SOUTH Western Railway’s (SWR) Class 455 Farewell tour sold out in just 15 seconds, with more than 9,000 enthusiasts vying for an initial 400 tickets.
The tour on Sunday 21 December (first announced here) will bid farewell to SWR’s Class 455 trains, which have served some of Berkshire, South West London and Surrey’s busiest stations since 1983. The fleet will be retired by the end of 2025 as SWR rolls out more of its Arterio trains.
An initial 400 tickets went on sale through the Branch Line Society on Monday 10 November and sold out in record time. Tickets priced at £45.50 were snapped up in the blink of an eye, raising thousands of pounds for chosen charities Macmillan Cancer Support, The Alex Wardle Foundation and Railway Children.
In response to the unprecedented demand, SWR and the Branch Line Society agreed to run a second train as part of the farewell tour. A limited number of tickets for the second train went on sale today, Tuesday 2 December, and are also expected to sell out.
Lawrence Bowman, Managing Director of South Western Railway and Network Rail Wessex Route, said:
“We’ve been amazed at the level of interest in our Class 455 Farewell tour and are thrilled to raise so much money for Macmillan, The Alex Wardle Foundation and Railway Children, three charities that have a special significance to our colleagues.
“Knowing there are so many more enthusiasts out there who want to be part of this special occasion, we’re pleased to run a second train on Sunday 21 December. Doing so will raise even more money for our chosen charities and give some lucky enthusiasts an early Christmas present!”
SWR and the Branch Line Society announced the farewell tour on Thursday 6 November and thousands immediately logged on to the SWR website for more information. Large numbers of enthusiasts also uploaded Class 455 content on social media, ranging from photos and videos of their favourite Class 455s to AI generated music videos.
Many of those enthusiasts will be headed to London Waterloo for Sunday 21 December, with the first train leaving at 0932, followed by the second train at 1035.
Both trains will weave their way around the SWR network, taking in familiar locations such as Guildford and Kingston, along with some special routes and stops for Class 455s, including the District Line’s branch from East Putney to Wimbledon, and Haslemere on the Portsmouth Direct Line.
70 Class 455 trains were built for what is now the SWR network by British Rail Engineering Limited, between 1982 and 1985. They entered service on SWR’s suburban routes on Monday 28 March 1983. 90 Arterio trains will replace the Class 455 fleet and are currently operating 376 services per day, serving 96 stations in and around South West London.
