Decline
In the 1980s the units gradually received the Class '304' TOPS prefix to their unit numbers, and by 1992 several later series units had even received Regional Railways livery. By this time, however, more recently refurbished Class 305 units had become available, displaced from the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway by Class 317s, and with the imminent arrival of brand new Class 323s, the Class 304s began to be withdrawn. The end came in March 1996 when 304002 and 304033 ran a series of farewell specials in Birmingham. Known amongst enthusiasts as "Dinosaurs", due to their advancing age, Class 304s followed their namesakes to extinction.
Read more about this topic: British Rail Class 304
Famous quotes containing the word decline:
“But only that soul can be my friend which I encounter on the line of my own march, that soul to which I do not decline, and which does not decline me, but, native of the same celestial latitude, repeats in its own all my experience.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Families suffered badly under industrialization, but they survived, and the lives of men, women, and children improved. Children, once marginal and exploited figures, have moved to a position of greater protection and respect,... The historic decline in the overall death rates for children is an astonishing social fact, notwithstanding the disgraceful infant mortality figures for the poor and minorities. Like the decline in death from childbirth for women, this is a stunning achievement.”
—Joseph Featherstone (20th century)
“We can recognize the dawn and the decline of love by the uneasiness we feel when alone together.”
—Jean De La Bruyère (1645–1696)