This eagerly awaited CrossCountry HST farewell charity tour from Leeds to Swanage and back, with the associated mini-tour (Swanage to Bournemouth and return), ran as planned. Both trains sold out, the Pines Express very quickly and an additional coach was added to help satisfy demand. This meant that 504+ passengers travelled on each train, marking the first time that the Society had been associated with over a thousand bookings for a single day's travel. Over two hundred passengers joined the train at Leeds, preparing for a very long day out, with departure scheduled at 06.35 and the return at 23.49.

The HST left six minutes late, led by power car 43008 in InterCity livery, with 43007 in its original British Rail livery at the rear. We were routed via the Copley Hill Chord, passing a stationary LNER train to King's Cross which had been held for us to have priority! The journey south was uneventful, with pickups at Wakefield, Sheffield, Derby, Burton, Tamworth, Leamington, and Reading, before the first set down at Bournemouth, just prior to midday. The route included Landor Street Jn to St Andrews Jn, bypassing the CrossCountry hub of Birmingham New Street, and the non-platform centre lines at Oxford. For those who normally travel on fast GWR services between Didcot and Reading, the Relief Lines (as normally used by CrossCountry) came as a bit of a relief from the Mains.

The HST reversed in Reading P13, departing via the bidirectional Reading Feeder Relief which gives the impression of right hand running. (In the evening, arrival was from the Reading Feeder Relief to P12).

An off-train option of free travel on Morebus route 50 (Bournemouth to Swanage via the Studland chain ferry) was offered at Bournemouth and attracted a select group of three, including this report's author. Most of the passengers preferred to continue to Swanage to enjoy the heritage railway in both directions, travel on its services or do the mini-trip to maximise their HST mileage while they still could.

Swanage Railway services were provided by 34070 'Manston' and allowed people to enjoy steam haulage and visit Corfe Castle while the HST made a return trip to Bournemouth during the afternoon. This mini-trip had been heavily advertised in the local press and social media, bringing out a large number of 'Normals' including many couples of all ages. They were thoughtfully seated in coaches with other couples by Martha Haggas, who had her work cut out with over 1,000 bookings to organise.

136 participants from the 'Pines Express' did both trips. There were a large number of spectators and photographers out along the Swanage Railway and here the weather was sunny unlike the heavy rain further north. Bournemouth was full of trains because an incident had closed the line at Moreton. This resulted in an interesting move, arriving on the Up Main; after passing P4 and the centre servicing platform, the HST took the connection right over to Down, London end P3, to reverse. There was a unit in P4, so after reversal that connection was done in the other direction, then the trailing crossover was taken at Wimborne Road Cemetery Jn to bypass it and join the Down Main. There was no time for a break at Bournemouth and the turn rounds were tight at Swanage in both directions. At the terminus, with such a long train, some of the coaches were not platformed but this was well managed by the onboard team. Around 380 passengers managed to alight and 380 joined in the limited time available.

Thus, Swanage station was extremely busy; it was clear that the tours had attracted a lot of interest from both enthusiasts and the public. Additional interest was provided by the presence of the newly restored London & South Western Railway T3, in light steam just north of the station. The return of 'Manston' (with some participants) to Swanage left the line clear for the HST to depart at 16.18, for a scheduled return journey time of seven and a half hours. The longer journey was largely due to the train returning to Reading by a slightly more circuitous route, via the Laverstock Loop at Salisbury and Andover. This is a diversionary route used by CrossCountry between Southampton and Basingstoke.

Facilities on the train were up to the high standard expected, with a very well deserved round of applause for the hard working staff who kept the coaches clean and tidy during the marathon journey. Goodie bags were distributed to all passengers. The fare box, on-train raffle and associated activities raised a total of £55,191.82p; a really excellent figure for The Brain Tumour Charity, in memory of the CrossCountry Customer Services, Manager Jo Taylor, who sadly passed away in 2021.

The train gradually emptied from Reading northwards. It was impressive how the editor of 'Modern Railways', Philip Sherratt, went down the complete train handing out complementary packets of biscuits on the return journey and to speak with participants. He also arranged for our stewards to have bacon rolls in the morning (there have to be some advantages!). Although catering officially ended at Derby, increasingly desperate efforts were made to clear the remaining stocks of beer prior to the train arriving in Leeds at 23.55, ending with purchase by donation. Pleasingly, the magic 125mph was reached between Tamworth and Burton-on-Trent; this was announced on the public address and confirmed by those with GPS devices monitoring the train's speed. Arriving on the approach to Sheffield on time, there was a 13 minute delay awaiting a clear through platform ahead. However, Leeds was reached just three down at 23.52 and departure of the ECS was very noisy!

Those who did the full day travelled 307¼ miles from Leeds to Swanage, then another 47¾ miles to Bournemouth and return, plus the 338½ miles back from Swanage to Leeds - 693½ miles in total. This marked the end of an excellent tour and was also CrossCountry's final HST passenger journey; the last scheduled working in normal service had occurred on Mon 18 Sep. CrossCountry and their staff are to be highly commended for running such an enjoyable tour, with many thanks also due to Modern Railways who supported the tour and our Society for helping facilitate, promote, book and steward it.