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A junior boy’s memory. In the late 40s, one Saturday morning, this young lad and his brother would be squeezed into a taxi along with baby brother’s pram and all the luggage plus mam and dad and

A P.Bucket test? or a rail photo with a difference. It was so difficult to do I didn't have the heart to break it up so I framed it!

An unusual visitor to the GC, A1 60114 W P Allen at Leicester Central on a return Beaconsfield to Mexborough excursion on 12 June 1964 (photo H A Gamble).portperrycarshow2003248.jpg

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A1 60123 H A Ivatt near Loughborough on the 17.53 Sheffield Vic to Leicester Central on 1 June 1962.(photo D Holmes)portperrycarshow2003245.jpg

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The two photo's I have managed to post were taken on the same day sometime around 1959 (note the lone 16t mineral wagon). The second photo shows a new class 71 electric loco on delivery from Doncaster to the Southern Region. Note also the pigeon baskets on the platform, this was a regular sight at Bulwell Common.

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Then the last northbound steam special hauled by MN Pacific 35030 'Elder Dempster Lines', an odd choice, could it have been the one and only time that a Merchant Navy appeared on the GCR.

vic4.jpg

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The MN retired to Colwick for servicing and the train was taken forward by two clean B1's from Wakefield and York sheds, the train in the left is the last southbound York-Bournemouth, the time on the station clock is about 13:00.

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vic66.jpg

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Later on that day we saw the last Semi-Fast to Marylebone, hauled by a filthy Class 5, I gather that volunteers had spent all day at Colwick polishing another example only for it to fail.

vic3.jpg

I don't understand why BR hadn't used a V2 such as 60806, photographed by me at York only a few months previously, perhaps they tried and failed, it was condemned the day after September 3rd.

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We then left northbound for the last time

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As the light was running out, my last pic was taken as we passed through Hucknal Central

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We then carried on to Sheffield Victoria where the train reversed and we got out at Rotherham Central. After wandering about for a few hours and taking in the delights of the local fish and chip shop, we boarded the last southbound train. This was the York-Banbury Parcels, hauled by a grimy B! which was taken off at Sheffield Vic and substituted by a Class 37. The Station Master at Rotherham Central had risen to the occasion by wearing a top hat to see off the last train, I was able to purchase the last ticket issued by the station in it's former glory.

By the time we got back to Vic, at about 22:00, we found ourselves to be the only passengers on the train, the ticket collector at Vic was well p###ed and refused to let us keep the tickets, silly sod, we couldn't use them again.

Just looking back at those photos, I think that the middle one is entering Annesley Tunnel, so the light held out after Hucknall.

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I find it sad to see the pictures of the last working steam locos. It is clear that BR had given up on them, and no proper maintenance or cleaning had been done for some time. The drivers and firemen must have hated them - they must have been a real handful to fire and drive. It is good to see that there was at least an attempt to make the last passenger hauling locos look presentable.

We all know that the steam era had to come to an end, but did they have to do it in such a demeaning manner? Perhaps I am being sentimental, but steam locos always seemed to be machines with character and life, letting them die in misery somehow seems wrong.

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"And the other irony is that if the Great Central had not closed, there
would be major, expensive problems trying to decide where to put the new
tram line out towards Wilford and Clifton"

Not really, go straight to the River, and then drive into it! (Not a tram fan)

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I find it sad to see the pictures of the last working steam locos. It is clear that BR had given up on them, and no proper maintenance or cleaning had been done for some time. The drivers and firemen must have hated them - they must have been a real handful to fire and drive. It is good to see that there was at least an attempt to make the last passenger hauling locos look presentable.

We all know that the steam era had to come to an end, but did they have to do it in such a demeaning manner? Perhaps I am being sentimental, but steam locos always seemed to be machines with character and life, letting them die in misery somehow seems wrong.

An interesting comment, the Western Region had green locos that always seemed polished and well kept, they had lots of brass and cast number plates on the cab that always seem to be gleaming. This is my photo of a Grange Class taken at Crewe South shed in 1965, it's had everything stripped off of it as to be unidentifiable, I presume that someone had chalked the original number on the cabside which was common practice in those days. As you can see it was in steam and in use, but no survivors remain of this useful class even though they lasted until the end of steam on the WR.

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We're all wrong, it's a Modified Hall, given away by the flush frames over the cylinders, the webs on the buffer beam and the slab sided Hawksworth tender that most of them had , though some tenders got transferred to earlier models.The Granges and Manors were built on the frames from withdrawn Class 43XX's and were very similar.A pity I never took the number, it was a Bilborough Grammar School railway society trip, maybe the kid with the notebook that you can see in the photo will read this and let us know.

Here's an early Hall with Hawksworth tender in better days at Teignmouth when I was on holiday in 1962.

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All I can find of former railways sites at the minute, shall we have a quiz?

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http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq154/Ashobel/haydrd.jpg[/img

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eh up ash! it seems no one actually answered this "where is it" quiz, but your first pic is my old stamping ground, taken sometime after 1982 between gayhurst green and arnold road.

i can date it as post 82 as that was when the cutting was filled in, which threw me a bit, but just at the upper left side you can see the ends of the garage block for the top end of the estate.

i was actually working at one of the houses on the right of that photo last september, orville road i think, the chap said he moved there in the early 70's (same as me!) and it was a nice place to live because the empty embankment meant that he had no hassle with noise etc. only now there are houses built on this bit almost up to his back fence!

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