Back in the day...

[GRALISTAIR]

73s also worked the Kenny Belle shuttle. Clapham Junction to Kensington Olympia which ran peak times only.

 

[xotGD]

Surely not from Liverpool. Where were 20s working around that time?

I'm guessing Leeds or York. Is there a 20 gen site with such details?

 

[Cowley]

My mates n I fell on a pair of 73s at Clapham, we'd barely been there when a pair of ED's pulled in on the platform we were stood at(nowadays the Southern platforms), we quickly jumped aboard n took them to Vic. Always wondered where they came from, they may well have been filling in for an EMU that day too.

There was a great time in 1988 Mickey when the 442s were being built and they were nicking the traction motors for them out of the REPS. The 73s were ran in pairs with rakes of TCs etc. We spent an afternoon with Southampton to Southampton Airport return tickets and picked up about 12 of them.

This is one of my stepbrothers photos from those days. Eastleigh I think.

 

[NorthWestRover]

I was hoping to get my moves books today, but unfortunately I didn't. However, I have received a bag full of my old photos, so I'll leave this taster of D1062 Western Courier leaving Bold Colliery at the 150th Anniversary of the Rainhill Trials from 1980. More to follow after I've wallowed in nostalgia. They'll just be camera photos of the prints.

 

[xotGD]

I was hoping to get my moves books today, but unfortunately I didn't. However, I have received a bag full of my old photos, so I'll leave this taster of D1062 Western Courier leaving Bold Colliery at the 150th Anniversary of the Rainhill Trials from 1980. More to follow after I've wallowed in nostalgia. They'll just be camera photos of the prints.

If only I hadn't lost the list of Westerns I saw on holiday in Cornwall in 1976...

Maybe a bit of hypnotic regression would do the trick!

 

[NorthWestRover]

Well, that was a nostalgic couple of hours. Many things I'd forgotten completely. Here is the pile of photos that I'll upload over the next few weeks (themed if I can). From Penzance to Wick, Aberystwyth to Norwich, 03s to 40s, 31s to 87s, 37s to 55s... Oh, and loads on the North Wales Coast.

 

[NorthWestRover]

@xotGD I hope you don't mind me using this thread which is well named for nostalgia. If you want me to start a new thread, I will, but in the mean time we'll start with the best ever locomotives to grace the British railway. I think from 1982 or 1983.

Whistle while you work...

A couple on the home turf from Slutchers Lane Bridge looking down on Arpley Yard



Then just down the road at Bank Quay, the magic of a North Wales service rolling into platform 1 with a 40 on the front. This would have had many bashers on it already with many more to join at every station as it made its way to Llandudno, Bangor or Holyhead.



24 miles down the West Coast Main Line - not behind a 40 very often! - you arrived at Crewe.



And then back west to get to Chester



Down the coast after a thrash past Mostyn Dock and having picked a few more bashers up at Prestatyn and Rhyl, perhaps some having bailed for a different 40 going the other way., you'd arrive in Colwyn Bay or Llandudno Junction.



And then, especially on a Summer Saturday, you'd reach Llandudno



That's how I spent my summers in the early 1980s.

Apologies for the quality of the pics. Hope the quality of the traction makes up for it.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

There was a great time in 1988 Mickey when the 442s were being built and they were nicking the traction motors for them out of the REPS. The 73s were ran in pairs with rakes of TCs etc. We spent an afternoon with Southampton to Southampton Airport return tickets and picked up about 12 of them.

Oh yes fantastic days. Remember it well.

 

[xotGD]

Cracking stuff! I've only been to Llandudno once, on a Merrymaker from Newcastle. Enjoyed 40044 from Leeds to Llandudno then back to The Toon.

 

[NorthWestRover]

Other than Liverpool Lime St, it's probably the terminus I've been to more than any other. I'm not counting Man Picc as a terminus. Euston may now have overtaken Llandudno through many work trips but on railway outings, it'd be Lime St, then Llandudno for termini.

And that's good mileage on 044.

 

[Cowley]

Maybe a bit of hypnotic regression would do the trick!

You are feeling sleepy....

 

[NorthWestRover]

We're all going on a summer holiday!

August 1982, aged 16, I was dragged on a family holiday based in Cardiff. I don't have my moves book but some photos with notes have allowed me to reconstruct a few days out and about. Obviously, I was being denied 40 haulage, so I appear to have spent a few days going into Devon to pick up some good Hoover mileage.

But to start on 9th August at Cardiff with 37 218 and a very short load



I'm not sure what I travelled on to Bristol Temple Meads, possibly a 31 on a Portsmouth service, but I snapped 50 030 leaving on a service for Manchester and, later in the day, 31 412 arriving on a Cardiff to Portsmouth service.



Later in the holiday on 15th August, I appear to have been doing some 31 bashing as I have this photo of 31 420 at Newport. I've not posted a not very good photo of 31 213 at Swansea on 14th, so I must have taken that from Cardiff.



I then appear to have had a couple of days doing some serious Hover bashing as the following photos show...



50 012 light engine at Newton Abbot. I posted this because of the array of semaphore signals.



Left to right
50 037 at Plymouth looking very smart.
50 007 at Exeter St Davids looking less than smart
50 047 at Plymouth



I then appear to have taken 50 032 from Plymouth to Bristol and these are taken after it has worked the diagram.

When I get my moves books, I can fill in some of the gaps, but hope this gives a flavour of what you could do on any given day back in the early 1980s.

 

[xotGD]

50007 looks like it was crying out for a trip to Doncaster for refurbishment. Check out the flares on the guy on the platform too!

Looking back, I was starting a 7-day Northumbrian Ranger on 9th August 82. First loco of the week was 40128 from Sunderland to Newcastle on the Darlington - Newcastle via the coast (what used to be a sleeper portion). The rest of the week it produced two 31s, two 46 and 37216 - my first syphon in the book. Everything else was Peaks and Duffs. Then on the Saturday I had 40060 Newcastle to York on the Blackpool for 40061 back on the ex-Blackpool. Those services were fairly solid 40s back then - I'm sure Gateshead made a special effort to get hold of one on a Saturday morning!

 

[NorthWestRover]

Check out the flares on the guy on the platform too!

There may even be a photograph or two of some bashers in due course to amuse you more.

 

[Jamesrob637]

Wow that 37 at Cardiff had its work cut out

 

[xotGD]

Three Trips Down South - Part 1: Weymouth

March 1987. A time when cheap tickets were available for holders of Student Railcards. Being a student, with a railcard, I took advantage and made a number of journeys.

The first of the month saw me go for the Sunday pair of Peaks into St Pancras - 45127+45108 providing traction, and being routed on the freight line through the tunnel - the only time I've been that way. Double headers were a theme of the day, as I'd earlier had 31444 + 31420 on a drag from BNS to Nuneaton on my way to Leicester.

The 11th was a trip to Holyhead, covering the turn that produced the latest 56 off overhaul at Crewe Works as a running in turn. Only it wasn't a 56 that week, it was 47709! I suppose a Scottish push-pull Duff to Anglesey was something of a rarity, but not quite what we were after.

The other trips that month took me in a southerly direction. On the 7th it was a circular excursion to Weymouth. Moves were:

47479 BNS - Oxford
50036 Ox - Padd

Then a faff about on the tube and a bit of a sprint to board the next train, which was:

73104 Waterloo - Bournemouth.

And here it is at its destination. Now looking very yellow in the guise of 73951 - back then I never thought that I would see it at Leeds! The unit on the right appears to be 4-DIG 2004:



Next move, a 4TC to Weymouth, hauled by 33113. Seen here at Bomo:



The rest of the day consisted of:

DMU Weymouth - Westbury
33062 Westbury - Bath (pub move)
33032 Bath - Bristol (was withdrawn later that month)
45104 Bristol - BNS on the overnight
37227 Lickey Banker (now preserved at Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway)

A good day out, by any measure.

 

[NorthWestRover]

Nice and varied traction there.

 

[xotGD]

Three Trips Down South - Part 2: Portsmouth

So seven days after the previous trip to the south coast, I was back to the south coast for some more Crompton action. Not everything was Sulzer though:

47602 BNS - Gloucs (hoping for a Hoover - boo hiss! However, it didn't run round...)
50001 Gloucs - Bristol (that's more like it)

There was a 33 waiting patiently to take over the next Cardiff - Portsmouth turn:



And that was my next haulage:

33017 Bristol - Portsmouth H

Then a couple of scratch moves:

33031 Portsmouth H - P & Southsea
33037 P&S - PH

Seen after arrival:



None of these three Cromptons made it into preservation. Next up was back on the milage machine:

33017 PH - Bristol
47597 Bristol - BNS
37690 Lickey Banker (Now with ROG as 37611 Pagasus)

Another good day!

 

[xotGD]

Three Trips Down South - Part 3: Basingstoke

OK, so the primary purpose of this trip wasn't to go to Basingstoke - that was a bit of a Brucie Bonus. We had a permit to visit Stewart's Lane Depot, so that was the reason for another southerly trip on 18th March. Naturally, taking an 86 into Euston was not on the agenda:

47503 BNS - Oxford
50018 Oxford - Padd

On the subject of Brucie Bonuses, a Wizzo and a Hymek made a welcome sight. D1035 and D7018 at Didcot, with the cooling towers and stack of the power station as a backdrop:



After arrival into London we made our way to Stewart's Lane via an emu to Queenstown Road. While we were free to look around inside the shed, the yard was out of bounds due to the live 3rd rail. I took a couple of shots in the depot. Looking decidedly narrow, 33205:



And one of the Southern Region's celebrities 73142 Broadlands. Later became 73201 for the Gatwicks, it is now with GBRf:



Back to Waterloo, and we were greeted by another Shoebox in the shape of 73121. This also joined the Gatwick fleet as 73208, and was then converted to 73965 and is also with GBRf:



It was then time for the rest of the day's bashing:

33058 Waterloo - Basingstoke
73130 Back again (spent its later life faffing about with Eurostars)
50025 Padd - Reading
50009 Reading - BNS

That's it for this weekend's tales from the past.

 

[NorthWestRover]

The Randomizer

A selection of shots from across the country taken between 1983 and 1985, I think. Wasn't difficult to get a wide variety of loco haulage in almost all parts of the UK.



Unidentified 31 at Mexborough. The run from Sheffield to Doncaster used to throw up all sorts of freight workings with the steel and coal industries around there. Fantastic for spotters and photters, and whilst DMUs covered most of the services, there was some haulage to be had as you can see.

45 150 at Sheffield (?). I guess this was when Peaks were still working the St Pancras services or possibly the Liverpool services. I wasn't a big Peak fan, but even this made me a tad nostalgic.

Unidentified 87 at Wolverhampton. I had a thing for 87s and cleared them all for haulage. Did some big mileage on some of them. I'll thrill you with an 87 post at some point.



To me, 86s were the electric equivalent of the 47s. Always turning up when you'd have preferred almost anything else for haulage. This photo at Euston just about sums it up. A bit like a photo now with nothing but Pendolinos. The Duff was at Maidenhead during the Network South East era when they shared many of the services in and out of Paddington with 50s.

A pristine 37 426 at Wolverhampton on its way to Aberystwyth but more of that on a future post.



I don't know where the Crompton is. I'm sure somebody will. No idea if I went on it or not.

The Hoover in the snow is at Plymouth, I think, during a Kellogs £5 (?) return ticket from Wick to Penzance. More of that on a future post.

The 73 is at Victoria, I assume, and as I also have a not very good photo of the same loco at Gatwick, I assume I must have had it for haulage which is nice, as I couldn't remember if I had one for haulage.

Variety certainly was the spice of life back then, wasn't it?

 

[xotGD]

That phot of 37426 wouldn't happen to be on a Bank Holiday Monday excursion would it?

 

[NorthWestRover]

That's a bit too much detail for me to recollect. It ended with a special event...

 

[xotGD]

That's a bit too much detail for me to recollect. It ended with a special event...

Naming ceremony?

 

[NorthWestRover]

It was. Don't tell me you were on it...

 

[xotGD]

It was. Don't tell me you were on it...

Indeed I was!

The name was unveiled by Miss Vale of Rheidol, I recall.

 

[NorthWestRover]

Well, what a coincidence. I do not have a photo of the unveiling...

 

[NorthWestRover]

I have a photo of a 40 at Aberystwyth in the bay/siding. Was that the same day?

 

[47403]

Wow lads,
Some fantastic recollections and pics in there. Sorry about the 47 bowling you for 56, I did laugh but even as a Spoon lover, I'd have been a bit p*ssed off if a 47 turned up instead of a Grid. My pain would've been less than yourself but I can appreciate the rarer things too. Although 47709 was a little lost, its a rather scant reward.
Having done Stewart Lane Depot too, the place was actually pristine, by far the cleanest and tidiest depot, I'd been round. Our guides took us to places outside to see stuff BUT we were told come this way, do not stray away, then stand there and don't move. Just ask if you want to know anything, at the time, I remember thinking(well apart from being **** scared I put my foot on the 3rd rail by total mistake or tripping over) this is like being shown the route through a mine field.
My abiding memory of SL was a slim Jim throbbing away in the shed, the reverberations seemed to go right through you. Also inside the main shed was a loco, I'd recently seen in Rail Enthusiast magazine and thought, I hope we see that when we're in London. None other than, 09012 DIck Hardy (yes, I did have an immature titter too) in the ever increasing but still relatively new, Inter City livery but titter ye not, I was delighted to see it too, as it was a cop too.
After coming off SL, with a boat load of cops(it was my first sojourn to London, I still cop loads when I go there), a guy on the coach asked, you do well there son, I said, aye, what about you? I got a few for the year, a name and livery, he replied. I was gobsmacked, I said, Year, You completely start again every year? I still have a book for all time sight but yes, I start from 1st Jan to 31st December, Keeps it interesting for me. I asked if I could possibly look at his books, he readily agreed and passed them over. His all time sights, the ones he needed were in pencil, of which, I'm told, he just rubs out when he sees them. Trust me, there wasn't very many pencil lines and haulages underlined in red biro, of which there was as many as I had for sight. His book for the year, did have more than I'd seen for sight. His books were immaculate too and complimented him on it, the one thing I nicked from him, from that day forth I made a promise to myself, my books I would try to keep equally as immaculate as his.
Everytime I see a pic of 33113, could be in outer Mongolia and like was posted in this thread earlier, I'll always think of it as the one that came to the Toon.
Mr North West Rover, loving these old photos, especially the 40s because coming up to and in my early teenage years, seeing 40s in the North East was becoming a bit of a rarity, not uncommon on freights but not passenger turns, certainly seemed more prevalent in the North West and Scotland if memory serves me right. I loved the whistling but the noise they make when thrashed was amazing. The shape of the nameplates on them too, added to their character.
Sure you guys will have many bashing tales to tell chasing 40s. I knew a guy, well a friend of a friends, who'd drive down to Preston on a regular basis, normally a Friday for the 40 turn, doing them to Blackpool and back. Then kip in his car for a bit, then over to Manchester to try his luck there, then drive home. His name escapes me sadly.

 

[NorthWestRover]

Good to share all these memories, it'll never be the same again. I still love travelling on trains, even now back into recording what I travel on and working towards clearing a class. And as much as I like the 195s as a passenger, I can't imagine being upset if they were all withdrawn tomorrow.

There will be quite a few more photos of 40s for you, you'll be glad to know. Of course, photography then involved paying for a film, then developing, so I didn't take as many as I would now. My paper round money was saved up for tickets!

 

[NorthWestRover]

Well, I wonder if @xotGD can find himself on one of these photos...



Or on the kettle thrash on the actual Vale of Rheidol railway...



Oh, and this was there too. 40 013, I think.