British Rail-Leicester & Loughborough (with class 25's) Winter 1985

Another of my early vids now taken back in the Winter of 1985. This shows Leicester with all its lovely Semaphore signalling and views of Leicester North box with the PSB which was to replace it seen in the background. At Loughborough the box there was still open then although with colour light signalling. A lot of BR blue traction to be seen in this vid, classes 20, 25, 31 & 56 along with HST's in original colours as well as the 'new' Inter-City Executive livery and various mix & matches. If you liked the video please subscribe to my channel, there are lots more transport & quirky vids to upload!

[@Gideonsmythe]

That Intercity Executive Livery is timeless, still looks modern.

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

We have some nice mix & match livery variations on this vid.

[@BibtheBoulder]

Have you seen power car 43 102? Out-shopped in Swallow livery.....

[@RightAwayProductions005]

Only came to Leicester for university last september, it’s amazing to see what it was like back then. All I know now is Meridians and 170s. Not a bad bunch, but nothing on these machines. Bravo🎉

[@Marcsharp82]

Being a Leicester lad I love seeing old videos of the station from the 80s, thank you for sharing

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

You're welcome!

[@OlafProt]

That valenta scream is wonderful.

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

There was definatley something nicer to an HST departing on full bore whith a Valenta fitted.......

[@davidh2608]

Thoroughly enjoyed this video - takes me back to simpler and happier times. Thanks for uploading it!

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

My pleasure......

[@daystatesniper01]

Nice to see the birdcage on the Leicester videos i was a member of the Cage Brigade back then lol

[@akumar7366]

I just love Leicester, I live in Wolverhampton but always enjoy travelling to Leicester by train over the years.

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

As a driver i always enjoyed our jobs out to Barden Hill, Stud Farm and Leicester. Something different from plodding around London........

[@DKS225]

To Be Honest with you Soi i've never seen a Grid aka Class 56 in BR Blue before until now that is. Brilliant filming you have done there

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

Thank you. The two on this vid i saw being constructed in Donny Works back in the early 80s when doing official visits round the works with a group called RESL-Rail Enthusiast Society Ltd. They did coach trips to visit various works, depot's and stabling points, a lot of the time with permits to go around the depot's or works.

[@roberthill6216]

The East Lancashire Railway have a BR blue grid.

[@ianjones4116]

@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus not quite official,,, but I was all over 56031 when it was sat outside Toton, one fine saturday when nobody was looking. 😂👍😎

[@111672balernabz2010]

Pure nostalgia my home station, one off best videos yet, classic line up on Leicester depot, grids, peaks, peds, egg timers (56,45,31,58),totally changed apart from swain Street Bridge

[@markedgar6437]

I lived in Wigston back then and would jump on my bike and head for the Bird cage walk in Leicester overlooking the refueling depot, great memorys, thanks for sharing

[@conkeroonee]

Real nostalgia, and take a deep breath at 11:30

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

Do you mean the HST in full original livery with Valanta thrash or the view of the station before it was rebuilt?......

[@conkeroonee]

@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus The whole video really, 31s and 25s pottering about, 45s and 56s and the Valenta scream, and the way the toilet effluent from mk3s swirls around in the slipstream as can be seen in the clip beginning 11:30.

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

Oh yes, i saw that. A p/way man's job was one NOT to have!!!

[@Tom-Lahaye]

One of those lucky enough to own a video camera in the BR Blue period AND to make it to good use filming those timepieces of the old British Rail era, as most camera owners then only invested in what was then very expensive equipment to hire themselves out to shoot weddings or sports events!, and not to carry around to railway stations and film something unremarkable like trains. But are these remarkable! weddings still take place everyday but railway scenes like these are never to be repeated anymore. Seems that fully matching HST sets were very rare then, with mostly one or both locomotives in another livery as the coaches, one HST had a non matching restaurant car.

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

Hi, thanks for your comments. I was very lucky that i was just 18 and working on London Transport when i got my camera, and it was one of the first combined cameras to take a full sized E180 tape. Ones before the Panasonic M1 had a separate camera to the recording pack which were joined by a pair of wires, all very cumbersome and heavy! To get a full days filming i had to buy spare batteries (i had 4 in the end) but it was worth carring the extra weight around to capture the things i did. There is another film of mine up showing HST's in original colours just on the point of change here kzbin.info/www/bejne/r3fJmJ6dqd6ikJY. This was taken at Paddington and again is some of my earliest filming, enjoy!

[@Tom-Lahaye]

In 1980 or 81 my sister had a friend who bought himself a video camera then, I remember it consisting of a B&W camera, a tape deck the size of 2 shoeboxes and an equaly large battery pack, all weighing in at just under 20kg, when I bought my first camera 10 years later it was an Hi-8, which was a relatively new format then and the camcorder fitted in one hand and weighed just 600 grams!, that was how quickly technology developed!

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

Yes, those early ones were HUGE!!! I was still at school then but i'd have brought one if i was older as so much classic buses and trains i grew up with were being or due to be replaced.

[@rocksreynolds3642]

Great footage thanks! Leicester with the old track layout, parcels sidings and North signal box still in place, and Loughborough with the ballast loading point still in use complete with pair of 25s arriving with empties to load. Shame the film cut there. Oh, and 6:10 getting overtaken by a 31 on a rake of ancient ZNV welded rail wagons, their days on the network were numbered. Thanks again.

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

There will be more, i went into the ballast depot to film the 25s and a pair of 20s before i was asked to leave!

[@johnyoungieyoung123]

Love the double-headed 25's. Taken for granted back then. There used to be a gaggle of them stabled at Coventry Station, hard to even imagine now.

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

The pair on here plus one other vthat turned up later are the only ones i have on vid....a pure fluke really, my Dad & i just had a day out to see the trains like we did back in the early 80s.....

[@craighobbs3708]

Used to love watching the HSTs stopping at Wellingborough when I was a kid

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

Have you seen my upload of Wellingborough here? kzbin.info/www/bejne/oabanmmkn5eomdU

[@garyhardwick8489]

25 279 featured near the end shunting about is now preserved at the East Lancs Railway. She has just been repainted into BR blue and looks superb!

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

I also have 25 278 on video, i believe that is preserved as well.....

[@DistrictDriver]

Another fantastic trip back in time, thank you!

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

My pleasure.....

[@trainrover]

Wow..you're quite the archivist, aren'tcha, with your extensive trove of footage there. Bravo.

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

I got around a bit! All the things i liked & grew up with were being replaced so once i got a video camera i took off around the country and captured all i could on film-buses, Underground and railways. The planes came later sadly otherwise i would have had some good stuff there as well if i had been desperate enough!

[@shane-antonydarcy6234]

I was probably on one of those 125's going to Leicester from Nottingham :-)

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

Most of the services them were HST's apart from a few early & late loco hauled sets, quality travel!

[@shane-antonydarcy6234]

@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus Indeed so, I was travelling between Boston in Lincolnshire to Leicester for Uni back then, It was good travel. I did have to stand quite often but that was ok as I did like to stick my head out of the window :-)

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

@@shane-antonydarcy6234 You won't be able to do that for much longer, enjoy while you can......

[@shane-antonydarcy6234]

@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus I wish I could, I am now 3500 miles from home living in Northern New England. The only trains I get around these parts are freight trains..

[@AndreiTupolev]

Most of the HST power cars with the trademark oil stain down the side :P And still Class 25s about then.

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

The class 25's were at the end of their time when i shot this vid apart from one painted green that did shows and railtours for a bit then some were used as ETHEL's in Scotland on the sleepers.

[@EM-yk1dw]

Nice one again Soi. I bet the infrastructure featured here is not as immaculate as it was then!

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

I think we can pretty much guarantee that!!!

[@ianjones4116]

Nice to see a pair of Rats . 👍😎

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

This was the only day i ever caught BR operated 25's on vid..... Can't believe it's getting on for nearly 40 years ago now!.....

[@angeltransportpjects]

6:41 56084 ... Was a model by either Dapol or Mainline in OO Scale in this livery. Wish I could bemember which particular manufacturer covered 56084 as I have them both now.

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

Yes, i remember the model from back then, it was well detailed as i remember?.....

[@MrGrumpygit488]

11:33 was that a dragging brake or had someone just pulled the chain?

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

Just the loo flushing...... Not the time to be on the track working......

[@marcelomenendez1971]

hello, very interesting videos, how many diesels did were in operations at br at that time, except the hst ?

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

Actual locos back in 1985/86 was probably around the 1500-2000 mark inc electric locos. The classes we still had then were 03, 08, 09, 20, 25, 26, 27, 31, 33, 37, 40, 45, 47, 50, 56, 58, 59 with electrics 73, 83, 85, 86 and 87. Plus we had a lot of 1960s DMUs & EMUs around. Happy days!

[@marcelomenendez1971]

@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus thank you

[@Wessexshire]

Na, not having it. Not a single 47. This video is fake.

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

Contrary to poular belief they wern't everywhere! I didn't see any this trip out!

[@clementpoon120]

top gear ran caravan trains on it

[@replay68pete14]

Jan feb winter 85 or nov dec?

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

It was late 1985, around Oct or Nov time.

[@annescholey6546]

They expected wires by 1994. Never happened.

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

And again should have wires up by now... and STILL hasn't happened!!!!!