Brighton Brush Farwell
To
commemorate the end of the reign of Class 47s on its CrossCountry
services, Virgin Trains specially re-painted four of its locomotives in
historic liveries in the autumn of 2001. One of these was 47 851 which was
transformed into two-tone British Railways green livery and re-united with
original number – D1648. The locomotive made its public debut in its
late-1960s identity on the 1S76 09.20 Brighton-Edinburgh on November 23rd
– only three days before the service went over to Voyager units. This ‘Wired for Sound’
cab-ride video is a record of the first 185 miles of that journey, the
loco having eight Mark 2 coaches and a dead Class 47 in tow.
The
first stage of the journey is along the Brighton main line. After the
climb from Haywards Heath to Balcombe Tunnel there’s another uphill run
between Gatwick and Merstham via Quarry Tunnel. From East Croydon the 1S76
threads its way in and out of London via a myriad of lines through
Selhurst, Streatham Common, Balham and Clapham Junction before joining the
West London Line at Latchmere Junction. After crossing the Thames at
Battersea Bridge, the journey continues through Kensington Olympia and
West London Junction to Acton Wells Junction where D1648 takes the
connecting chord to the Great Western Main Line. Full power is resumed for
the run along the relief line from Acton Main Line to Southall, and again
from Slough to Reading. The run through the Thames Valley continues to
Didcot where the 1S76 heads north through Oxford and Banbury to Leamington
Spa. From here, the ‘Brush’ takes the steeply-graded single-line
‘roller coaster’ to Coventry. Now ‘under the wires’, the veteran
locomotive makes a spirited run through Berkswell and Hampton-in-Arden
before pausing at Birmingham International. The final leg of the journey
concludes as the Class 47 plunges into the depths of Birmingham New Street
station.
This
is a reminder of what was an everyday sight and sound for nearly 40 years
– a Class 47 powering an ‘Inter-Regional’ passenger train. With a
delightful touch of 1960s nostalgia, D1648’s Sulzer engine is faithfully
captured hard at work on a route packed with interest, amid the golden
colours of late autumn.
'This video represents the closing of yet another chapter in railway history'. TRACTION MAGAZINE