved out to Waterloo West Crossing and returned into the platform 18 allowing for a good contrast with the post-privatisation Desiro family that replaced the VEPs on the South Western Mainline.
The side destination boards were showing "Gordon Pettitt Special" and the front dot matrix screens were displaying "99".
Instead of returning to Clapham Yard, 450046 was moved into platform 18 to attach to 450019, so 2U35 1303 London Waterloo to Windsor & Eton Riverside could be an 8-car service rather than a 4-car service.
To see 3417's return to Strawberry Hill depot, I went to Twickenham as I could get the Windsor and Eton Riverside service ahead of 3417 to maximise the time getting photos of the VEP and 73s at Waterloo.
The return journey to Strawberry Hill depot was lead by 73119 with 73109 trailing.
The Southern Electric Traction Group are restoring 3417 to mainline operation, hopefully moving under its own power in 2024.
Information about what they still need to achieve to allow mainline running can be found on their website as well as ways to support the project.
Frequent updates can be found on their X/Twitter with more detailed updates on their website.
The Bluebell Railway own 3417 and have a history of the 4VEPs and a history of 3417 and how the railway acquired it.
The railway normally operates a selection of steam and diesel locomotives from East Grinstead to Sheffield Park, and has a wider range of locomotives on static display.