Most of the shots were taken around Cambridge, but Ely and Ipswich figure, too.
This opening tranche features, of course, the English Electric Type 3, later known as the Class 37 locomotive, hauling a variety of mostly Mk2 coaching stock on London-Cambridge-King's Lynn services.
Originally designed with boxes in the nose to display the unique four-digit head code assigned to every train service (2 digits on each side), when these were abandoned the boxes were filled in with "dominos", black blinds with circular windows so that a marker light was displayed.
The Class 08 -- the standard 350hp shunting engine -- has featured on here before, of course, but every decently-sized station had one or more:
There were a couple of other main loco types in East Anglia, but it was this big beast -- the Brush Type 4, later known as the Class 47 -- which was the most potent.
Sometimes found on London-Lynn trains, it more often handled the very heavy long-haul services such as the Harwich Continental, the Manchester cross-country train to connect with Harwich ferry services to Belgium.
Like the Type 3s, they were an impressive sight at full blast as they slammed past you, their bulk vibrating the ground and the howling roar of their engines obliterating any other thought.
I confess, sometimes I stood on a particular path alongside the railway line when I knew they would be due, to experience that rush which filled all my senses.
But it wasn't all loco-hauled express stock in East Anglia. The Cravens diesel multiple unit -- later "Class 105" -- was a very common sight here, operating as two-car units on connecting, feeding and branch services.
If you were very unlucky on your journey from London to Lynn you'd be on an express which terminated at Cambridge, where the rather sad sight of one of these noisy, rattly beasts would await you -- the gulping of their engines as they changed gears being a particularly stressful occurrence.
I've found dozens more of these photos by someone who is clearly a rather talented photographer (no, obviously not me) but I think that's a good place to draw breath this evening. And to leave you knowing you have more of these to look forward to. Oh, yes.
3 comments:
Were the engines and cars of that time made in Britain?
Yes, the overwhelming majority were manufactured in Britain, the carriages by British Rail in its own factories.
Some diesel hydraulic locomotive types in Western England were based on German designs, but the remainder were for the most part English designs, too.
The Brush works still exists, although it's largely confined to engine overhauls rather than being a full-service manufacturer.
The last British locomotive producer is Hunslet (whose newest design, the first for many years, emerged a week or so ago; a small shunter, it looks to me to be based on the products of a Continental European manufacturer). I've only mnaged to find poor resolution photos of it so far or I would have posted about it already.
Awesome! Hunslet are based in Leeds aren't they? I though they went bust back in the 90s?
Did someone revive them?
I look forward to seeing their new design.
I remember the 08s fondly.
I used to live right outside Crown Point Depot, they would often be shunting MK2s about, along with class 86s going in and out of the depot for maintenance and sometimes through the train wash. This was after the GEML electrification though, so no 37s that I can recall. Did see the occasional 47 though. I remember seeing an old postal converted EMU too. Might have been a class 302 or 308 or something.
Happy days :-)
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