Bristol 55 years on - "The Londons" - a photo on Flickriver

            This collage of photographs of London to Bristol trains over 55 years reminds us old curmudgeons of how things have changed over our lifetimes.

The photographs top left and centre were both taken on the same day, 20th July 1963. This was the first occasion when an 11-year-old me went on manoeuvres with a camera in my pocket. Well – a camera of sorts; a tiny little plastic box that I was given for my 11th birthday a few weeks before and, so I subsequently found out later, cost 2/6 (12.5 pence) in Woolworths. 

Top centre depicts 7029 Clun Castle arriving with the 0845 from Paddington, one of only two rostered steam hauled workings left on the route at that time. At the end of the summer service that year even these were withdrawn, leaving it as a diesel-only service save for the odd special excursion train that still had steam haulage for a few months longer.

The top left shot shows the new order for 1963 – Class 52 Western D1015 arriving with another London train, passing Stanier Jubilee no. 45660 “Rooke” running light from Barrow Road depot to the station to take over a Horwich-bound summer Saturday extra. The Westerns were not actually seen in Bristol at that point in history half as much as the “Warships” that worked most of the London services. This was not unlike how things were in steam days, when most of the London trains were entrusted to ”Castles” whilst the “Kings” were used on the heavier stuff to Birmingham, Cardiff or Plymouth.

The photograph top right was taken at Keynsham rather than Temple Meads in early 1970 and shows the motive power on the London trains that replaced the hydraulics. The class 47s were themselves generally replaced by the class 50s in the second half of the seventies.

The bottom photograph shows the latest change in scenery for the route, with one of the dwindling number of HSTs standing in Temple Meads alongside a representative of their class 800 replacements on 18th May 2018.

Taken in: United Kingdom / England / Bristol / Temple (show map)

Taken on: December 3, 2018

Tags:

Bristol

Temple

1963

1970

2018 « less

Sets appears in: • 50 years on • Railways around Bristol 1960s and 1970s

Groups appears in: • South Glos • Avon area more » • Steam Locomotives • Steam in the UK • UK Rail • GB Railways • Rail UK: Gloucestershire Railways • This Is Somerset • Railways in the Sixties • BR Diesels in the 1960s • Somerset and Surrounding Areas (UK) • Rail UK: Locations then and now • Instamatic Moments • Transport Scenes That Are Now Lost To History. [No 30/60 limit. • British Railways in the 60's « less

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