AV309: The Great Eastern Class 309 Finale

Filmed on the Great Eastern from 1990 to 1994 and in the North West from 1994 up to the 2000 Finale.

Running time of this region-free DVD-R is 66 minutes - GE (50 minutes) & NW (16 minutes).

Also available with AV311, AV312 & AV315 as a Box Set at £39.95.

Review for Traction Magazine November 2008 by David Brown:

“I always felt that the Clacton units were one of the more attractive of the early EMU designs and they certainly gave good service to the many commuters who used them between Essex and the capital over the years. I sampled them for weekend visits to friends at Wivenhoe and found them comfortable and capable of steady but sure acceleration. There is a good sequence to illustrate this on this programme where a more modern unit seems to have the upper hand when running alongside a 309, but then the unit the scene is being filmed from gives it a run for its money.

This is an affectionate collection of four sections filmed from Thursday, January 20, through to the end of Friday, January 21 (with some 1990 ‘flashbacks’ at Liverpool Street for comparison). I enjoyed seeing the early morning working of some commuter services from Clacton, something which had been an everyday operation for so many years and would soon be a thing of the past. In their latter years the units seemed to attract grime and dead flies around their cab ends, especially round the corridor connections, otherwise they still looked quite good in the NSE colours.

On the final day, photographers gathered to get their last shots and, that evening, we thought it was all over … but no! The next scene we see is at Macclesfield, as the bonus footage kicks in with the 309s enjoying their Indian summer in the Manchester area. This latter period saw them not only operating in different places, but also wearing different liveries such as Regional Railways, First North Western and Air Express (still with dead flies!). Altogether a fascinating compilation.”

© Anbrico Felixjaz Railway and Transport Films, DVDs and Photography.