BR in the 1980s Cardiff Central Station in 1986

Another one of my archive videos. This was Cardiff Central Station in September 1986. A bit of a mecca for class 37 enthusiasts . Also the services to and from Portsmouth were in the hands of class 33's. Class 56's were also common on steel trains out of Port Talbot and several class 47 hauled passenger trains were about. HST's were in full service on the London to Swansea services and had almost lost their original liveries. The local services to the valley lines and Barry were in the hands of class 101 and 116 1st Gen DMU's. So enjoy this small blast from 36 years ago.

[@ponyrang]

My best friend, thanks to you, I enjoyed watching... I'm proud of you for developing day by day.

[@spompey]

You are most welcome and many thanks for watching and for commenting....best regards...MARK

[@appliance004]

Brilliant video. Really reminded me of my first adolescent forays. Many thanks.

[@spompey]

Nice to bring back fond memories for you.......many thanks....Mark

[@grumbeast]

Fantastic! Spent most the early 80s spotting at Cardiff Central, this was just like coming home!!

[@spompey]

So glad to have brought you "Home" friend....best regards....Mark

[@ovejerof]

Excelente video o

[@ianjones4116]

BR at its Dirtiest Best, brilliant days back then .👍👍😎😎

[@PerthMRC]

Despite never having been there in the 80s Cardiff looks like it was a great location for watching trains back then with a good mix of passenger and freight. Another great video thanks for uploading.

[@spompey]

Many thanks....I think it still is a great spot....Best regards......Mark

[@ianstonehouse]

47 296 with the parcels train came to a pretty abrupt halt at the end there! Great to see all the 37s, 47s and the HSTs, as well as the old 101 DMUs. Reminds me of my trainspotting days around Crewe and Manchester in the mid/late ‘70s.

[@spompey]

Yes I noticed that....I think he was shunting and waiting for the stop signal from the rear....getting close to the RED on the middle road.......? best regards....Mark

[@machosker]

Nice classic traction there. 25th of Sept would have been my birthday that day. Got my first hornby train set.

[@spompey]

There you are...Your introduction to trains properly....my best regards to you....Mark

[@emjackson2289]

Amazing to think three things here: 1/ how much coal was still being shipped about the place 2/ that there was a period where Class 37s under EWS contracts were still running Valley Lines trains not that long ago (2018?) 3/ how many old DMUs were still running into the mid-80s given Sprinters were knocking about then (3-i) and Sprinters are *still* knocking about LOL Amazing video as ever. London terminals aside, would love to know what stations covered have changed the most? Or indeed, the least.

[@spompey]

I would have to nominate London St Pancras as going through most change since then.....Many thanks for your comment and for watching...best wishes...Mark

[@taffboyslim]

This was just before my second year at Portsmouth Poly. I used to travel back to Wales on the '89' most weekends term-time. I went spotting in Cardiff in the late '70s and remember thinking that by around the time of this video, how 'samey' it had got... if I had only known then :-) The Class 101s were quite rare on the Valley lines... they migrated across the Channel from Bristol occasionally. I remember the 2x56s replacing the triple-headed 37s on the Margam-Llanwern ore trains c1979 - both were an impressive sight. I think 56s are my favourite locos, but seeing three filthy 37s roaring through the station was like something out of Mad Max

[@taffboyslim]

Having now watched it fully... a few observations. 10:03 The two 37s on the 'lengthy' train of hoppers: I counted 22 wagons - I seem to remember a typical MGR being 35 wagons, which went up to 36 when 56s were introduced and 37s upgraded. 13:20 The 56s on the 'steel' train - this was the iron ore train from Port Talbot to Llanwern when the latter still had furnaces to melt the ore into steel. At the time it was the heaviest regular freight service on British Rail 16:50 The 47 on the 'parcels' train - this looks like the Newspaper empties heading back to London. There's at least one passenger coach in the train, which would have been used by the staff after finishing bundling up the papers for each drop on the outward journey. Another clue to this is the gangway on the first van next to the loco. Standard parcels GUVs were non-gangwayed. I only found out that such gangwayed vans existed when I started researching for a layout I built during lockdown. Also it looks like the driver was too busy giving 'the Vs' to a mate on platforms 2 to notice the signal against him🙂 Thank for putting this up. It's a great film that brought back a lot of happy memories - I was in Cardiff last June and the changes that have taken place since I left in the late 80s are almost unbelievable.

[@spompey]

Yes I agree with you although I did capture triple 37's on my travels somewhere amongst my archive....Hopefully I will find it soon and will HAVE to post it....Much appreciated and I love your profile name....best regards...Mark

[@spompey]

@@taffboyslim Many thanks for the corrections on the trains.....very much appreciated......I'm not sure if the driver on the newspapers was waiting for a stop signal from a shunter at the rear of the train, and if he was doing a shunt movement, but still it did look iffy at the time whether he was aware of the aspect....and I never heard the AWS go off.....best wishes again...Mark

[@AndreiTupolev]

A couple of trains there, the Crompton hauled one and the 37 hauled coal train at13:05, had what must have been experimental battery tail lamps that they must have been trialling at Cardiff at that time

[@spompey]

Very possibly Andrei....my most sincerest regards and thanks for all the valuable info you supply....Mark