Brighton Brush Farwell
With
the rundown in Virgin's loco-hauled CrossCountry services now underway, we
felt that this was a suitable time to
feature one of their Class 47s in our 'Wired for Sound' series of
programmes. Thanks to the co-operation of Virgin Trains, we are pleased to be able to bring you a cab-ride between Brighton and
Birmingham New Street. The featured train is the
1S76 09.20 Brighton-Edinburgh. Filmed on November 23rd (three days
before it went over to Voyager units) the service
on this occasion provided the very first run of 47 851 following it's
re-paint into two-tone British Railways green. The loco
was in pristine condition as it had only been released from Toton the
previous afternoon!
The first stage of the 185-mile journey is along the Brighton main line, through Haywards Heath, Three Bridges and
Gatwick Airport to Redhill. From there the train travels via Quarry Tunnel to East Croydon. The 1S76 then threads its way
in and out of London amid a complex 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, North Pole Junction, West London Junction to Acton Wells Junction
where 47 851 takes the connecting chord to the Great Western Main Line. There then follows a run along the relief line
from Acton Main Line to Reading, during which the 1S76 encounters numerous other services. The run through the
Thames Valley continues to Didcot where 47 851 heads north through Oxford and Banbury to Leamington Spa where it
takes the single-line 'roller coaster' to Coventry. From there the 1S76 runs 'under the wires' through Berkswell, Hampton-
in-Arden, Birmingham International and Stechford before plunging into the depths of Birmingham New Street.
In little more than six months time, the sight of a Class 47 on Virgin CrossCountry services will all but have
disappeared. This programme will provide a timely reminder of what was once an everyday sight – and sound!
Fresh in it's coat of new green paint, 47 851 has been captured hard at work in this 110-minute programme –
its Sulzer sound unmistakable. To make the journey all the more challenging, there's even a dead Class 47 on
the rear of the train!
'This video represents the closing of yet another chapter in railway history'. TRACTION MAGAZINE
