Open Days.

[RichmondCommu]

G'day everyone,

As an avid 'spotter from 1976 to 1984 I attended a fair few of these but I can't recall many of these being annual events. In fact the only two that I can remember as occurring every year were the Derby Loco Works open day and Coalville open day, both of which were in my neck of the woods as a child.

Your memories of open days (whether they were an annual event or not) would be very much appreciated.

As an afterthought, I remember seeing a picture in the Evening Standard of an actress from East Enders shoveling coal into a steam loco at Old Oak Common open day some time during the 1990s. I would liked to have attended that to have one last look at the 'Factory' and turntable but I only found out after the event.

Kind regards,

Richmond Commuter!

 

[EbbwJunction1]

I think that Crewe Loco Works had one virtually every year, and I went to a couple, I think.

I think that some of the others I went to were Derby Loco Works and Swindon Loco Works, but there were probably more that I can't remember!

 

[gg1]

I went to a couple at Bescot in the late 80's. My main memory is being told to "move out of the ******* way" by a photographer after inadvertently moving into his line of sight, swiftly followed by my dad (6' 1" and 17 stone) appearing from behind said photographer and having a few choice words with him

 

[GusB]

I remember attending an open day at Inverness. I thought it was 1985, but a bit of googling suggests it was a year later. I'd have been 11 at the time.

http://www.scot-rail.co.uk/page/Open+Days

The page jogged my memory a little, and I do now vaguely recall a loco being named (37 420). The highlight for me was seeing D9000 - first time I'd ever seen a "live" Deltic, although I'm sure I remember hearing that it had failed on the way up!

 

[Harbornite]

The last open day at bescot was some year before 1995. Open days were also held at Gloucester on occasion during the 1990s. As mentioned above, there were also open days held at Crewe works, the last being in 2003 or so.

 

[Rover]

Barrow Hill had them in the 70s and 80s - annually I think.

 

[DarloRich]

I went to Thornaby, Worksop, Doncaster and a few others

 

[Ash Bridge]

The first one I can recall attending was Crewe Works during (spring?) 1971 also 1973,1976 when the HST power cars were under construction then late 80s, 1988? and twice during the 90s also did Derby Loco Works in either 1973 or 74, Neville Hill in April 1973, Reddish ETD in August 73, Plymouth Laira 1991, Toton in 1998 (travelling by TnT 47 hauled shuttle service direct from Derby station) Longsight sometime in the 90s and the last one was Old Oak Common in 2000.

 

[Railops]

Try and Make Tyseley most years.

 

[ag51ruk]

As a BR trainee in the mid 80s, I volunteered to work on the trains to Coalville Open Day selling entrance tickets for a few years - we did a circle Derby - Leicester - Coalville - Burton - Derby and return.

The trains were first generation DMUs from Tyseley - one year, they provided non-corridor stock by mistake and the trains had to pull up at the temporary platform at Coalville to unload each section in turn, which took ages... Wouldn't be allowed today, I suspect!

 

[Bevan Price]

Not what be regarded now as a "special event" Open Day, but in steam days, Swindon Works was "Open" to visitors every Wednesday (and, I think) Sunday afternoon. If you waited at the entrance at 14:00, an official guide would take you round the Works (but not always the scrapyard).

 

[theblackwatch]

Done many over the years - back in the 80s, they were often the highlights of the railway calendar!

There's a very comprehensive list of open days at http://www.bropendays.co.uk/ , which I've about to have a look through, which will no doubt evoke some memories again

 

[RichmondCommu]

Barrow Hill had them in the 70s and 80s - annually I think.

I'd forgotten that Barrow Hill was an annual event. My main memory of Barrow Hill is the shed pilot 03189 giving rides up and down the yard with a Mk1 carriage attached to it.

 

[RichmondCommu]

Looking back through my photos of a visit to the Toton open day in 1979 shows Jinty 47357 looking very smart in a Midland Railway livery. Visitors were invited into the cab for a ride up and down the yard, something which would surely never happen today. I wonder if it had hauled itself from nearby Butterley.

Also on display that day was a very smart looking 44008 and a scruffy looking 44004. I have a picture of me clambering aboard looking very pleased with myself.

 

[Cowley]

Looking back through my photos of a visit to the Toton open day in 1979 shows Jinty 47357 looking very smart in a Midland Railway livery. Visitors were invited into the cab for a ride up and down the yard, something which would surely never happen today. I wonder if it had hauled itself from nearby Butterley.

Also on display that day was a very smart looking 44008 and a scruffy looking 44004. I have a picture of me clambering aboard looking very pleased with myself.

Very nice. Were there any other 44s around do you remember or had they been scrapped by then?
I didn't go to many open days at depots in fact I can only think of Bounds Green in 1987 at the moment. I went to a couple of 'rail days' (Basingstoke and Exeter) but I think that's about it.

 

[RichmondCommu]

Very nice. Were there any other 44s around do you remember or had they been scrapped by then?
I didn't go to many open days at depots in fact I can only think of Bounds Green in 1987 at the moment. I went to a couple of 'rail days' (Basingstoke and Exeter) but I think that's about it.

The only two that I photographed were 008 and 004. However I have a picture of 002 taken at Derby works two months later so that may well have been at Toton that day.

 

[EbbwJunction1]

I remember going to this one - Swindon Works, 7 September 1974

Diesel - D7093, D7097, D7068, D1007, D1017, D806
Class 52 scrapped cabs - D1000, D1024, D1060

Unusually, enthusiasts were permitted to remove parts from: D806, D824, D1007, D1017, D7023, D7054, D7055, D7068, D7074 and D7098.

I still have a couple of dials and switches from something(s), although I don't know now from what. I was quite restrained, because I probably had not have known that this was going to happen, but some people obviously did, as they had "come prepared" as the saying goes.

I'd have found it impossible to take anything big home anyway, as I was on the train .. but I did see some people taking rather large items away! I remember that at one stage, there was an enormous crash as someone kicked a door (which they'd unscrewed from the frame) out of the cab of something - possibly a Hymek? - and it landed on the floor. How it didn't fall on someone, I don't know - they'd have been seriously hurt or worse if it had. Ironically, the door was later left on the ground, as the person who thought that they wanted it obviously realised that there was no way that they could have got it home.

Anyone on here remember this - were you the person with the nifty footwork?

 

[Jack2015]

I was lucky enough to do Haymarket, Doncaster, Derby, Crewe, Barrow Hill, Laira, Landore, Canton, Selhurst, Stratford , Stewards Lane , Eastleigh and Old Oak Common back in the day.

 

[AJM580]

Done many good open days in the 1980s - 2000s

Some are:

1983 - Norwich Crown Point
1984 - Doncaster Works
1985 - Old Oak Common
1986 - Ashford Chart Leacon, Andover Rail Event
1987 - Basingstoke Rail Day, Norwich Crown Point
1988 - Colchester, Bournemouth West
1989 - Derby Works (best forgotten that one!)
1990 - Cambridge Gala Day
1991 - Gloucester Railday, Bristol Bath Road/St Philips Marsh (joint event), Cambridge Gala Day, Worksop Depot
1992 - Leicester
1993 - Worksop
1995 - Crewe Basford Hall
1996 - Ipswich WMD, Tinsley TMD (both gone now)
1997 - Crewe IEMD, Newport (Gwent) Railday
1998 - Bournemouth West, Toton TMD
2000 - Old Oak Common, Crewe Works
2003 - Doncaster Works
2005 - Community Railfest (Norwich Station)
2008 - Tyseley
2009 - Eastleigh Works
2014 - Crewe Gresty Bridge

Doncaster works in 1984 was memorable for seeing several class 58s being built, and many of them had railtours/shuttle trains running in connection with them featuring all sorts of big locos - had a 59/1 to Kings Lynn on one occasion

 

[pdeaves]

1989 - Derby Works (best forgotten that one!)

Care to explain why? I 'did' most of the ones on your list before this one and a few after, but I never did Derby works.

 

[AJM580]

Care to explain why? I 'did' most of the ones on your list before this one and a few after, but I never did Derby works.

As far as I can remember, there was not that much on show. As I was going in, there were a lot of folk coming out saying "don't bother going in there's hardly anything there to see". I went in, and it was rather underwhelming really. In the end I spent most of the time on Derby Station before doing a pair of class 31s to Norwich on a summer Saturday extra.

This is what was there (info from BR Open days site)

Diesel
D9000, D7671
08899, 08842, 08428, 08788
20011, 20070, 20072, 20099, 20218
31420, 31970, 31423
45136, 45121
55015

Steam
44932 (4-6-0 Black 5)
53809 (2-8-0 7F)
80080 (2-6-4T 4MT)

 

[KevinTurvey]

I remember that Derby open day too, I came away quite disappointed as BR works open days were usually big events.

One of my favourites was Crewe works in July 1987, never seen Crewe that busy before or since.

 

[Jack2015]

Did anyone attend Derby Works on June 2nd 1984? This was a the same day as Crewe Works open day where the Derby opening coincided with Crewe and the "Midland Executive" railtour. 56031 brought the tour to Derby where there was access to the works then 40122 took the tour to Crewe. The Crewe stock line up is well documented but the Derby visit less so. I know 45121 45003 were there but not sure about the class 20/25/27 and other peak and class 40's present, possibly 40132 was present. If anybody visited or has access to those Derby records that would be very helpful?

 

[Malcmal]

I was quite young when I attended Crewe works open day on 2nd June 1984. That was a classic due to all the withdrawn stock lying around. Sadly I was too small to climb into the cabs of the many withdrawn class 40's scattered around the site. I also remember in the dismantling shop a part-scrapped class 40 being freely stripped by numerous members of the public without any member of staff around to stop them!!

Edit: Just found a picture confirming my memory of it being 40188


40188 Crewe Works 020684 by Paul, on Flickr

 

[Cowley]

I was quite young when I attended Crewe works open day on 2nd June 1984. That was a classic due to all the withdrawn stock lying around. Sadly I was too small to climb into the cabs of the many withdrawn class 40's scattered around the site. I also remember in the dismantling shop a part-scrapped class 40 being freely stripped by numerous members of the public without any member of staff around to stop them!!

Edit: Just found a picture confirming my memory of it being 40188


40188 Crewe Works 020684 by Paul, on Flickr

Excellent photo Macmal. Wish I'd been there.

 

[Malcmal]

Excellent photo Macmal. Wish I'd been there.

Not my picture!! It's from somebodies Flickr account. They are credited underneath

 

[Cowley]

Not my picture!! It's from somebodies Flickr account. They are credited underneath

Oh yes. Sorry.

 

[GusB]

Today's Elven Safety brigade would have a fit if they saw a picture like that these days

The one and only open day I went to was in Inverness. I went with a group of people from the local model railway club, but memories are a bit hazy. We did have a layout there, which I remember being allowed to operate for the first time, and I saw my first Deltic in the flesh.

I've just had a bit of a google, and came up with this:
http://www.scot-rail.co.uk/page/Open+Days

Inverness: Saturday 28th June 1986
D9000 Royal Scots Grey (green), 08717, 26038, 37421, 47541 The Queen Mother, 47614.
Steam 60009 Union of South Africa, NBR 673 Maude
40122 (and 37154) arrived on Railtour
37420 named The Scottish Hosteller at the station.

There was a 47 on jacks in the shed in Intercity red stripe - I think this was 47541. I vaguely remember a loco being named as well, but I wouldn't have remembered which one.
I do remember that all the while we were there, Kyle and Far North trains were coming and going over the level crossing while there were lots of people milling about.

 

[Springs Branch]

This thread is timely as I've just discovered an old family photo album which includes a picture from an Open Day held at Wigan Springs Branch in the early 1970s.

Specifically a photo of a youthful me posing in the driver's seat of a brand new Class 87.

I think this Open Day was before the start of electric services between Crewe and Preston since double-headed Class 50s were still thundering past on the adjacent fast lines.

The presence of the ex-works Class 87 (not on-shed, but there specially for display purposes, along with some PR publicity about the Electric Scots) suggests it was early 1973.

Does anyone have a record of the actual date of this Open Day? I'd like to date the photograph if possible.

Vague memories of the day include much clambering about the cabs and oily engine rooms of Class 40s and Class 25s, as per the image in post #24, except no-one was nicking parts as far as I knew.

Also on that day brake van rides were available up and down the truncated remains of the historic Springs Branch branchline, propelled by a Class 25. These trips were accompanied by a constant cacophony from the loco horn, suggesting that enthusiastic "guests" were riding not just in the brake vans but also in one or both of the loco cabs too. As GusB said, 'Elf & Safety would go mad.

 

[pdeaves]

Does anyone have a record of the actual date of this Open Day?

http://www.bropendays.co.uk/wiganspringsbranch1973.html suggests it was 7 July 1973.