Photo Class 31 UK Diesel Loco in BR Blue Northampton Station 1980s

 Unidentified Class 31 Diesel Locomotive, Northampton Station

Photo:  Charles Moorhen

A distinctly scruffy unidentified UK British Rail Class 31 diesel locomotive, in BR Blue livery, heads a post train south through Northampton station in the late 1980s.

 

Class 31 Diesel Locomotive Historical Note:

Whilst hauling a train in which Queen Elizabeth II was travelling on 4th January 1961, D5667 (31240), broke down south of Cambridge.  

 

Two onboard Brush fitters, on hand to deal with any mechanical problems that may occur, were unable to fix the problem and a steam loco had to be sent for in order to rescue the stricken diesel adding over an hour to the completed journey.

 

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Photo Intercity 125 Train Class 43116 'City of Kingston upon Hull' Wellingborough

Class 43116 Intercity 125, Wellingborough Station

Photo:  Charles Moorhen

As the sun begins to set, UK Intercity 125 HST Class 43116 passenger train, bearing the nameplate 'City of Kingston-upon-Hull', waits at Wellingborough railway station before commencing its journey south to London St. Pancras.

News Update:
Seeing East Midlands Trains colourful livery of red, white, orange and red flashing along the railway tracks, will soon become a thing of the past.

 

Abellio will take over the East Midlands Trains franchise on Saturday 18th August 2019. 

The Class 43 HST Intercity 125 and Class 222 diesel multiple unit will gradually be phased out by brand new Hitachi trains that will be a variant of the bullet-nosed Class 800 bio-mode DMU.

The new trains will have a lavender livery and be branded with 'EMR' on both sides.

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Photo Class 43079 British Rail HST in Intercity 125 Livery Basingstoke 1990s

Class 43079 Intercity 125 HST, Basingstoke Station

Photo:  Charles Moorhen

On a sunny summer day Intercity 125 High Speed Train Class 43079, in 'swallow' livery enters Basingstoke station in Hampshire, heading for the south-west of England in the 1990s.

Basingstoke railway station historical note:

In the mid-1800s, a special train was permanently kept in a state of readiness by the London & South Western Railway for the sole use of the Duke of Wellington - hero of the Battle of Waterloo - at Basingstoke, Hampshire, UK, should he require it.


Wellington was not a fan of the 'new fangled railways' and it is not known if he ever used his train.

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Photo British Railways Semaphore Signal Against Angry Storm Clouds

Storm Clouds Loom Menacingly Behind a Railway Semaphore Signal

 

Photo:  Charles Moorhen

Photo of one of the semaphore signals along the trackside close to Ropley station on the Mid Hants Railway in Hampshire, England, conjuring up memories of the magical long-departed days of steam railways.

Photographed against the darkening threat of an impending thunderstorm.

Satellite image of Ropley area, Hampshire, England.  Courtesy: Google Maps

The red asterisk (not the red target drop) identifies where Ropley railway station is situated, just above Ropley Dean village off the A31 road between Alton and New Alresford.

The signal/cloud photo was taken from Ropley station footbridge.

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Photo Brush BR Ruston Class 56302 Diesel Loco Wolverton 1980s

Class 56302 Diesel Locomotive, Wolverton Station

Photo: Charles Moorhen

Class 56302 diesel locomotive, in Fastline livery, thunders through Wolverton station, on the West Coast Mainline, with a freight train of containers.

The locomotive was built by British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) at Doncaster Works and the whole fleet of 135 Class 56s were built between 1976 and 1984.

Class 56302 is seen passing through Wolverton station in the 1980s.




Wolverton railway station historical note:
It was at Wolverton railway station in Buckinghamshire, on the 9th September 1845, that bare-knuckle fighter, Bendigo, stepped from a carriage of a London & Birmingham Railway train surrounded by a horde of his supporters.

His destination was the nearby town of Newport Pagnell where it was arranged that he would take part in an illegal fight with Ben Court.

At the last possible moment, for various reasons, the venue was switched to the village of Lillington Lovell, 4 miles north of Buckingham.


The match went ahead with Bendigo being heralded the winner after 96 gruelling rounds.

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Photo Alstom Adalante Class 180103 First Great Western DMU Train Didcot 2004

First Great Western Class 180103 Alstom Adalante DMU

Photo:  Charles Moorhen

In First Great Western Trains livery, 5-car unit Class 180103 Alstom Adalante diesel multiple unit enters a damp, Didcot Parkway station on the 5th October 2004.

 

Fourteen 5-car Alstom Adelante dmu passenger train units were built by French company Alstom in their former works at Washwood Heath, Birmingham, UK

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Photo Class 166205 Network Express Turbo DMU Train Didcot 2004

First Great Western Trains Class 166205 Diesel Multiple Unit, Didcot Parkway

Photo:  Charles Moorhen

First Great Western Trains Class 166205 diesel multiple unit, (DMU), Network Express Turbo, enters Didcot Parkway after a sudden torrential October downpour.

 

This photo of  3-car UK passenger train, Class 166205 dmu, was taken at the station in the 2004.

The class of 166 Turbo Express diesel multiple units (DMU) were built between 1992 and 1993 by ABB Yorks works.

The Class 166 3-car units, a fleet of 21, (fleet numbers are 166201 - 166221) were designed as a faster variant of the Class 165 Turbo and both classes were originally known as Networker Turbos, but today are generally referred to as Thames Turbos.

The Class 166 diesel multiple units are operated by the Great Western Railway and the lines they serve are; Severn Beach Line, Golden Valley Line, Heart of Wessex Line, and the Wessex Main Line. 




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