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Class 31 Photos


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That photo of Weston station in the snow brings back a lot of memories. Early Jan 1982 was a well known snow event around the Bristol Channel/Severn Estuary coast, both over S Wales and the West Country.

 

I was on the S Wales coast at the time, and most places were cut off for some days (weeks in the case of tiny rural villages served by hilly roads.

 

I can't give you a 31 photo, or a even a railway one - because I had to try and walk to/from work - but this is what some of the drifts looked like.

 

 

 

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I have a few memories of the 1962/3 winter in Exeter but I was only 3 and the drifts seemed massive!

Since 1971 i have lived in Weston and remember significant snow on only 6 or 7 occasions.

I don't have many snow shots but here is one  more for this thread from the same winter

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One of Bath Roads class 31/4s outside its home depot is 31421, they had been mainly used on the Portsmouth Harbour and Weymouth services before the 33s took over, 11/12/81

 

 

cheers

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Yes mid Dec 1981 was a prelude to early Jan 1982, although where I was across on the South Wales side at the time, we missed most of the December snow because a SE'ly wind off the Bristol Channel just kept temperatures high enough for it to be rain. However, a deep low pressure came almost straight over South Glamorgan / North Somerset and after many hours of gale force SE'ly winds they suddenly swung to NW'ly gale force winds, which was more than my garden fence could cope with and the entire length of it blew over almost instantaneously with a succession of bangs outside that sounded like war had been declared.

 

I remember it well, and vowed it would never happen again - so I replaced the fence with leylandii, much to my neighbours annoyance.

 

However, this is beginning to seem like the extreme weather thread so I had better get on topic -

 

31179 at Leicester  in better weather December 1982

 

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31196 and 31195 at Immingham in even better weather December 1983

 

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Edited for typos.

Edited by jonny777
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As an Essex man, I took Class 31s for granted, but did take a few shots - not as good as some of the ones above, sadly:


 


The first was at Rayleigh on 10th Feb 1982, after an embankment slip between there and Hockley, and the second is 31138 between Hockley and Rayleigh on the up evening post train from Southend Victoria, that I think carried mail from the Access credit card centre.


 


 


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A few of my photos, apologies if I've posted some of them before.

 

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31143 looking a little sorry for itself at Bescot in 1988

 

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31423 also at Bescot short after being named, 1990

 

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31568 another namer at Bescot, 1990

 

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31276 at Workington, September 1991

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I used to live in Dursley, and managed to get a few shots of Class 31s on the Berkeley nuclear flask trains.

 

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This would have been around 1997, when the brake van was still used. Seen at Standish Junction.

 

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The Sharpness branch is mostly in a cutting hemmed in by trees...

 

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This looks like a different pair, in the siding at Berkeley.

 

I can't find my notes of the loco numbers, sadly.

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A couple of Class 31s around Sheffield:

 

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31116 and 31227 at Rotherwood Sidings, with lovely rusty coke hoppers, presumably from Orgreave, on 16th April 1981?

 

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And an unidentified one at Tinsley, on the same day.

Edited by locoholic
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Might have posted this somewhere else, but anyway, steam rising at Leicester, early 80s, with (I think) the Peterborough-Crewe postal TPO train that ran round at Leicester mid-evening.

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Tried to adjust the greenish colour cast from the fluorescent light, but the other light on the left just got redder and redder.

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Apologies if any have been posted before,

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31160 Phoenix Springs Branch April 1990

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31970 Crewe September 1991

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31304 Bamfurlong Jct., 1986, 7E34  Ashton -in- Makerfield to Lindsey

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Liverpool Lime Street

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D5500 North London line near Lillie Bridge heading back to the Eastern region, 1968

 

Tom

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I must admit to being rather fond of the class 31s, probably because there was an allocation of them at Bath Road in the 1970s

when I was trainspotting, and later joined BR in Bristol, and they were still there in the 1980s when I started taking photographs.

They seemed to be popular enough when doing the sort of work for which they were designed, secondary passenger and local freight work. 

 

The Bath Road locos worked the Portsmouth Harbour - Bristol - Cardiff service before the class 33s took over,

the service over this route had been a patchwork of local services and when the 31s first appeared the service was not even hourly to begin with.

 

Here are some photos of them on the Pompey trains starting in Cardiff

 

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31424 is seen at Cardiff Central waiting to work the 12.15 departure to Portsmouth Harbour, the GUV on this trains was unusual

though the set used on the Bristol - Weymouth working normally had one, 11/8/82

 

Now we are nearing Newport

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31419 is seen approaching Ebbw Junction with a morning departure from Cardiff to Portsmouth, 19/5/82

 

And into Newport

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31420 this time, is running into the platform at the head of the 08.15 Cardiff Central - Portsmouth Harbour, 17/7/80

 

cheers

Edited by Rivercider
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