The 50 Terminator
AT 8.50
AM on the 26th March 1994, 50007 Sir Edward Elgar and 50050 Fearless
departed from London Waterloo with the last Class 50-hauled
train on BR - "THE 50 TERMINATOR". With 600 people on board
and hundreds more at the lineside, the train ran a nostalgic 600-mile
journey over the West of England route to Salisbury and Exeter, onward
to Penzance before returning via the Berks & Hants to London Paddington.
This programme features the highlights of the final run, as seen from
the footplates of both locomotives.
However, this is no ordinary cab-ride video. In order to capture the
atmosphere of a pair of 50s at ‘full chat’ on the main line, both
locos were specially "Wired for Sound" by the staff at Laira
depot. The result was that 5,400 horsepower of Class 50 magic was
recorded in Hi-Fi sound as never before! Some of the banks were tackled
in spectacular style - Honiton and Largin from a 5MPH start, Dainton and
Rattery single-handedly by 50007 after Fearless had shut down at Newton
Abbot. Not surprisingly, the volume is awesome! To complete the record
of the journey, the programme is interspersed with lineside footage of
the tour and includes its dramatic arrival at Paddington, horns
blasting, to a waiting crowd. The era of the Class 50 had finally come
to an end.
Plymouth’s Area Fleet Manager Geoff Hudson recalls this memorable
and historic occasion, the likes of which we may never see again.
"Quite simply, this is one of the outstanding
videos of the year."
RAIL Magazine
