Distant Memories

[driver9000]

I recall sometime in October(?) 1999, I had to travel from Edinburgh to Lancaster but due to engineering works I was first sent to Glasgow Queen St which gave me chance to sample the then new 170s and onward to Central station for a diverted WC evening service over the G&SW. Somewhere near Dunfries or Annan the EWS 47 at the head ran out of fuel and coasted to a halt in the middle of nowhere. We sat in the cold silence of the night in dim emergency lighting for around 2hrs until we were rescued by 2x47s to drag us on to Carlisle for the 87 to pick up the electrickery. Arrival into Lancaster was well after midnight - goodness knows what time it arrived at Euston.

Got a £25 rail warrant from Virgin Trains when I sent the claim form in

 

[Julian G]

I can remember:
C-stock in Yellow Pages livery (saw it once at South Kensington)
Dstock with the Old Seats
1973 Unrefurbished and the United Airlines Livery

I've only been on the 1959TS 4 times
319s on Rugby-Gatwicks
Slammers [every Summer I would go between CLJ and East Croydon to bash them]
I remember going on a CIG from CLJ-Portsmouth
Also I remember doing the 1717 Pompey-Waterloo (via Effingham Jn) which was formed of a 5 car 442, [i believe this service still goes via Effingham Jn]
I forgot to mention that the loco-hauled XC to Brightons.... Classic!

 

[Techniquest]

Just wondering, but is there a limit to how recent these distant memories can be?

As it feels distant as f**k to me now, there's nothing much in my eyes that beats 43002 charging up Llanvihangel. Nothing but nothing but thrash all the way from a starting start at Abergavenny, in the early morning of 3rd January on a 2+8 set...

If that wasn't enough, we got held outside Hereford. At about 0540 in the morning, it was still dark and silent. The signal cleared into a double-amber, the resulting thrash (we had been held for several minutes and were destined to be late off Hereford) would have woken the neighbours!

43003 the night before on a leap from Bristol Parkway to Cardiff Central...oh my, the thrash through the Severn Tunnel!

Sadly, you can't go and do this any more. RIP S482 and S155.:cry::cry::cry:

 

[driver9000]

sorry to nit-pick, but there is no such thing as an 'amber' signal on the railway - its yellow or two yellows

Your right though, you cant beat an HST thrashing its little socks off waking the locals up

 

[Techniquest]

sorry to nit-pick, but there is no such thing as an 'amber' signal on the railway - its yellow or two yellows

Aye, I don't know why I call them 'ambers', even though I know they're yellows.

Your right though, you cant beat an HST thrashing its little socks off waking the locals up

Little socks? They'd have to be big socks to fit a HST... But yeah, a Paxman Valenta 12RP200L, coupled with a Marston cooler group...THE bee's knees!

 

[ungreat]

Earliest memory was definately seeing Class 44 just numbered "9" on the Erewash Valley line with a long rake of 16 ton wagons,about 1973 I think..also being at derby station in 1976 when a brand new HST set crawled out of the works

 

[37412]

Remember the Clacton 309s on FNW trains out of Birmingham, as well as the 37s and then the 47s from Brum to the NWC. Had regular travels behind the 37s from Wolverhampton to Chester for the zoo in the summer months!

My earliest memories are from the NWC as well when I used to go out with my dad, regularly on a night we would catch the 1721 out of New Street to Stafford for the 'Clacton' back to Brum always in via Bescot and back via Sandwell & Dudley or vice a versa and then a 37 back from Stafford into Brum. If there was something rare out such as an NB engine on the diagram it would normally mean a run to Crewe or if there was one out on another diagram a move to be in place for that. I remember one night turning up at New Street to see 37403 arrive, due to never having it before i twisted my dad's arm to go to Chester on it, then had 426 back home which was another favourite!

 

[16CSVT2700]

Class 50s and 47s on the Paddington-Oxfords and Waterloo-Exeters
Class 47s and HSTs on cross-country trains
Class 58s, 56s and 60s on the Didcot coal trains
RfD Channel Tunnel, Trainload liveries everywhere

IC liveried HSTs on loads of expresses to the west country. 101/117/121s on the Thames Valley local trains.

More BR trains than you can shake a Network Rail sized stick at..

 

[CosherB]

Crikey, it makes me feel old reading this thread. I remember being lifted up into the cab of Jubilee 'Tobago' at Manchester Victoria sometime around the mid 50s. And a school trip to Sctland, steam hauled up Shap so slowly that we could lean out of the windows and pick leaves off the lineside trees! 8Fs on loose coupled coal trains on the Stockport - Glazebrook line, and also on the ICI limestone train ('the hoppers') from Buxton to Northwich (occasionally a 9F turn). 2-coach push-pull on the Manchester - Warrington via Skelton Junction service, with a tiny tank engine providing the bpower. And the original 1500 VDC EMUs on the MSJ&R (Manchester London Road - now Piccadilly - to Altrincham).

Those 8Fs on 'the hoppers' blasting up the bank out of Altrincham to Hale were a stirring sight and sound!

 

[Spaceflower]

37s and Mk2's on Transpennine services, both in BR Blue and Regional Railways liveries. Intercity liveried 47s on cross country services

Fond memories of sitting on the end of platform 1 at Durham being deafened by the rear PCs of Intercity-liveried HSTs. The drivers seemed to thrash them more in those days...

My earliest memories too, clinging on to fence in the car park behind platform 1.

Another thing I dont hear much these days is the distant growl of coal trains and other loco hauled trains thumping past tursdale on a quiet night over 4 miles away!
Although I now live over 7 miles from the ECML and 4 miles from the Durham coastline, I still occassionally hear the growl.