lostwin(m)
Member
9/8/87. Earlier the same evening, the forming of these various workings creates a hive of shunting activity in the early hours at London Bridge. 73001, 73003 and 33043 all get involved.
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lostwin - BR in the mid 80's
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lostwin(m)
Member
Yes, good spot! It certainly isn't as sharp an image though, probably reflecting the photographers state having been been turfed off the train with minimal sleep
Yes, good spot! It certainly isn't as sharp an image though, probably reflecting the photographers state having been been turfed off the train with minimal sleep
It must have been quite a tiring experience chasing those overnight mixed trains. I wish I’d managed to go on one at some point.
eastwestdivide
Established Member
46 was the headcode for “boat train route 1”, Vic-Sevenoaks-Tonbridge-Dover (and 56 for Folkestone Harbour). More often photographed on the front of an MLV+12 boat train!
lostwin(m)
Member
That was the routing for this 3.30 Victoria - Dover WD service, so at least that was accurate even if the train type is somewhat stretching the definition. Would the 'Night Ferry' service have carried the same headcodes?
Joey Beauchamp
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I was born in October 1985 so these photos are absolutely fascinating. I'm happy I remember slam door stock and sticking my head out of the droplights on Intercity 125's, but I would absolutely love to go back to this era for a day (actually, not sure a day would be enough!)
eastwestdivide
Established Member
Yes, the headcodes were route codes rather than train type codes. That route was known as boat train route 1, the preferred route for direct Vic to the ferry boat trains, with Maidstone E 2 and Chatham 3 I think.
lostwin(m)
Member
Even the mid-eighties was past what would probably be considered the golden ages of diesels, you would probably need to go back a further 10 years. All the diesel-hydraulics were long gone, Deltics had been cut up, the last of the 40's were clinging on and withdrawals of 25's and Peaks were well underway. I'll borrow the time machine and go back to 1975, I think. Glad you are enjoying the pictures though, there is always something interesting to be made from whatever era you get to live through.
Joey Beauchamp
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This is probably just human nature. Everyone wants to go back to see what they just missed out on. I expect people younger than me would be very jealous of my experiences in the 1990's.
Where I annoy myself is the times I knew something was ending and still didn't make the effort to get there: Chiltern bubble cars, GWR HST's and walking the then mothballed Bicester - Bletchley line are relatively recent ones that I planned to visit and then suddenly the opportunity was gone forever (I did manage to go on the Crosscountry HST one last time).
Haywain
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I don't know about computers (or didn't, but Wikipedia...) but Wang made early high-end word processors in the 1980s.
lostwin(m)
Member
Time to give the humble DMU some love...
12/04/85. Here is one at Moor St. Remember when the Rotunda used to seem futuristic? -although it was already 20 years old when this picture was taken.
12/04/85. Here is one at Moor St. Remember when the Rotunda used to seem futuristic? -although it was already 20 years old when this picture was taken.
lostwin(m)
Member
15/09/85. And another one at Leicester (I've never been good at identifying the class). Forms the 11.21 Birmingham service.
lostwin(m)
Member
12/05/85. Similar looking one at Loughborough.
lostwin(m)
Member
06/05/85. The future had arrived at Derby. Early scheduled working on the Matlock line.
Sun Chariot
Established Member
Aaah, the ubiquitous Metro Cammell class 101s (posts 883, 884) and the Derby works class 116 (post 882). I can vaguely recall the Rotunda sporting Double Diamond Brewery's "DD" symbol, must have been late 1970s or the very early 1980s.
I never saw Moor Street in its dilapidated 1980s state. I did visit it following its big restoration and it felt like a beautiful time warp. All the chocolate paint, old signage, clean glazed roof. Marvellous stuff.
I never saw Moor Street in its dilapidated 1980s state. I did visit it following its big restoration and it felt like a beautiful time warp. All the chocolate paint, old signage, clean glazed roof. Marvellous stuff.
Peter Sarf
Established Member
Ah yes from 1974 the DD symbol was there. As one looked up from the semi subterranean gloom of New Street it was there in the sky. My first experience at Birmingham New Street was almost definitely the Christmas holidays end of 1974. So I recall standing in the snow for hours.
This one's still hard at work on the network.
Still one of my favourite trains. Really glad to see some DMUs on here!
lostwin(m)
Member
You are very welcome. Much as we might have tried to avoid them at the time, DMU's were certainly a key part of the railway infrastructure. I'll have to admit, after all this time, even I get a slightly nostalgic buzz from seeing the images. Certainly under photographed, by myself included.
lostwin(m)
Member
Got some more images of 73's, I did have a soft spot for them even though their original designers tool of choice would appear to have been an Etch-a-Sketch 
09/04/85. 73125 starts to form the morning parcels working at Dover Priory. It will pick up more wagons from the docks.
09/04/85. 73125 starts to form the morning parcels working at Dover Priory. It will pick up more wagons from the docks.
lostwin(m)
Member
03/11/86. 73004 is easily identified with it's large logo livery, the 73/1 next to it at Brighton, less so.
lostwin(m)
Member
14/08/70. In charge of the return Channel Islands Boat Train, 73130 makes the scheduled stop at Southampton.
lostwin(m)
Member
Easter '86. A quick fire double of an un-recorded ED through Folkestone Warren on the mail. The regular morning highlight of my 'trip down the cliff' at the time.
lostwin(m)
Member
Birthday 2024. A design so simple even my daughter could make a decent fist of it!
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Sun Chariot
Established Member
I always enjoy your Folkestone Warren shots on this thread; and it's a location I have never visited on foot. Is the location accessibility these days - for photos - as good as the 1980s? Or is it closed off/ fenced now?
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Sun Chariot
Established Member
Here's a Pandora's Box of DMU images & information...
lostwin(m)
Member
It can be a bit variable, as routes can be closed off due to cliff fall. You can usually get down there one way or another and once you are there then plenty of rail side views are still available. The morning mail train alas is no more.
Gloster
Established Member
Is that an actual mail train or merely empty vans, possibly off the news? It certainly doesn’t appear to have any sorting carriages in it.
lostwin(m)
Member
These certainly ran with a different set of stock to the overnight news trains. I assumed that it would be picking up international post arriving by ferry, but maybe that was just an appealing notion I applied to it.