Inter City Railway Society

[RichmondCommu]

G'day everyone,

Something of a random post here but hey nothing ventured nothing gained!

Back in the early 1980's I was an avid reader of Rail Enthusiast and each month would look at the adverts placed by ICRS for depot visits. I signed up for as many as I could afford which ranged from trips to Toton to Saturday mornings round Stratford.

Having rung to check availability, cheques were always sent to a Mr Byrne and I would love to know whether he is still involved with the society. Although all my note books were disposed of many years’s a go I feel that I owe him an awful lot!

Any answers to this question or indeed any other reminisces would be very welcome! Visits to Stratford were particularly memorable as you simply walked out of the station and joined the queue! It’s strange to think that last summer I was screaming and shouting for Mo Farah where the depot once stood!

Many thanks,

Richmond Commuter!

 

[Karl]

I was a member of the North West Branch of the ICRS from the early 1970s until the early 1980s. In fact I've still got my membership card, I was member number 812.

I've also got most of the society's monthly newsletters from that era. I've had a look through various copies from 1975 through to 1980 and can't seem to find a Mr Byrne despite the society's officials all being listed in each edition.

However, since you mentioned Stratford depot I thought you might be interested to see a list of the locomotives at Stratford's Open Day back on the 14th July 1979.

03149/160/168/389

08233/264/315/409/418/440/494/518/521/541/552/724/859/930/958

31003/004/005/006/008/013/015/017/019/110/133/148/151/182/191/241

37022/060/091/093/102/114/116/120/160/200/215/262/263/265

40147/176/197

47003/011/017/085/117/140/156/169/170/289/374/408

55015

56018

SC43095

ADB 968000

and 313033

Those were the days, eh?!

 

[onein37]

Was Mr Byrne with the NREA?

 

[overtonchris]

I was a member of the North West Branch of the ICRS from the early 1970s until the early 1980s. In fact I've still got my membership card, I was member number 812.

I've also got most of the society's monthly newsletters from that era. I've had a look through various copies from 1975 through to 1980 and can't seem to find a Mr Byrne despite the society's officials all being listed in each edition.

However, since you mentioned Stratford depot I thought you might be interested to see a list of the locomotives at Stratford's Open Day back on the 14th July 1979.

03149/160/168/389

08233/264/315/409/418/440/494/518/521/541/552/724/859/930/958

31003/004/005/006/008/013/015/017/019/110/133/148/151/182/191/241

37022/060/091/093/102/114/116/120/160/200/215/262/263/265

40147/176/197

47003/011/017/085/117/140/156/169/170/289/374/408

55015

56018

SC43095

ADB 968000

and 313033

Those were the days, eh?!

That brings back memories Karl....I was at that open day too at the tender age of 15!!!!! What a shame it's now so much more difficult to have these events on with all the Health and Safety legislation etc. Hey ho - that's modern life I suppose!!!

 

[RichmondCommu]

I was a member of the North West Branch of the ICRS from the early 1970s until the early 1980s. In fact I've still got my membership card, I was member number 812.

I've also got most of the society's monthly newsletters from that era. I've had a look through various copies from 1975 through to 1980 and can't seem to find a Mr Byrne despite the society's officials all being listed in each edition.

However, since you mentioned Stratford depot I thought you might be interested to see a list of the locomotives at Stratford's Open Day back on the 14th July 1979.

03149/160/168/389

08233/264/315/409/418/440/494/518/521/541/552/724/859/930/958

31003/004/005/006/008/013/015/017/019/110/133/148/151/182/191/241

37022/060/091/093/102/114/116/120/160/200/215/262/263/265

40147/176/197

47003/011/017/085/117/140/156/169/170/289/374/408

55015

56018

SC43095

ADB 968000

and 313033

Those were the days, eh?!

Many thanks for your fantastic reply! ADB 968000; was that a loco converted to provide train heat in carriage sidings. This is a pure guess but was it a class 17?

Another forum member has suggested that Mr Byrne may have in fact been a member of the NREA, in which case my memory has let me down!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Was Mr Byrne with the NREA?

I think you may well be right! Either way I had a lot of happy weekends thanks to him and his society. The same of course also goes to ICRS!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Was Mr Byrne with the NREA?

I think you may well be right! Either way I had a lot of happy weekends thanks to him and his society. The same of course also goes to ICRS!

 

[Karl]

Many thanks for your fantastic reply! ADB 968000; was that a loco converted to provide train heat in carriage sidings. This is a pure guess but was it a class 17?

Yes I remember something about them being used for heating or something. I didn't really take much notice of things with odd numbering like ADB968000 etc as I'd missed them when they were in actual service on BR.

I think they were actually class 15? The Claytons were class 17.

Whatever they were, they weren't particularly attractive looking things to me, hence I didn't take much notice of them unfortunately.

 

[D6975]

ADB968000 was a class 15 train heat conversion. Ther were four of them done. One was at Marylebone for a long time, visible from the platforms. I think it may have been 968000.

 

[Taunton]

ADB968000 was a class 15 train heat conversion. Ther were four of them done. One was at Marylebone for a long time, visible from the platforms. I think it may have been 968000.

I never quite understood this usage. The units were used for heating in the 1970s-80s, I presume electric heating as there was a general shortage of locos that could provide this at the time and electric-only heated stock (Mk 2d and later) was just coming into use then - but this class did not have electric heating, so must have had an expensive adaptation to run off their main engine, and the class had been withdrawn prematurely because their Paxman V16s were unreliable and a maintenance nuisance for only 800 hp, so surely even more so if just supplying ETH.

Furthermore, whatever were they heating at Marylebone in those years? As I recall it this was very much dmu only in those times.

Could they still move themselves (or stock), or did they need a shunting loco to position them?

 

[theblackwatch]

There were regular steam tours into and out of Marylebone in the 80s so presumably it was used to heat the stock used on those.

 

[Taunton]

These would surely have been steam-heated stock in those days. Did these units do steam as well? Did they even have boilers originally?

 

[scarby]

Could they still move themselves (or stock), or did they need a shunting loco to position them?

They were moveable, but not under their own power as they had the traction motors removed (quite why they did this I don't know). This was one of the problems with the sole preserved survivor as it had no traction motors. I believe they sourced replacements from a similar type of design in Ireland.