Class 31's on the Geest Branch at Spalding - 1984

[@cameronjohnston3186]

I recall watching the Class 08 shunters with sugar beet when I was a boy. It was one of the highlights of visiting my Nan-happy days. Thanks for uploading this, it’s great to see!

[@annescholey6546]

I got a shock to find they'd lifted the Newark to Bottesford line in 1988.

[@alanrobertson9790]

Disused route straight ahead went to Boston. I'd loved to have gone to Spalding when it had 6 lines available

[@Andrea.583]

I remember this line when it was open to Boston, watching trains from my grannys bedroom window.

[@Sam_Green____4114]

Imagine the coast of maintaining this line and the level crossings just for 3 vans of Banananas? And I bet it didn`t run everday! What was in the 16T mineral wagons?

[@Shelfandtabletoplayouts00gauge]

@@andrewchaston503 👏🏻🤣

[@greigs9384]

RIP Roy. Forever remembered on here.

[@1951GL]

I love the level crossing gate function at 6:56!! A fantastic upload.

[@cravensdmufan4449]

Wonderful footage. Thanks so much for sharing.

[@pwensor]

I can only remember shunters (08 133 and 08 137) rather than larger diesels, going down to Geests (lots of Interfrigo vans) and also down to the Beet factory. Apart from Tulip weekend, when we had DMUs and carriages stored down there. Great video.

[@Shelfandtabletoplayouts00gauge]

Thanks Roy , another gem, the shunting was great to watch 👍

[@royharrison4122]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@neillrichardson554]

Great piece of history, well done for recording and posting 👍🏼

[@jamesbarker4808]

No need to apologise for the quality it’s what makes it for me. Times gone and times people are now trying to get back to!

[@alancurtis6368]

Very interesting. I remember seeing ferryvans in Geest when I visited as a contractor around that time, but never saw them delivered or collected.

[@beeble2003]

"Movements must not be made beyond this sign unless..." :stops half a loco-length beyond the sign:

[@derekmeller5873]

Great videos. Wagons just as fascinating as the engines and long gone lines. So glad you shared.

[@stevewyman2822]

Great Video mate...always did like 31's...such a shame you hardly ever see them anymore.. :(

[@ginggur17]

Fantastic video. Thank you. I was only 10 when you filmed this. Brilliant

[@Realm-of-Horror]

Wow, never realised the Geest Branch line was still open in the mid 80s, thought that dissapeared when the main Boston-Spalding line got pulled up in the late 60s. Incidentally, one of the packaging stores in the main former Geest (now Bakkavor) building still has the old railway lines concreted into the floors from where they used to bring the trucks into the main building to offload them.

[@rocksreynolds3642]

Great footage, thanks. Not enough eighties footage of local freight workings direct to the factories where the wagons were loaded. Where the two ZGV department tippers loaded with anything at Geest? Seemed to take them for a run and then dump them out of the way for nowt. Thanks for the great upload.

[@Andrea.583]

They were probably "reach" wagons. Often used where locomotives could not enter a goods shed or similar.

[@rocksreynolds3642]

Thanks Andrea, good call, makes sense.

[@benwalker4485]

absolutely fantastic

[@ginggur17]

Omg, I never knew this, past Elsoms seeds if it’s still there.

[@royharrison4122]

Its a footpath now.

[@joncoe9046]

I vaguely remember them pulling the track up in the late 80s. Was very overgrown by then. When this was filmed was the sugar beet branch still in use?

[@royharrison4122]

No jon, the sugar beet branch had been lifted by then.

[@OlafProt]

People say that we drive to fast now lol 0:12 - nothing has changed folks! 6:50 an H&S officer's nightmare lmao quite wonderful. See how we all made it to adulthood without 300 pages of legislation. Nice to see no entitled cyclists 'nipping' through the gates 7:03. What a brilliant film. I suppose you'd never see such small workings these days. Not cost efficient blah blah I loved those old level crossings as a boy, they got opened by hand so quickly - you always got a great view of the train that passed

[@ronnieg6358]

Even then these old girls could have been 25 years old. I wonder how many miles they'd done?

[@jaxmar88]

Great video, thanks for sharing, brings back a few memories.

[@annescholey6546]

Boston South yard later disappeared under the relief road.

[@hannahraistrick6121]

Hello.Enjoying the footage. Just wondering what kind of wagons are behind the 31 when passing the crossing. Are they continental or BR origin? Many thanks.

[@martlgr]

Did anyone else spot the UFOs at the 1.35 point? lol