All Change is an event to mark the withdrawal of the slam door trains which ensured the Lymington to Brockenhurst line survived as a then ‘Heritage Line’.

However with the stock costing a great deal to maintain with parts becoming rarer….South West Trains made the difficult decision to withdraw them with the start of the new timbale in May 2010.

The Lymington-Brockenhurst Community Rail Partnership therefore felt that there needed to be an ‘occasion’ to mark this event and wanted a celebration to bid a fond farewell to our slam doors…but to also positively look to the future and on going security of a much used and loved line with its vital connections to the Isle of Wight.

Between 10 – 4 p.m. at both Lymington Town and Brockenhurst Station on the 22^nd May there will be an event to mark this auspicious occasion.

Brokenhurst Station

• 60 metre Italian Market
• Bouncy Castle
• Merry Mugs Face Painters
• Home Baked Caked for Brockenhurst Pre-School
• Seedlings Bus- Community Child provision for parents who need support to learn
• Town Hall selling ‘Brock Bags’
• Win a Mini competition
• New Forest National Park
• Rail Memorabilia
• Brock Ice
• Plants raising money for the local Scouts

‘Dixie Land Band’ a local 5 piece group will be performing from 11 a.m. throughout the day

Mervyn Cole a local Children’s professional entertainer will be delighting the children from 1.40-4 p.m.

Lymington Town

• Friends of Lymington-Brockenhurst Line (FOLB) serving Teas and Coffee's 
• Authentic Paella Co. cooking fresh and with a bar area to serve sangria
• Henry the Cockle man serving jellied eels, cockles, BBQ scallops, Sea Bass fillets and Tia King Prawns
• Milford Designs-local jewellery and art  
• Candilicious sweet shop and ice cream stall
• Spice and Easy
• Help for Heroes selling rail memorabilia
• Beautiful Floral displays from the Lymington Floral Society (see projects page)

New Forest Meddlers will be performing 2 sets of Morris Dancing 11.00 – 11.40 and 12.20 – 12.50

‘Dorsal Fin’ a local 6-Piece Funk, Soul, Rock Band will be playing at 1 p.m. to rock the station

In the evening from 6-11 p.m. there will be a party on Wightlink’s Pier in Lymington, with live music from Ian Halliday's Platfrom Five, Acoustic quintet who will be playing, click HERE for more details. There is no charge to come in, but the CRP who have organised this event would appreciate a contribution to go back toward working to sustain the line and to support community projects to do so.

• Dorset Mobile Bar Co. to buy your drink to toast the slam doors! 
• A giant chocolate fountain
• Old fashioned icecreams 
• lots of food to choose from and buy from Paella, BBQ sea food and a hog and lamb roast!.For further information on the event or if you would like to have a stall please contact Bobby Lock on 01983 290377  Mobile 07810 362254

Rail partnership bids fond farewell to slam-door trains Press Release

Ahead of South West Trains’ ‘All Change’ event on 22 May, Councillor Mel Kendal was at Lymington rail station to mark the last days of service for the slam door, heritage electric trains: the Farringford and Freshwater. 

Having operated the shuttle service between Brockenhurst and Lymington since May 2006, when South West Trains designated the route as a ‘Heritage Line’, the slam door trains, which are the last of their kind in Great Britain, will be replaced with modern rolling stock that will run from 23 May.  The line will retain the heritage status that has made it popular with visitors and local alike and seen a nine per cent increase in passengers over the past year. 

The All Change event is being held at Brockenhurst and Lymington Town rail stations between 10am and 4pm on 22 May.  There will be a range of stalls selling memorabilia, refreshments and local produce together with live music and entertainment that will continue on Lymington Pier between 7pm and 11pm.

As Chairman of the Lymington Brockenhurst Community Rail Partnership, Councillor Mel Kendal, said: “This heritage line is a vital link that is well used by the community.  Since the Partnership became involved with this line, passenger numbers have increased by almost ten per cent per annum which is encouraging since one of the Partnership’s aims is to encourage greater use of rail services locally. 

“Although we are sorry to see the last of the slam door trains go, we appreciate the maintenance difficulties that South West Trains have had and we are delighted they are now going to bring in class 158 trains from Monday to Friday and class 450 trains at weekends.”

With formal designation from the Department for Transport, the Lymington-Brockenhurst CRP was launched in July 2008, on the same day as the rail line’s 150^th Anniversary.  Its vision is to “create a sustainable future for rail between Lymington and Brockenhurst”.

The Partnership is also aiming to develop community goodwill and involvement with the local railway, improve station facilities and environment and contribute significantly to the development of agreed long-term strategies for local railway.

Aside from Hampshire County Council’s involvement, the Lymington-Brockenhurst CRP is supported by South West Trains, Network Rail, New Forest National Parks Authority, Lymington and Pennington Town Council, Brockenhurst Parish Council, Wightlink and the Chamber of Commerce, Brockenhurst College and Hampshire Police.

Last meeting with the CRP the BIG event!

L-R Dean Pettit, Cllr Elizebeth Lewis, Anne Tomlinson and Chair of the Friends of Lymington Line Nicholas Filbee

Georgina Cruafurd- Friends of Lymington Lines organiser and HCC Mike Hedderly

Bobby Lock-CRO Isle of Wight and Lymington Brockenhurst CRP

22^nd May

The day started early early for everyone with the sun shining bright and for the first time this year…..hot!

The stalls in both towns’ stations looked great, very professional and smart and the stations themselves were made all the more attractive with stunning flower displays from both Lymington and Brockenhurst Floral Societies….who outdid themselves with arrangements in the heritage colours of red, cream and green. From the impressive Italian Market stretching down the right hand side of the car park at Brockenhurst, to the covered Authentic Paella marquee in Lymington Town….all were ready for the estimated and expected thousands of people due to come and say goodbye to the old last mainline slam door rolling stock in the UK.

Everything went according to the plan, with the New Forest Meddlers dancing an impressive and exhausting 2 sets of 40 minutes entertaining folk in Lymington Town, dressed in pure whites with bells jingling, their ribbons flying and sticks clicking. They were followed by the amazing vocals and acoustic talents Dorsal Finn, a local band well known to the area who agreed to come and play and if no-one knew anything was happening down at the station, their set certainly changed that!

Monica and her team looked great in their black uniforms in the white contemporary marquee cooking their fabulously tasty paella and kebabs and totally delicious strawberry sangria. ‘Henry the Cockle Man’ cooked up a storm with his fish fillets on a BBQ and these wonderful smells greeted the travellers who did get off the train from Brockenhurst. If they could resist from tasting their food, ice creams on a hot day from Candylicious were a must! The Friends of Lymington and Brockenhurst did well with their own stand selling teas and coffee’s whilst encouraging people to join their organisation which is a vital support to the CRP and the line.

Other stalls included rail memorabilia raising money for ‘Help for Hero’s’ and Milford Designs with stunning and original jewellery, again with a portion of their profits going to charity.

In Brockenhurst the Dixie Land Band entertained folk and children were able to leap on a bouncy castle from ‘Bounce About’, eat Brock Ices yummy local ice-cream served from their traditional bike chiller and have their faces painted by Merrymugs!

Seedlings Bus from Brockenhurst College felt the day was well worth their while for them top raise their own profile within the community. They even got some parents to sign up as future volunteers to help run the bus providing childcare for adults wishing to go back to college to study, who in the past were held back by lack of good and affordable child care. This valuable service is free and gives those parents such an important helping hand the CRP were pleased to be able to help give them space!

The scouts raised money for their Jamboree and someone somewhere won a mini, a competition ran by Utility Warehouse.

All this, plus more rail memorabilia gave more than enough varied entertainment and food, both local and international to a portion of the 10,000 people travelling the line and local residents.

The perfect summer day gave way to a perfect summer evening down at Wightlink Ferry Terminal, again another incredibly supportive and vital stakeholder to both the Islands and mainland’s CRP’s.

Wightlink provided both a marquee and power, the latter being a little worrying with a possible overload of use from all those attending the evening celebrations’ working up to that last train at 10.14 p.m. However the Dave’s on duty were brilliant and helpful and really bent over backwards to ensure the evening went ahead smoothly.

Outside the marquee with the beautiful Solent backdrop and view of the Isle of Wight, Tony Notcutt cooked a wonderful pork spit roast, which made peoples mouths literally water! They were next to the Authentic Paella Company, who again tempted people with their delicious dishes, which were just so full of different flavours and wonderfully filling. If that wasn’t enough you had Henry the Cockle man again fire up his BBQ, this time out the front of Wightlink’s terminal next to Candilicious selling traditional ice creams from their traditional ice cream bike!

Inside the marquee and next to the Lymington Floral Societies beautiful and creative beach display a giant chocolate fountain provided all with and array of toffee and fruits to dip and eat, with most children getting more over their faces than in their mouths with parents trying to clean them up whilst listening to the talented ‘Platform Five’ sing covers of well known rock, rhythm and blues.

The Dorset Mobile Bar Hire Co. had an incredibly professional set up and kept those who had had a long day, hydrated with an array of ales, wines and soft drinks, which were supped whilst the sun went down on a line that was about to say goodbye to loved slam door trains.

That time came and the last whistle blew for the Lymington Flyer. People cried goodbye to the trains and ‘slammed’ the doors for the last trip home along five miles of railway that have carried thousands of commuters, students and tourists from Lymington to Brockenhurst. This on a vital line that will welcome new stock to carry us on strongly into the future, but not without a tear being shed by even the toughest of railway staff and most certainly the passengers too.

Bobby Lock CRO Isle of Wight and Lymington Brockenhurst CPP

Please see the gallery for the day in pictures