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Trainspotting at Chelmsford in the early 80s


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Being Romford born and bred, enjoyed looking at those pictures. I used to like seeing and hearing! the container trains, sometimes double headed, thundering through the station.

Happy days :)

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Think I've posted this on the forum before, but it's the only one I have of Chelmsford. I changed trains there once on the way back from Ipswich/Colchester for some reason. A 47 whizzes through in 1985. Nice signal post, and a good one for the car spotters:

1900852540_85-16-17Chelmsford.jpg.ebc8f295e0e34c3615a02951e45dcf4d.jpg

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28 minutes ago, eastwestdivide said:

Think I've posted this on the forum before, but it's the only one I have of Chelmsford. I changed trains there once on the way back from Ipswich/Colchester for some reason. A 47 whizzes through in 1985. Nice signal post, and a good one for the car spotters:

1900852540_85-16-17Chelmsford.jpg.ebc8f295e0e34c3615a02951e45dcf4d.jpg

 

I think that's the searchlight signal I tried and failed to liberate when they were doing the resignalling.

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Every week day morning, sometime around 11 - 11:30, there was a north bound postal train that stopped for 5 minutes.  I’ve always thought that it was from Liverpool St, but recently I had a search through a GE coach working program and I couldn’t find it.  So maybe it started somewhere else?  Here is a bog standard GUV, NJV W86370 hauled by 47051.

1400607765_W86370NJVwith47051Chelmsford3-1982.jpg.a6b4a8ea543051a21770e900d830b807.jpg

 

My favourite modern image stock has always been the 309 Clacton units.  I remember getting on them in the early evening at Liverpool St and enjoying the buffet car (I think it was officially called a Griddle Car, but why?).  Every time we traveled home in the evening I would start the stopwatch as we left the smoke.  Sub 28 minutes to Chelmsford was possible, even with a stop an Shenfield.

960501269_309603Chelmsford3-1982.jpg.1670178a2d57440c4a6f8286f6d4624c.jpg

 

Most unusual is the rake of Mk1s in the down loop.  I think it was the only time I ever saw coaches in the loop, which was rarely used to store stock, but it was used daily for EMUs to turn before forming a southbound service.

Edited by Penrhos1920
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On 14/10/2020 at 13:52, Johann Marsbar said:

Useless photo, but the only one I took of an all-over blue one...

 

 

 

Looks as though it is still numbered 312 115 as well.

 

I disagree. I think it is a very useful photo. It doesn't look like Chelmsford though. Is it platform 4 at Colchester?

Scanned 35mm prints don't always look as good when scanned as digital images from a modern camera, but they are far from useless.  This one contains a lot of detail which could otherwise be forgotten:

 

The fact that they did indeed wear all over blue.

The paper destination number (as mentioned earlier).

The style of station lamp.

The style of OLE.

The silver window surrounds.

The blue 308 sitting in the next platform.

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11 hours ago, Pete the Elaner said:

 

I disagree. I think it is a very useful photo. It doesn't look like Chelmsford though. Is it platform 4 at Colchester?

Scanned 35mm prints don't always look as good when scanned as digital images from a modern camera, but they are far from useless.  This one contains a lot of detail which could otherwise be forgotten:

 

 

Actually, it's not even a 35mm print....

It was taken on Kodak 110 cassette film using a Kodak Pocket Instamatic camera (Remember them?) which is all I had then. I think the photo dates from 1978 ( EDIT: Found the original print - It was taken on 3rd July 1979 ) was taken at Colchester out of the window of a London bound service. The 35mm camera didn't appear on the scene with me until December 1979 when I received a Zenith EM for Christmas!

 

The pocket instamatic was quite a decent camera and at least I was able to record some long vanished scenes on it in the 1970's, like this one at Clacton in June 1977...

 

BR67.jpg.f92e4f61694210f97daad35501b96232.jpg

 

Edited by Johann Marsbar
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12 hours ago, Pete the Elaner said:

 

I disagree. I think it is a very useful photo. It doesn't look like Chelmsford though. Is it platform 4 at Colchester?

Scanned 35mm prints don't always look as good when scanned as digital images from a modern camera, but they are far from useless.  This one contains a lot of detail which could otherwise be forgotten:

 

The fact that they did indeed wear all over blue.

The paper destination number (as mentioned earlier).

The style of station lamp.

The style of OLE.

The silver window surrounds.

The blue 308 sitting in the next platform.

The building in the background is the mental hospital (Essex Hall?) which was built as the station hotel. Interesting that a Walton service is in that platform - it would normally be going the other way - or is that the back?

 

(Edit, red lamp gives it away!)

Edited by Suzie
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Great memories, the upsiding at Chelmsford was always the home for a 7.45 stater in the early 1980’s, and  I think the loop at boreham was used On occasions.
When Stratford started the silver roof lark it would be quite an occasion to see a normal visiting 47! And of course the icing was probably in the very late 80’s when a scotrail47 worked a freightliner forwards the capital.

 

 

 

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Having lived in Chelmsford for over 30 years and worked there for even longer I have very few photos of Chelmsford station and trains there.

9.png.7e18d06f66f0cc3bdf99e6ce79fbbe93.png

Sorry for the poor quality, this was a DMU on a Sunday morning, 1981ish taken through the window of a Merrymaker train. The camera was an Instamatic, we lived life to the full in those days.

 

20.png.ff9fdcda93a2931b73e1ed5569d3982f.png

The 86's driver is telling the station staff he is waiting for me to take my photo and then get on the train.

 

839152224_funday007.jpg.61d5131a49cb99dc80e9d03771f5fa57.jpg

 

A GER bridge sign at the Witham end of platform 2.

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On 14/10/2020 at 20:14, eastwestdivide said:

Think I've posted this on the forum before, but it's the only one I have of Chelmsford. I changed trains there once on the way back from Ipswich/Colchester for some reason. A 47 whizzes through in 1985. Nice signal post, and a good one for the car spotters:

1900852540_85-16-17Chelmsford.jpg.ebc8f295e0e34c3615a02951e45dcf4d.jpg

The car park was for BR staff at the time. The building on the left was a BR staff association's club and box like one with no windows housed the transformer and switching gear for the power feed for the OLE. If you look at the fourth mast it has insulators and switching gear on the top. 

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9 hours ago, Clive Mortimore said:

Having lived in Chelmsford for over 30 years and worked there for even longer I have very few photos of Chelmsford station and trains there.

9.png.7e18d06f66f0cc3bdf99e6ce79fbbe93.png

Sorry for the poor quality, this was a DMU on a Sunday morning, 1981ish taken through the window of a Merrymaker train. The camera was an Instamatic, we lived life to the full in those days.

 

20.png.ff9fdcda93a2931b73e1ed5569d3982f.png

The 86's driver is telling the station staff he is waiting for me to take my photo and then get on the train.

 

839152224_funday007.jpg.61d5131a49cb99dc80e9d03771f5fa57.jpg

 

A GER bridge sign at the Witham end of platform 2.

 

I've lived  here for over 40 years and don't seem to have any :( I'm slowly working through my negatives and I do recall taking some photos of at least the signalbox but not found them yet :(

Edited by Bucoops
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10 hours ago, Clive Mortimore said:

Having lived in Chelmsford for over 30 years and worked there for even longer I have very few photos of Chelmsford station and trains there.

9.png.7e18d06f66f0cc3bdf99e6ce79fbbe93.png

Sorry for the poor quality, this was a DMU on a Sunday morning, 1981ish taken through the window of a Merrymaker train. The camera was an Instamatic, we lived life to the full in those days.

 

20.png.ff9fdcda93a2931b73e1ed5569d3982f.png

The 86's driver is telling the station staff he is waiting for me to take my photo and then get on the train.

 

839152224_funday007.jpg.61d5131a49cb99dc80e9d03771f5fa57.jpg

 

A GER bridge sign at the Witham end of platform 2.

 

I love that middle photo, two different era's of passenger trains for the line both now sadly long gone. 

Although can anyone tell me me if the freightliner 86's are still in use? I haven't seen them for ages.

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1 minute ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

A few from this summer, and Chelmsfords most famous resident.

 

20200713_120054.jpg.5873fb58943906aaee00d7a8513f6bc9.jpg67785315_20200713_120133_001-Copy.jpg.a516f94e6675bcf5edff74df9b7ef5a1.jpg1250419923_20200713_120229-Copy.jpg.05ad0c9ac3f53e843d3ebb6bbb080fc2.jpg965783890_20200713_121902-Copy.jpg.f58ac54846b83c0cdb18f50138f57158.jpg

 

Mike.

 

So sad to see the signalbox deteriorating so much :(

 

The Shark is the famous Shenfield Shark though ;)

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Somewhere on one of the platforms, presumably near the signalbox is a blue plaque commemorating a brave signalman who prevented a disaster. Unfortunately, they put the name of the signalman's son instead. The last I heard from the local civic society is they were double checking the information they had received.

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