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Cabbing (getting into train cabs) in the 1970s

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Malcmal

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Does anyone know of a driver getting sacked in the UK for letting an enthusiast ride in the cab? I once got a run from Victoria to Gatwick (early 1990's) in the cab of a class 73 with a really friendly Indian driver and I actually refused the offer of the return run in the class 489 as I just didn't want to push my luck (or his) and get the guy into trouble should I be seen.
 
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Southof1E

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At the liks of Derby works open day in the early 70s day youd fine 6 or 7 seven spare cabs from Locos still with their numbers either on the side or inside the cab.They were only cabs the rest of the loco was elsewhere or scrapped, an oderly queque of young enthusiasts would take their turn to cab the cab!

happy days
nr
 

xotGD

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I've never been in the cab of a loco on the move, but I did visit the cabs of a number of Deltics in their final months in service.

I don't think I bothered with anything else.
 

delt1c

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At the liks of Derby works open day in the early 70s day youd fine 6 or 7 seven spare cabs from Locos still with their numbers either on the side or inside the cab.They were only cabs the rest of the loco was elsewhere or scrapped, an oderly queque of young enthusiasts would take their turn to cab the cab!

happy days
nr
I believe they were from class 24’ which had been scrapped. They were retained as spares but never used
 

Southof1E

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My Derby works cabbing like the one in xot GD's excellent phot on 260872 were

5031, 5165, 5306, 7634, 5064, 147, 5004, 5187

now whether these were all just loco cabs or complete locos i cannot remember. It was a few years ago now but happy days none the less

NR
 

delt1c

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On the subject of cabs at Derby...

View attachment 84206
Very Interesting photo, the numbers shown aew "006" cant be 24.006 as this was a "skinhead". 25.006 had a headcode box from new but of the variety fitted to later 24's with airhorns fitted below the bufferbeam and not either side of the headcode panel. This raises the question was this a cab from 25.006 and had 25.006 been fitted at some point with a cab from a later 25? Also I believe the 25/0S were scrapped at Swindon and Doncaster so if this is from a 25/0 how did it end up at Derby?
 

APT618S

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Very Interesting photo, the numbers shown aew "006" cant be 24.006 as this was a "skinhead". 25.006 had a headcode box from new but of the variety fitted to later 24's with airhorns fitted below the bufferbeam and not either side of the headcode panel. This raises the question was this a cab from 25.006 and had 25.006 been fitted at some point with a cab from a later 25? Also I believe the 25/0S were scrapped at Swindon and Doncaster so if this is from a 25/0 how did it end up at Derby?

According to Derby Sulzers 25006 had:
Modified Headcode boxes - Class 25/1 style (with horn receptacles): No.2 cab only (1975) - so that may explain the headcode box BUT 25006 was scrapped at Swindon not Derby.
See:https://www.derbysulzers.com/25006.html
 

Peter Sarf

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According to Derby Sulzers 25006 had:
Modified Headcode boxes - Class 25/1 style (with horn receptacles): No.2 cab only (1975) - so that may explain the headcode box BUT 25006 was scrapped at Swindon not Derby.
See:https://www.derbysulzers.com/25006.html
Maybe that cab off 25006 was sent to Derby as a useful spare because it was a newer version and quite possibly the last/newest made of that version. Depends whether later build 25s would get that much work done on them once early 25s were already getting withdrawn.

Interesting that effort has been made to remove paint from the cabside but retain the last three digits of the number. Perhaps that is a clue as to what is going on ?.

And I was going to add that I remember cabbing D1067 Western Druid in the darkest depths of Birmingham New Street station platform one after it had arrived from Paddington. I used to spend a lot of time at the London end of New Street. We all used to congregate at the end of platform 6+7 or 8+9 iirc. Especially waiting to see and hear a Western coming through the tunnel from Paddington. More often a 47 but never a rostored 50 !.
 
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Alanko

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I'm too young to have cabbed anything. The closest I got was getting a packed ScotRail 158 a few years back at Christmas time. I was carrying two suitcases, and ended up in the vestibule area. A mother appeared with a double buggy, so I ended up getting hustled further and further towards the front of the train, followed by other passengers, as the train got progressively busier. The guards compartment, on the right, was open and I ended up shoved into there. From in there I could basically pretend to be driving the train.

The worst part happened when I tried to film the track (I had an long-running joke with a few friends about landing a train driving job through a highly dubious and entirely fictional sideways promotion at work). I dropped my phone into the perfect phone-width gap at the rear of the dashboard (?) desk area in front of the window. My phone had disappeared somewhere into the rear of the light cluster. I alerted the guard, who was majorly unimpressed with the whole debacle. I then spent a couple of days watching my phone traverse the railways of central Scotland via 'Find my iPhone' on my laptop, and eventually it was fished out at Haymarket depot, where I was reunited with it.
 

55002

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Came across a picture on Flickr the other day and I was in back cab of a 31 on a run round off one of Cleethorpes to Newark train Back in the mid 80s!
 

Blinkbonny

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I'm too young to have cabbed anything. The closest I got was getting a packed ScotRail 158 a few years back at Christmas time. I was carrying two suitcases, and ended up in the vestibule area. A mother appeared with a double buggy, so I ended up getting hustled further and further towards the front of the train, followed by other passengers, as the train got progressively busier. The guards compartment, on the right, was open and I ended up shoved into there. From in there I could basically pretend to be driving the train.

The worst part happened when I tried to film the track (I had an long-running joke with a few friends about landing a train driving job through a highly dubious and entirely fictional sideways promotion at work). I dropped my phone into the perfect phone-width gap at the rear of the dashboard (?) desk area in front of the window. My phone had disappeared somewhere into the rear of the light cluster. I alerted the guard, who was majorly unimpressed with the whole debacle. I then spent a couple of days watching my phone traverse the railways of central Scotland via 'Find my iPhone' on my laptop, and eventually it was fished out at Haymarket depot, where I was reunited with it.


Great story! :D
 

xotGD

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According to Derby Sulzers 25006 had:
Modified Headcode boxes - Class 25/1 style (with horn receptacles): No.2 cab only (1975) - so that may explain the headcode box BUT 25006 was scrapped at Swindon not Derby.
See:https://www.derbysulzers.com/25006.html
Just to add to the mystery, the photos of the loco on the 'derbysulzers' site show the number on the bodyside, not on the cab.
 

citycat

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Does a crane cab count?

My dad used to work in the offices of the Freightliner depot at Kings Cross York Way and he used to take me to work with him in the summer holidays in the early 70’s

I had the unofficial run of the depot as long as I used the walking routes and kept clear of the container lorries, cranes and trains. As my dad knew everyone, I got rides around the depot in the various lorries as they picked up or dropped off containers.

The best bit though was being allowed to climb up into the crane, and the operator allowing an 11 year old me to operate the grab and lift an empty box from the train (I don’t think he quite trusted me to lift a full one).

Totally unthinkable today to let a staff member’s son have the run of the depot or to operate the crane, but things were just more relaxed back then. However, dad then moved onto Willesden Freightliner depot and things were more tight there, and I wasn’t allowed in.

For the life of me though, I can’t remember what locomotives would come into York Way yard. Perhaps someone could enlighten me.
 

Cowley

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I'm too young to have cabbed anything. The closest I got was getting a packed ScotRail 158 a few years back at Christmas time. I was carrying two suitcases, and ended up in the vestibule area. A mother appeared with a double buggy, so I ended up getting hustled further and further towards the front of the train, followed by other passengers, as the train got progressively busier. The guards compartment, on the right, was open and I ended up shoved into there. From in there I could basically pretend to be driving the train.

The worst part happened when I tried to film the track (I had an long-running joke with a few friends about landing a train driving job through a highly dubious and entirely fictional sideways promotion at work). I dropped my phone into the perfect phone-width gap at the rear of the dashboard (?) desk area in front of the window. My phone had disappeared somewhere into the rear of the light cluster. I alerted the guard, who was majorly unimpressed with the whole debacle. I then spent a couple of days watching my phone traverse the railways of central Scotland via 'Find my iPhone' on my laptop, and eventually it was fished out at Haymarket depot, where I was reunited with it.
That made me laugh too. :lol:
 

Malcmal

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Just to add to the mystery, the photos of the loco on the 'derbysulzers' site show the number on the bodyside, not on the cab.

I think this photo on Flickr might help with the mystery - even the 006 part is clearer which matches the cab photo :D

Also the shape of the paint / undercoat is identical!! However I can see the air horns are missing off this end but I still think it makes a case


25006 [CH-4--011]
by Jamerail, on Flickr

Here is the end with the air horns:


25006 [CH-4--005]
by Jamerail, on Flickr

And adding one more picture I found:


Class 25: 25006 Dumfries
by emdjt42, on Flickr
 
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peteb

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I recall being able to stand in the vestibule between pairs of 4 CEPs? 4CIGs? or 4VEPs? on the southern region and being able to look through into the drivers compartment as the door had a window in it. I often stood here to see the speedometer, quite exciting on runs to Southampton which could clock 100mph. Sometimes the door was not properly locked and swung to and fro, and you could sit on the drivers seat if you dared, although all controls were isolated I guess!
 
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jumble

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I spent a couple of hours in a London Underground cab going up and down the line, this was only in 2013. The driver said he’d ran it past his line manager and it was all OK. It was all arranged in advance. I wonder if things on LU are a bit more lenient?

I had a cab ride on 38TS with my two young boys on the 100th anniversary of Uxbridge from UXB to Ealing Common
The train was full of LT officials
Also on the last Silver D stock Driven by District Dave in person
and on Cravens preserved set at the top of the Northern probably in 1996

I know someone who got a Jubilee cab ride officially
The one I missed was that My Dad was at Uni with the area manager at Olympia who got him a steam Ride in the early 70s and I was so jealous
 
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