London termini diesel stabling points

[18B]

Evening,

 

Being too young to have seen them myself,  I was just wondering what were people's fav London termini and its associated stabling point in the diesel era??

 

Kings Cross' seems an interesting one with the Deltics but also Ranelagh Bridge and Cambridge street,  

 

 

[brushman47544]

On the assumption you’re asking about the D&E era, that’s about it in terms of proper stabling points. Liverpool Street and Euston both saw locos stabled in the station area and I’m not aware of a separate name for them. Marylebone, Fenchurch Street and the SR termini didn’t really have enough, or any, regular loco workings to justify a stabling point.

[anroar53]

Other than Cambridge Street for St. Pancras there were the 'Bottom Table' Sidings between platform 7 and the Gasometers, plus 'Top Table' Sidings between 'Bottom table' and Cambridge Street, where the 'new' Turntable was located.

 

Euston had Platform 8 used outside the 'Peak' hours, The top end of Siding 16, Short Docks 21 and 22, in the old Parcels Dock area, and 'Back of the Box', which was a short spur which was actually behind the site of the 1952 Signal Box rather than the 1964 one.

[DY444]

10 hours ago, brushman47544 said:

... the SR termini didn’t really have enough, or any, regular loco workings to justify a stabling point.

 

Waterloo did and locomotives would regularly be stabled either in the dock next to Platform 11 or in the north sidings

[Wickham Green]

Units were stabled on the up side just outside Marylebone ( blocks of flats now ) .... I photographed Sir Nigel Gresley there once ( the loco - not the bloke ! ).

[Pandora]

1 hour ago, DY444 said:

 

Waterloo did and locomotives would regularly be stabled either in the dock next to Platform 11 or in the north sidings

My first visit to Waterloo Station in the late 60s , one or more Warship diesel locos  stabled in sidings later built upon to  became the Eurostar terminus.

Euston Station, ,  you could see 25kV  electrics nesting  (recall  their spooky hen-like clucking  ) in one of the roads under the canopy, does such qualify as a stabling point?

Edited February 18, 2020 by Pandora

[Clive Mortimore]

13 hours ago, 18B said:

Evening,

 

Being too young to have seen them myself,  I was just wondering what were people's fav London termini and its associated stabling point in the diesel era??

 

Kings Cross' seems an interesting one with the Deltics but also Ranelagh Bridge and Cambridge street,  

 

 

Kings Cross was the most accessible to view the coming and goings of the locos. Platform 10 (later number 8) was a wonderful for spotting from, and no need for a platform ticket. 

 

Liverpool St you could see the movements but there wasn't as many loco hauled trains so it wasn't as busy. There was also a good spotters place with no need for a platform ticket on the end of platform 10, you were next to the loco sidings by the taxi ramp and could see most the trains arriving. Platform 11 was slightly better for viewing but a platform ticket was required.

 

Both Cambridge St and Ranelagh Bridge were a rush to scribble down the numbers as you passed them in a train. Cambridge St was too far out to see what was there from St Pancras, never really spotted at St Pancras, well coming from Bedford most the stuff there was not a cop. Ranelagh Bridge was visible from the platform ends at Paddington, but that Western you could see in the distance either never moved or was one you had already seen when it eventually came to take a train out. 

 

I can recall 33s and 73s sat over the far side of Waterloo. I remember Warships and 74s at Waterloo but cannot recall seeing them in the loco sidings. All the SR London termini never felt friendly towards trainspotters, so it was grab a few numbers and move on to the next location. 

 

I didn't go to Marylebone, so cannot comment on the DMU sidings.

 

As for Euston, I did train spot there, I cannot remember seeing diesels stabled there. There was always a few Sparks sat in one of the middle roads between the platforms , but they never seemed to move. Euston always seemed soulless.

Edited February 18, 2020 by Clive Mortimore

[Pandora]

I am trying to thjink back to Liverpool Street in the late 70s / early 80s,  class 37 locos as key locos for passenger work,  I am trying to recall a coupl e of short sidings  where locos would stable, perhaps on standby, I cannot recall ever seeing any  Liverpool St pilot locos,  which had been a class 15 kept especially clean and fresh by the crew

[Clive Mortimore]

9 minutes ago, Pandora said:

I am trying to thjink back to Liverpool Street in the late 70s / early 80s,  class 37 locos as key locos for passenger work,  I am trying to recall a coupl e of short sidings  where locos would stable, perhaps on standby, I cannot recall ever seeing any  Liverpool St pilot locos,  which had been a class 15 kept especially clean and fresh by the crew

Hi Pandora

 

I think by that time frame the pilot was an 08 stabled on the sidings between platforms 9 and 10. I photographed a 47 shunting the rail blue lubricating oil tank wagon , ex milk tank, from a passing train. 

 

Some more Liverpool St photos from the early 80s

 

[keefer]

Liverpool Street certainly liked its station pilots and they were kept 'special'!

A sample Flickr gallery: https://www.flickr.com/photos/137057962@N02/galleries/72157695215005140/

From 68619 in steam days to cl.15 D8234 (with/without yellow ends, BR totem or arrows), cl.08 08531 and 08833

[brushman47544]

5 hours ago, DY444 said:

 

Waterloo did and locomotives would regularly be stabled either in the dock next to Platform 11 or in the north sidings

 

True, but I wouldn't personally call that a proper stabling point as there were no facilities, just sidings to stable a loco between turns. The photos above reminded me that Liverpool Street could do running checks and refuelling, so I would consider that a proper stabling point as per KX, RB and CS mentioned in the OP.

[sb67]

1 hour ago, Clive Mortimore said:

Hi Pandora

 

I think by that time frame the pilot was an 08 stabled on the sidings between platforms 9 and 10. I photographed a 47 shunting the rail blue lubricating oil tank wagon , ex milk tank, from a passing train. 

 

Some more Liverpool St photos from the early 80s

 

 

Love those photo's Clive, brings back many memories, the sight, sounds and the smell of the first real trains I saw. I used to love going to London and running to the end of the platform to see what's there. 

Happy days! 

[Karhedron]

5 hours ago, Wickham Green said:

Units were stabled on the up side just outside Marylebone ( blocks of flats now ) .... I photographed Sir Nigel Gresley there once ( the loco - not the bloke ! ).

 

I believe that was the old milk dock and fish platform. The building behind was actually the old IMS milk bottling plant (assuming we are thinking of the same place).

 

[Wickham Green]

That looks familiar - though on a different occasion ( Feb.'85 ) when there was snow on the ground according to my notes ( MUST get the slides scanned ). There were diesel locos stabled there too and 4498 had to shunt 45.026 out of the way as it had flat batteries !

[jonny777]

16 hours ago, 18B said:

Evening,

 

Being too young to have seen them myself,  I was just wondering what were people's fav London termini and its associated stabling point in the diesel era??

 

Kings Cross' seems an interesting one with the Deltics but also Ranelagh Bridge and Cambridge street,  

 

 

 

I think Kings Cross was my favourite, mainly because there always seemed to be something moving - and the noise was constant especially if Deltics were shuffling to and from the fuelling/stabling point. The 31s coming up from Moorgate in the rush hours with non-vestibule stock was just the icing on the cake. 

 

Liverpool Street was OK, but it was difficult to get a decent view of everything stabled plus arrivals and departures from the Western side of the station, and successful photography was a nightmare. 

 

Paddington had lots of loco movements, and I did get the occasional tube train to Royal Oak in order to watch the activity at Ranelagh Bridge, but the frequency of Hammersmith & City line services meant a train was in the platform every few minutes, which became very annoying. 

 

Yes, Euston and Waterloo had a few locos stabled at the station, but that was never the same to me. I rarely went to St Pancras, as it seemed like a mausoleum in comparison; and the least said about Marylebone in those days the better. 

[anroar53]

3 hours ago, Clive Mortimore said:

As for Euston, I did train spot there, I cannot remember seeing diesels stabled there. There was always a few Sparks sat in one of the middle roads between the platforms , but they never seemed to move. 

 

You had to be lucky with diesels there. If they did arrive they would normally be sent down to Willesden after being released from the inward working. You had the little cluster of 25s that were used for shunting and trip working, and occasionally you would find one 'resting' in 21 or 22 road, but hidden from view by Parcels vans on 18 road.

One Monday morning I arrived for Early shift and found a Cravens 105 two car DMU stabled in 21 road. It had failed on the Sunday morning 0013 Bletchley ( a booked DMU working at the time), and had been shunted out of the way. It was still sat there when I went home in the afternoon, but had gone by Tuesday morning when I came back.

40022 spent about 12 hours at Euston on the 11.12.78. It had worked up to Willesden on a Freight earlier in the day, and was going to be returned north on the 2135 Euston to Glasgow Parcels. However there were problems with the Loco at Euston, and it was returned 'dead' to Crewe behind an Electric Loco at 0620 the following morning on a very late running 2135 Parcels.

[EddieB]

Very nostalgic!  Here's one of Kings Cross from my Instamatic days, August 1972.  Class 47 no. 1104 is in front of 180 (class 46) and 283 (class 40).    Another 47, with a Deltic behind it, over to the right (and probably a second Deltic in the little shed).  That was the beauty of that stabling point - often a variety of locos, and at that time 40s and 46s were uncommon visitors.

 

 

Edited February 18, 2020 by EddieB

[EddieB]

A couple from Ranelagh Bridge.  The first is another Instamatic shot, from September 1974, when I must have looked over a wall to find 47 499 and a couple of tenders in the sidings there.  The second is from the Metropolitan platforms at Royal Oak, from July 1975, D1022 passing tank wagons, an unidentified class 47 and the water tower just visible.

 

[Rivercider]

35 minutes ago, anroar53 said:

 

You had to be lucky with diesels there. If they did arrive they would normally be sent down to Willesden after being released from the inward working. You had the little cluster of 25s that were used for shunting and trip working, and occasionally you would find one 'resting' in 21 or 22 road, but hidden from view by Parcels vans on 18 road.

One Monday morning I arrived for Early shift and found a Cravens 105 two car DMU stabled in 21 road. It had failed on the Sunday morning 0013 Bletchley ( a booked DMU working at the time), and had been shunted out of the way. It was still sat there when I went home in the afternoon, but had gone by Tuesday morning when I came back.

40022 spent about 12 hours at Euston on the 11.12.78. It had worked up to Willesden on a Freight earlier in the day, and was going to be returned north on the 2135 Euston to Glasgow Parcels. However there were problems with the Loco at Euston, and it was returned 'dead' to Crewe behind an Electric Loco at 0620 the following morning on a very late running 2135 Parcels.

Here is an instamatic view of Euston from 1976.

86217, 25311, 86243, and 25068 Saturday evening 17/4/76.

 

cheers

[caradoc]

1 hour ago, EddieB said:

Very nostalgic!  Here's one of Kings Cross from my Instamatic days, August 1972.  Class 47 no. 1104 is in front of 180 (class 46) and 283 (class 40).    Another 47, with a Deltic behind it, over to the right (and probably a second Deltic in the little shed).  That was the beauty of that stabling point - often a variety of locos, and at that time 40s and 46s were uncommon visitors.

 

 

 

August 72 was when, just short of 13, I visited Kings Cross for the first time and your photo brings back wonderful memories of that exciting day ! In contrast, last week I travelled out of Kings Cross and the excitement now is to find my train formed by a Class 91 and Mark 4 stock instead of an Azuma......

 

[Nearholmer]

All very good stuff!

 

Kings Cross was the really interesting place until electrification and HSTs; a steam terminus with diesel locos, almost.

 

Euston had an 08 pilot, sometimes two, one on each side of the station, and as the photo above shows there were quite a few parcels workings that were 25 hauled.

 

There were also loco-hauled workings at London Bridge in the peak hours, and a handful from Victoria (Night Ferry, Golden Arrow, parcels etc), but no locos hanging about.

[anroar53]

5 hours ago, Rivercider said:

Here is an instamatic view of Euston from 1976.

86217, 25311, 86243, and 25068 Saturday evening 17/4/76.

 

cheers

 

Memory Lane. Easter weekend, and I was late shift over to the right of the picture in the PSB. It was a quiet Saturday afternoon, not much going out of the ordinary according to my notes for the day...

 

Bit of drama. The 1446 DC off Watford due in at 1529 had a suspected armed raider on the train, and the Police had requested the train be given a clear run into the station and not stopped outside. However, the Police decided to swoop on the train at Queens Park and search it. Nothing was found, and the train arrived 7 minutes late. This made the 1537 Watford 4 minutes late departing.

 

1M35 1410 off Glasgow due in at 1917 was 39 minutes late. It had been delayed behind 1V95 1335 Glasgow to Bristol at Motherwell, which had a defective coach which needed to be shunted out of the train.

1A73 1542 off Carlisle due in at 2018 was 12 minutes late, making connections with 1M35 at Carlisle.

 

In the picture the 25s would be busy making up the vans for the 2210 Preston, and 2315 Manchester Newspaper trains. Some of the vans will have been 'tripped' down from Camden. Another rake of vans would soon arrive in platform 2 from Willesden to make up the Saturday evening long distance Newspaper train, the 2002 Lairg.

[Will Crompton]

This thread brings back happy memories of spotting as a teenager with some mates in the early/mid 70s. Most Saturdays were taken up with excursions. Some were ambitious far flung ones and/or railtours but we often followed an all day Saturday routine which went something like this.

 

Wimbledon or Earlsfield to Paddington either via the district line or via Waterloo and the Bakerloo. An hour or two at Paddington. I seem to recall quite a lot of toing and froing of engines from Ranelagh Bridge. Then Bakerloo and LMR electric to Willesden Junction. Down the lane to Willesden Shed. Ask at the front office nicely if we could have a look around. Usually got let in if we didn't make a nuisance of ourselves. I seem to recall seeing an LMS Gronk here in 72. Then over the hill to Old Oak Common depot. Walk in through the front gate and stroll down the hill to the turntable. Then a survey of the running shed, factory and more far flung sidings. No one batted an eyelid. In retrospect I am amazed how casual they were here at the time. On a warm Saturday summer afternoon there could be anything up to 20 or 30 spotty herbert interlopers distributed across the depot and sidings. A friend of mine was once walking along the middle of a track leading away from the depot to the mainline when a Brush 4 (or 47 as I believe young people call them)  mooched gently up behind him and the driver sounded his horn to get him to vacate the track! Health 'n safety I don't think. Then we would walk along the back of the sidings towards the mainline and have our sarnies sitting on buffer stops watching expresses and freights whizz past.

 

Then LMR electric back to Euston - quickly copping the electric locos. There were as people have mentioned usually a couple of 25s and maybe a gronk in the parcels platforms (and how we took 25s for granted! -blub!). A bit dull for our tastes so then it was quickly along to Saint Pancras to cop Peaks and then the rest of the day at Kings Cross - 40s, Peaks, Deltics, Brush 4s, A1As etc. Brilliant. Then home. No mention of shed bunking being made to assorted parents etc.

 

Favourite London stabling point - Kings Cross Hands down. It had the combination of visibility, brilliant side views of engines doing the 'Kings Cross Shuffle' and classic traction.

 

I remember the first time we went to Kings Cross we had no idea about the lines from the underground system - imagine our bafflement when two LU battery locos pulled an engineering train out from the mysterious hole in the ground. What in the name of Sam Hill was that we thought. Happy days!

Edited February 18, 2020 by Will Crompton
typo

[Pandora]

On 18/02/2020 at 16:59, EddieB said:

A couple from Ranelagh Bridge.  The first is another Instamatic shot, from September 1974, when I must have looked over a wall to find 47 499 and a couple of tenders in the sidings there.  The second is from the Metropolitan platforms at Royal Oak, from July 1975, D1022 passing tank wagons, an unidentified class 47 and the water tower just visible.

 

 

the two GWR tenders,  can anyone identify them, and , did they go for scrap or preservation on closure of Ranelagh Bridge?

Edited February 19, 2020 by Pandora

[adb968008]

3 hours ago, Pandora said:

the two GWR tenders,  can anyone identify them, and , did they go for scrap or preservation on closure of Ranelagh Bridge?

Not 100% but I understand two tenders appeared at Swindon works in the early 1980’s I saw them a few times, but they weren't there first time I went which would be 1979 as the last Westerns were scrapped.

 

I tried following the history of the Swindon tenders, 1 I understand is with 7027, the other may be at Didcot.

 

the tenders at Swindon had numbers 1 and 2 painted through the Lion in the logo, the picture above seems to show a “2” through the lion on one of the furthest of the two in the Raneleigh bridge image above. for pictures of the Swindon tenders, see here...

 

 

Edited February 19, 2020 by adb968008