Scottish Region photos 1980's

[Bon Accord]

My initial reaction was Falkirk Grahamston, with the train concerned being Inverness bound; however the bridge isn't right. Is the Falkirk area warm ish?

[tiger]

Not Falkirk!

 

Here's a couple of clues: the train is on a diversionary route, and the location is decidedly suburban.

 

Cheers

 

Tom

[Bon Accord]

The Edinburgh-Shotts-Glasgow line?

[Graham R]

 the location is decidedly suburban ...

 

Oh well then ... the Edinburgh Suburban at Blackford Avenue?

[tiger]

Oh well then ... the Edinburgh Suburban at Blackford Avenue?

 

 

Well done, spot on - 47593 is passing westbound through the site of the former Blackford Hill station on an Edinburgh-Carstairs-WCML portion working in the summer of 1989.

 

Haymarket South Tunnel was closed for electrification works (installation of concrete slab track and overhead wires). Many services were diverted through Haymarket North Tunnel onto the Fife lines during this time, but all of the WCML portion-worked trains to and from Carstairs departed Waverley to the East, through one of the Calton tunnels and then around the normally freight-only Edinburgh South Suburban line to Slateford, where they resumed the original route South (and vice versa).

 

Here is Eastfield's 47114 on the same route a couple of years later, in early 1991, with PCA cement wagons from Oxwellmains. It is also travelling westbound (clockwise) around the ESSR, in the same direction as 47593, and is one bridge further on - the Oswald Road bridge can be seen in the background.

 

 

This view of Princes St Gardens in 1989 shows rusty tracks on the left leading to Haymarket South Tunnel during the closure, with a 47/7 heading into Waverley on the Fife lines. As it is a Mk 2 push-pull set (47/7, Mk 2d TSO, 2z TSO, 2d TSO(T), 2e FO, 2f DBSO) it is probably an Aberdeen-Edinburgh working.

 

 

Cheers

 

Tom.

Edited November 15, 2013 by tiger

[Flood]

The push-pull 47 is 47703. Only three had a flush front at No. 2 end; 701 had a crest above the nameplate, 702 had lost the ScotRail by May 1989 leaving just 703.

 

The joint owner of Kirkhill would have a fit at that rake consist. He says he always ensuring that the Mk2Z was at the end of a rake when he was at Craigentinny. I might just send him a copy of the photo to wind him up!

[tiger]

Thanks Flood for ID'ing the 47/7. I'd long since forgotten which one it was, and I'm not sure I had recorded the number at the time.

 

Here's a few more of mine (sorry about the blurry ones - handshake, manual focus SLR camera and teenage amateurism all to blame...) from the late 80's/early 90s.

 

First of all, some Executive liveried HSTs.

 

Here's 43095 at the head of a down ECML HST, somewhere in Scotland - any guesses? August, 1989 - the OHLE is in place for the East Coast electrification, but the wires won't be energised until early 1991.

 

 

Next, here is 43057 standing silently attached to the shore supply in Platform 19 at Edinburgh Waverley. It's July 1989, and there are no trains running due to industrial action by members of Jimmy Knapp's RMT union. These strikes took place once a week throughout the summer of 1989 - can anybody remember what the reason was for the strike action, or the eventual outcome?

 

 

Early 1991 - the afternoon "Flying Scotsman" HST from London Kings Cross to Aberdeen pauses in platform 19 led by a shabby 43044. Fitters attend to cleaning the windscreen and the power car has drawn attention from a small crowd of enthusiasts. Most HST power cars were repainted into INTERCITY swallow livery by 1991, but a few lasted in Executive until 1992. 

 

 

Further north, 47538 leads 47518 into Aviemore with and Edinburgh-Inverness train. 47518 had failed several times between Edinburgh and Stirling, requiring rescuing for the trip north. July, 1989

 

 

Next, some multiple units. 150 252 arrives at Drem on its way from North Berwick to Edinburgh (did they ever go through to Bathgate as indicated on the destination blind?) on a snowy afternoon in early 1991.

 

 

Later the same day, 156 450 is about to depart from Platform 14 at Waverley, for Glasgow Queen Street. This was a low point for services on the E+G with regards to rolling stock. The class 47/7s and associated push-pull coaching stock had been transferred away from the route in May, 1990, but their intended class 158 replacements had not yet arrived, so in the meantime 4- or 6- car class 156 formations were used instead - limited to 75 mph, with no air conditioning, and no first class!

 

 

A 150/2 heads towards Haymarket in late 1990. Compared to the shot of 47703 in 1989, just over 12 months earlier, there have been a lot of aesthetic changes for the worse: erection of headspan OHLE, removal of the lattice footbridges, erection of a new line side fence, and cutting back of a lot of trees and vegetation. The weather looks decidedly "dreich", and my camera skills appear to be worse than the year before!

 

 

Finally, as far as I know the one and only visit of a class 311 "blue train" to Edinburgh was in early 1991, when un-refurbished 311104 stabled alongside platform 1 for a few days. I'm not sure whether the intention was to consider using surplus 303s and 311s on the Edinburgh-North Berwick route, or whether the unit was merely present for crew training on a generic 25 kV electric unit - but in the end a small fleet of refurbished class 305's cascaded from the Great Eastern were dedicated to the route from July 1991 until the early 2000s.

 

 

Hope these are of interest even though there are no spluttering 26s and 27s!

 

Cheers

 

Tom.

[cornish trains jez]

Thanks Flood for ID'ing the 47/7. I'd long since forgotten which one it was, and I'm not sure I had recorded the number at the time.

 

Here's a few more of mine (sorry about the blurry ones - handshake, manual focus SLR camera and teenage amateurism all to blame...) from the late 80's/early 90s.

 

First of all, some Executive liveried HSTs.

 

Here's 43095 at the head of a down ECML HST, somewhere in Scotland - any guesses? August, 1989 - the OHLE is in place for the East Coast electrification, but the wires won't be energised until early 1991.

 

IMG_0057.jpg

 

Next, here is 43057 standing silently attached to the shore supply in Platform 19 at Edinburgh Waverley. It's July 1989, and there are no trains running due to industrial action by members of Jimmy Knapp's RMT union. These strikes took place once a week throughout the summer of 1989 - can anybody remember what the reason was for the strike action, or the eventual outcome?

 

IMG_0073.jpg

 

Early 1991 - the afternoon "Flying Scotsman" HST from London Kings Cross to Aberdeen pauses in platform 19 led by a shabby 43044. Fitters attend to cleaning the windscreen and the power car has drawn attention from a small crowd of enthusiasts. Most HST power cars were repainted into INTERCITY swallow livery by 1991, but a few lasted in Executive until 1992. 

 

IMG_0126.jpg

 

Further north, 47538 leads 47518 into Aviemore with and Edinburgh-Inverness train. 47518 had failed several times between Edinburgh and Stirling, requiring rescuing for the trip north. July, 1989

 

IMG_0089.jpg

 

Next, some multiple units. 150 252 arrives at Drem on its way from North Berwick to Edinburgh (did they ever go through to Bathgate as indicated on the destination blind?) on a snowy afternoon in early 1991.

 

IMG_0123.jpg

 

Later the same day, 156 450 is about to depart from Platform 14 at Waverley, for Glasgow Queen Street. This was a low point for services on the E+G with regards to rolling stock. The class 47/7s and associated push-pull coaching stock had been transferred away from the route in May, 1990, but their intended class 158 replacements had not yet arrived, so in the meantime 4- or 6- car class 156 formations were used instead - limited to 75 mph, with no air conditioning, and no first class!

 

IMG_0124.jpg

 

A 150/2 heads towards Haymarket in late 1990. Compared to the shot of 47703 in 1989, just over 12 months earlier, there have been a lot of aesthetic changes for the worse: erection of headspan OHLE, removal of the lattice footbridges, erection of a new line side fence, and cutting back of a lot of trees and vegetation. The weather looks decidedly "dreich", and my camera skills appear to be worse than the year before!

 

IMG_0129.jpg

 

Finally, as far as I know the one and only visit of a class 311 "blue train" to Edinburgh was in early 1991, when un-refurbished 311104 stabled alongside platform 1 for a few days. I'm not sure whether the intention was to consider using surplus 303s and 311s on the Edinburgh-North Berwick route, or whether the unit was merely present for crew training on a generic 25 kV electric unit - but in the end a small fleet of refurbished class 305's cascaded from the Great Eastern were dedicated to the route from July 1991 until the early 2000s.

 

IMG_0127.jpg

 

Hope these are of interest even though there are no spluttering 26s and 27s!

 

Cheers

 

Tom.

 

Great set of photos! Plenty of nostalgia there. I rather liked the Executive livery on HST's. Certainly was and still is (in my opinion) the smartest livery ever to adorn these locos. Most liveries these days just look like vomit!

Edited November 15, 2013 by cornish trains jez

[msmith4000]

My thanks to all for sharing these lovely images for me to view. I was too young to own a camera when I traveled on these trains and I greatly appreciate being able to view these images to remind myself how much I loved travelling on the trains at that time as a child from 1980 onwards.  If anyone has some photos of Kirkcaldy yard in the 70's and 80's I would love to see them.  Probably not the most interesting railway subject to photograph but of anyone has any I would love to see them purely for nostalgic purposes.

[60021 Pen-y-Ghent]

27 050 at Kyle:

 

http://railwayherald.../view/198255/PL

http://railwayherald.../view/198256/PL

[jeff mcghie]

The HST is somewhere between Innerwick and Grantshouse as that was the section fitted with the TOWS warning hooters as it is bi directional. From the Countryside around I'd say up at the Innerwick end, North of Cockburnspath.

[Graham R]

If anyone has some photos of Kirkcaldy yard in the 70's and 80's I would love to see them. 

 

There are some in this thread... but maybe you'll prompt someone to add some more

[P.C.M]

Nice photographs Peter, the first one looks like Perth but when - and where is the second one just out of interest? Jim

Thanks Jim, 

As mentioned the 47 is at Inverness, the class 26 is at Perth the date 5.7.91.

 

Cheers Peter.

[P.C.M]

Having bumped the thread the other day it's nice to see some new pics, keep them coming guys. 

 

Cheers Peter.

[tiger]

The HST is somewhere between Innerwick and Grantshouse as that was the section fitted with the TOWS warning hooters as it is bi directional. From the Countryside around I'd say up at the Innerwick end, North of Cockburnspath.

 

Great detective work and pretty much bang on. The northbound HST is about to go under the bridge carrying (what was then) the A1 trunk road over the ECML, immediately southeast of the site of the former Cockburnspath station.

 

This is the google maps link with, hopefully, a recent street view image over the bridge parapet in the same direction. Since 1989 the A1 has been diverted on a new alignment to the southeast, which crosses the ECML roughly where the 3rd or 4th coach of the HST is in the 1989 view. 

 

This next photo shows the daily 08.05 Edinburgh-Penzance "The Cornishman" HST just on the other side of the same bridge, passing through the site of the Cockburnspath station. This diagram was covered by a Western Region/InterCity Cross Country allocated 2+7 HST. It's a terribly blurry photo but - for the HST geeks out there - is worth showing because the leading power car is 43167, which at the time (1989) was one of four experimentally fitted with a Mirrlees MB190 power unit. This was the only time I ever saw one of these Mirrlees-engined HSTs on the ECML, let alone north of the border. From around 1996, 43167 was reallocated to the ECML fleet, initially with a Paxman VP185 power unit, and eventually (as 43367) with the standard MTU installation used in most of the HST fleet today.

 

 

Hope this is of interest.

 

Tom.

[tiger]

27 050 at Kyle:

 

http://railwayherald.../view/198255/PL

 

http://railwayherald.../view/198256/PL

 

Interesting shots - class 27s  were pretty rare on the Kyle and Far North lines, weren't they, unlike class 26s which were the main traction on these routes for many years.

 

A few years later, here is 37418 in large logo blue at the same location, preparing to run around its stock on a cold day in July or August, 1990. The coach nearest the camera is a Mk 2z 48-seat open second with 2+1 seating - which would have originally been used as a dining car on the electrified WCML in 1966. It still has white antimacassars on the seats but looks a bit worse for wear. Class 37s had already been partially replaced on these duties by class 156 units but a few loco-hauled diagrams lingered on until 1993. 

 

 

Later the same day, 37419 heads the return "Hebridean" from Kyle to Inverness. The unique former Metro-Cammell DMU observation car, 6300, is behind the locomotive. I think this is the shore of Loch Carron, unless anybody knows any better!

 

 

Cheers

 

Tom.

[tiger]

Four more from me - I'm pushing the 1980's thread a bit as these are all from 1992 - hope nobody minds!

 

On 12 February 1992, A4 pacific no. 60009, masquerading as 60004 "William Whitelaw", hauled a special train from Edinburgh to Glasgow to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the opening of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway.

 

Here is the A4 departing from Waverley:

 

 

 

37401 "Mary Queen of Scots" followed the special as a backup loco:

 

 

The same day, 91028 stands in the shadow of the North British Hotel (by then known as the "Balmoral") on the rear of stock for a later departure to London Kings Cross:

 

 

More to come later.

 

Cheers,

 

Tom.

 

 

[the penguin of doom]

Fantastic thread this.

 

I've spent the last 3 days on and off reading from page 1 - not watched the videos yet!

 

I managed a few jaunts up to Scotland in the 80's, class 26/27's, 37/4's and 47's were the mainstay and I was always guaranteed a few new lines in the spotters book.

 

I never got further North than Dingwall and after travelling to Elgin and sampling the delights of a class 170 recently, I yearned for something more stimulating such as a 47..... Never thought I'd see the day!

 

Unfortunately, (and unforgiveably), my photo's took second place to wine women and song in the 90's and did not survive the trip, so nothing to post from those heady days.

 

Cheers.

 

Sean.

[tiger]

Like others, I was too young to take many photos during the 80's - so I have no photos at all, but distant early memories, of Deltics, and more solid memories of 26s and 27s and 40s in the mid 80s.  By the time I had a half decent SLR camera most of the interesting loco-hauled workings in Scotland had been replaced by second generation DMUs.

 

Here are a few more of my own from the end of the 80's - well, from the early 90s to be honest. Black and white this time - I was experimenting with doing my developing and printing. Apologies once again, as some of them are as just as badly composed and out of focus as ever!

 

Class 47/4 no. 47466 is pictured stabled in the former platform 5 at the East end of Waverley Station, Edinburgh, some time in 1991, during the twilight of its career. The locomotive's run-down appearance, with peeling paintwork and accident damage above the buffer beam, reflected its status restricted to 40 mph for empty coaching stock moves between Edinburgh Waverley and Craigentinny depot.

 

New in May 1964 as D1590, 47466 was officially withdrawn in December 1991. After periods of storage at Holbeck, Leeds, and Crewe works, the locomotive was cut up at Crewe in March 1997, by MRJ Phillips.

 

 

47641 "Fife Region" stands in platform 20 at Waverley with the northbound "Devon Scot" in early 1991. This train has arrived off the WCML - Carstairs - Edinburgh route behind an AC electric during the first month or so of through electric haulage of these trains.

 

 

Summer 1991 saw loco-haulage return to a peak hour commuter working around the Fife circle, from Edinburgh-Cardenden-Kirkcaldy-Edinburgh. Initially these trains saw class 26 haulage, but before long, Eastfield-based trainload construction Class 47s in the FAME pool were used instead (47004, 47114, 47210 and 47328). Here is 47328 departing platform 19 at Waverley with the evening working:

 

 

Mainline liveried 47523 arrives with an afternoon Aberdeen-Edinburgh parcels working in early 1991 - I'm not sure if this continued south via the ECML or WCML. It's a pretty badly composed photo, but shows that 47523 still had a small circular blanking plate under the driver's side tail light where a sealed-beam headlight had previously been installed (as on 47901). 

 

 

86228 "Vulcan Heritage" departs Waverley with an InterCity Cross Country working during the first month of electric workings from Edinburgh, in early 1991. The Carstairs-Edinburgh line was electrified as part of the East Coast Mainline electrification scheme, and was completed a few months earlier then the main ECML scheme - so the first revenue-earning electric trains to Edinburgh were in fact from the WCML rather than the ECML.

 

 

91019 "Scottish Enterprise" was used for crew-training purposes in Scotland in early 1991, as seen here at Waverley.

 

 

 

An HST for London Kings Cross gets underway from Platform 7 at Waverley in October 1990, and a class 101 DMU is stabled between duties. The track layout at the East end of Waverley station was initially rationalised in the 1970s, and then further rationalised (as seen here) during 1989/90 as part of the ECML electrification.

 

 

Hope these are also of interest.

 

Cheers,

 

Tom.

[ThaneofFife]

Like others, I was too young to take many photos during the 80's - so I have no photos at all, but distant early memories, of Deltics, and more solid memories of 26s and 27s and 40s in the mid 80s.  By the time I had a half decent SLR camera most of the interesting loco-hauled workings in Scotland had been replaced by second generation DMUs.

 

Here are a few more of my own from the end of the 80's - well, from the early 90s to be honest. Black and white this time - I was experimenting with doing my developing and printing. Apologies once again, as some of them are as just as badly composed and out of focus as ever!

 

Class 47/4 no. 47466 is pictured stabled in the former platform 5 at the East end of Waverley Station, Edinburgh, some time in 1991, during the twilight of its career. The locomotive's run-down appearance, with peeling paintwork and accident damage above the buffer beam, reflected its status restricted to 40 mph for empty coaching stock moves between Edinburgh Waverley and Craigentinny depot.

 

New in May 1964 as D1590, 47466 was officially withdrawn in December 1991. After periods of storage at Holbeck, Leeds, and Crewe works, the locomotive was cut up at Crewe in March 1997, by MRJ Phillips.

 

IMG_0041_2.jpg

 

47641 "Fife Region" stands in platform 20 at Waverley with the northbound "Devon Scot" in early 1991. This train has arrived off the WCML - Carstairs - Edinburgh route behind an AC electric during the first month or so of through electric haulage of these trains.

 

IMG_0050_2.jpg

 

Summer 1991 saw loco-haulage return to a peak hour commuter working around the Fife circle, from Edinburgh-Cardenden-Kirkcaldy-Edinburgh. Initially these trains saw class 26 haulage, but before long, Eastfield-based trainload construction Class 47s in the FAME pool were used instead (47004, 47114, 47210 and 47328). Here is 47328 departing platform 19 at Waverley with the evening working:

 

IMG_0045.jpg

 

Mainline liveried 47523 arrives with an afternoon Aberdeen-Edinburgh parcels working in early 1991 - I'm not sure if this continued south via the ECML or WCML. It's a pretty badly composed photo, but shows that 47523 still had a small circular blanking plate under the driver's side tail light where a sealed-beam headlight had previously been installed (as on 47901). 

 

IMG_0051_2.jpg

 

86228 "Vulcan Heritage" departs Waverley with an InterCity Cross Country working during the first month of electric workings from Edinburgh, in early 1991. The Carstairs-Edinburgh line was electrified as part of the East Coast Mainline electrification scheme, and was completed a few months earlier then the main ECML scheme - so the first revenue-earning electric trains to Edinburgh were in fact from the WCML rather than the ECML.

 

IMG_0049_2.jpg

 

91019 "Scottish Enterprise" was used for crew-training purposes in Scotland in early 1991, as seen here at Waverley.

 

IMG_0043_2.jpg

 

IMG_0044_2.jpg

 

An HST for London Kings Cross gets underway from Platform 7 at Waverley in October 1990, and a class 101 DMU is stabled between duties. The track layout at the East end of Waverley station was initially rationalised in the 1970s, and then further rationalised (as seen here) during 1989/90 as part of the ECML electrification.

 

IMG_0054.jpg

 

Hope these are also of interest.

 

Cheers,

 

Tom.

About those Cross Country WCML services in the few years just after after electrification of the Carstairs -EDIN route - did they still portion up and split at Carstairs or were all services for Edinburgh now routed via the avoiding line or was it mix and match?  That goes for Euston - Edinburgh services too......

[tiger]

About those Cross Country WCML services in the few years just after after electrification of the Carstairs -EDIN route - did they still portion up and split at Carstairs or were all services for Edinburgh now routed via the avoiding line or was it mix and match?  That goes for Euston - Edinburgh services too......

Good question! My memory of this is that the timetable was recast to abolish portion working, before the introduction of electric services. So, Glasgow and Edinburgh each had their own dedicated WCML services. Presumably there must have been an overall decrease in frequency for each of these destinations. I think this took place from the start of the winter 1990-91 timetable, but stand to be corrected.

 

In the case of Edinburgh, I think the recast services still changed traction from electric-diesel at Carstairs (obviously without splitting) for a few months until the wires were energised in early 1991, at which time they began to run straight through to Edinburgh, with electric traction via the avoiding line. For the first few months of electric haulage it was common for these trains to arrive in Edinburgh up to 20 minutes early due to the time saved by avoiding reversal and a traction change at Carstairs.

 

There was a reasonable amount of electric traction variety at this time, with classes 86/1, 86/2, 87 and 90 all appearing in Edinburgh, on what would later become dedicated InterCity Cross Country class 86/2 workings. I always wondered whether an 85 ever made it through to Edinburgh, as the last few members of this class lasted until mid 1991 - although it would have been pretty unlikely given that none of the class were allocated to the InterCity sector by this time.

 

Cheers

 

Tom

[jonny777]

Looks like Inverness to me after the (ugly in my view) shopping centre had been built.

 

Dave

 

 

Here is one taken with a long lens while construction work was in progress behind.

 

[Legend]

Don't you just wish you had today's digital cameras and phones back in the 60s and 70s!

 

Great set of photos. Like the 303 at Waverley. Never knew one handmade it to the Far East!

[carlw]

Hi,

 

Just thought i would bring this thread back to life with some of my dads pics from the late 80's early 90's

 

37128 at St Rollox 22-12-90

 

37261 At Aberdeen 1989

 

37401 At Oban 1989 on Railtour

 

37421 and 47640 in Inverness 18-3-90

 

47114 pulls in a PP working into Queen St 29-7-89

 

I will dig more out if you want

 

Carl

Edited June 12, 2014 by carlw

[GordonC]

Yes please Carl!!! I'd never seen a Trainload Construction Class 47 hauling a DBSO Push-Pull set. Was it just an ECS from Cowlairs? or had they ran out of 47/7's that day and something else hauled it out to Edinburgh?