SWR outgoing Metro fleet withdrawals (complete)

[starlight73]

I’m sure others will have better photos to follow but here are some (it’s not my speciality!). I got the 1821 departure from Clapham Junction to Waterloo.

Alt text:
1. The open doors of a class 455 against the windows of platform 1 at Waterloo, showing a dark blue sky
2. A wide shot of the train at an angle
3. The two class 455s coupled together in front of the glass roof of the station
4. The rear cab of 455 732, the destination is shown as Waterloo, Special and someone has written RIP on the door.

 

[bb21]

Is this epic thread going to draw to a close soon as today marks the official withdrawal of both the Class 455 and the Class 458/5 fleets.
Fortunately I managed to finish work at the right time for a final cab ride back. Rest well old girl.

 

[EYFanatic]

Plot twist:- units fail tomorrow so out comes the 455 again

 

[Bigfoot]

Plot twist:- units fail tomorrow so out comes the 455 again

Plot twist, barely any suburban service running tomorrow...

 

[bb21]

Plot twist:- units fail tomorrow so out comes the 455 again

Unfortunately not this time. If something fails tomorrow that will just be a cancellation. All diagrams were covered today with a suitable unit despite extensive 458/4 shortage so this is a small milestone for these last few weeks.

 

[fgwrich]

It was certainly nice to travel on the pair for the final time - I missed the farewell tour after picking up a severe fracture so it was a pleasant surprise to be able to catch a pair a little off their normal routes today.

(Photo No1 is 455712 at Basingstoke, Photo No2 is a close up of the destination blind with Basingstoke on it, Photo No3 is RIP written in the door and Photo No4 is 455712 at Clapham Junction heading eastwards towards Waterloo).

 

[adc82140]

Is this epic thread going to draw to a close soon as today marks the official withdrawal of both the Class 455 and the Class 458/5 fleets.
Fortunately I managed to finish work at the right time for a final cab ride back. Rest well old girl.

Has it been confirmed that the 458/5s are finished? There's life left in this thread for when they are all towed away to their scrap or storage locations.

Plot twist:- units fail tomorrow so out comes the 455 again

I suspect that the 455s weren't actually required operationally for the all day diagram yesterday. In addition a new 701 entered service late yesterday, so with an additional diagram next week 701 covered, there will be a pair of 450s available to step up for any shortfalls.

 

[Goldfish62]

Unfortunately not this time. If something fails tomorrow that will just be a cancellation. All diagrams were covered today with a suitable unit despite extensive 458/4 shortage so this is a small milestone for these last few weeks.

Given hardly any suburban services are running today due to engineering works any cancellations due to a shortage of rolling stock would indicate a far more extensive problem than could be covered by a pair of 455s!

 

[Peter Sarf]

So today marks, if I'm correct, the last running in public service anywhere of:

The Class 455 (obviously!)
The red SWT livery
A PEP-derived vehicle
A unit with roller blind destination indicators (or do the 150s have them?)
A unit that displays the old SR 2 digit route code
A unit without toilets on the SWR network
A unit that only displays the last 4 digits of its TOPS number
The last units with pipes and jumpers as well as couplers between units


And in England:

The last Mark 3 based EMU

Last Mk3 based EMU ?.

Do the 318s and 320s in Scotland count ?.

Also the few 319s/769s on Northern ?.

But certainly third rail wise no more.
Plus I wonder if the 465s & 466s will be the last left with hopper windows in DC land. Furthermore, being EMUs, they might outlast DMUs with hopper windows. Then we are confined to coffins.

 

[DelW]

I’m sure others will have better photos to follow but here are some (it’s not my speciality!). I got the 1821 departure from Clapham Junction to Waterloo.

Nice positioning in image 202!

Sadly (for me) the switch to Basingstoke for the afternoon run broke my plan for a ride and photos on the afternoon Guildford trip. I did manage a short trip in the dark on the evening Guildford run instead.

It was good to see that they'd been kept clean and tidy right to the end. I only started using them regularly just after the big SWT refurb twenty-odd years ago, and that really lasted well.

 

[wickham]

Has it been confirmed that the 458/5s are finished? There's life left in this thread for when they are all towed away to their scrap or storage locations.


I suspect that the 455s weren't actually required operationally for the all day diagram yesterday. In addition a new 701 entered service late yesterday, so with an additional diagram next week 701 covered, there will be a pair of 450s available to step up for any shortfalls.

You suspect correctly, this was a last and final "goodbye" organised by the operating staff...........

 

[physics34]

Nice positioning in image 202!

Sadly (for me) the switch to Basingstoke for the afternoon run broke my plan for a ride and photos on the afternoon Guildford trip. I did manage a short trip in the dark on the evening Guildford run instead.

It was good to see that they'd been kept clean and tidy right to the end. I only started using them regularly just after the big SWT refurb twenty-odd years ago, and that really lasted well.

On southerns last day off 455s they switched one of the last epsom downs trips to Tattenham Corner just to give them a last run down there. Must have mucked a few peoples plans up lol

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

You suspect correctly, this was a last and final "goodbye" organised by the operating staff...........

Without wanting to sound like a sourpuss, I think it’s poor to deliberately put a train lacking so many basic features otherwise found on a 450/701, like toilets and temperature control, when another train was available. Especially as they put it on Basingstokes, for goodness sake, and axed first class on those services as well.

Oh well, it won’t happen again now.

 

[Big Jumby 74]

SWT refurb twenty-odd years ago, and that really lasted well.

Agree. There were some good people involved with that, some with experience from other industry best practice, and with funds available at the time, choice of paint type etc and associated PPE etc were a no brainer at the time. As you rightly say, it did the 455's proud, witness the scrap drag images on here and elsewhere, when many folk just seeing those trains might think the (455's) were newish trains, a complete opposite of the days when the old SUB stock was dragged away.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Anyway, rest in peace Class 455, 456 and 458/5, and hope the 707s have made their mark on SouthEastern. I made this thread to track their withdrawals — and they’ve all been withdrawn. It’s been a bumpy ride but we got there

 

[collosus]

Last Mk3 based EMU ?.

Do the 318s and 320s in Scotland count ?.

Also the few 319s/769s on Northern ?.

But certainly third rail wise no more.
Plus I wonder if the 465s & 466s will be the last left with hopper windows in DC land. Furthermore, being EMUs, they might outlast DMUs with hopper windows. Then we are confined to coffins.

319s are all gone it’s just the 769s

 

[norbitonflyer]

Last Mk3 based EMU ?.

Do the 318s and 320s in Scotland count ?.

Certainly. Built on the same line as the 455s. The 455/9s (Lots 30991-30993) were followed by the 317/2s (Lots 30994-7) and then the 318s (Lots 30998-31000)

 

[HamworthyGoods]

Last Mk3 based EMU ?.

Do the 318s and 320s in Scotland count ?.

The OP specifically said England so no the 318s and 320s don’t count as they don’t work south into England!

 

[adc82140]

Without wanting to sound like a sourpuss, I think it’s poor to deliberately put a train lacking so many basic features otherwise found on a 450/701, like toilets and temperature control, when another train was available. Especially as they put it on Basingstokes, for goodness sake, and axed first class on those services as well.

Oh well, it won’t happen again now.

I'd guess it was put on in the middle of the day rather than the peak, as very few if any would be travelling first class. Even in the 1990s, the Veps on that route carted around empty first class compartments between the peaks.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 21 Mar 2026 ==

Anyway, rest in peace Class 455, 456 and 458/5, and hope the 707s have made their mark on SouthEastern. I made this thread to track their withdrawals — and they’ve all been withdrawn. It’s been a bumpy ride but we got there

I await the 458/4 withdrawal thread!

 

[Sealink]

I’m sure others will have better photos to follow but here are some (it’s not my speciality!). I got the 1821 departure from Clapham Junction to Waterloo.

Still looks fantastic.

 

[Big Jumby 74]

If one of the (old school) magazines has an article on same sometime soon, I may have to make a rare purchase for old times sake. Never much in them to interest me these days, but that's more to do with my time/interest in the industry being my interest, not a negative comment on the content of the mags as they are today.

 

[DelW]

Last Mk3 based EMU ?.

Do the 318s and 320s in Scotland count ?.

Also the few 319s/769s on Northern ?.

But certainly third rail wise no more.
Plus I wonder if the 465s & 466s will be the last left with hopper windows in DC land. Furthermore, being EMUs, they might outlast DMUs with hopper windows. Then we are confined to coffins.

I think there's a case that the end of the last two 508 trailers is the more significant. There will be mk3 coaches around for a little while yet, in the Scottish HSTs and EMUs, and in 769s and 150s.

But the two 508 coaches were the very last of the PEP design vehicles. For those of us who still remember "the shock of the new" when the 4-PEP prototypes were unveiled in the 1970s, that's a salutary reminder that fifty years has passed! Not to mention that their scathing nickname at the time, "pack 'em perpendicular", has become closer to the norm since.

 

[455_Maniac]

I await the 458/4 withdrawal thread!

Speaking of which, does anyone know why only 28 out of 30 458s were refurbished instead of all 30?

With the 458 shortages being an issue, I would have thought that having an extra two spare units on standby would be handy in case of service cancellations/units becoming defective, obviously having the space to store units is the most important part to consider, alongside the fact that the original refurbishment contract only covered 28 out of 30 units, plus we cannot forget how hideously unreliable they are, so another thing to keep in mind would be (in a hypothetical/theoretical scenario) possibly adding two more defect-riddled units to an already unreliable fleet..

 

[HamworthyGoods]

Speaking of which, does anyone know why only 28 out of 30 458s were refurbished instead of all 30?

Simple answer: cost.

The requirement by the DfT was to be able to replace 9 x 10-car cl442 formations (18 units) with 9 x 12-car cl458 formations. This required 27 units, but an additional maintenance spare was added taking it up to 28 units refurbished.

 

[Big Jumby 74]

The requirement by the DfT was to be able to replace 9 x 10-car cl442 formations (18 units) with 9 x 12-car cl458 formations. This required 27 units, but an additional maintenance spare was added taking it up to 28 units refurbished.

Or one could argue, coincidentally perhaps, based on the original 2004 TT, before recent medalling, required 13 circuits (26 diagrams in 8 car format) to cover the basic standard hour pattern on the mixed/interworked (at Waterloo) 1Txx Pompey via Eastleigh/2Bxx Poole services, so in theory 26/28 units, but obviously there would have been a need for variation in the peaks.

But things have moved on since, two x 1Wxx to Weymouth etc, so without a back to (2004) basics, it becomes extremely complicated, and somewhere that is perhaps no longer an option, politically (small p) wise?

 

[43096]

Or one could argue, coincidentally perhaps, based on the original 2004 TT, before recent medalling, required 13 circuits (26 diagrams in 8 car format) to cover the basic standard hour pattern on the mixed/interworked (at Waterloo) 1Txx Pompey via Eastleigh/2Bxx Poole services, so in theory 26/28 units, but obviously there would have been a need for variation in the peaks.

The 458/4s were never intended for the “via Eastleigh” workings, they were for the Portsmouth Direct.

 

[455_Maniac]

Simple answer: cost.

The requirement by the DfT was to be able to replace 9 x 10-car cl442 formations (18 units) with 9 x 12-car cl458 formations. This required 27 units, but an additional maintenance spare was added taking it up to 28 units refurbished.

Thank you for the clarification and very insightful information, this makes sense, plus with 701/5s on the way soon, there would be no real point in reinstating two 458 sets anyway.

Also, another good point to make is that the last SWT liveries (plus interiors iirc) on the network are now gone, bar the last few Express sprinters and South Western turbos that have not yet been refurbished (who knows when that will happen), personally not counting 455871 as that unit is now preserved.

 

[Kite159]

and axed first class on those services as well.

I'm sure the one genuine passenger with a 1st class ticket for Hook would have been upset. But outside peak times 1st class on those stoppers are empty

 

[WWTownEnth]

A post from X…..not mine

“The final scheduled @SW_Help Class 455 departs from Wimbledon at 00:53 last night. This was the last time you’ll see one of these trains in service as their lease expires on Monday.”

https://x.com/realpeterspokes/status/2035330367419302167?s=61

 

[Big Jumby 74]

The 458/4s were never intended for the “via Eastleigh” workings, they were for the Portsmouth Direct.

Correct. I am well aware of that. My point being nothing more than an observation in relation to their possible future (post SWT) use, in order to throw up a stock cascade that would have freed up a few more 444's (5 in my calculations) for the PDL. But since then the penny has dropped that their (458) intended use on the PDL is full of issues that would (in the end) preclude them being used as such in 12 car format, and the overall timetable has also been reworked since then which has seen the demise of the 2004 standard pattern 2B/1T scenario that may have worked in this regard?

Can't but think that there was a lack of joined up thinking at some point in the past (early SWR days) that didn't see (or dismissed) using 458's on 1T/2B (as per 2004) using 26 from 28 units as a base, thus throwing up (5?) x 444 and xx additional 450 for other use, be it on PDL and/or elsewhere.

But as said the timetable now precludes that scenario when it comes to stock deployment, so any changes going forward will be based around any new TT that SWR put in place.