In perfect early morning autumnal light on 1 October 1988, with a little mist still hanging over the woods and fields in the distance, 205033 thumps past Silchester with the 2V27 08:24 Basingstoke to Reading Network SouthEast service. In the still conditions on this morning the characteristic thump of this unit could be heard a very long time before it appeared round the corner. Two years after the introduction of the multi-coloured NSE livery amid a fanfare of publicity, the only sign of it on this unit is a small logo underneath the central window on the front end.