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Class 33 Photos


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Nice pics at Reading, Nidge. Top one looks like one of the Portsmouth Harbour trains (I can still hear the station announcer: Reading West, Mortimer, Bramley, Basingstoke, Micheldever, Winchester, Shawford, Eastleigh, Botley, Fareham, Portchester, Cosham, Hilsea, Fratton, Portsmouth and Southsea and Portsmouth Harbour) with a 4-TC in the old platform 2 (Basingstoke bay). Bottom one is a cross-country from Poole or Bournemouth on the old down relief platform (8) with the 33 about to come off and perhaps be replaced by a 47 waiting on the middle line to go north. 

Edited by Western Aviator
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Back in 1984, the VSOE pullmans generally ran with a 73 between London and the junction for the Folkestone Harbour branch, where a loco was attached for the reversal down the incline.

 

1. Coming down the hill into Folkestone Harbour, 33212 in charge:

84-15-38.jpg.e32c108ee3a633cc906b4b96e59a2483.jpg

 

2. A sequence of three - blasting back up the hill, 33212 banked by 73120. Pretty sure this was the same day as the first pic (I was using 2 cameras then, one with BW film). If it was the same day, the locos have run round at the Harbour to get the 73 at what will be the London end once it's reversed and back onto the main line. Sun was a bit harsh, but you can't have everything.

 

2067166488_840928Folkestone013321273120.jpg.8c8dc2416d3ca19a97d59bd2c2ba21a3.jpg

 

1405346644_840928Folkestone023321273120.jpg.a9893e5f2ce6bcefab1756a13c002609.jpg

 

 

951149924_840928Folkestone033321273120.jpg.d642e5663392ae66ca9a30322793d469.jpg

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1 hour ago, DY444 said:

 

A 33 on a service train including air cons was not an everyday sight

Don't think they could supply air cons properly could they? 

In any case, it wasn't so uncommon for a 33 to be on the south-of-Reading segment of the South Coast-Birmingham-etc trains.

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Emporia

 

Superb!

 

That train was the highlight of the day for local railway enthusiasts. I had many cab rides on it back from Uckfield when I was still at school, and when I started work it was my daily train home from London of Croydon for several years.

 

Its last run was significant enough to merit ceremony and a head-board provided by Uckfield MRC, but I missed that, having moved away before then.

 

I have many photos of it myself, which I must get round to scanning and posting.

 

Kevin

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3 hours ago, eastwestdivide said:

Don't think they could supply air cons properly could they? 

In any case, it wasn't so uncommon for a 33 to be on the south-of-Reading segment of the South Coast-Birmingham-etc trains.

 

No they couldn't.  In fact they were not permitted to supply eth to air cons which is why seeing one on a train containing them was unusual. 

 

I agree it wasn't uncommon for 33s to work cross countries to Reading but when they did it was generally a replacement for something else.  For a while there was a booked turn for a 33/1 from Poole to Reading and back on Summer Saturdays and the FO Portsmouth - Leeds and SuO return which a 33/0 worked to/from New St but other appearances on cross country trains were as substitutes.

Edited by DY444
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20 hours ago, Nearholmer said:

Emporia

 

Superb!

 

That train was the highlight of the day for local railway enthusiasts. I had many cab rides on it back from Uckfield when I was still at school, and when I started work it was my daily train home from London of Croydon for several years.

 

Its last run was significant enough to merit ceremony and a head-board provided by Uckfield MRC, but I missed that, having moved away before then.

 

I have many photos of it myself, which I must get round to scanning and posting.

 

Kevin

Kevin

 

Had many a ride on it down at the bottom end of the line, often in the cab on its return journey...

Then, when I started work, on the railway, and was at the training school at Beckenham,

‘found’ myself on it on the way home.

I remember the last journey, I was a member of the UMRC at the time.

I've got more photos too, just didn’t want to go overboard!

 

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23 hours ago, EmporiaSub said:

A couple of photos of 33's working the 17.20 London Bridge to Uckfield service.

One approaching and the other departing Crowborough, sometime in the 1970's.

22C4D0D5-7249-49F8-88F3-E9157637A763.JPG

4DAA0306-C813-48C9-8216-D732208C2D95.JPG

 

 

Thanks for those.

I was a bit late to the party, starting on the railway in '83 after those were taken.

I vaguely remember the training school at Beckenham. The bacon rolls in the canteen spring to mind.

Moving to Norwood as a secondman circa 1985, the evening Uckfield was one of our turns and I'd swap for it if I could.

Light engine Norwood - NXG, empties NXG - LB, LB - Uckfield and empties back to NXG, if I remember correctly?

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That sounds right.
 

IIRC, There was one light engine move from Norwood into LB, to give a ‘float’ loco for the East Grinstead and Uckfield trains ...... the first ECS in might have had a loco on each end. I don’t think they ran around at LB.

 

I remember one very dark and stormy winter night when the driver hugely overshot Edenbridge Town in the down direction. 
 

It was a very ill-lit station, with no working signals, approached downhill from Mark Beech (?) tunnel on a curve, with not much to sight it by, and I think he  ‘got himself in the wrong place’ while peering out into the black.

 

Drivers also used to get confused about it not stopping at Hever, Cowden and Ashurst sometimes, so it would stop at random places occasionally.
 

I got the impression that the crews really enjoyed this train in the summer - Not too challenging, very scenic, and they became minor celebs at the country end!

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2 hours ago, Nearholmer said:

I got the impression that the crews really enjoyed this train in the summer - Not too challenging, very scenic, and they became minor celebs at the country end!

 

 

We certainly did. Made a nice change from the endless freight and engineers trains. Towards the end, we noticed more people taking notice of the working and often had an audience as we ran round at Uckfield.

 

1 hour ago, guzzler17 said:

 

Rather than ECS from Uckfield it was passenger to East Croydon, the 19.10 departure, and then empty to NXG.

 

That would make sense. Don't believe the return working from Uckfield was ever heavily loaded though!

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9 hours ago, guzzler17 said:

 

Rather than ECS from Uckfield it was passenger to East Croydon, the 19.10 departure, and then empty to NXG.

Earlier days it was 19.12 Uckfield to Oxted, run-round, and ECS to East Grinstead, but not Fridays!

Used to stable most of the sets overnight at East Grinstead.

This was later changed to New Cross Gate,

Friday nights the train went to New Cross Gate, to form an ECS to Brighton on Saturday morning.

 

There was one working in the morning, 07.29 East Croydon to East Grinstead, the stock came ECS from New Cross Gate, whilst the loco was from the 01.45 Didcot to Bricklayers Arms van train, with a crew change at Norwood.

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9 hours ago, guzzler17 said:

 

Rather than ECS from Uckfield it was passenger to East Croydon, the 19.10 departure, and then empty to NXG.

Earlier days it was 19.12 Uckfield to Oxted, run-round, and ECS to East Grinstead, but not Fridays!

Used to stable most of the sets overnight at East Grinstead.

This was later changed to New Cross Gate,

Friday nights the train went to New Cross Gate, to form an ECS to Brighton on Saturday morning.

 

There was one working in the morning, 07.29 East Croydon to East Grinstead, the stock came ECS from New Cross Gate, whilst the loco was from the 01.45 Didcot to Bricklayers Arms van train, with a crew change at Norwood.

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Troop trains were another form of traffic that brought 33’s to the Oxted line in the 70’s.

i can only find one photo, but they came from afar as Longtown, and often loaded to 12 coaches.

They went to Crowborough, but had to go on to Uckfield to run-round (or in reverse when returning from Crowborough Camp).

Often the local service was delayed unless Crowborough Signal Box was open.

9E442796-756E-4E62-B31A-53993091B36D.jpeg

Edited by EmporiaSub
Autocorrect!
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Indeed, I really must get scanning!

 

I've got a series of shots of one of these running round at Uckfield, and I think it was double-headed ........ need to find the slides.

 

It was a chance catch, because I was going through Uckfield on the way to various chalk pits south of Lewes to investigate industrial narrow gauge railways, and the gates at Uckfield were closed for this train.

 

There was also a brief period c1980 when a shortage of 3D/3H caused an earlier train than the 1719 ex-LB to be loco-hauled to Uckfield, something like 1647 ex-LB, and I think that ran as a shorter set, maybe as few as 4-car, using spare coaches scraped together from here and there, because the usual 8-car sets were fully utilised in the peak hours. Again, I have a photo of that, taken between Eridge and Redgate Mill.

Edited by Nearholmer
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22 hours ago, Nearholmer said:

 

 

There was also a brief period c1980 when a shortage of 3D/3H caused an earlier train than the 1719 ex-LB to be loco-hauled to Uckfield, something like 1647 ex-LB, and I think that ran as a shorter set, maybe as few as 4-car, using spare coaches scraped together from here and there, because the usual 8-car sets were fully utilised in the peak hours. Again, I have a photo of that, taken between Eridge and Redgate Mill.

That was the 17.04 ex London Bridge. When introduced it was a dual portion train for both Uckfield and East Grinstead.

It was generally formed of 4 coaches of just about any type!

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