English Electric Archive
This
is the first in a series of four programmes taking a nostalgic look at
the BR traction scene during the 1980s. This DVD features the five
classes of English Electric-built main line locomotives that were in
regular use with British Rail during the 1980s - 20, 37, 40, 50 and 55.
And it’s not just the traction that provides the nostalgia here - so
does the rolling stock and surrounding railway infrastructure. There’s
not a single strand of palisade fencing in sight! The material in this
programme is previously unreleased on DVD and David Maxey provides the
narration for this fascinating trip down memory lane. Here’s a brief
taster of what you can expect to see…
CLASS 20 - forty-four locos including 20172 & 20173 hauling the
Tunstead-Northwich ICI hoppers, 20137 & 20195 on Boulby potash, 20028 &
20174 on Redmire limestone, 20066 & 20148 on the Prestwick aviation fuel
tanks, 20096 shunting at Barnetby, 20901 & 20904 weedkilling on the
Ludgershall branch and 20054 & 20183 heading to Skegness.
CLASS 37 - twenty-five locos including 37025 & 37065 on an East
Coast MGR, 37196 with Cornish china clay ‘hoods’, 37697 on the Exmouth
Junction coal, 37027 & 37040 on Peak Forest limestone, 37057 & 37075 on
a Felixstowe Freightliner, 37418 & 37420 on Scottish passenger turns,
37407 hauling the Fort William Alcan tanks and 37026 & 37099 & 37145
triple-heading the Hunterston-Ravenscraig iron ore.
CLASS 40 - eighteen different ‘Whistlers’ at work including 40013
working the Amlwch tanks, 40028 with empty vans for Redbank, 40044 on
the Hope Street aggregates, 40085 on a MoD trip from Moreton on Lugg,
40160 substituting for a DMU, 40004 setting off from Lowestoft, 97405
during the Crewe remodelling and D200 at Norwich on its final run.
CLASS 50 - over half the Class are seen in action, including
50011 on a Devon Speedlink, 50034 with a rake of vacuum-braked mineral
wagons, 50149 on china clay CDAs, 50039 on newspapers, 50005 & 50008 on
the ‘Torbay Express’, 50025 leaving Waterloo and 50047 on a West Country
‘stopper’.
CLASS 55 - nineteen different Deltics are featured at work on
ECML passengers services between King’s Cross, Newcastle and Leeds.
Includes Deltic diversionary routes via Cambridge, the Hertford Loop and
the GN/GE Joint Line via Lincoln.
All this archive footage comes complete with the original soundtrack.
What’s not to like?
