1401 passes Freefolk (between Whitchurch and Overton) with the 10:26 Salisbury to Basingstoke service on 17 June 1984. This unit was renumbered into the standard TOPS format in July 1986, becoming 204001. The following year the motor coach (60107 at the rear in this picture) was withdrawn and was cut up at Vic Berry's at Leicester, while the remaining two vehicles replaced the non-powered vehicles in unit 204004. This was only a temporary reprieve and all three vehicles had been withdrawn and scrapped by the end of the decade.

In perfect evening light, 204002 thumps past Silchester with the 18:55 Reading to Portsmouth Harbour service on 5 July 1987. I only managed to get a few pictures of Class 204s while in BR service, always seeming to find the similar Class 205s far more common. 204002 was the last of the five Class 204 units to be withdrawn, being taken out of service four months after this picture was taken. It had only carried the number 204002 since May 1986, previously being numbered 1402.

After chasing the Hertfordshire Railtours 1Z66 08:23 Victoria to Brighton 'Wye Knot' railtour around all day on 10 October 1998, I finally managed to get one picture of it in the sun! 205009 leads 205028 through Ford station on the return trip, having just traversed the Littlehampton branch. At least there is no mistaking at what time this was taken!

205028 & 205009 accelerate away from Rye with the Hertfordshire Railtours 1Z66 08:23 Victoria to Brighton 'Wye Knot' railtour on 10 October 1998. Unfortunately, the sun was just starting to go in as the train came, resulting in a transparency that shows very little detail in the light areas. Some very careful work in Photoshop has separated the windmill from the sky, making it stand out more clearly, whilst retaining detail in all areas.

On 15 May 1993, during its last weekend of use on the Reading to Basingstoke route, 205029 arrives at Mortimer station with the 16:48 Reading to Basingstoke Network SouthEast service. 205029 had been specially repainted back into green livery to mark the demise of the class in the area. Class 165s took over from the following Monday.

205032 approaches Bramley with the 14:48 Reading to Basingstoke Network SouthEast service on 15 May 1993. This was the last scheduled weekend for the 'Thumper' units on this route, their place being taken by Class 165 'Turbo' units. 205032 was withdrawn in November 2004, after spending its last few years working on the Ashford to Hastings line. It has since been preserved.

205032 & 205025 pass the boarded up signal box at Eridge with the 10:04 Oxted to Uckfield service on 25 May 1997, during the Uckfield Line Gala Weekend. Thumpers survived on this route until 2004, being replaced by Class 171 'Turbostars'. The rusting lines on the right will one day form the Spa Valley Railway's connection with the national network.

In perfect early morning autumnal light on 1 October 1988, with a little mist still hanging over the woods and fields in the distance, 205033 thumps past Silchester with the 08:24 Basingstoke to Reading Network SouthEast service. In the still conditions on this morning the characteristic thump of this unit could be heard a very long time before it appeared round the corner. Two years after the introduction of the multi-coloured NSE livery amid a fanfare of publicity, the only sign of it on this unit is a small logo underneath the central window on the front end.

1305 is well away from its former Southern Region haunts as it passes Burrs, on the East Lancashire Railway with the 2F85 16:04 Bury to Ramsbotton service on 7 March 2010, during the line's Diesel Gala. Originally a three car unit, 1305 was renumbered 207005 in 1986, then 207102 in 1991 (at which point it lost its centre vehicle), and then 207202 in 1995, before finally regaining its original number upon preservation!

In golden evening light on 7 March 2010, 1305 thumps past Burrs with the 2F86 16:54 Ramsbotton to Bury service, during the East Lancashire Railway's Diesel Gala. This DEMU was used on a fill in service throughout the day on the Bury to Ramsbotton shuttles.

207017 & 207203 approach Hurst Green Junction with the 16:30 Uckfield to Oxted Network SouthEast service on 25 May 1997, during the Uckfield Line Gala, which saw extensive use of several classes of 'thumper' DEMUs. A convenient footbridge spans the junction where the line from Uckfield joins the East Grinstead line. Both these lines were once part of through routes but are now branch lines, although still retaining double track, entirely on the East Grinstead line and in part on the Uckfield route.

207202 Brighton Royal Pavilion passes Bromley Green (between Ashford and Ham Street) with the 15:52 Ashford to Eastbourne Network South Central service on 14 February 1998. As you can probably guess by the newly planted trees alongside the road, this viewpoint is no longer quite as unobstructed as this, although the vintage loading gauge does still survive.