Bristol to Gloucester and back 1969

We take a ride, mainly behind Peak Type 4 diesels, over the direct Midland Railway line from Bristol to Yate through Mangotsfield, prior to its closure in December 1969, and on to Gloucester Eastgate, before returning to Bristol Temple Meads.

[@adelestevens]

The sights , the sounds , the smells the modern enthusiast misses out on when they travel via electric air conditioned aluminium cans around the UK network these days. I'm glad I was around to experience the 70's B.R days window hanging in the blast of diesel fumes produced by British built locomotives.

[@MrRamillies19]

What a fantastic piece of archive from a wonderful era.

[@robertpearce2244]

That’s so awesome. I used to play on that line when it had closed. What those commuters wouldn’t give for that line to be in use today...

[@westcountrywanderings]

Superb audio editing by using archive train recordings and lining up and synching with the cine film. A lot of work went into that to make it seem the audio was recorded then. That work has not gone unnoticed. Well done - and thank you.

[@BobBishopDiagonal]

Thank you for your kind words

[@aCivilServant]

Interesting not only to see the old Midland line to Mangotsfield, but also the sheer variety of liveries on show during the late 60's and early 70's, everything from BR Green, Two Tone Green, D1733 still in what looks like the XP64 blue and early days of the the classic BR Blue, not to mention the coaching stock in BR Maroon and later BR Blue and White. Great stuff.

[@bobbrown3141]

Superb. Great to see footage of the Midland's route up to Mangotsfield.

[@amazoniaamazonia7225]

Excellent archive, thank you for sharing, and thanks to John for having the foresight to film this lost railway.

[@blueberrypirate3601]

Shame about Barrow Rd TMD. Another wasted asset.

[@grahamknight4073]

Brings back memories I lived at Kingswood 1965 to 1967 did barrow Rd shed traveled on this line to Bath green Park Birmingham and Derby also trainspotting at Lawrence Hill

[@peterkazmierczak7273]

Just found this video; really fascinating. It always feels strange driving along the A4174 Bristol ring-road, over the trackbed of this former line, or walking along the route at Westerleigh by the Murco oil terminal.

[@paulweeks2006]

Wow ! just fantastic video footage - so many memories that watching this brought back for me ...... Peaks in BR green, telegraph poles, bullhead rail, Gloucester Eastgate station, Semaphores, signal boxes, just wonderful wonderful footage of a fantastic period in BR history, all now long disappeared ..... Mark 1 coaches and that sound of joined rail - a long distant memory - Happy times

[@dmorgan6075]

What a lovely historical film. Thank you!

[@anthonygardiner6213]

That's the best I've seen for a long time, thank you so much for posting.

[@geoffreystevens663]

Beyond wonderful. I've never enjoyed a trains or railways video as much in my life. Thank so much

[@davidbinder6515]

Fabulous memories of the peaks not forgetting the Hymeks and the Humble DMU .

[@Theorbe100]

Thank you very much for this video. I travelled on this route so many times. Much quicker to Yate this way compared with the present detours.

[@TheDaf95xf]

Absolutely fantastic 👍🏻 great seeing those big class 45s in action 😊 I can just about remember my late Dad taking me on the train from Manchester to Penzance and it went on the old road from Gloucester with all those level crossing and semaphore signals 👍🏻

[@bryanthomas3178]

Real trains real people bring it al back

[@edwinfitchett6033]

very well put together gives an excellent impression of the route as it was

[@paulwilson5939]

What fabulous nostalgia! Thanks for sharing!

[@SydFlix]

Absolutely brilliant and perfectly put together. So much to admire, and that Hymek at speed was great to see! Many thanks for posting this amazing footage of a lost world.

[@tx3851]

The year I was born.....Beyond that, I remember so much that is no more...Thankyou so very much for posting this fantastic video....

[@dattouk]

This is so special. My stomping ground as a kid and driver for my modelling ambitions today. Thank you for digitising and sharing the nostalgic footage.

[@matthew-gn4qd]

wow. I love the smog and dirt and filth! in the 70s the old carriages had like a wingnut handle to open the door. I much prefer that than the automatic doors they got now. also some of the old carriages had private compartments with massive bench seats and a wire and metal luggage rack above. it was a great set up. I think with wood panelling aswell - everything was wood back in those days and unfortunately you never see it now as its all been ripped out and gone. brilliant film of the old stuff. everything looks fantastic with a bit of grit and grain!

[@kevinfowkes2327]

There's an old British Rail report online somewhere from the early 90s about how dangerous the old doors were, it detailed how many deaths there had been from people falling out of trains and from memory it was about 50 per year in the 1980s. Plus many multiples of this number were injured by the old doors, often passengers waiting on the platform hit by people opening doors when trains were still moving. You can see why this was just not acceptable on a modern railway and had to be phased out when stock was replaced. Most European railways had power operated doors on mainline stock many years before the UK, we certainly lagged behind on that.

[@leeclift4666]

Brilliant thank you for posting this great memories

[@SpoonyMcSpoonface]

A lovely film of a line I would love to have travelled over. Seeing those blue Peaks hauling blue and grey coaches makes one realise what a late closure it was. Loved the shots of passing over Lawrence Hill. The two outer sidings at Barton Hill depot were (and as far as I know still are) known as the Up and Down Gloucesters.

[@grahamallison6704]

Great to relive some of my youth, remembering so much of that history. 👏👏👏

[@ianwebb7488]

In 1970, l woud get on train at Bristol to Gloucester Eastgate, Cheltenham, and reverse on to the Honeybourne line to Sratford on Avon. Yes good memories and proper TSO mk 1 corridor Coaches.

[@BobBishopDiagonal]

You may appreciate this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jIO9YWyjnM99hbc

[@cosmicmaniac1886]

Apart from being an amazing historical document, this is a fantastic ride through the beauty of desolation - before the ugly, creepy redevelopment of abandoned railway zones - the deliberately brought on decay stares you in the face and somehow that does you good.

[@TheMiserablegit]

Wow. That is a wonderfully nostalgic video. Thanks for sharing it.

[@davepartner1534]

Absolutely brilliant to watch, thanks for sharing,

[@andrewoverton5170]

Fantastic early diesel footage. Really enjoyed that, thanks for posting it up.

[@geoffryllewellyn7693]

Brilliant, wasn't expecting the Mango route, cold have sworn it closed earlier ! Used to spend time trainspotting at Fishponds and BTM, occasionally Bath G P, via the old midland line . now live in Mangotsfield !

[@nickhowes5348]

Closed Boxing Day 1969

[@nickjohnson630]

This is fantastic stuff... esp being a Bristol driver myself. The lads will love this! Thank you for sharing!

[@24th1879]

Superb, absolutely wonderful. Such nostalgia..

[@gazza1858]

Brilliant video

[@martinmargerrison2300]

Really enjoying these films. 5* and thanks for all your hard work. 😀

[@AndreiTupolev]

Particularly interesting to get a view of the GWR's power signalling at Temple Meads just a year or so before it was replaced. Also interesting D1733 in an early application of Rail Blue without logos

[@KOE530E]

D1733 was the loco chosen to work with the XP64 set in 1964, and was finished in the experimental turquoise-blue, which was a distinctly lighter shade than BR Standard Monastral Blue. The BR logo was carried on self-adhesive flame-red panels under the cab side windows, and small warning panels were applied. It looks to me as though it is still in this livery, with the red panels removed, which would be interesting as I thought it had been repainted in standard blue well before 1969. See Class47.co.uk-Numbers.

[@stevenparkes3127]

Superb footage, so so many thanks

[@LostsTVandRadio]

Wonderful!! Love the rakes of mixed liveried coaches. A good reminder too of just how filthy much of the railway was in those days. I pity the poor people with their washing hanging up to dry just 10 yards from the track!

[@pauloconnor2980]

So many light engine movements in this video. I Love the gasometers too! Being the western region, diesel-hydraulics abound!!!

[@captainboing]

Nice! Interesting to see D1733 in blue with small yellow ends, wasn't aware of that livery variant on 47s (XP64 maybe?). Thanks for posting

[@train4905]

Wow when i was born😊

[@grahamhunt7488]

The last time I used this line from Derby to Bristol was in December 1969. I believe shortly afterwards the line was closed.

[@gregbrookes3001]

Brilliant thanks for posting

[@likklej8]

Been from Paddington to Cardiff in late 60s many times and on one or two the thumper would break down, ending up in Cardiff as a double head. It was generally a Hymek that popped

[@AgencyScum]

That has got to be the Holy Grail of west country train geek cine films. Superb.

[@tommydavies5353]

I wish it was still like this now

[@briansimpson3110]

Sad to see 95% of this is gone the rails the stations the gasometers. It truly shows the death of the railways and much else.

[@peteh7646]

Very good quality of Bristol.

[@davidblurton7158]

great that,,,

[@arthursogaugelioneltrains5744]

Back in the days.🚂🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃

[@grumbeast]

Fantastic thanks!

[@Stephen.Bingham]

Closing the Midland mainline between Bristol and Yate (featured in this video) means that today all London South Wales and South West Midlands traffic has to pass along a deep two track cutting through Winterbourne. We all want to reopen stations now to serve Bristol commuters in South Gloucestershire, but how do we get more trains through that bottleneck? A mad short-sighted decision.

[@johnkeepin7527]

Westerleigh Junction itself is part of the capacity limitation, I think, being a flat junction, along with the rather slow curve between it and the old Midland route north thereof. Looking on the bright side, at least they’ve restored much of Filton bank between TM and Parkway. I can remember doing a few nightshifts on site when it was de-quadrupled in 1984, to save money etc.

[@Stephen.Bingham]

@@johnkeepin7527 I’m sure you are right that it’s a bit more complicated than just the cutting - there’s long stretches of viaduct that would need to be replaced/widened as well as the junction to re-engineer. Reopening the old line is probably also difficult requiring the demolition of several Bristol developments and moving the Bristol ring road. All very expensive. I suspect a new London Wales line would be the best option. But given the political fight over HS2 if fear we are a long way off that.

[@bryanthomas3178]

Thanks for them Memerie

[@grahamsmith7054]

Hellfire Video!

[@fatwalletboy2]

I csn imagine the Get Carter film score playing at 0.40 as the train pulls out.......

[@patrickdunning9820]

AHH, those were the days! I was around in the '70' s but 1969 had clearly the edge. Just one point, every time I chat to today's enthusiastic crew, I mean the rail bods of today, they seem rude, almost ashamed, and really, well who cares....

[@stevethomas5849]

Barrow Rd arches before the Spine Rd swept it away.

[@winfield347]

The line should be rebuilt.

[@johnsmart964]

I concur.

[@winfield347]

@@johnsmart964 it would get a lot of cars off the road going in to town on a morning.

[@terryburton851]

looking out for cattybrook brick works....never mind still a brill film.......

[@truetothegame2928]

up the now Bristol and bath cycle path ....

[@nicholas4a]

The good old days, 60ft track ?

[@blueberrypirate3601]

That was a monster of a chocolate factory. Is it still there or now swaffy student flats?

[@TheSTOPlayer]

at 6:00 is that the Bristol to Bath railway path ?

[@BobBishopDiagonal]

From Lawrence Hill Jct (2.52) to Mangotsfield (6.00) we are on the route, which is now the Bristol to Bath Railway path.

[@TheSTOPlayer]

@@BobBishopDiagonal thanks for replying Bob. That station / turn / junction sticks in my head as a cyclist as, when seeing it for the first time, was fascinated at how the platform splits in two different direction plus the building on the station is quite remarkable as well. When I saw it in the video I thought that had to be it. Thanks for confirming.

[@marc21091]

Valuable historic film of the sadly-missed Gloucester Eastgate station from 11:05 to 12:55. In 1969 it had already been regrettably reduced from three to two platforms. Platform 1 next to the main station building had lost its track, yet that was the most convenient platfoprm for passengers - no need to use the bridge.

[@bigdmac33]

Engrossing.