Show off your realistic AI railway images!

[Sun Chariot]

I had the Japanese import That's What I Call A Good Number Two. A curious audio experience: on board a railway carriage, the sound of lavatory doors closing and lids lifted, grunting. Then - to piped music of Boney M's Brown Girl In The Ring - a noise I couldn't place; it was a familiar sound, nonetheless.

 

[Topological]

That is a few posts in a row now without an image. The "Do you Remember?" theme will end after this weekend and there are still a pile of pictures on my desk waiting to be scanned and incorporated. I must make sure that the tales are complete before the return of the Voyagers on Wednesday.

Do you remember when life offered you a new direction? For a younger Topological that would mean a life riding new high-speed lines in China. For Billy Davies daughter the lure of the sea is calling. She has returned to Skenedd for a careers event.



Those who saw the photos of Skenedd in the late 1950s will remember the Victorian Grammar School that stood on the site of what is now Skenedd Comprehensive. Here we see a now 17 year old queue with her friends to learn about the opportunity to sail the seven seas on the new cruise ships. A three care DMU is operating the local service and little remains of Skenedd station from the earlier pictures. More of the residents of the terrace on the left are driving now, they have their route to escapism. Now Billy Davies daughter will go into the world to find the love that sets her free.

Meanwhile, Billy Davies second daughter is seen watching the train, dreaming of the day that she can drive pacers on the line.

 

[Ashley Hill]

Remember when you could listen to the sound of trains from the comfort of your own bedroom? 55021 is just pulling out of Kings Cross, good old Alan Vitty.


Take one didn`t really highlight the cassette teenage Dave was listening to.

 

[Topological]

My big take away from that excellent image is just what a light timetable Dave had. No wonder he found time for all those magazines.

 

[Ashley Hill]

Perhaps Melody Maker would have sold more magazines if it had covers like that. I think AI got confused there, and it got the Human League wrong. But it got the Alan Vitty cassette correct which surprised me. I still have a couple of those, havn`t played them for probably 30 odd years.

 

[Topological]

Perhaps Melody Maker would have sold more magazines if it had covers like that. I think AI got confused there, and it got the Human League wrong. But it got the Alan Vitty cassette correct which surprised me. I still have a couple of those, havn`t played them for probably 30 odd years.

Melody, sweet music, making sweet music... makes sense.

Do you remember when they rushed the Mk3 EMUs out with old style pantographs? Possibly not, but almost 40 years later, many would wish that they would hurry up and get the replacements out.




Here we see a scene in North East London in which a pair of young academics are strolling home, presumably having saved at least 20p collectively by getting off a stop early. A side do you remember is the tale of the academic who was last seen in a modern day camping scene. However, I have recently uncovered a collection of images from the mid-1980s that seem to follow these two on a tour of Britian. Since the theme is reaching the end, it made sense to incorporate those images into the thread before the free for all commences on the 14th.

 

[Rab Smith]

Do you remember....
The Glasgow to Stranraer Sealink rake? I did some major mileage on these trains back in the 80's

 

[Sun Chariot]

@Ashley Hill in the 1980s I used to listen to the Audiocord range. I had a dozen or so of their high-quality stereo modern image recordings. A personal favourite of theirs, was Diesels on the Grade. A feast of thrash.
i also used buy The Finest Hour, although their production-quality wasn't as good.

Some 20 years ago, I started collecting Compact Disc format recordihgs from the late great Peter Handford's Transacord range. Not all Peter's steam-era material made it onto CD; but I have more than a dozen of them.
I have been a hi-fi lover for 35+ years and have a lovely setup costing more than my car; it makes all train audio recordings "come alive".
All of Peter's EPs + LPs were put onto YouTube (by someone else); I have all those links. I listen to those on my laptop but the sound isn't a patch on the hi-fi setup.

My big take away from that excellent image is just what a light timetable Dave had. No wonder he found time for all those magazines.

I'm worried that those "specialist' magazines seem to feature Queen's Brian May, in addition to Linda Lusardi...

 

[Ashley Hill]

Do you remember....
The Glasgow to Stranraer Sealink rake? I did some major mileage on these trains back in the 80's View attachment 202133

I seem to remember that one of those coaches ended up on the steam railway at Paignton.

 

[Sun Chariot]

Do you remember....
The Glasgow to Stranraer Sealink rake? I did some major mileage on these trains back in the 80's View attachment 202133

I do well remember those in the railway press (and Lima's OO scale model). I didn't get a chance to see them in the metallic flesh. I did, however, see and photo BRC&W's "Mexican Bean" 104 325.
At the time, I thought the Sealink Mk1 livery a bit gaudy. Then I saw and photo'd Stagecoach's short-lived Mk2 air-cons and Pilkington's Mk1 rake...

 

[Topological]

My memory may be playing tricks here, but I think there is another Sealink liveried set in this thread. Someone was photographing them anyway.

Do you remember Chicken in a Basket? I do not, but I suspect it was not as big as Gemini thought. It is good that upon his return to the UK, the young Chariot was able to find the humour in what had happened on the French Exchange visit. There are some questions about what brought us from a broke student to a pub landlord. Maybe things were just cheaper in the 1980s. One suspects that The Exchange gets quite a lot of train spotting visitors hoping to catch another of the new EMUs on its way to Cambridge. This photographer seems to have completely missed any trains, possibly scared by the swans.



For any AI geeks following this, please note that I specified two Victorians doing a business deal for the nameboard at The Exchange. This is the first time I have seen it render a woman in a business setting. Not good enough, but at least it captured the actual pub well.

 

[Sun Chariot]

I specified two Victorians doing a business deal for the nameboard at The Exchange. This is the first time I have seen it render a woman in a business setting.

Au contraire, mon ami -

During the refurbishment of the old inn, Chariot Pubs chain unearthed a leather-bound gimp* secreted up a grubby passage hidden between the two chimney-breasts in the inn's former kitchen.
Upon peeling back the gimp's leather, the restorers discovered a diary belonging to a Sun Tan Pi-Ling, illegitimate son of an illicit liaison between a Vietnamese cook and an aristrocratic French military officer, during France's colonial occupation.
The diary's entries spoke of repression, censored expression and of something called Le Pacer du Merde.
A notable entry by Sun Tan Pi-Ling, was of one savoury dish, combining Coq Au Vin with Toad In The Hole**. His mother devised it to appease Sun Tan's father's military circle. Chicken was a delicacy in Vietnam and Coq in The Hole was a treat.
Their dish was an absolute hit. With that, Sun Tan and mother exchanged Vietnam's poverty for a new life - in the sculleries of Parisian high society.

The Exchange's pub sign pays homage to that rich history: of a top-hatted Sun Tan with a Parisian lady - their exchange of cash for a portion of Coq in The Hole.

* 19th Century term for a large notebook.
** Toads were everywhere in 19th Century Vietnam. A bit like the UK's urban pigeons; without wings or beaks, obviously.

 

[Topological]

That is a magnificent story. It is amazing what can be hidden within a seemingly innocuous riverside watering hole. I wonder if any images of this Le Pacer du Merde exist. It would be great if someone could get some images of the Coq in The Hole. I always find Toad in The Hole appears a little beige. To be fair we have a lot of gimps in the library at work.



Before the thread disappears too far into a cookery book, I wanted to recount a different "Do you Remember?" and consider "Do you Remember Dog Racing?". A very young Topological was able to watch dog racing from the back window of his family seat in Preston. I did a quick bit of googling and realise that Preston Dog Track closed in 1988 so it really is a tough ask to say much about the place. All I can say is that whilst the view was similar, the window in the back bedroom was a lot smaller. There is also no railway beyond the dog track site, just more terraced houses and then New Hall Lane. To the left of the dog track as a young Topological viewed it was the park. Although most stories say otherwise, it was Albarn's wanderings in the park, and looks towards the dog track, that made the cover of Parklife what it is.

 

[Ashley Hill]

Do you remember Chicken in a Basket?

Yes, it was quite a thing in the 80s along with scampi. Some places it was an actual basket made out of some dubious material, in others it was a plastic basket.

 

[Topological]

Yes, it was quite a thing in the 80s along with scampi. Some places it was an actual basket made out of some dubious material, in others it was a plastic basket.

I have been to places that tried to replicate it with baskets that then get salt in places that it should not be. Therefore I was not worried when The Exchange were serving using realistic baskets. Now that I have read the backstory I can understand the focus on food.

 

[Sun Chariot]

Lost loves - do you remember your very first love? Was it a class 40? A class 25?

 

[Topological]

Lost loves - do you remember your very first love? Was it a class.40? A class 25?

So romantic... That 08 just cannot look.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 12 Apr 2026 ==

I was reflecting on what my first love as a train would have been. Living on the Midland Mainline, the HSTs we had were special. It was a time of transition from the blue and grey to the Swallow livery. Here we see version 002 resplendent in its new Swallow livery.



Here we see the young academic looking over the fence at the experimentally liveried power car. They are using one of the buffered power cars for experimentation because Grand Central are not ready for them yet. The marketing team obviously got excited with the possibility of a swallow so made a big deal of the bird.

 

[Ashley Hill]

Lost loves - do you remember your very first love? Was it a class.40? A class 25?

To be honest I’d be on those 40s souvenir hunting .

 

[Rab Smith]

So romantic... That 08 just cannot look.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 12 Apr 2026 ==

I was reflecting on what my first love as a train would have been. Living on the Midland Mainline, the HSTs we had were special. It was a time of transition from the blue and grey to the Swallow livery. Here we see version 002 resplendent in its new Swallow livery.

View attachment 202191

Here we see the young academic looking over the fence at the experimentally liveried power car. They are using one of the buffered power cars for experimentation because Grand Central are not ready for them yet. The marketing team obviously got excited with the possibility of a swallow so made a big deal of the bird.

I think it would get a bloody nose before those buffers took effect!

 

[Sun Chariot]

Here we see version 002 resplendent in its new Swallow livery.
The marketing team obviously got excited with the possibility of a swallow

I always thought 1987's "swallow" InterCity livery suited HST power cars better than 1984's "executive" InterCity scheme.

Question: what's the story behind the "swallow" logo?
A swift would have made perfect marketing sense: for swift InterCity travel, competitive routes and timings (late 1980s).
The bird's tail-shape was definitely that of a swallow.
So - was it a gaffe by the design agency?

Inspired by my "Whistlers and Rats" visits to Swindon Works (1985) and Crewe Works (1986), Young Chariot's distracted attention driven by his belief the scrapyard will yield a 69 and a swallow - even though IC Swallow liveried locos wouldn't be on death row for another decade-plus; and it'll be a while until class 69s see the cutter's torch.

They are using one of the buffered power cars for experimentation because Grand Central are not ready for them yet.

43 002 Top of the Pops / Sir Kenneth Grange is still with us - safely in the National Railway Museum's care.
A Western Region machine to its end, ne'er a buffer graced its front valance (those buffer-fitted examples were Eastern Region's and intended for use with Class 91s, until the Mk4 DVTs came into service).

 

[Topological]

I always thought 1987's "swallow" InterCity livery suited HST power cars better than 1984's "executive" InterCity scheme.

Question: what's the story behind the "swallow" logo?
A swift would have made perfect marketing sense: for swift InterCity travel, competitive routes and timings (late 1980s).
The bird's tail-shape was definitely that of a swallow.
So - was it a gaffe by the design agency?

Inspired by my "Whistlers and Rats" visits to Swindon Works (1985) and Crewe Works (1986), Young Chariot's distracted attention driven by his belief the scrapyard will yield a 69 and a swallow - even though IC Swallow liveried locos wouldn't be on death row for another decade-plus; and it'll be a while until class 69s see the cutter's torch.



43 002 Top of the Pops / Sir Kenneth Grange, is still with us and safely in the National Railway Museum's care.
A Western Region machine to its end, ne'er a buffer graced its valance (the buffer fitted examples being Eastern Region allocated, for use with Class 91s until the Mk4 DVTs came into service.

I knew I would mess it up. Still, I got to learn something about the origin of the Swallow and the real 43002.

"Do you remember when British Rail attempted to exert their authority over Intercity?" A prelude to the future with GBR perhaps. The logic as I understood it was that people saw Intercity as a way of taking them either to work, or to shop. Michael O'Leary had not invented the city break in the 1980s so no one saw the city as a fun place to stay. British Rail saw opportunities to take people to the country, they proclaimed that it was not very far by HST. It was an opportunity for the townsfolk to learn from the wisdom there, for sure. However, most just stuck to a trip to the pub and stayed until they were slurred of word and could not find the door.



This HST is joining the line from the left, the coaches have not fallen off, honest.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 12 Apr 2026 ==

I think it would get a bloody nose before those buffers took effect!

This is why I use Gemini to sort my photos normally

 

[Ashley Hill]

This is why I use Gemini to sort my photos normally

I used Gemini to restore an old family photograph, it worked really well.

 

[Sun Chariot]

I used Gemini to restore an old family photograph, it worked really well.

I'll have to try that. Some of my ancestors were utterly butt-ugly. Gemini might restore some pride to the Chariot family-albums.

To the left of the dog track as a young Topological viewed it was the park. Although most stories say otherwise, it was Albarn's wanderings in the park, and looks towards the dog track, that made the cover of Parklife what it is.

The habitual voyeur, young Topological, no doubt grew in confidence (which is a preference).
Down here, the parks are full of users and abusers, rather than guts lord-marching.

However, most just stuck to a trip to the pub and stayed until they were slurred of word and could not find the door.

I did a smattering of Oxford pub crawls in my younger days. London's Circle Line Pub Crawl and Monopoly Board Pub Crawl, too.
Seeing that King's Head sign, makes me wonder if anywhere has sufficent pubs named The .. Head for a Getting A-Head Pub Crawl.

 

[Topological]

I'll have to try that. Some of my ancestors were utterly butt-ugly. Gemini might restore some pride to the Chariot family-albums.


The habitual voyeur, young Topological, no doubt grew in confidence (which is a preference).
Down here, the parks are full of users and abusers, rather than guts lord-marching.


I did a smattering of Oxford pub crawls in my younger days. London's Circle Line Pub Crawl and Monopoly Board Pub Crawl, too.
Seeing that King's Head sign, makes me wonder if anywhere has sufficent pubs named The .. Head for a Getting A-Head Pub Crawl.

That is a very good question about the heads. I mean there is enough variation on head out there. Probably more chance of getting head-based pubs in the 20th century though.

Do you remember when the TV broadcast something worth watching? The young (well young for an academic) couple are back at their apartment with their evening television. The test card is not on yet and there is some news to keep even the most weary of HST lovers up. The younger student couple were closer to wearing the same clothes. But the mind gets clag on when you get closer to Paxman. The end of the century will feel far away in this 1980s scene. The reality is it is further away from today than it was for this couple.

 

[Sun Chariot]

No train coming - do you remember when "taking a risk" had absolutely nothing to do with fare-avoidance?

 

[Topological]

No train coming - do you remember when "taking a risk" had absolutely nothing to do with fare-avoidance?

At 23:15 at night, just before pub chucking-out time. Better be quick... Unless there is a decent kebab around and then there might be a bit longer for Bean.



Do you remember January? We were exploring the rail-related interiors of pubs and wondering whether anyone would ever want to set foot outside them. It is apt now to post the picture of the young academic couple enjoying a pint while there is a low-pressure front ravaging the North East coast. Somewhere in the 40s on the barometer. The pub owner is trying to escape his memories of seeing the Queen jump off Land's End. He has brought a lot of memorabilia with him though. Nothing wrong with sheltering in a pub, you are never alone.

I fully agree with the Blackboard, which is written in a unique lost Cornish dialect. There is no suggestion that you had to pay £2.78 for Mornlay Eggs on a Thursday.

 

[Sun Chariot]

At 23:15 at night, just before pub chucking-out time. Better be quick... Unless there is a decent kebab around and then there might be a bit longer for Bean.

Marvellous pub scene and backstory. That takes me back to hostelries of decades past, which oozed character (the pubs, not younger me).
Talking of taking things back, that 23:15 on the clock was a Sunday night teaser: pubs had closed at 10:30pm. The alley cleared, local greasy - and notoriously packed - kebab shop had closed for the night. Thus, the welcoming warmth that only a railway station can offer at that time of night

 

[Topological]

Marvellous pub scene and backstory. That takes me back to hostelries of decades past, that oozed character (the pubs, not younger me).
Talking of taking things back, that 23:15 on the clock was a Sunday night teaser: pubs had closed at 10:30pm. The alley cleared, local greasy - and notoriously packed - kebab shop had closed for the night. Thus, the welcoming warmth that only a railway station can offer at that time of night

To be fair, you only need to stay a couple of minutes for a kebab, it would be shut 45 minutes after pub closing.

I did enjoy the pub crawl in January (and not just because I suggested the theme). Look out for a few more in the free-for-all that follows the theme.



Do you remember when black was used on the powercar at the 7th class end to let people know where to go with their antiques? We find ourselves under the Westway next to the GWML in the pre-Heathrow Express wires days. There are blue skies in the city, the men in orange jackets have evidently been busy. No one is planting any adverts in the brains though. The young academic couple seem preoccupied. They look to the sky as their favoured HST rumbles by. Perhaps they look for comets in the daytime, perhaps it is simply the vapour trails of the planes.

If anyone chooses to link this to the Olympics and then tells me that it was 14 years ago, then I will remind them that they are highly unrealistic and should go check out the new version of Thomas the Tank Engine over there.

 

[Sun Chariot]

Missed the last post - do you remember all those fascinating nocturnal operations for Royal Mail's Travelling Post Office? Their on-train sorting operation ceased in January 2004.
I posted a letter into the Down West Coast Postal, at Euston, in 1988. I wonder if anyone tried doing that en route...?

Tomorrow's the last day for your "Do You Remember" themed images.
From then, it's any realistic AI railway images - until 1st May.

 

[Ashley Hill]

Do you remember a time when people tipped? I dont remember ever getting this much though, Dave has made a nice little earner.