Back in the day...

[Forty29]

I think the 31s took over from Hymeks ?. I remember circa 1975 seeing the last of the class lined up at Old Oak Common. Cleared the class as they appeared in my Ian Allen book in one go (ignoring the 85% or so already long withdrawn)

Yes probably that was the reason for a Class 31 invasion. Though in 1974:

22/8/74 31264(IM) 4B07 1507 PADD to BTM parcels.
37049(SF) 1233TTho STJ to Dagenham empty cartics
1065 1A19 1100 Penzance to Paddington Cornish Riviera and it's soon to be replacement 50019(BR) 1B83 1530 Paddington to Penzance.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

---- 47323 09:20 Football Special Nottingham - St Pancras ---

The sort of haulage enthusiasts would pay good money for but footex got it for "free" !

 

[Peter Sarf]

Yes probably that was the reason for a Class 31 invasion. Though in 1974:

22/8/74 31264(IM) 4B07 1507 PADD to BTM parcels.
37049(SF) 1233TTho STJ to Dagenham empty cartics
1065 1A19 1100 Penzance to Paddington Cornish Riviera and it's soon to be replacement 50019(BR) 1B83 1530 Paddington to Penzance.

Could well be 1974. I was seeing the Hymeks after the invasion had finished.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

It has been suggested (by @D6130) that I post this photo in the back in the day thread - if not appropriate - mods please move. It is by my records D6120 at Glasgow QS August 1970. However D6130 says that is not possible and I made a typo and the other loco is D6130. Anyway, photos of North British locos seem to be rare so I am posting. (Is this more appropriate in Railway History and Nostalgia?)

 

[D6130]

It has been suggested (by @D6130) that I post this photo in the back in the day thread - if not appropriate - mods please move. It is by my records D6120 at Glasgow QS August 1970. However D6130 says that is not possible and I made a typo and the other loco is D6130. Anyway, photos of North British locos seem to be rare so I am posting. (Is this more appropriate in Railway History and Nostalgia?)

The mystery deepens! Having studied the photos in Anthony P Sayer's book on the class 21/29s, it would appear that D6130 never received electrification warning stickers on its cab ends....so it can't be that one. Furthermore, all the rebuilt locos that received full yellow cab ends and electrification stickers had one on each side of the headcode panel, at a slightly lower level between the horn vents and the tail lights. The only such loco which isn't photographed in the book in its final state is D6124....so it's either that, or another loco which has lost one of its stickers.

Edit: Further delving into the book reveals that D6121 'lost its left-hand side 25kV sign at No.1 end following minor accident damage circa 1968'. I think that's our answer then!

 

[xotGD]

It has been suggested (by @D6130) that I post this photo in the back in the day thread - if not appropriate - mods please move. It is by my records D6120 at Glasgow QS August 1970. However D6130 says that is not possible and I made a typo and the other loco is D6130. Anyway, photos of North British locos seem to be rare so I am posting. (Is this more appropriate in Railway History and Nostalgia?)

As O/P of this thread, which started out as me posting old photos and evolved from there, I say please share more!!!

 

[CW2]

As O/P of this thread, which started out as me posting old photos and evolved from there, I say please share more!!!

+1 to that.

 

[Peter Sarf]

As O/P of this thread, which started out as me posting old photos and evolved from there, I say please share more!!!

Good enough for me .

(Westerns especially )

 

[CW2]

Blue Pullman westbound through Tilehurst, July 1973.
Scanned from a slide, then AI enhanced.

 

[D6130]

View attachment 210367
Blue Pullman westbound through Tilehurst, July 1973.
Scanned from a slide, then AI enhanced.

Excellent! Looks like one of the ex-Midland Pullman eight car sets. The original Western Region six car sets had multiple-working jumpers and brake pipes for running as 12 cars in the peak hours.

 

[D1511]

View attachment 210367
Blue Pullman westbound through Tilehurst, July 1973.
Scanned from a slide, then AI enhanced.

That's a lovely shot.....and looks like it could have been taken recently!
What sort of camera were you using in 1973?

 

[Peter Sarf]

View attachment 210367
Blue Pullman westbound through Tilehurst, July 1973.
Scanned from a slide, then AI enhanced.

Good shot. Looks a little eerie, sort of dates it. I suppose it could be the lack of clutter.
A year before I discovered spotting and Westerns.

 

[D6130]

Notice also the telegraph pole route. (See various other threads).

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Great shot. Crystal clear. Way better than mine!

 

[Bald Rick]

View attachment 210367
Blue Pullman westbound through Tilehurst, July 1973.
Scanned from a slide, then AI enhanced.

How come the station sign says “Shipton” or similar?

 

[GRALISTAIR]

So again I apologize for the quality - scanned slide. Taken at Polmadie in August 1970?. The Clayton I was most interested in.
View attachment Polmadie August 1970.JPG

 

[D6130]

So again I apologize for the quality - scanned slide. Taken at Polmadie in August 1970?. The Clayton I was most interested in.
View attachment 210380

That brings back memories of numerous visits to Polmadie in 1972-73.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

That brings back memories of numerous visits to Polmadie in 1972-73.

On an NCTS coach trip we would generally do Eastfield, Polmadie, Hamilton, Ravenscraig steel works and St Rollox works in a single day and stay in Edinburgh. Great days with great memories that will stay with me until the day I die. I am glad I documented a huge amount of it.

 

[Peter Sarf]

How come the station sign says “Shipton” or similar?

The last letter of the station name looks to be a "l" or a "t". It is a tall letter with nothing much after it. I cannot judge if the whole thing is "Tilehurst" though. Maybe AI has embellished the sign !.

 

[Harpo]

The last letter of the station name looks to be a "l" or a "t". It is a tall letter with nothing much after it. I cannot judge if the whole thing is "Tilehurst" though. Maybe AI has embellished the sign !.

Everything looks entirely like Tilehurst right down to the two yellows on the up main to remind you that you arrive outside the crucible* in two signals time.


* Where you need a red before you get a colour.

 

[CW2]

To respond to the various queries;
1) I think "Shipton" is an AI creation. "Tilehurst" is an unusual place name so AI probably defaulted to something familiar. Good catch - AI has it's uses, but cannot be trusted 100%.

2) Yes, I agree it must have been one of the 8-car sets.

3) My own camera at that time was the dreaded Kodak Instamatic, and the results were pretty dire. However my father had a part-time job as a photographer, mainly weddings, dances, etc. So he had a couple of 35mm SLRs, as well as a home darkroom. I think as a summer treat he allowed me to borrow a camera for a couple of hours and walk down the road to Tilehurst station, which was my usual spotting location.

 

[sh24]

How come the station sign says “Shipton” or similar?

AI does some funny stuff. The signal post number plate looks like Thai script.

Still a cracklng image though. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Falcon1200]

Blue Pullman westbound through Tilehurst

Great picture! Only ever saw the Blue Pullmans passing Didcot (where they did not deign to stop) at speed, with white numbers on a grey background being very hard to see. Thanks BR!

 

[CW2]

One other thing from the Tilehurst photo: there used to be a barrow crossing at the Reading end of the platform. Station staff would trundle a barrow across the fast lines to pick up newspapers or parcels from the stopping trains. By the time of the photo, the barrow crossing had recently been removed, but the sign warning passengers not to cross the line was still in place, fixed to a length of broad gauge rail serving as a fence post.

 

[CW2]

Update:
Wikipedia says the last Blue Pullman ran in May 1973, so my July 1973 date must be incorrect.

 

[Peter Sarf]

Update:
Wikipedia says the last Blue Pullman ran in May 1973, so my July 1973 date must be incorrect.

Or Wikipedia is incorrect ?.

 

[CW2]

Or Wikipedia is incorrect ?.

Could be, but looking at the lack of foliage on some of the trees, I suspect it may have been earlier in the year. Easter perhaps?

 

[xotGD]

All this excitement over a DMU! What's going on here?

 

[D6130]

While I cannot guarantee that these were taken in the month of August, here is a selection of photos taken after my return to Scotland in the late-1970s and just prior to the mass invasion of the West Highland lines by class 37s. The quality isn't wonderful, as I have merely photographed old prints using my phone, but they may be of interest.

 

[Peter Sarf]

All this excitement over a DMU! What's going on here?

Ah but it was the precursur to HSTs in my book. A loco at each end instead of underfloor whines and rumblings for all the passengers.

Not as good as a Western of course though.