Broad Street requiem - 1031 Class 203 Hastings unit on 1Z68 - the Kentish Katabasis railtour - driver and guard having a chat
<b>London Termini - Broad Street</b> 
Seen at Broad Street station, not too long before the station's final closure - Class 203 Hastings unit 1031 [DMBSO S60033 leading] awaits departure on the Kentish Katabasis railtour. The driver and guard are having a quick catch up before departure.

Broad Street was originally opened in 1865 as the main terminus of the North London Railway network of suburban services. Although much run down by the time this photo was taken, the station architecture still gives a hint of the station's more glorious past.

<b>BROAD STREET STATION CLOSURE</b> - By 1985, only 6,000 passengers per week were using Broad Street station and only about 300 arrived daily in the morning peak. As property prices grew in the bull market of the mid-1980s, British Rail was keen to sell the site off for office use. From 13 May 1985 the service to Richmond was diverted away from Broad Street [using SR 2-EPBs], leaving only the peak hour Watford Junction services. It was agreed that Broad Street would be closed with the last remaining trains diverted to Liverpool Street once a new connecting chord was built from the North London Line. Until this was done, it was possible to accommodate this last service from the outer end of one platform, and therefore in November that year demolition of the station began. The remaining single platform was used until the last train left on 27 June 1986, when the station was formally closed on 30 June 1986 - more on Broad Street station here: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broad_Street_railway_station_" rel="noreferrer nofollow">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broad_Street_railway_station_</a>(England)

More on the Class 203s here: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_203" rel="noreferrer nofollow">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_203</a>

And more on the Class 501s here: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_501" rel="noreferrer nofollow">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_501</a>

Taken with a Soviet made Zenith TTL SLR camera and standard lens, using Ilford HP5 (ASA400) film. <b>Scanned from the original negative with no digital restoration.</b>

You can see a random selection of my railway photos here on Flickriver: <a href="http://www.flickriver.com/photos/themightyhood/random/" rel="noreferrer nofollow">www.flickriver.com/photos/themightyhood/random/</a>
broadstreet london station class203 demu diesel