Cab Ride 1985 Euston to Liverpool

[woodenhead]

Found this on my feed, bit grainy - but locos, 310s, 501s and a red Bakerloo unit.

 

Feel the history.

 

 

[woodenhead]

Forgot Tamworth was two track heading north back in the day.

 

And Rugby, what a station, they were discussing the removal of the down slow north of Rugby being replaced by a bi-directional line that was the up fast.

 

You forget how restricted the premier route down the country was and how it was transformed in the late 90s early 00s

[Joseph_Pestell]

I only had time to do Euston to Bletchley.

 

But what a lot of changes. All the connections now between slow and fast lines have high speed pointwork now unlike those in the film and Tring laid out much better for reversing trains from Euston.

[woodenhead]

1 minute ago, Joseph_Pestell said:

I only had time to do Euston to Bletchley.

 

But what a lot of changes. All the connections now between slow and fast lines have high speed pointwork now unlike those in the film and Tring laid out much better for reversing trains from Euston.

It just goes to show the money that has actually been spent on the railways, it's only when you look back to the 70/80s that you realise the scope of the renewals - the approach to Crewe station took me right back to spotting days - it was just before all the renewal work that took out half the station.

[LMS2968]

I hate to say it but I did find that video rather depressing. I worked from Edge Hill fifteen years before it was filmed, and so much had gone in those years, and almost everything has gone since then.

 

Progress, I suppose.

[woodenhead]

There was an air of melancholy all along the railways back then I think - it wouldn't surprise me if the 'improvements' at Crewe were actually an overall cost saving.  The junctions were end of life so whilst replacing the pointwork simplify the station and then sell the improved speed for non stop services (not that there were that many).

[Trog]

So many wet beds, particularly on the south end, I can remember there being a couple of cycles where they cut back on track renewals to save money. Then once the speed boards started popping up like mushrooms, it would be we don't care about the overtime bill work 8 days a week if you have to, but get it fixed.

 

I heard a story at the time about the Crewe remodelling apparently some of the track went in high, and when this was discussed at a project meeting a very senior engineer said "Why not just send in a tamper to lower it?" There then followed a very deep silence, as everybody waited for someone else to tell the great man that tampers can only lift.

[62613]

I was struck by how curvy the original L & B route was, and how busy the railway was south of Rugby, even then

 

[Reorte]

On 19/09/2020 at 12:18, Joseph_Pestell said:

But what a lot of changes. All the connections now between slow and fast lines have high speed pointwork now unlike those in the film and Tring laid out much better for reversing trains from Euston.

 

Well he was going on about roadworks and holdups on the M1 as they were about to run alongside it at Watford Gap, so some things don't change!