British Rail 1988 (Part 1) - Birmingham New Street, Crewe and York

Filmed in 1988, footage includes Birmingham New Street, Crewe and York

[@stevenrobertson4603]

Sat here with tears running down my face. I remember this so well - all the correct sights and sounds are there. I miss it so much.

[@theroybowdencollection9807]

Me too! :'(

[@UKRailsandMore]

Know the feeling there Steven, takes me back nicely, can even smell that oily brakey, diesel electrical smell that I remember so well. Springy seats too in a lot of that old coaching/DMU stock with great underseat heating if I remember correctly! All the best, happy times

[@arthurmatthews9321]

Me too. I even miss the sound of a Sulzer 47.

[@Georgeasaurus2001]

@@arthurmatthews9321 God i know what you mean there, they were everywhere back in the day so much they got in the way of the good stuff but they were the sound of the system and yes I confess I miss them now, even the Bath Rd EHs

[@chriso8485]

Isn't it mad how we become attached to lumps of steel...seeing how crap their replacements have been it's no surprise however

[@stevem-h3562]

Anyone else remember Cab Rides at New St when the locos were running around from one end to another? Had what felt like loads of them in 86's and 87's in the late 70s'/early 80s and one or two in 47s as well, which resulted in much laughing from drivers who couldnt believe this short fat kid sticking his fingers in his ears going through a 47's engine room....

[@tradtrain]

Great footage and very enjoyable to watch,I used to work for BR at Lincoln in the 80s and managed to to see some of the locos and class 114 dmus we serviced.

[@mikehitchen3153]

Superb back when BR ran it all joined up, l remember it well and though not perfect it was good for all, sadly the not possible by the state brigade hold sway today, mainly based on anecdotal evidence, sometimes l wonder what a great rail system we would have if BR improvements at this time had been allowed to mature?

[@basilbrush5585]

I worked at New Street during all the videos in this series and was an enthusiast but my interest was tainted by the young male hooligan element - the type you see noisily hanging from the windows of class 50's. My interest wanes with privatisation only returning many years later but those disrespectful idiots are still spoiling it for us today.

[@davidmyers2643]

Totally agree

[@stephensmith4480]

87101 Stephenson. I had the privilege to work with this Loco, which I believe was Thyristor controlled, in the 90s at Warrington Arpley Yard. Happy Days.

[@theroybowdencollection9807]

Indeed it was thyristor controlled!

[@stephensmith4480]

@@theroybowdencollection9807 😊👍.

[@arthurmatthews9321]

Yes it was a one off . It was basically a class 90 in a 87 body shell.

[@arthurmatthews9321]

The 86 at 4.05 pulling a hst power car must of been a tdm push pull test train.

[@theroybowdencollection9807]

It was indeed!

[@RailMel]

Just something so comforting about the old coaching stock. The smell of cigarettes mixed with the dust clouds from the seating. Loved the 30p out and about day tickets we had in South Yorkshire and travelling Sheffield to Doncaster mainly on peaks or 31(4)xx’s. Great video

[@OlafProt]

Exactly that.

[@Georgeasaurus2001]

Another fantastic piece of work sir, i think im on it taking a phot of D200 at New St down the slope, you forget now how many peeps used to hang around the station on a Saturday, pretty sure you would have the platform to yourself now, and your welcome to it :-)

[@theroybowdencollection9807]

Thank you! I thought that a number of people might see themselves in these vids! Happy memories :)

[@limeyfox]

You captured the brief DVT-trial with an HST power car on the WCML, that is extraordinarily rare footage

[@theroybowdencollection9807]

Sheer luck!!

[@Hascienda27]

It's only taken near 50 years but they've done A great job of spaffing all this down the crap pan for "progress"

[@grahamsmith7054]

The Peak at 4 minutes 31 Seconds is 45110 on a 07.15 Derby-Fishguard Railtour-I was on it,also the Returning 45110 on the Tour and the Date was 27th February 1988.

[@theroybowdencollection9807]

Absolutely correct that's the one!

[@SydFlix]

Brilliant stuff, just brings it all flooding back. Great quality too. Many thanks for posting.

[@theroybowdencollection9807]

My pleasure, more to come!

[@siddywiddyb]

Wow! I didnt know it was that Varied in the late 80s?! Awesome thank you! I wish i saw the whole consist at 4:00!!

[@theroybowdencollection9807]

Yes it took me by surprise!

[@AndreiTupolev]

Yes, that was when they were trialling the TDM push-pull system and they used a few HST power cars to test it. Looks like it was probably defective there

[@dackesjulag]

Great footage there, brings back all the good memories. Where did it all go wrong ??? Thanks again 👍👍👍🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

[@theroybowdencollection9807]

I have my suspicions...!

[@flippop101]

An absolute gem of a video showing my last experiences of rail travel in the uk. Would love to be back there again, when trains in the uk were something to look at!

[@theroybowdencollection9807]

Sadly it's all very different now! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@111672balernabz2010]

Great video...

[@aljonflavin6760]

ALL action and as we new it ,plenty of Railway Spotters.

[@Sameoldfitup]

Nice

[@2760ade]

This is like time travel! I can almost smell the fumes and oil. Can't tell you how many hours I spent on New Street platforms in the '80s! There is no 'exciting' feeling on New Street nowadays with sleek, quiet, modern trains. Where did it all go wrong!!😀

[@theroybowdencollection9807]

So-called progress...!

[@chriso8485]

The only decent units at New St now are the Class 350s. Everything else doesn't compare to a rake of MK3s. However can't knock the reliability of the Voyagers or the Pendos.

[@graemehutchison5145]

Fantastic sound especially the 85 just listen to those fans roaring.

[@theroybowdencollection9807]

Music to the ears!!

[@McRambro]

I was 3 years old when you recorded this and the memories of these trains seem so vivid, especially the HST's running along Dawlish wall

[@MrPhildenty]

brings back so many memories of my youth thanks for uploading

[@arthurmatthews9321]

Nice to see D200 put in an appearance.

[@theroybowdencollection9807]

It had just been repainted in readiness for its entry into the NRM

[@arthurmatthews9321]

Roy I was on York station when d200 rolled in on its last train. I watched the locomotive uncouple and run off to the NRM.

[@theroybowdencollection9807]

@@arthurmatthews9321 For me it was quite a sad day as it was the last of its class in BR service

[@dafyddthomas7299]

Love the ghost whirling sounds of the classic 86's, 87's

[@christopdeck3457]

I love how in all these videos, it’s always grey and overcast or raining. Did the sun never make an appearance north of Watford Junction??

[@theroybowdencollection9807]

Occasionally 😉

[@paulrobinson4597]

Enjoyed every minute of it worked on the Railway at Bescot Marshalling yard from 1974 to 1999 and travelled through New St many a time to and from Bescot, seems just like yesterday only wish we had the proper trains like those instead of the plastic units we have now!!😢🤔

[@midnight_styx]

26:42 A Class 155 In Birmingham, interesting

[@jonahspiper]

Fantastic videos, thank you very much for this. An action packed BNS as I remember in all its former glory. Love it! Can we have the old New Street station back please?

[@theroybowdencollection9807]

I wish!! Thank you :)

[@OlafProt]

1:40 no messing about getting those doors open 😂😂 wonderful. And back then hardly anyone got clouted by open doors. Imagine now there'd be law suits flying about like confetti 🙈 3:30 an HST. Then a 31 after it. Both wonderful but it's like an Allegro following a Testerossa. 😂 That 50 at 12:10 is a thing of beauty Being a Surrey boy the sound of the 85/86/87 is almost alien 👽 15:17 "I'll just drop you off mate"

[@eagle50043]

great memories good old days

[@nickrockall2845]

86 toweing a team

[@user-zt1er1uj6i]

86246 R A R Was my final class 86. Hunted all over for it :) Copped it at Norwich around late 80's early 90.

[@theroybowdencollection9807]

I assume because of its name it was one of those transferred to Anglia. This may have been its last year on the WCML

[@trevstrainsuk5943]

Cracking Videos, remember them well at BNS and Crewe spent many an hour there got loads of pics.

[@jimdieseldawg3435]

So many good memories rekindled! Thank you for the nostalgia trip 🙂

[@theroybowdencollection9807]

My pleasure!

[@AndreiTupolev]

Was that the Peak farewell tour? Must have been their last year in service

[@theroybowdencollection9807]

It was their last year in service, just one of the tours

[@walsteadgreen405]

Absolutely fantastic. I really miss those days at New Street too.

[@theroybowdencollection9807]

Indeed!

[@medwaymodelrailway7129]

Like the new video very much.

[@AndreiTupolev]

What excellent quality! Very nostalgic scenes. Nice shot of 87101.

[@theroybowdencollection9807]

Thanks!

[@andrewbrown6786]

Such a shame she got cut up - a loco with character 👍 As well as fun to drive 😏

[@k333vrr4]

Does anybody have a list of Emblems which correspond to which Dept. ? e.g the Leaping Salmon ? Dept.

[@Georgeasaurus2001]

That was Glasgow Sheilds Rd at the time but the Salmon was the Motherwell emblem but AFAIK they were maintained at Shields Rd,although i admit ive got no idea what the swordfish on 37429 is all about it was definitely a Canton loco at the time and all they had was a blotsey sheep sorta thing

[@theroybowdencollection9807]

@@Georgeasaurus2001 If I remember correctly Shields Rd and Motherwell were under common management at the time and the leaping salmon emblem was shared between them both

[@BenDover-ln6ns]

I’d do all that again in a heartbeat. So fortunate to be a part of that era.

[@theroybowdencollection9807]

Agreed!