Last Days of Steam Pt One Great Central

[@levelcrossing150]

Thank you for sharing these wonderful moments.

[@grahamariss2111]

Thanks for this, it captures the derelict state of both the GC and the steam locomotives in those last year's of operation, its hard to imagine when you see on a summer's afternoon the immaculate stations, permanent way and trains of GCR heritage line, what the reality of the commercial steam operation was with its all pervading grime in the years after the war.

[@tominnis8353]

Excellent footage. Thank you.

[@jonrishworth7276]

The thing that really annoys me is that the Government had a purpose-built high speed north-south route in the the Great Central, which they chose to shut down and destroy, selling off most of its land quickly and cheaply to farmers and the like. Wind the clock forward 50 years and take a look at the compulsory purchase costs for the land needed to build 'HS2'. Surely the sensible thing to do would have been to close the GC, but retain the wayleave. I'd love to be able to do a cost-benefit analysis on how much this would have amounted to as opposed to the £billions being spent on 'HS2' today !

[@kezbell]

Thanks, my feelings at the time it closed.

[@davidjones3758]

I agree with Jon Rishworth he is spot on the amount that this HS 2 is costing is astronomical

[@leeosborne3793]

It doesn't go where HS2 needs to go. The GC duplicated the Midland Main Line, which still has spare capacity on it. HS2 is needed because the West Coast Main Line is full.

[@beecee2205]

@@leeosborne3793 thats why you can get on trains on the west coast line all day every day and they are half empty. I live in Nuneaton and travel regular to London during rush hour. Where do you live ? Cloud cuckoo land. And thats befire we get onto the slight problem with costs. Its cost 55 Billion so far, and not a single mile of track laid. Mindless waste of money

[@leeosborne3793]

@@beecee2205 I live in Edinburgh. Trains to London are full day in day out. HS2 will make them quicker, which gets people off planes. All good.

[@kezbell]

Thanks for that. Used to commute Leicester - Nottingham early 60s. Clever how the new timetables for 1963 made it impossible!!!

[@peterhunt2723]

I also commuted from Nottingham to Leicester in 1962. I have to admit to being a vandal, I unscrewed som Hamilton Ellis prints from my non corridor compartment. 2 of them are still on my lounge wall

[@tgpok4r]

strange how way back going 'train spotting' as i did, crossing off those engine numbers in my book, you always knew there was something SPECIAL about what you were doing and seeing, but you didn't know what it was,, now i do, it was a magic time, that engine sound on tracks the smoke, the smell, wow today's youth don't know what they never experienced

[@daystatesniper01]

I know a ex fireman who along with his driver had a "please explain " interview for doing 92 with a 9F on the central

[@kezbell]

I have a good idea I knew him, was his name Jack Frear?

[@burniemaurins2382]

Reminds me of my youth at the side of this line south of Leicester

[@kezbell]

Nice to know it is appreciated, thanks.

[@andyg3]

fantastic stuff thanks for uplaoding

[@kezbell]

Thanks. Have you looked at part five? All Southern steam.

[@kezbell]

Thanks. Have you looked at part five? Lots of bulleids.

[@larrybarker2495]

The route would be flourishing had the track bed not been sold

[@PreservationEnthusiast]

No it would not. It's a duplicate line and Beeching was correct to recommend demolition.

[@ollylewin]

@@PreservationEnthusiast You again! It's funny isn't it that HS2 is following a large portion of the former GCR. How odd. You really need to shut your mouth.

[@PreservationEnthusiast]

@@ollylewin GCR did not go to Birmingham. Between Nottingham and Ayelsbury it served a series of village halts apart from Rugby and Leicester. That is the crucial thing you don't understand. Passenger numbers were abysmal because it didn't serve big population centres and there were other routes between Manchester Nottingham and London. That is why HS2 does not follow this route. That is why HS2 serves Birmingham and is a direct route between London and Manchester. That's is why the useless GCR line has been *demolished and smashed apart*

[@ollylewin]

@@PreservationEnthusiast I live between Leicester and Birmingham so I know exactly where the line served thankyou. What Beeching didn't account for is the traffic levels increasing. Every line is congested today hence why new lines are being built. We could really use the GCR today. They built it to European loading gauge so they saw how the future would go. It's a shame Beeching didn't. You can have your opinion but you clearly get a rise out of just pissing people off. Just a useless loser troll with nothing better to do than upset people.

[@PreservationEnthusiast]

@@ollylewin Well if you live in that area you should understand that HS2 serves Birmingham and GCR doesn't. That is why the GCR route beyond Aylesbury is *useless*. Apart from a few old men playing trains on a section that connects Loughborough to nowhere, and they can't even do that without being propped up by begging and charity money. Are people upset by economic reality? Oh dear I am really sorry. Perhaps they will cheer up by donating into a bottomless pit to support a small section of line which goes nowhere. The fact remains 95% of what Beeching did was correct.

[@mowbray99]

It must have been convenient to have an alternative routes then ,nowadays whole lines and stations have to closed down to do engineering work how sad.

[@PreservationEnthusiast]

mowbray99 Look at the state of some of those polluting locos. The sooner they are sliced with cutting torches and melted, the better!

[@harrystevens3885]

@@PreservationEnthusiast Well plenty of British wildlife seemed to have flourished along those tracks. .....

[@PreservationEnthusiast]

@@harrystevens3885 Yes because most of the steam locos have been torched and replaced with cleaner traction.

[@harrystevens3885]

@@PreservationEnthusiast No I was talking about the steam era where wild life flourished on the the lines because it was protected and isolated from bad farming practice and city expansion. My moan is not that steam trains where replaced but the fact they closed down a main line that never should have been shut.

[@davidjones3758]

@@PreservationEnthusiast you know nothing of railway heritage read about there concept and why the rest of the world followed.

[@JintySteam1]

why has the film gone red?

[@GrrMeister]

2:55 *92023 Franco Crosti Boiler 9F - rare sight.*

[@JJRaff18221882]

A wonderful time - no clean-air Nazis....

[@williamredfern2683]

JJRaff18221882 ,,,,,, BUILDERS HATE IT WHEN CATS SHIT IN THEIR SAND,

[@PreservationEnthusiast]

@@williamredfern2683 But now we must halt global warming and scrap steam locos.

[@levelcrossing150]

@@PreservationEnthusiast I find your preaching quite annoying! Besides all the locomotives of the big four that were inherited by British Railways after the war over 2500 new steam locos were built between 1948 and 1960. Over 200 locos were saved from Barry with a good half of them not even operational. So for the few handfuls of locos that are actually in steam during a given weekend that are an important part of our heritage to give pleasure educating our children about our glorious history, whatever are you on about? I study both sides of the argument on climate change and there's plenty of evidence to say otherwise why it is happening but we are not told about it! The sooner people wise up to this the better!!