After departing Sydney Central it travelled via the Illawarra line calling at Hurstville, Wollongong, Kiama, Gerringong, Berry and Bomaderry.

[1] It was originally formed of R set carriages painted green and cream.

In 1986, locomotive 4499 was repainted in a unique primarily pale grey livery with red, orange and yellow ends and red and orange "L7" logos similar to the minimised "Candy" colour-blocking used on the Intercity electric fleet and became known among enthusiasts as "Grey Ghost".

This livery had been conceived for use on the South Coast Daylight service, however operational requirements dictated that 4499 was often to be found on other traffic, whilst other locomotives were rostered to the South Coast service.

At various times DEB railcar, HUB and RUB stock operated the service.