Another from 35 years ago today.

Can you hear that? February 1981 and there were diversions of Euston bound trains via Coventry and Leamington to Paddington, what a treat.......

I'm not sure that this is one of them, as they were usually air con stock. However, only the Manchester - Brighton was a non-stopper back then, and we'd already had that.

Peculiar damage to the handrail of the loco.

Tags:   47476 leamingtonspa

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A speedlink service heads for Willesden along the north London line in the spring of 1980.

Tags:   47066 southhampstead

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'Flashing light' fitted 47373 heads for Fiddlers Ferry in the summer of 1982. Three other locos also had this experiment - 47277, 56073 and 56074. It was part of a remote control system that allowed the loco to be moved without the driver in the cab during loading and unloading.

The original photo had some distortion from a wide angle lens being used for a 'close up' shot. Now I've found out how to correct that in Lightroom the image is 'better on the eye' imho.

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'The Commonwealth Spirit' and 47450 on the Holyhead fueller in the summer of 1981.

47450 on the left has just been outshopped at Crewe, but does not have a 'barbed wire' logo - they were out of stock!

Also, the tail lights are of the Loughborough pattern with horizontal brackets, but the eyebrows are of the Crewe type so the loco must have had some accident damage to the no 2 end.

47555 has a left buffer of a non-standard (2"smaller) size.

Tags:   47450 47555 holyhead thecommonwealthspirit

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'Sir Daniel Gooch' pauses at STJ in the summer of 1982, with 47110 to the right.

The train was possibly the 6E64 Llandeilo Junction - Haverton Hill which was booked for a crew change here.

There was also a weekly LPG train from Fawley to Clydach-on-Tawe and return around this period.

Thanks to 'Marra Man' for the WTT info.

Tags:   47078 sirdanielgooch severntunneljunction 47110

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