@@HFStuart If a 31/0 was pressed into service , they could maintain schedule due to their lower gear ratio , I had 31019 on load 9 on the 5th December 1979 from Kings Lynn to Liverpool St and enjoyed a right time arrival , the 31/1's were a fair bit slower off the mark unfortunately .
Roy, thanks so much for uploading your BR era videos - it's always a delight to dip into your collection and come across gems like this; bringing back such fond memories.
In mid 80's usually in the winter months I would sometimes catch a train after work on a Friday evening from Liverpool St upto Cambridge. Always remember I used to enjoy listening to the chugging sound of the locomotive exhaust as it passed through thè countryside. This was prior to electrification and were much more interesting times in my opinion.
Always made me smile how you'd see network "south east" clearly in the south west (Exeter trains)....and up here where it is more like "network mids east "
@@Railways-by-Greg I remember the pre-electrification class 47-hauled rakes with a proper buffet car. They lasted until 1988 when they were replaced by DMUs which shuttled between Lynn & Cambridge, where the electrifed line began.
Interesting loco change at Cambridge, swapping a Class 86 for the Class 31. The only time, I got a Class 86 on that route, was when the GEML from Liverpool Street to Norwich had loads of rail replacement buses due to engineering work. But the lads found out from the Timetable Department that one up road train from Norwich was booked a Class 47 via Thetford to Cambridge, then a Class 86 from Cambridge to Kings Cross via Royston. Great video Roy, brought back many happy memories bashing Class 47s to Kings Lynn. By changing at Bishops Stortford, Audley End, Cambridge, Ely and Kings Lynn in both directions, you could ride behind NINE Class 47s in a day, for the price of a return ticket to Kings Lynn. The difficulty was whilst to Cambridge you had an hourly service, north to Ely and Kings Lynn, you only had a two hourly service, therefore you had to be prepared to hang around stations for hours. But it kept me busy ! I was also on the last ever scheduled diesel hauled service from Liverpool Street to Cambridge, with 47 581 "Great Eastern" which I took as far as Audley End. Happy days.
@@vicsams4431 Those comfy old early mk2's and catering vehicle gave it a real 'main line' feel. I seem to recall a 'full English' being offered on one service for a couple of years prior to sectorisation although memory could be failing me here? This was one of those services that almost overnight was reduced from main line to outer suburban.
I don't think your memory is playing tricks. A full English was served on the Kings Lynn and Norwich expresses. Railways were much more colourful back then and sadly missed now. Oddly the Kings Lynn line became part of Network South East rather than the Intercity sector. But the international plague that is "kartism" (replacing loco hauled trains with multiple units) brought 'proper railways' to end, and forced me to get my 'fix' on foreign railways.
In the steam days they would have been known as a Fireman. The Secondman was exactly that. A second person in the cab. Duties included attaching and detaching Locos on passenger stock and also operating the steam heat boiler before the use of ETH.
@@royharrison4122 I worked at South Tottenham , Broxbourne and Hackney Downs from 1979 - 1989 , then left the railway due to the shiftwork getting the better of me unfortunately .
Just about remember the old Network SouthEast livery from when I was a little boy, and the old InterCity Swallow livery. Wasn't around during the 80's unfortunately but managed to still see some interesting stuff through the mid to late 90's. Trains have no character now. It's all digital, computerised soulless crap. State of the art, yeah ok fine. But just boring. I love these old retro videos, I imagine how it must've been growing up in simpler times before the rise of political correctness and all that rubbish.
Character is almost completely defined by age, even though the complexity which tends to increase with time seems to always be blamed for it. Trust me, when the Sprinters and Turbos get retired people will mourn the passing as the modern stuff (195s, aventra etc) will seem lifeless and boring in comparison. People tend to blame this on the demise of LHCS or slamdoors or what have you (see reception to Mk.5a despite the shoddy build quality), but really, all you need for character is a sense that tech has moved on, and maintaining these 'relics' requires outdated specialized knowledge (eg HST sets, 313s even pacers when they start properly thinning out) Of course the shifting of age demographics of enthusiasts as the oldest die off and new ones come in sees newer and newer stuff liked plays a small part, more importantly though it clearly shows anything can have character is your nostalgia wants it to. Not denying at all, seeing the operations of yesteryear is definitely interesting, especially as the cost of labour increases and as the railways have seen a renaissance in recent years so less dilapidation to see, which I cannot deny is always attractive.
love all those multicoloured cars parked at Audley End. Guess a lot had driven only from Saffron Walden, lol! Super video. I remember class 40s sneaking round the back of the sidings in Cambridge with south bound coal trains, late 60s and tiny Drewery shunters...
Remember these loco hauled trains well when I was only 5 or 6 especially the 47 with the silver roof must of been the first ever class 47 I laid my eyes on along with the 305s I used to see them whizzing through broxbourne in the 80s along with 31s and 37s of course also remember the weekly rail freight to Hertford east back then to
Fantastic video. This was a genuine main line back in the 1980s. Now, like quite a few others it's simply outer suburban. However the EMU service from Kings X is impressively quick at least.
Brilliant video Roy I remember all that traction and earlier from spotting days in the sixties but my patch was the lower Lea Valley particularly a fabulous location called Coppermill Junction 2 miles from Temple Mills yard from 1964 untill 1970 strait after school it was a 1mile bike ride JUBBlEY in hand spotting untill dark. hours after school untill dark
That was fascinating, seeing King's Lynn pre-electrification. I did not realise that the coaches had to be set back so that the loco could run round. Quite a bit of freight activity, too. Am I right in thinking that the grain wagons had come from (or were going to) King's Lynn Docks on the now severed dock branch? It is strange that the rails are still in place over the John Kennedy Road crossing, but there is no connection any more, but we do see class 66 locos on the sand trains.
@@Mishima505 Even now, the rails are still in place over the old crossing to the docks, but disconnected so I am surprised that the crossing has not been removed completely if it is now 26 years since it last saw a train.
i remember riding those trains, they use to have a buffet car section where u could buy a beer or coffee sandwich etc, and of course u could smoke. the good ol days
@@royharrison4122 Yes the King's Lynn to Liv St expresses used to carry a MK1 Buffet in the formation. I believe before NSE days one set out of the four used daily carried a Restaurant Buffet that served a full English on an early morning down run!
I sure I saw that rake of nse coaches being pulled by an 86 through Broxbourne in the late 80s sometimes it was mixed intercity rakes of bluegrey/executive liveried mk2a - mk2e hard to believe they used 86s for a short spell on this line
Indeed the sight of those 4000hp AC monsters appearing on that line raised a few eyebrows. A shame they never got to work the whole route and shave 10-15 minutes off the schedule on acceleration alone.
Hertfordshire Railtours operated a tour from Liverpool Street to Southend Victoria, Clacton and Bishops Stortford before the wires were extended. There is a UA-cam Video of the tour. It is called the Great Eastern Pullman and features Class 86/0 and Class 86/3s and the old Manchester Pullman stock. I was on the tour. Full dining was in operation ! Pathfinder Tours also operated a tour to Walton-on-Naze with 85 101 (formerly 85 006). I was on that your also ! Finally during planned engineering works that closed Witham to Liverpool Street, one train was diverted from Norwich to Kings Cross via Thetford, Cambridge and Royston. It was hauled by a Class 47 to.Cambridge and a Class 86 to Kings Cross. I was on that too !!
Class 37s were the mainstay of Cambridge, Kings Lynn and Harwich Boat Train services for many years until ousted by Class 47s. In their younger days, Class 37s had much heavier loads. I remember the Fort William portion being Load 6 (3 x Mk3 Sleepers plus 3 x Mk2As) then adding a further 6 x Mk1 day coaches at Glasgow Queen Street High Level, and an ETHEL unit (an ex-Class 25 weighing 85 find and dead in train). That is Load 12 plus a Dead Loco over the West Highland. Mind you, she failed at Dumbarton !
When I was a lot lot younger (about 4 or 5) I thought the Chas & Dave song Margate was about Downham Market. I heard “down to Margate” as Downham Market I couldn’t understand why you’d need your bucket and spade and your cossie.
Footbridge in background disappeared with electrification so now cars, pedestrians and cyclists all have to wait together patiently each time a train passes.
Look at those 8+ coach trains into Kings Lynn! That would be a dream come true these days when crushed into a tiny 4 coach service packed to the rafters. What happened? Why could BR run long trains like that and suddenly it’s half the length?
The Lost Railways Of East Anglia I see, another great cost cutting brainwave by BR! Atleast I see now that platform extensions at Waterbeach, Littleport and Watlington are beginning to take shape so 8 coaches may be a possibility in the not too distant future. I know the shortening of those station platforms, the removal of a whole section of line between Littleport and Downham Market and the junction at Ely North are also factors into why only 4 coaches now run to Lynn. But I can’t help but watch this video and wonder how we seem to have taken a huge step back in terms of traffic capability.
@charliehazelmere. I hate karts (EMUs) also. I remember Class 37s to Kings Lynn in the 1970s and Class 47s in the 1980s. Back then, the trains were longer, and had a buffet car, but the service was only hourly to Cambridge and once every 2 hours to Kings Lynn ! Trains departed at XX.35 past the hour from Liverpool Street, with the even housed trains (08.35, 10.35 etc.) being the ones that ran through to Kings Lynn. On the odd numbered hours, you had to make do with a TWO car Class 101 MetCam DMU ! One year, through services were reduced still further, with the 10.35 diverted to Norwich via Thetford. The train was almost empty from Ely, so it only lasted one year, before reverting to Kings Lynn.
Strafe2011 There used to sugar beet, wood, grain and molasses traffic as well as sand back then. The dock branch was last used back in 1994, all overgrown with bushes now.
I noticed a weird stretching effect in the footage and moving black bars left and right. Did you use any automatic "build in" youtube corrections? Its better not to use them, often the footage becomes worse then the original.
Thank you for your comment, I do not use any UA-cam Corrections, sorry about the frame fringing on some shots, this has happened in the conversion of the Aspect ratio and the Video Stabilisation, I am having a lot of problems with the old VHS tapes, I will try adjusting the settings next time.
That class 86 had given way to the 31 to haul the train north to king's Lynn. Was usually a 47. The 31 could have just about kept time as the route was pretty flat and speed limits probably not above 75mph. Interesting that back then they were prepared to change a loco after just one hour of travel!
@@AndreiTupolev I lived in Bishop’s Stortford and went to school in Newport (Essex) from 84 to 92 and never saw a loco hauled train with anything but a 47, 31 or 37 pulling. I never saw an 86 and I was going to school from pre electrification until years after electrification. We got the 08:09 to Newport which was a DMU 4 car later EMU. You could catch the 08:32 4 car class 31 but you’d have to walk fairly rapid to get from Newport station all the way to the school in time for registration. We got a loco hauled train back, the 16:16 which was generally a 47 well after electrification later replaced by 8 car EMU. We were still getting 47 loco hauled trains back while the Stansted Airport rail link was being built which was opened in 1991.
The bloke on the shunter was an idiot. One slip and that's both legs amputated. Doesn't matter how many times he'd done it previously, there's always a first, or lapse of concentration.
Wow.....just Wow! Nice 'toot' and a smile from the Class 31 driver at Cambridge too.
Glad you enjoyed it
Good to see your stuff again Roy. Happy New Year mate . Hope you and the family are well.
Nice pan over the car park at the end; some interesting things there. Even a Citroen DS!
Class 31 on load 9. Good job the Fens are flat! Great upload, thank you.
Guaranteed late arrival at Lynn if they had to use a 31.
@@HFStuart If a 31/0 was pressed into service , they could maintain schedule due to their lower gear ratio , I had 31019 on load 9 on the 5th December 1979 from Kings Lynn to Liverpool St and enjoyed a right time arrival , the 31/1's were a fair bit slower off the mark unfortunately .
Roy, thanks so much for uploading your BR era videos - it's always a delight to dip into your collection and come across gems like this; bringing back such fond memories.
Glad you like them!
The driver of that 37 shunting at Cambridge was giving it some beans. Looked like the shunter hanging on to the cab footsteps was enjoying the ride.
In mid 80's usually in the winter months I would sometimes catch a train after work on a Friday evening from Liverpool St upto Cambridge. Always remember I used to enjoy listening to the chugging sound of the locomotive exhaust as it passed through thè countryside. This was prior to electrification and were much more interesting times in my opinion.
Magnificent train and car nostalgia.
Thank You
All those things we are not allowed to do any more, like riding on the side of an 08.
I absolutely love the NSE Livery
A wonderful piece of nostalgia.
Absolutely mesmerising stuff, brilliant video👍
Looked like great days working on the rails back then. Lovely footage
Jay Harper Love that Integra in your profile pic. 👍
You always get great sound quality on these old tapes. Some very nice Sulzer sounds.
Thanks for sharing. These videos bring back so many memories.
More pure gold from you, many thanks for these classic clips.
Glad you like them!
great video roy used to stand in that car park in lynn many time taking pics
24:53 Thank you for including the footage over the car park Roy, absolutely brilliant!
Always made me smile how you'd see network "south east" clearly in the south west (Exeter trains)....and up here where it is more like "network mids east "
The MK1 buffet in NSE is lovley
Georgeasaurus2001 certainly nse looked really good on certain vehicles used to think the 317s were best suited to this livery to
nowadays not even a trolley... 1h40 mins without the chance of even a cuppa is an offence in my book!
@@Mishima505 In England of all countries?! It's a scandal. No tea >:(
@@Railways-by-Greg I remember the pre-electrification class 47-hauled rakes with a proper buffet car. They lasted until 1988 when they were replaced by DMUs which shuttled between Lynn & Cambridge, where the electrifed line began.
@@Mishima505 If only I was born last century...
I loved driving 47s. Great stuff mate
I had a twinge of nostalgia at the class 31!
My job involved cabrides, but alas no driving. Although I did get to drive a V63 630 Gigant six axled electric loco down the mainline in Hungary.
Rode 08, 24, 31, 37, 45, 47, 56, 57, 66, 67, 73, 86, 87, 90, 91, HST, 101, 105, 116, 142, 143, 144, 150, 153, 156, 158, 165, 168, 170, 175, 180, 221, 305, 308, 310, 312, 313, 315, 317, 321, 322, 357, 360, 377, 390, 421, 442, 444, 450, 458, SNCF CC72100, SNCF, Caravelle, FEVE 1900, CP 1800, CP 1930, CP 1960, DB 232, DB 233, MAV M61, MAV M62, MAV V63, OBB 2143, DSB MY, TSH F40PH-2, PSTR GE 25 tonner.
Interesting loco change at Cambridge, swapping a Class 86 for the Class 31. The only time, I got a Class 86 on that route, was when the GEML from Liverpool Street to Norwich had loads of rail replacement buses due to engineering work. But the lads found out from the Timetable Department that one up road train from Norwich was booked a Class 47 via Thetford to Cambridge, then a Class 86 from Cambridge to Kings Cross via Royston. Great video Roy, brought back many happy memories bashing Class 47s to Kings Lynn. By changing at Bishops Stortford, Audley End, Cambridge, Ely and Kings Lynn in both directions, you could ride behind NINE Class 47s in a day, for the price of a return ticket to Kings Lynn. The difficulty was whilst to Cambridge you had an hourly service, north to Ely and Kings Lynn, you only had a two hourly service, therefore you had to be prepared to hang around stations for hours. But it kept me busy ! I was also on the last ever scheduled diesel hauled service from Liverpool Street to Cambridge, with 47 581 "Great Eastern" which I took as far as Audley End. Happy days.
They certainly where Happy days Vic, you can't do all that now.
@@royharrison4122 I agree. I think we were lucky to be born when we were.
@@vicsams4431 Those comfy old early mk2's and catering vehicle gave it a real 'main line' feel. I seem to recall a 'full English' being offered on one service for a couple of years prior to sectorisation although memory could be failing me here? This was one of those services that almost overnight was reduced from main line to outer suburban.
I don't think your memory is playing tricks. A full English was served on the Kings Lynn and Norwich expresses. Railways were much more colourful back then and sadly missed now. Oddly the Kings Lynn line became part of Network South East rather than the Intercity sector. But the international plague that is "kartism" (replacing loco hauled trains with multiple units) brought 'proper railways' to end, and forced me to get my 'fix' on foreign railways.
Brought back some memories from my time as a Stratford Secondman.
I remember the names. Long while ago now.
In the steam days they would have been known as a Fireman.
The Secondman was exactly that. A second person in the cab. Duties included attaching and detaching Locos on passenger stock and also operating the steam heat boiler before the use of ETH.
Amazing video, all those loco hauled services. Many thanks.
Great stuff Roy , brought back a lot of very happy memories for an old signalman like me !
I was a Signalman back in the 1960's Kevin.
@@royharrison4122 I worked at South Tottenham , Broxbourne and Hackney Downs from 1979 - 1989 , then left the railway due to the shiftwork getting the better of me unfortunately .
i got the chance to ride up front from cambridge to norwich in 85 on the 31431 12 yrs old:)
Just about remember the old Network SouthEast livery from when I was a little boy, and the old InterCity Swallow livery. Wasn't around during the 80's unfortunately but managed to still see some interesting stuff through the mid to late 90's.
Trains have no character now. It's all digital, computerised soulless crap. State of the art, yeah ok fine. But just boring. I love these old retro videos, I imagine how it must've been growing up in simpler times before the rise of political correctness and all that rubbish.
Character is almost completely defined by age, even though the complexity which tends to increase with time seems to always be blamed for it. Trust me, when the Sprinters and Turbos get retired people will mourn the passing as the modern stuff (195s, aventra etc) will seem lifeless and boring in comparison. People tend to blame this on the demise of LHCS or slamdoors or what have you (see reception to Mk.5a despite the shoddy build quality), but really, all you need for character is a sense that tech has moved on, and maintaining these 'relics' requires outdated specialized knowledge (eg HST sets, 313s even pacers when they start properly thinning out)
Of course the shifting of age demographics of enthusiasts as the oldest die off and new ones come in sees newer and newer stuff liked plays a small part, more importantly though it clearly shows anything can have character is your nostalgia wants it to.
Not denying at all, seeing the operations of yesteryear is definitely interesting, especially as the cost of labour increases and as the railways have seen a renaissance in recent years so less dilapidation to see, which I cannot deny is always attractive.
love all those multicoloured cars parked at Audley End. Guess a lot had driven only from Saffron Walden, lol! Super video. I remember class 40s sneaking round the back of the sidings in Cambridge with south bound coal trains, late 60s and tiny Drewery shunters...
Thanks for watching! pleased you found it interesting.
Remember these loco hauled trains well when I was only 5 or 6 especially the 47 with the silver roof must of been the first ever class 47 I laid my eyes on along with the 305s I used to see them whizzing through broxbourne in the 80s along with 31s and 37s of course also remember the weekly rail freight to Hertford east back then to
4:38 - 1980s PTS crash course 😂 fantastic video, thank you
Fantastic video. This was a genuine main line back in the 1980s. Now, like quite a few others it's simply outer suburban. However the EMU service from Kings X is impressively quick at least.
That 37 has got a decent load on it!
Yes...11 bogies. Would have been working hard for most of the trip.
Brilliant video Roy I remember all that traction and earlier from spotting days in the sixties but my patch was the lower Lea Valley particularly a fabulous location called Coppermill Junction 2 miles from Temple Mills yard from 1964 untill 1970 strait after school it was a 1mile bike ride JUBBlEY in hand spotting untill dark. hours after school untill dark
Glad it brought back memories Robert.
Brilliant! Opening the doors on the 310 as it's moving! Lol!!!
That NSE mk1 buffet looked fantastic..
If it's the one I think it is, it's now on the Mid-Norfolk Railway.
Bloody loved this,
Another great video thank you for uploading 👍👍👍
Glad you enjoyed it
This video brought back great memories , good stuff .
Brilliant as always.
That was fascinating, seeing King's Lynn pre-electrification. I did not realise that the coaches had to be set back so that the loco could run round. Quite a bit of freight activity, too. Am I right in thinking that the grain wagons had come from (or were going to) King's Lynn Docks on the now severed dock branch? It is strange that the rails are still in place over the John Kennedy Road crossing, but there is no connection any more, but we do see class 66 locos on the sand trains.
I think they had come off the Dock.
@@royharrison4122 Thanks for reply. I've been here 21 years now and have not managed to see any trains over the branch, even with the rails in situ.
They used to have to do a similar move at Norwich though I think they used the station pilot to draw the train forward
Mervyn Partin the last train to the docks ran in 1994. Now unsurprisingly replaced by HGVs which just cause more pollution and congestion in the town.
@@Mishima505 Even now, the rails are still in place over the old crossing to the docks, but disconnected so I am surprised that the crossing has not been removed completely if it is now 26 years since it last saw a train.
Oh happy days steam heating and oil tail lights lol 😆 Nice nostalgia video 👍🏻
Steam Heating lasted on Edinburgh to Dundee Semi Fasts with Class 27s for a few years longer, and in Ireland for about a decade more. Lovely times.
Good old days with loco hauled trains at kings Lynn
Paula Berni when there was freight for the docks too...
No freight now at King's Lynn !!! Only the sand from Middleton Towers !! Shameful !
there should be an health warning before this video for people of a certain age .
i remember riding those trains, they use to have a buffet car section where u could buy a beer or coffee sandwich etc, and of course u could smoke. the good ol days
They certainly were the "Good old Days".
@@royharrison4122 Yes the King's Lynn to Liv St expresses used to carry a MK1 Buffet in the formation. I believe before NSE days one set out of the four used daily carried a Restaurant Buffet that served a full English on an early morning down run!
@adamw2911. Yep. It did.
@@adamw2911paradise!
I sure I saw that rake of nse coaches being pulled by an 86 through Broxbourne in the late 80s sometimes it was mixed intercity rakes of bluegrey/executive liveried mk2a - mk2e hard to believe they used 86s for a short spell on this line
Indeed the sight of those 4000hp AC monsters appearing on that line raised a few eyebrows. A shame they never got to work the whole route and shave 10-15 minutes off the schedule on acceleration alone.
Hertfordshire Railtours operated a tour from Liverpool Street to Southend Victoria, Clacton and Bishops Stortford before the wires were extended. There is a UA-cam Video of the tour. It is called the Great Eastern Pullman and features Class 86/0 and Class 86/3s and the old Manchester Pullman stock. I was on the tour. Full dining was in operation !
Pathfinder Tours also operated a tour to Walton-on-Naze with 85 101 (formerly 85 006). I was on that your also !
Finally during planned engineering works that closed Witham to Liverpool Street, one train was diverted from Norwich to Kings Cross via Thetford, Cambridge and Royston. It was hauled by a Class 47 to.Cambridge and a Class 86 to Kings Cross. I was on that too !!
Proper trains
Nice video!
Health and safety at work with that guy hanging on the side of the class 08
Stephen Panks working the ground frame at 2:44. The bloke getting out of the cab at 2:52 is Leading Railman Ken Coker.
Look at that intercity consist behind the class 37. 11 bogies. That loco must have been worked extremely hard for the majority of the trip.
Class 37s were the mainstay of Cambridge, Kings Lynn and Harwich Boat Train services for many years until ousted by Class 47s.
In their younger days, Class 37s had much heavier loads. I remember the Fort William portion being Load 6 (3 x Mk3 Sleepers plus 3 x Mk2As) then adding a further 6 x Mk1 day coaches at Glasgow Queen Street High Level, and an ETHEL unit (an ex-Class 25 weighing 85 find and dead in train). That is Load 12 plus a Dead Loco over the West Highland.
Mind you, she failed at Dumbarton !
All electrified.
Awesome 👌🏼
Happy days ! Was a passenger shunter at Cambridge c/s ! Before emu,s took over !😫
When I was a lot lot younger (about 4 or 5) I thought the Chas & Dave song Margate was about Downham Market. I heard “down to Margate” as Downham Market I couldn’t understand why you’d need your bucket and spade and your cossie.
Nice one Edd!
Footbridge in background disappeared with electrification so now cars, pedestrians and cyclists all have to wait together patiently each time a train passes.
Above referring to Kings Lynn station btw.
Yes Paul, its the same in Spalding, we lost a good footbridge when they installed Barrier's, and we didn't get electrification.
I think that was 37350 (D6700) at Cambridge going through light engine, repainted in green with the old BR totem
ahhh yes
Look at those 8+ coach trains into Kings Lynn! That would be a dream come true these days when crushed into a tiny 4 coach service packed to the rafters.
What happened? Why could BR run long trains like that and suddenly it’s half the length?
The Lost Railways Of East Anglia I see, another great cost cutting brainwave by BR!
Atleast I see now that platform extensions at Waterbeach, Littleport and Watlington are beginning to take shape so 8 coaches may be a possibility in the not too distant future.
I know the shortening of those station platforms, the removal of a whole section of line between Littleport and Downham Market and the junction at Ely North are also factors into why only 4 coaches now run to Lynn.
But I can’t help but watch this video and wonder how we seem to have taken a huge step back in terms of traffic capability.
@charliehazelmere. I hate karts (EMUs) also. I remember Class 37s to Kings Lynn in the 1970s and Class 47s in the 1980s.
Back then, the trains were longer, and had a buffet car, but the service was only hourly to Cambridge and once every 2 hours to Kings Lynn !
Trains departed at XX.35 past the hour from Liverpool Street, with the even housed trains (08.35, 10.35 etc.) being the ones that ran through to Kings Lynn. On the odd numbered hours, you had to make do with a TWO car Class 101 MetCam DMU !
One year, through services were reduced still further, with the 10.35 diverted to Norwich via Thetford. The train was almost empty from Ely, so it only lasted one year, before reverting to Kings Lynn.
Great days!
Is this the Fen Line ? Anyway cheers for this excellent video shoot. Thanks a lot.
I do believe it is known as The fen line.
30+ years later and we only get 4 carriages from Cambridge -progress, hah.
Wow Kings Lynn was great back then. Does anything good happen there these days?
Erm...a Sand Train most weekdays. Occasionally 2.
Strafe2011 There used to sugar beet, wood, grain and molasses traffic as well as sand back then. The dock branch was last used back in 1994, all overgrown with bushes now.
Can I use parts of this video in my videos if I give credit to you?
What is Network SE doing in Kings Lynn?
Kings Lynn was part of NSE.
I noticed a weird stretching effect in the footage and moving black bars left and right. Did you use any automatic "build in" youtube corrections? Its better not to use them, often the footage becomes worse then the original.
Thank you for your comment, I do not use any UA-cam Corrections, sorry about the frame fringing on some shots, this has happened in the conversion of the Aspect ratio and the Video Stabilisation, I am having a lot of problems with the old VHS tapes, I will try adjusting the settings next time.
Class 47 , 37 , 09 beauty diesel loco.
11:02 Blimey that Bob Geldof is in a hurry
There is always One Gary.
Class 86 at Cambridge, what was that for ?
That was what they used on the Liv St services immediately following electrification until the 317s were transferred
That class 86 had given way to the 31 to haul the train north to king's Lynn. Was usually a 47. The 31 could have just about kept time as the route was pretty flat and speed limits probably not above 75mph. Interesting that back then they were prepared to change a loco after just one hour of travel!
@@AndreiTupolev I lived in Bishop’s Stortford and went to school in Newport (Essex) from 84 to 92 and never saw a loco hauled train with anything but a 47, 31 or 37 pulling. I never saw an 86 and I was going to school from pre electrification until years after electrification. We got the 08:09 to Newport which was a DMU 4 car later EMU. You could catch the 08:32 4 car class 31 but you’d have to walk fairly rapid to get from Newport station all the way to the school in time for registration. We got a loco hauled train back, the 16:16 which was generally a 47 well after electrification later replaced by 8 car EMU. We were still getting 47 loco hauled trains back while the Stansted Airport rail link was being built which was opened in 1991.
Is this electrified now?
Yes it is Electrified Simon.
@@royharrison4122 Thanks! Is it third rail or overhead?
overhead..
The bloke on the shunter was an idiot. One slip and that's both legs amputated. Doesn't matter how many times he'd done it previously, there's always a first, or lapse of concentration.
@0:25 the loco looks like Hitler
HAHAHAHAH fucking hell
Thanks for sharing this, what a cracking video :D