British Rail Luton Variety 1991 with classes 31, 47, 56, 60 & InterCity 125

Thirty years ago (wow! seems like yesterday.....), in June 1991 i was at Luton Station one evening to see the action that whizzed up & down the Midland Main Line at the time. We see Inter-City 125 HST's, 31 & 47 on Parcel's workings, a 31 on an engineers, a class 56 Grid on an asbestos waste working from Chatham to Forders Sidings Landfill (Stewartby) and a then brand new class 60 on the Langley-Immingham aviation fuel empties. If you liked the video please subscribe to my channel, there are lots more transport & quirky vids to upload!

[@trainsontuesday]

I wish I had been paying more attention to the UK railway scene in the eighties and nineties during my visits there. Great stuff, thank you.

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

My pleasure..... There was a lot i missed but i also had to go to work!

[@timstrainvideos142]

great video!

[@ClydebridgeStation]

Seeing 31159 at 6:20, it's worth noting that in the Rolling Stock Newsreel section of the September 1991 issue of Motive Power, it notes that on 29th June, rare visitors to Motherwell TMD were 31155 and 31159, noted in the yard that morning. So, 31159 was well travelled that month!

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

Quite amazing that it made it to Scotland, very rare visitors there were 31s.....

[@going2thedogs]

The gift that keeps on giving. Another great upload. Especially liked the class 60 in Trainload petroleum livery (@1.55). Looks like it has just been delivered fresh out of the paint shop. Was all this really 30 years ago.....

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

Thanks.....yes the 60 probably was brand new, all nice & shiny back then.... Funny to think some have been scrapped now!

[@vindicator2011]

Luton International Airport ...never heard it called that before

[@craighobbs3708]

Before it became a ‘London airport.’

[@Keithbarber]

From 04:07, the class 31 hauling the parcels train, for a second I could have sworn that was a passenger train as the door still had a 1 on it making me think it was a 1st class carriage, but a quick rewind and watch it again cleared up any confusion

[@AndreiTupolev]

I think that's a Courier Van, for high value cargoes that had a security guard accompanying them, and that was who the first class compartment was fir

[@Keithbarber]

@@AndreiTupolev ok interesting to learn that

[@theimperialist2686]

Great railway video again Soi Buakhao, this is more significant now the HSTs are fully retired from service.

[@bluemooninn]

They are still used by Cross Country, Scotrail and Network Rail

[@englishtwister]

@@bluemooninn Yes true but, no longer going into or out of London. And fully retired on the Eastern Midlands.

[@bluemooninn]

@@englishtwister Not fully retired though, we can enjoy a few more years yet.

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

Yes, it seems funny to think there are no more HST services out of London..... I rememeber them new at Padd back in 1976, BR did a fare promotion to publicise the new service. I recall a day out to Bristol & back on them, the guard still rode in the rear power car back then.....

[@Keithbarber]

Even more historical value now the 125s have gone

[@theimperialist2686]

Completely agree with you there

[@AndreiTupolev]

Still Class 31s on parcels? I suppose there must have been quite a bit of parcels traffic in connection with mail flights from the airport

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

Yes, 31s were still used on parcels, a lot was ECS work and definatly not the main letter handling services by now. When NSE gave up their 47/7s Res took them to replace the last of the 31s....

[@craighobbs3708]

What was the HST calling pattern then? Similar to Kettering / Wellingborough, as in, primarily Nottingham services?

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

All the InterCity services were HST back then, they had a very varied stopping pattern. If one stopped at Wellingborough it didn't stop at Kettering for instance, it was almost impossible to travel between intermediate stations back then!

[@gilesscanlon2586]

@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbuswas it until like 2004 when meridians started to take over some services ?

[@gilesscanlon2586]

@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbusalso did some of the intercity services use to call at St Albans city back then ?