Bramley Bunker railtour 1st March 1987
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- Опубліковано 1 лис 2009
- Short film of DEMU units 205033/026 on perhaps one of the most remarkable tours of (relatively) recent years. Three trips were run from Basingstoke around the former MOD Bramley Ammunition depot on Sunday 1st March 1987. This extensive facility with over 30 miles of track had opened in 1917 but these were to be both the first and last public trains before closure. The first seen leaving Basingstoke ran into difficulties with the units getting stuck on sharp curves, which in the end had to be 'rushed' to get round. The 'on train' sequences were shot on the second tour which started late as a consequence but ran without incident due to lessons learnt on the first. The last trip ran in the dark.
Although a pair of DEMU's were employed, the units were split due to tight curvature and ran round independently but within sight of each other trailing an Army Ruston diesel which 'led the way'. Flags and walkie-talkies being the only form of 'control'. It could have been straight out of a St Trinians movie ! Modern day HSE would have Kittens.
I've included rather crude animated maps but a quick description of the route in case they don't make sense :
First part to the photo stop at Taylors Lane Sidings ran down the 'mainline' from the Marshalling Yard parallel to the BR line then in a 'U' to the East side of the site, reversing back to the Sidings.
Next the tour traversed the extreme Western loop, reversed back to the bridge under the BR line then ran parallel with that to go completely round the train set like 'Valley Loop', to terminate at Ordnance Gate platform for another Photostop.
Units then returned to the Marshalling yard in a 'U' under the BR line at Centre arch. Bulk of this film covers the 'train set' Valley loop and return to the BR sidings.
205033 survives at Isfield. 205026 was withdrawn in 1990 after a rough shunt at St Leonards. Once again original source material is VHS so you'll have to excuse the crud quality...
Amazing, I've never seen this video before, great to see this as I was there! Still got my ticket, pamphlet, photos & memories. Definitely the most extraordinary rail tour I have ever been on. Thank you for posting this.
Great video. The class 205's were used as there was no chance of "buffer locking" on the tight curves with those units, that's also the reason why they were uncoupled from each other.
That`s awesome. I see , and hear, what you mean about tight curves with all that groaning and screeching coming off the wheels loosening my teeth in the process! Great stuff.
As a former Air Cadet done a weekend exercise there only found a small amount that wasn't overgrown
Fantastic - just found this, I was on this Railtour, what a great way to spend a Sunday, I went on to do Bicester and Long Marston the same year hooked on military railways. Thanks for posting. Stan
I'm in the RAF and on training there this week. The track is still down but heavily overgrown. The goods shed I saw looked the same but part of the roof has collapsed.
Good lord. So sorry I missed this tour, as I fascinated by glimpses of the line from passing Basingstoke to Reading trains.
Great vid , thank you for up loading
The trains we see in this vid are Class 205 3H Diesel Electric Multiple Units which still carried the older blue and grey livery.
Great Video.
Blimey! The dreaded Bramley! This was (possible still is) used by the MOD for training exercises. Spent many hours here being mainly wet and cold when in the Oggies. There wasn't much railway to be seen though, mainly overgrown and lifted.
Yep, still used for training...spent this past week there part of my RAF training.
Still odd sections of track around, though alot of the depot buildings are either derelict or have been cleared.
It's almost like the chase in 'The Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery. Just needs Flash Harry on one of the trains a few of the staff in a Wickham and a couple of girls on a pump trolley.
Really can't imagine anything remotely similar happening today.
Nothing left now except the bases of some of the buildings.
Couldn’t beat a 205. Amazing footage. A tour that would have the H&S people having kiniptions 😂
This would make a cracking heritage railway!
No hope of that sadly only 20% of the track still there but the whole area is now used for outdoor training & Manoeuvres
Great video Rofger, and some bragging material as well.
Hello I just wondered that your comment is now 9 years old.
Sadly some of the track has been lifted, specifically the marshaling yards, loco shed and track sections which connected the whole thing to the mainline. That area is now a housing estate which sprang up in the last few years. Unless a new connection is made, a heritage railway here seems doubtful...
Wrong, the area is in use today (2017) by the MOD and is not a housing estate.
Also parts of Midsomer Murders were filmed there recently.
Most of the site is still an MOD facility. However, a large swathe of it (on the North East end) is now a housing estate. If you read my comment again, I said what used to be the marshalling yards and loco shed and rail arrivals areas is now a housing estate. This is true. I live nearby and have been to that housing estate many times recently.
ChainsawDude Here, look:
www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.3229677,-1.0552186,404m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en&authuser=0
Google maps even shows the estate being built. Because of this, all the remaining track on the eastern side of the site is now completely disconnected.
Regretably general interest schemes will always take a back seat (ejector type) when housing schemes are involved, money talks, always has, always will. Also just visited the site on Google Earth and every scrap of track is now gone. Not sure what date it was but even the marshalling yard was just an over-grown but recognizable site.
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At 1.10 was that Mr Bean running with his camera
I think this all this land has now been developed into housing
Nope, still as it is in the video, although some of the track have be taken up. All the buildings are still standing and it's used as a military training area.
@@csaviation9013 classed as 3 Training areas
Often used by the army for military exercises (
BUT THIS WAS DISGUSTINGLY ------- NOT ADVERTISED PROPERLY IF AT ALL, SO IT WELL NEEDS TO BE FULLY REPEATED AT THE COST OF INCOMPETENT STAFF WHO UNLAWFULLY CAUSED THE LACK OF PUBLICITY.
Sadly this route has huge sections either lifted or overgrown
It stopped being advertised when it fully sold out after one week - first come first served! MOD no longer authorised any access