50 years since the end of steam on BR Southern Region

[Yertis]

rs1952 said:

Thread resurrected because I have posted another comparison at Weymouth, including the arrival of the last steam hauled 0830ex-Waterloo on 8th July 1967.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/93122458@N08/2629579...

That same engine, with the same chalk graffitti on the smokebox, features in a book I have by a chap called Jim Evans. Different head codes though and I think that photo must have been the working before yours, heading the other way.

[Eyersey1234]

rs1952 said:

Although railways seem to be a minority interest in Boats Plane and Trains, if anyone is interested the weekend of 8th and 9th July marked 50 years since the end of steam traction between Waterloo and Salisbury, and Waterloo, Southampton and Bournemouth.

I took myself off down to the area just recently to get some “then and now” shots of various locations, and I have posted the first two in the series on Flickr:

Southampton 1st October 1966 and 5 the July 2017: https://www.flickr.com/photos/93122458@N08/3523991...

Whitchurch North 1st June 1967 and 27th June 2017: https://www.flickr.com/photos/93122458@N08/3595807...

More will follow as I get around to writing the captions

Thanks for sharing these, how many more are there?

[rs1952]

Yertis said:

rs1952 said:

Thread resurrected because I have posted another comparison at Weymouth, including the arrival of the last steam hauled 0830ex-Waterloo on 8th July 1967.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/93122458@N08/2629579...

That same engine, with the same chalk graffitti on the smokebox, features in a book I have by a chap called Jim Evans. Different head codes though and I think that photo must have been the working before yours, heading the other way.

Photographs very much lke that one have appeared in a a number of railway books and magazines over the years.

There were about 20 of us standing behind the buffer stops pointing cameras at the engine that morning!

[rs1952]

Eyersey1234 said:

Thanks for sharing these, how many more are there?

There are 16 more that I have made up, but most of them I'm not particularly happy with for one reason or another, and it's getting a bit late in the year now to go and take them again (poor light, low sun, short days etc)..

For example, one that I wasn't happy with was of Romsey - 4498 aka 60007 running light engine between Southampton and Salisbury between two legs of a special in June 1967, compared with an ubiquitous cl.159 DMU at the same location in July this year. The 2017 shot was slightly out of focus and, even then, it showed up the considerable shortcomings in both my photography skills and Instamatic cameras in 1967!

I went back down in September when A4 no 60009 was running through on a special at about 1845hrs, and the light levels were too low even then to get a decent shot

[rs1952]

Another of my comparisons has been posted on Flickr – Waterloo in April 1967 and July 2017:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/93122458@N08/2544378...

[rs1952]

Not strictly on topic and I don't know if anyone might be interested, but I have now posted a photograph on Flickr of the South African Railways class 26 no 3450 "Red Devil," rebuilt from a class 25 4-8-4 between 1979 and 1981 incorporating ideas from the Argentinian mechanical engineer L D Porta.

One of those "what might have beens" from history to go with the LMS 6399 "Fury" and Bulleid's Leader class:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/93122458@N08/2757992...

[forsure]

Great thread !

First railway journey I took on my own (aged13) was Bournemouth to Waterloo in the summer of '67.

Hauled by Standard Five 73169.

Wish I'd taken some photos !

[Yertis]

forsure said:

Great thread !

First railway journey I took on my own (aged13) was Bournemouth to Waterloo in the summer of '67.

Hauled by Standard Five 73169.

Wish I'd taken some photos !

Mine would have been around the same time, Poole to Waterloo in my case. Steam hauled. But I was only two, and neither my mother or grandmother had the presence of mind to take the engine number.

[Yertis]

By the way Robin, what do you make of this pic from the Period Classic Pics thread? I thought passenger services on this line stopped back the early '60s – what might be going on here?

P5BNij said:

Portishead, 1970...

[rs1952]

Yertis said:

By the way Robin, what do you make of this pic from the Period Classic Pics thread? I thought passenger services on this line stopped back the early '60s – what might be going on here?

P5BNij said:

Portishead, 1970...

The short answer is “Dunno mate”

The longer answer is that there were a number of enthusiast’s specials that went down the Portishead branch in the 1970s but most of them were DMUs. The Six Bells junction website lists quite a few and here are two examples – I didn’t find any loco-hauled specials in some skim research on it through the 1970s-

27th March 1971: Somerset Rambler III (booked for a DMU)
https://www.sixbellsjunction.co.uk/70s/710300gw.ht...

24th November 1973 Bristol Avon no 2 railtour
https://www.sixbellsjunction.co.uk/70s/731124rc.ht...

As you say the line closed to passengers in September 1964 and I believe the line into Portishead itself became unused after the power station shut (late 70s/ early 80s). Trains still run to Portbury docks though.

In case anyone is interested in what the final passenger timetable looked like, a posted a scan to Flickr some time ago:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/93122458@N08/3056883...

[rs1952]

Thread bumped because we have now passed to 50th anniversary of the end of all steam traction on BR (except the Vale of Rheidol) in August 1968.

I was out during the summer compiling some more "then and now," this time in Northern England where steam held out until the end.

Skipton: https://www.flickr.com/photos/93122458@N08/4521502...

Bradford: https://www.flickr.com/photos/93122458@N08/4338514...

Hellifield: https://www.flickr.com/photos/93122458@N08/4330513...

Rose Grove, Burnley: https://www.flickr.com/photos/93122458@N08/4489476...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/93122458@N08/4484343...

And just in case anyone wants to see a steam locomotive painted in rail blue with the double arrow logo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/93122458@N08/1534310...

[demic]

The Court House in Bradford stands on what was the site of Exchange. There’s still a flight of stairs complete with “Bradford Exchange” above them round the back of the Court.