Steve's 1980s rail pictures.

[The Pilotman]

I thought that loco looked familiar; it’s 47624 CYCLOPS. Its condition had deteriorated into that scruffy state by mid-1989 and it went into Doncaster Works that September to be overhauled and repainted into Mainline livery. 

Edited December 27, 2020 by Western Aviator

[brushman47544]

5 hours ago, SouthernBlue80s said:

Here is a mystery 47 for you.

Later in the 1980s at Bristol Temple Meads. I guess 1988 - 1990?

 

Work is being done on the roof.

 

 

Identified as 47624 Cyclops mid 1989

 
I would beg to differ on 47624. The front was much worse by the time it entered works in mid 1989. I’d put that weathering in 1988.

 

On that basiste other Class 47 is most likely 47606 or 47620. Assuming it not a ScotRail one, the WR InterCity livery repaints were mostly done by OC, which painted the whole headcode panels dark executive grey. The more diffuse headlights suggest the no 1 end (no 2 had two spotlights) and the headcode panel is half yellow, which leaves very few options.

[SouthernBlue80s]

Seeing as we are on the subject of unidentified class 47s.

 

Usually I know the location if not the number. But I have no idea where I took this let alone the number. 1984/1985 ish. Any ideas?

 

 

 

Edited December 27, 2020 by SouthernBlue80s
Spelling

[nigb55009]

Coventry?

[brushman47544]

1 minute ago, nigb55009 said:

Coventry?

That was my first thought. The shape of the first digit looks like it’s not a 4, so 475xx? The only obvious damage to help further is the patch of rust above the cab windows, but it doesn’t look familiar.

[SED Freightman]

Thanks for posting your photos, they bring back lots of happy memories from days out travelling around on priv tickets and also many work related trips to strange places far from the SED.  I remember the tunnel at Stratford and the attempt to smarten it up by boarding out the sides, you could then hear the rats scurrying about behind the boards as you walked through while hoping there were no gaps in the boarding !

[The Pilotman]

1 hour ago, brushman47544 said:

I would beg to differ on 47624. The front was much worse by the time it entered works in mid 1989. I’d put that weathering in 1988.

You may well have access to other pictures of this loco, and there is always the chance that photos posted online are incorrectly dated, but I think anybody would be hard pressed to spot any difference between the condition of 47624 in the picture posted by @SouthernBlue80s and this one:

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/189203541@N03/50175894523/in/photolist-QnmU5J-mYCNfw-cL1Ztb-NWYGqD-9tFh8W-2iV2iU8-RPKLup-D8ju4a-2cFsUFi-MFu2LD-SGVHDU-SSpjFn-Lob2mP-cvUMdb-DFk8Nu-9ATwB3-2jrSzkH

 

apparently taken in September 1989, only a matter of days before it went to Doncaster. 

[Halvarras]

On 17/12/2020 at 18:59, keefer said:

 

Another interesting detail there, the presence of a red blank on the headcode blind. There was a pic previously on RMWeb showing this on a cl.50 I think.

What's strange about this is that red blinds were only ever used/authorised on the SR (and only on the SR 2-character blinds), so why they were present on 4-character blinds is a mystery, unless there was a plan/experiment to use them.

 

Back around the time D1930/65/75 were fitted with experimental black-on-white headcode displays (late 1960s) I seem to recall reading in a railway mag that another experiment saw D6992 fitted with red blinds in the second (alphabetic) character position. I can't find confirmation of this anywhere so 50-odd years later I'm wondering if it was all a figment of my imagination! (??)

ADB968008 (ex-24054) & ADB968009 (ex-24142) were the only 'Class 24s' ever allocated to the Western Region and spent some years heating passenger stock in the South West. While 24054 survived into preservation and became famous (not least for being the only '24' to reach Penzance!) 24142 faded into relative obscurity and a scrapyard - unfortunate as we have no preserved Class 24/1 with headcode boxes (or visually identical Class 25/0 for that matter). When first converted it was numbered TDB968009 - so why not just paint out the 'T' and change it to......oh never mind, water under the bridge n all.....!

[Davexoc]

15 hours ago, brushman47544 said:

That was my first thought. The shape of the first digit looks like it’s not a 4, so 475xx? The only obvious damage to help further is the patch of rust above the cab windows, but it doesn’t look familiar.

 

Tried to find it, I'm leaning more towards 474xx as there are more 4s than 5s with the underslung tanks removed. Also 5s were more likely to carry names, then discount Stratford examples which had a grey roof and that narrows it down. Thought I found it a couple of times, but they had works plates under the secondmans window. It is missing a lamp iron and is battered under the Serck shutters, but still haven't found it!

[The Pilotman]

17 hours ago, SouthernBlue80s said:

Seeing as we are on the subject of unidentified class 47s.

 

Usually I know the location if not the number. But I have no idea where I took this let alone the number. 1984/1985 ish. Any ideas?

 

 

 

Phew, that one took some detective work but I’ve finally pinned it down. Like @Davexoc I thought the rippled section of bodyside below the Serck shutters would help to identify it but good photos of that side of the loco are fairly scarce. However, the damaged paintwork area above the windscreens matches the very few other pictures I’ve found from around that period. So, the loco is 47536, about as ordinary a blue ETH duff as you could get.

Edited December 28, 2020 by Western Aviator

[SouthernBlue80s]

2 minutes ago, Western Aviator said:

Phew, that one took some detective work but I’ve finally pinned it down. Like @Davexoc I thought the rippled section of bodyside below the Serck shutters would help to identify it but good photos of that side of the loco are fairly scarce. However, the damaged paintwork area above the windscreens matches the few other pictures I’ve found from around that period. So, the loco is 47536, about as anonymous a blue ETH duff as you could find. 

 

Great detective work!

[brushman47544]

17 hours ago, Western Aviator said:

You may well have access to other pictures of this loco, and there is always the chance that photos posted online are incorrectly dated, but I think anybody would be hard pressed to spot any difference between the condition of 47624 in the picture posted by @SouthernBlue80s and this one:

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/189203541@N03/50175894523/in/photolist-QnmU5J-mYCNfw-cL1Ztb-NWYGqD-9tFh8W-2iV2iU8-RPKLup-D8ju4a-2cFsUFi-MFu2LD-SGVHDU-SSpjFn-Lob2mP-cvUMdb-DFk8Nu-9ATwB3-2jrSzkH

 

apparently taken in September 1989, only a matter of days before it went to Doncaster. 

I was going by the dirt on the top of the buffer beam, particularly above the RH buffer and around the left corner, which look quite a bit worse in the later photo, but you may well be right.

[Halvarras]

On 16/12/2020 at 17:18, SouthernBlue80s said:

Found another shot of 40028 at Kings Cross

 

 

 

 

Interesting this one should turn up at Kings Cross, I took a photo of 40028 just a few hundred yards away at a different terminus in 1974! I've posted the pic to RMweb previously (in fact I think it was my first-ever upload), turns out a '40' at St Pancras was exceptionally rare. As a Cornish lad I had no idea, although I did write 'How often did this happen?' on the back of the print!

[SouthernBlue80s]

I never saw a 40 St Pancras.

 

Here is another unidentified one, along with a 47, at Kings Cross in the early 80s

 

 

 

[The Pilotman]

10 minutes ago, SouthernBlue80s said:

I never saw a 40 St Pancras.

 

Here is another unidentified one, along with a 47, at Kings Cross in the early 80s

 

 

 

At first glance I thought this 47 is going to be even harder to identify than the previous ones. There’s very little to go on; it’s got the slightly less common headcode/marker lights and there’s a little bit of damage on the roof above the driver’s windscreen but I’m not even sure whether it’s got ETH or not and it’s a wide date range so there are too many potential locos. I’m back at home now so unless I have a massive row with Mrs. W.A. I don’t think I’ll be trying to identify this one. 

[SouthernBlue80s]

2 hours ago, Western Aviator said:

At first glance I thought this 47 is going to be even harder to identify than the previous ones. There’s very little to go on; it’s got the slightly less common headcode/marker lights and there’s a little bit of damage on the roof above the driver’s windscreen but I’m not even sure whether it’s got ETH or not and it’s a wide date range so there are too many potential locos. I’m back at home now so unless I have a massive row with Mrs. W.A. I don’t think I’ll be trying to identify this one. 

 

Yes there is very little to go on. I am glad you are back home, if not a little late.

Edited December 28, 2020 by SouthernBlue80s

[keefer]

If it was a 47/4 it would have to be a 'Generator' (47401-20).

After these, the dummy ETH socket was on the lower right cab front.

It was only later in the 80s that the ETH dummy was again buffer beam mounted (to enable snowploughs to be fitted)

[brushman47544]

2 hours ago, Western Aviator said:

At first glance I thought this 47 is going to be even harder to identify than the previous ones. There’s very little to go on; it’s got the slightly less common headcode/marker lights and there’s a little bit of damage on the roof above the driver’s windscreen but I’m not even sure whether it’s got ETH or not and it’s a wide date range so there are too many potential locos. I’m back at home now so unless I have a massive row with Mrs. W.A. I don’t think I’ll be trying to identify this one. 

 

15 minutes ago, keefer said:

If it was a 47/4 it would have to be a 'Generator' (47401-20).

After these, the dummy ETH socket was on the lower right cab front.

It was only later in the 80s that the ETH dummy was again buffer beam mounted (to enable snowploughs to be fitted)

There’s a gap in the eyebrows above the cab windows which should indicate a Crewe built loco so not a Generator. On Brush built locos the eyebrows joined in the middle, as shown clearly here on 47419 http://www.class47.co.uk/c47_zoom_v3.php?img=0176020299000

 

[keefer]

I don't suppose there are that many 47s that had the sealed headlamps - most would have either dominos or the white lenses with black grommets.

Don't know if that's a feature that's been cross-referenced anywhere though but does give something distinctive to look for (assuming they were present on both ends - two identical headcode panels are not guaranteed on a 47!)

Edited February 11, 2022 by keefer
Spelling

[Dagworth]

1 minute ago, keefer said:

I don't suppose there are that many 47s that had the sealed headlamps - most would have either Domino's it the white lenses with black grommets.

Don't know if that's a treasure that's been cross-referenced anywhere though but does give something distinctive to look for (assuming they were present on both ends - two identical headcode panels are not guaranteed on a 47!)

Pretty much all of them ended up with sealed beams at one end to make room for the SSF sensing equipment that was installed in the old headcode panel. 
 

Andi

[brushman47544]

5 minutes ago, Dagworth said:

Pretty much all of them ended up with sealed beams at one end to make room for the SSF sensing equipment that was installed in the old headcode panel. 
 

Andi

To my recollection, always at the No.2 end.

[Davexoc]

5 hours ago, Western Aviator said:

At first glance I thought this 47 is going to be even harder to identify than the previous ones. There’s very little to go on; it’s got the slightly less common headcode/marker lights and there’s a little bit of damage on the roof above the driver’s windscreen but I’m not even sure whether it’s got ETH or not and it’s a wide date range so there are too many potential locos. I’m back at home now so unless I have a massive row with Mrs. W.A. I don’t think I’ll be trying to identify this one. 

 

I've had a look through the 47/0s, and something I didn't realise is that there was an awful lot of locos that had that style of lights at the No.2 end, but the black grommet/opaque disc at the No.1 end. Now I can't think of a good reason for this, I don't recall there being anything behind the panels that was different from one end to the other, just that to gain access to change a lamp from the inside required removing alot of masking/gaffer/duct tape, that if wasn't replaced, resulted in comment in the repair book along the lines of 'arctic blast in cab - needs draughtproofing'.

[Dagworth]

3 minutes ago, Davexoc said:

 

I've had a look through the 47/0s, and something I didn't realise is that there was an awful lot of locos that had that style of lights at the No.2 end, but the black grommet/opaque disc at the No.1 end. Now I can't think of a good reason for this, I don't recall there being anything behind the panels that was different from one end to the other, just that to gain access to change a lamp from the inside required removing alot of masking/gaffer/duct tape, that if wasn't replaced, resulted in comment in the repair book along the lines of 'arctic blast in cab - needs draughtproofing'.

See my post two above yours for the answer. SSF equipment. 
 

Andi

[SouthernBlue80s]

Severn Tunnel Shunters

 

It was too dark for my amateur level of photography. But I snapped away anyway.

 

 

 

 

[brushman47544]

15 hours ago, Davexoc said:

 

I've had a look through the 47/0s, and something I didn't realise is that there was an awful lot of locos that had that style of lights at the No.2 end, but the black grommet/opaque disc at the No.1 end.

From the date the unknown 47 would have been an early fitment, but even so...