Prototype Blue Era BR

[Lancastrian]

Saturday 21st August 1982

Dewsbury Station.

47 555 "The Commonwealth Spirit"


40 077


Huddersfield Station

31 272


08 330


Dewsbury Station

45 005


Huddersfield Station

40 081


Saturday 28th August

Dewsbury Station

40 027 "Parthia"


Huddersfield Station

31 221


Leeds City Station

40 079



40 084


40 138


Huddersfield Station

45 027



40 197


Leeds City Station

40 092


Ian

 

[Lancastrian]

Saturday 28th August 1982 (Reflections due to gloss paper)

Leeds City Station

45 131


Class 46


46 016


31 242


SR King Arthur Class, 777 "Sir Lamiel"


Ian

 

[Lancastrian]

Tuesday 14th June 1983

Preston Station

25 086


47 229


40 047


25 192


Ian

 

[Lancastrian]

Saturday 9th July 1983

Dumfries Station

08 069


Ayr MPD

27 040


20 122


26 025


Motherwell MPD

37 065


37 292


Polmadie Repair Depot

37 027 "Loch Eil"


37 011


06 008


Ian

 

[Lancastrian]

Saturday 9th July 1983

BREL St. Rollox Works

25 028

27 005


27 024


26 028


Eastfield MPD

27 101


20 025


37 081 "Loch Long"


Haymarket MPD

47 702 "St. Cuthbert"


40 086



47 708 "Waverley"


Ian

 

[Lancastrian]

Monday 25th July 1983.

Manchester Victoria Station

37 264 and 37 080


40 079


45 xxx


47 186


40 192


Friday 6th August 1983

Preston Station

47 364


86 323


Derby Works Class 108 DMCL M52059 leading.


40 063


BRCW Class 110 M51847 at the rear of a southbound service.


40 002


47 450


47 561


47 586


Ian

 

[Lancastrian]

Saturday 20th August 1983

Crewe Works

Unidentified Class 47


ADB 968014


08 329 and 40 164


40 065


ADB 968016


20 003


A tremendously sad sight for a Class 40 fan.


40 140


Unidentified Class 47


47 497


Crash victim 47 535 "City of Leicester"


Crewe Station

33 034


40 150 and 47 213


Another unidentified Class 47


Not sure where these were taken, but they are the same day.....Wigan maybe ?

25 210


Unidentified Class 40


Ian

 

[Lancastrian]

Saturday 20th August.

Preston Station

47 424


25 035 and 25 202


40 058


Unidentified Class 37


47 545


47 442


40 058

 

[Lancastrian]

A few days in Devon, Exeter St. Davids Station.

Monday 10th October 1983

47 283


50 034 "Furious"


45 115


Tuesday October 11th 1983

45 046 "Royal Fusilier"


43 126


43 125


50 023 "Howe" and 50 050 "Fearless"


50 023 "Howe". Having brought it's train in from Exeter Central, it has run round and is now coupled up to take the train onwards to Plymouth or Penzance.


43 125 again.


33 043


Power car of 253 050, unidentified Class 50 and 50 031 "Hood"


50 031 "Hood"


33 009


33 012


45 066


50 024 "Vanguard"


Ian

 

[Lancastrian]

Tuesday 13th October 1983, Exeter St. Davids Station.

50 004 "St. Vincent"


45 060 "Sherwood Forester" and 47 090


33 019 with train, passing 33 034


50 035 "Ark Royal" banking the train hauled by 33 019, now also passing 33 034


50 035 "Ark Royal" returns after its banking duties.


33 010


45 066 again


33 010 again


Ian

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Leeds City Station

40 092

I certainly remember Leeds with it's draughty old cattle shed - 1960s modernisation! Today's rebuilt station is much better as it's light and airy - still draughty though.

 

[steve50]

Thanks for sharing those photo's @Lancastrian. A great record of a different age, brought back a few memories for me

 

[Osgood]

View attachment 186170

 

[Osgood]

Thanks for sharing those photo's @Lancastrian. A great record of a different age, brought back a few memories for me

Yes indeed.
Funny - at the time it all seemed stiflingly bland and blue and I couldn't find much enthusiasm, if any, for the railways (perhaps in part because I was face-to-face with it at the start of my working career).

Yet since photos from this era have started to be be posted here (and on the electric thread) I have begun to appreciate it a whole lot more, especially in comparison with the fragmented visual kaleidoscope of the privatised company liveries, despite a few elegant ones that stand out (e.g. Great Western, that LNER purple/red/pale grey job).

Ok, ok, so it might not have been the most exciting livery, but it provided a sense of unity - of national(ised) identity.
I can just reach forward into the blue era with one of my scenarios and have now decided to do so.

Keep them coming.

 

[oldravendale]

I'm with you, Tony. I thought blue diesels were really bland and took very few photos of them which I now regret. I particularly miss the Class 40s and Class 50s and looking at these latest threads makes me realise how much variation there was at the time instead of the multiple units we live with now. Maybe we'll all miss the Pendolinos when they're gone.

Brian

 

[allegheny1600]

Many thanks indeed for all these great pictures, it’s “my” period pretty much!
I only started proper trainspotting (taking numbers!) in around 1981/2 and only in 1983 did I start to travel by rail and take better (than instamatic) pictures.
Looking back, I wish I could have traveled more and taken more and better pictures.
I was surprised to see the Inter-City “Executive” livery on your HSTs in 1983 though, I’m not saying your dates are wrong, just surprised as I thought it was another year or so before that came out.
Fantastic nostalgia trip that makes me miss those carefree days a lot!
Cheers,
John

PS I used to rather despise the seventies due to the drabness and overall blue but I always loved the large logo so for me, the brief period of time after the seventies and before sectorisation, even before the widespread use of Railfreight red stripe/grey was best.

 

[Lancastrian]

Many thanks indeed for all these great pictures, it’s “my” period pretty much!
I only started proper trainspotting (taking numbers!) in around 1981/2 and only in 1983 did I start to travel by rail and take better (than instamatic) pictures.
Looking back, I wish I could have traveled more and taken more and better pictures.
I was surprised to see the Inter-City “Executive” livery on your HSTs in 1983 though, I’m not saying your dates are wrong, just surprised as I thought it was another year or so before that came out.
Fantastic nostalgia trip that makes me miss those carefree days a lot!
Cheers,
John

PS I used to rather despise the seventies due to the drabness and overall blue but I always loved the large logo so for me, the brief period of time after the seventies and before sectorisation, even before the widespread use of Railfreight red stripe/grey was best.

John,

I did a check last night, and two HST sets were turned out in the executive livery in 1983, shortly after the APT's went into service on the WCML. 253 028 was more than likely one of these.

Ian

 

[djparkins]

I'm with you, Tony. I thought blue diesels were really bland and took very few photos of them which I now regret. I particularly miss the Class 40s and Class 50s and looking at these latest threads makes me realise how much variation there was at the time instead of the multiple units we live with now. Maybe we'll all miss the Pendolinos when they're gone.

Brian

Yes we will miss them! It’s the old thing of there always being a golden age and it usually being about fifty years before the present.

I was watching a GWR Class 800 at Carmarthen a week or two ago. Despite all their teething troubles they are very handsome trains indeed and look super smart in the GW Green.

It’s also the other old thing about steel flanges on steel rails always being interesting - that’s if you really love railways. I cannot see a future for our hobby if we continue to be fixated on past eras only, as full of interest as these undoubtedly are.

But get out too, and see some of the freight workings - or just watch the Railcams (say those on the Settle to Carlisle). There is interest to be found everywhere IMHO

DJP/MMP

 

[allegheny1600]

There is interest to be found everywhere IMHO

Hear, hear!

 

[Jordan or Plymouth Mad]

Ok, ok, so it might not have been the most exciting livery, but it provided a sense of unity - of national(ised) identity.

The thing that's easy to overlook about the Blue Era was that the variety wasn't in the livery - it was in the amount of different loco Classes and their Regional scope - you had to travel to see them.