Class 423 '4VEP' (423417 / 3417) returns to the mainline & London Waterloo - 27th January 2024

Here we see the Bluebell Railway's & Southern Electric Traction Group's (SETG's) Class 423 '4VEP' embark on an adventure back onto the mainline, to visit London Waterloo on Gordon Pettitt's 88th birthday. Albeit, the VEP had assistance from GBRf's 73109 & 73119 top 'n tailed (due to not having the mainline-required equipment installed at this time), but the 73's were through-wired fine and this video here:    • 4VEP 3417 returns to the mainline   seems to show 3417's motors starting to sing when departing Richmond on 5Z74 (a great catch by "Jeagles").

This trip out has no doubt probably been long in the making, but well under wraps until the RTT paths were sniffed out a couple days prior to the event. I managed to see all of the runs of the 73's & VEP if not entirely to the plan I had set out (I got the wrong train at Vauxhall in the morning prior to 0Z73 and thought my train from Waterloo was leaving later than it actually did prior to 5Z74).

450046 was chartered to bring VIPs and other guests from Woking for this occasion, arriving on the same platform at the VEP and 73's, before shunting over to the next platform.

The 73's & VEP workings were as folows:

0Z73 (73's): https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/serv...
5Z99 (73109 + VEP shunt): Not on RTT
5Z73 (73's tnt on the VEP): https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/serv...
5Z74 (73's tnt on the VEP): https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/serv...
0Z74 (73's): https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/serv...

The class 450's workings for the day were as follows:

5Z90: https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/serv...
1Z90: https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/serv...
5Y29 (shunted to the next platform and not Clapham): https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/serv...
2U35 (back in regular / public service): https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/serv...

Some shots were filmed on my Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra.

The 4VEP's consist includes:

S76263 (DTCsoL),
S62236 (MBSO) - originally from another unit I do believe,
S70797 (TSO),
S76262 (DTCsoL)

Thank you for watching, I hope you enjoy