Charing Cross was always a popular place for railtours, here we see the last Hastings unit in BR service on the final tour "The Hastings Diesel Swansong"

Image taken on 8th August 1987 by Southern Reg

1001 & 1018 are seen just after arriving at London, the fast trains from Hastings were always 12 car units. The shot below shows the 2 units coupled together

Taken 21st July 1984 by Andy Grant

1018 is shown here,sat under the now demolished glass roof.

An office block was built above and it was designed to resemble a big terminus roof, but in my opinion it now resembles a giant Wurlitzer.

Image taken on 5th October 1985 by Andy Grant.

One of the first units to visit the station was 1002 in 1957. This was a trip with dignitaries on board and probably undertaken before the service started. To see the newsreel click here 

Rail Centres

Charing Cross

Like Hastings, Charing Cross is one of the first places you think of for Thumper services. It was only the Hastings Units which served this station with occasional visits from the other classes and after the Hastings units were withdrawn, it was rare for a DEMU to visit

Another shot under the roof is this one of 1014 in sparkling condition.

The amount of enthusiasts is a giveaway that the unit was on a railtour. This one was the "Hastings Diesel Wanderer" which started at Charing Cross and ran to Portsmouth; then into a few MOD Bases.

Image taken 11th September 1982 by Selsdon Jc

On the other side of the river, the line runs over the river. Here is a 6S passing an EPB

Image taken 13th August 1986 by Southern Reg

With the station still to be rebuilt, 1034 is seen awaiting a departure to Hastings.

Taken on 4th September 1985 by Southern Reg

The thing Charing Cross is famous for is being built on the bank of the River Thames. It is accessed by 3 parallel bridges immediately south of the station so trains can only be  seen in this very narrow corridor, making it very hard for photographers.

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In this shot we see 1004 on 3rd September 1985

Image by Southern Reg