With the withdrawal of steam services and the electrification of the line to Bournemouth in 1967 there was insufficient financial justification to electrify between Bournemouth and Weymouth. This resulted in a quandary of how to maintain through services and the solution devised was novel. Tests in the mid 1960s had proved that high speed main line push pull operation was both feasible and safe. The result was to have a high powered EMU at the London end pushing trailer units to Bournemouth where the trailers would be detached and the pulled to Weymouth by a push-pull equipped diesel electric locomotive. The operation in the up direction was would be the reverse.

The high powered EMU tractor units were classified 4 Rep (Restaurant EPB), the trailer units 3/4TC (Trailer Control) and the push pull equipped diesel locomotives were converted from 19 of the Southern's native BRCW type 3 fleet (eventually to become designated class 33/1).

photograph by Colin Duff

photograph by Colin Duff

All TC cars were rebuilt from loco hauled Mk1 coaches, TSOs being the donor vehicles for the DTSOs (with the former toilet compartments being rebuilt as the driving cab), the TBSs being rebuilt from BSKs and the TFKs from FKs. Initially 28 4TCs were converted and formed DTSO-TFK-TBSK-DTSO. Acknowledging that the TCs would not only be used with Reps on Bournemouth services 3 3TCs were also formed with there being no TFK in the unit. The idea behind this was that a loco plus 3TC plus two 4TC would fill the same platform space as a 12 car EMU formation. However when used on Bournemouth services in summer overcrowding regularly resulted so in 1974 the 3 TCs were augmented with newly converted TFKs to 4 TC and at the same time a further three 4 TCs were converted.

Driving control was via the SR 27 core multiple control cables and power for heating, motor generator and compressor sets was obtained from a 4 Rep or locomotive on standard heating jumper cables at underframe level. The TCs could not only work in multiple with 4 Reps and class 33s but also with class 73s, class 74s and compatible 1951/57/63 EMUs. It is known that some services were run with class 33 or 73 locos sandwiched between TCs. It is remembered from the late 1970s a regular up peak working of a class 33, TC and Vep formation. Although ageing memory can play tricks it is recalled that this formation was put together at Basingstoke combining an up Salisbury and an up Southampton line service to save a path into Waterloo.

photograph by David Smith

photograph by Colin Duff