Incredibly cool photos of trains

Multiple working cables?

SD.

Quick summary gents - originally there were three eight car sets on the Western Region and two six car sets on the London Midland Region, in April '66 the LMR sets were withdrawn from service and transferred to the WR. Management took ages to decide what to do with them but eventually decided to fit both sets with the MW gear and couple them up as a twelve car unit, reinstating them in early '67 on a Bristol - Paddington service. On arrival at Padd the sets would be split with one of them doing a mid-day run to Oxford and back, the sets were then recoupled for the evening run back down to Bristol. This didn't last very long and by about 1969 the whole fleet began to be split and reformed in various formations, mixing up the LMR and WR cars to give a decent split of 1st and 2nd class seating. By 1971 BR had started to introduce their new-fangled Mk3 air-con stock which was much better than the existing Pullman units so the decision was taken to withdraw the Pullmans. The very last run was in early May '73 and soon afterwards the units were put in store at Old Oak and Bristol St,Philips Marsh, by (I think) early '74 all thirty six cars had been sent to South Wales for cutting up. BR did put a tender out though to see if any other railways wanted them, Yugoslavian Railways showed some interest but couldn't agree on a price with the BR Board, so they were all cut up.

These three books are excellent and well worth a look if you're feeling nostalgic...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Blue-Pullman-Pictorial-Ke...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Blue-Pullman-Kevin-Robert...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Blue-Pullman-Supplement-K...

One of the ex-LMR sets at Oxford on the midday run in 1967...



An eight car WR set awaiting departure from Paddington in 1962...



Early publicity stuff...





WR set at Ladbroke Grove in 1972 running empty down to Old Oak for servicing...



Night time servicing in the Pullman Shed at Old Oak in 1972...

Well yes, indeed I think you also remember watching trains from West Ealing Milk Depot? Anyway, although a modern image, this is exactly how I remember the first trains I saw as a young boy. Mum used to go shopping in West Ealing or Ealing Broadway and afterwards we'd get a drink and cake in Lyons Tea Room and then watch the trains for a while. The Bristolian and The Torbay Express are two that I remember and mum would read out the names of the locos, Carmathen Castle was one, withdrawn in Feb '63 when I would have been 6. This is heading towards Paddington between West Ealing and Ealing Broadway and I know the spot well. Shame about the overhead lines.

Could well be! But maybe that's a trainspotters outing, I never remember it being that busy.

A couple of pictures from work.

43002 at the head of 1C92, the 1800 Paddington-Penzance on 27/12/18.


43185 in New Yard, Exeter on 21/10/18. This would form 1A08, the 0628 Exeter St. Davids - Paddington.


Possibly the best long distance train we've ever had. Reliable, versatile and capable of shifting huge loads. Not doing badly for a 15-year stopgap design either....

As a freight driver, I'd love to see these huge loads !

It was unveiled at the 40th anniversary event in Bristol.

For me, the brown/grey, off-white and red stripe 'Swallow' livery was best.

Yes I chose the word evocative quite carefully. Sorry, slightly OT and although we love them now back then often they were just dirty work horses. My OHs granddad was a steam train driver, he had no interest in them whatsoever, it was just a job to him. I can only speak for Leeds and Bradford near where I live and that is where most of my pictures are from, but any town or city which had mills and railway stations were utterly filthy places back in the day, It's shocking when you see old pics of them. Leeds city had two stations back then and some big mills up wind of it too, it got to such state that they had someone walking in front of the buses or trams to guide them through the smog. When I was young I remember them cleaning the Queens hotel in the 70s as it was black, it turned out it was built from Portland Stone which is near white and many people never knew!
If anyone reading this is familiar with the area around J27 M62 (near Ikea) then I have a few train shots from the long gone tracks near there. Below is a Policeman trying to direct the traffic on Leeds city square with a gaslight during 1958, the train is 70034 Britannia on the turntable at Forster Square Bradford 1962: