Is this THE john Palmer of mml days who used to be on buses before trains? Farmer Palmer? If so I worked with you in 1997 until I did my rules in 1998!
Not travelled by train for years. Leicester to st Pancras was a regular journey in those days. Rail strikes drove me off using trains, but i still miss the peaks.
Fascinating shots, I remember the MML of this era well. "Express" was a relative term, Peaks out of StP could be described as semi-fast at best. Most of the infrastructure was steam age, and Saint Pancras was quiet outside the rush hour. A lot of the station was covered up with corporate tat and the ticket office was a pre-fab. Long distance trains terminated at Derby or Nottingham, but a very few continued to Sheffield or even Leeds. Bear in mind trains left for St. Enoch's, Glasgow not long before. The Thames-Clyde Express meandered its way to Scotland, you'd have to be trainspotter to have preferred it to east and west coast routes. On the plus side they were proper full length trains and usually had plenty of room. In summer you could hang out a window and watch the world go by. Parcels were still a thing, so there was a guard's "van". Plenty of MkI coaches around. Track hadn't been rationalised, there was plenty of it and signal boxes were everywhere. Toward the end the Peaks were unreliable and often limped to their destinations or were delayed while other traction was found. The MML had a worn out air but it was great to have experienced it. I haven't been to the refurbished St. Pancras.
You really should go to the refurbished St. Pancras, it is truly stunning. Not sure I agree on your comments regarding the reliability of the Peaks though as I have spoken with many drivers who drove them and to a man they all say the Peaks were the best engines they ever drove, and would never let you down, although I have never framed the question on the basis of "at the end of their working life". Ironically, north of Kettering the line still has an air of 'worn out' with its three aspect signalling, and lack of passing loops.
I used the Eurostar service regularly until I retired. I think my record was nine times in a month. The refurbished station is stunning. I've also done the guided tour of the part of the old building that is a hotel. Well worth doing when it is available again. The station is a difficult location for filming. You can't even get onto any of the domestic platforms without a travel ticket as none of the services call anywhere in the travelcard zones. I've been looking for locations that give a view of the approaches. There are some possibilities that I hope to check out in the spring. Hopefully the electrification will get extended, at least to Leicester. That would open up options for a return to the 70s style combination of fast and semi-fast services with cross platform interchange at Leicester.
I was trainspotting at Chesterfield 1970-74 so your photos brought back those BR blue days. In those days you could get a train and get a whole Mk 1 compartment to yourself. These days its crowded and the Hitachi 800s have ironing board seats.
You're so right. I drove slam doors until 2005 when class 450's came in. The seats in slammers were nice and comfy. The 450's drivers seat was like sitting on wood. Those in charge say it's down to fire resistance but I know it's really down to cost cutting. I used Azumas. Even the 1st class seats are rubbish. Imagine having to sit in those seats all the way to the far north? No thanks. BTW the days of this video were the best for railways. I miss them.
A Class 120 DMU at St Pancras? Must have come in on a semi-fast from Derby. 45106 0:48 destined to be the last survivor of the class, lasting until 1988.
Hi. There are two. If you search in my channel for Southern Region they should come up. The first covers the SECR section and the other the LBSC and LSWR sections. The slides were all taken in the mid 70s. I was living in Beckenham at the time which is why the SECR section gets a show of its own. I hope you enjoy.
The refurbished St Pancras has lost that great vaulted look though, the 45/46’s were very impressive and business like, I remember on their arrival at St Panras there would be an oil lamp on the platform placed adjacent to the great tumbling Sulzer loco, they had a real air of having..‘done something’..
Walked into St Pancras the old way earlier today. Still quite impressive and as quiet at that level as it always was with most people beavering away on the lower level. 5 Eurostar 374s lined up at the buffer stops.
Shocking footage!!! Everything looked worn out, broken and incredibly dirty ugly. Many of these impressive pictures seem to show some rotten place in Ceacescu's ROMANIA! Thinking THIS was England is really shocking and kinda sad. Let's all be gratefull that these dark days are over.
Our railways were in a very poor condition in the 1970s. There were proposals to close much more of the network. Luckily most of it survived and has had some investment but there is still a lot of modernisation required. We still have main lines that are not electrified.
@@BoogiesTrains Sure! I've been to Britain many times but only AFTER its economic recovery in the 80s and 90s. Today most of Britain looks like the (relatively) wealthy Western European country it is. But in the 1970s! Jesus Christ! 😂 The railways in deed got much better, faster and massively modernized. Why electrification is still such a problem in the UK remains an all British mystery that I never really understood.
Great memories of a different age
Is this THE john Palmer of mml days who used to be on buses before trains? Farmer Palmer? If so I worked with you in 1997 until I did my rules in 1998!
Not travelled by train for years. Leicester to st Pancras was a regular journey in those days. Rail strikes drove me off using trains, but i still miss the peaks.
Fascinating shots, I remember the MML of this era well. "Express" was a relative term, Peaks out of StP could be described as semi-fast at best. Most of the infrastructure was steam age, and Saint Pancras was quiet outside the rush hour. A lot of the station was covered up with corporate tat and the ticket office was a pre-fab.
Long distance trains terminated at Derby or Nottingham, but a very few continued to Sheffield or even Leeds. Bear in mind trains left for St. Enoch's, Glasgow not long before. The Thames-Clyde Express meandered its way to Scotland, you'd have to be trainspotter to have preferred it to east and west coast routes.
On the plus side they were proper full length trains and usually had plenty of room. In summer you could hang out a window and watch the world go by. Parcels were still a thing, so there was a guard's "van". Plenty of MkI coaches around. Track hadn't been rationalised, there was plenty of it and signal boxes were everywhere. Toward the end the Peaks were unreliable and often limped to their destinations or were delayed while other traction was found. The MML had a worn out air but it was great to have experienced it. I haven't been to the refurbished St. Pancras.
You really should go to the refurbished St. Pancras, it is truly stunning. Not sure I agree on your comments regarding the reliability of the Peaks though as I have spoken with many drivers who drove them and to a man they all say the Peaks were the best engines they ever drove, and would never let you down, although I have never framed the question on the basis of "at the end of their working life". Ironically, north of Kettering the line still has an air of 'worn out' with its three aspect signalling, and lack of passing loops.
I used the Eurostar service regularly until I retired. I think my record was nine times in a month. The refurbished station is stunning. I've also done the guided tour of the part of the old building that is a hotel. Well worth doing when it is available again.
The station is a difficult location for filming. You can't even get onto any of the domestic platforms without a travel ticket as none of the services call anywhere in the travelcard zones. I've been looking for locations that give a view of the approaches. There are some possibilities that I hope to check out in the spring.
Hopefully the electrification will get extended, at least to Leicester. That would open up options for a return to the 70s style combination of fast and semi-fast services with cross platform interchange at Leicester.
It's an awesome place. MML trains have been shunted outside to a sort of prefab, though.
Thanks for this, I'm planning a layout 'Midland Region circa 1970' and this video is research gold dust!
Diesels and mark 1 stock and semaphore signals everywhere, magic!
Hello friends of Boogie Trains from Chile.
I see some videos in your Facebook.
Regards.
... And a solitary tear trickles down my cheek 🥺
I was trainspotting at Chesterfield 1970-74 so your photos brought back those BR blue days. In those days you could get a train and get a whole Mk 1 compartment to yourself. These days its crowded and the Hitachi 800s have ironing board seats.
You're so right. I drove slam doors until 2005 when class 450's came in. The seats in slammers were nice and comfy. The 450's drivers seat was like sitting on wood. Those in charge say it's down to fire resistance but I know it's really down to cost cutting. I used Azumas. Even the 1st class seats are rubbish. Imagine having to sit in those seats all the way to the far north? No thanks. BTW the days of this video were the best for railways. I miss them.
@@soulman3590 done it Kings X to Aberdeen. It was surprisingly not that bad.
I don't know why but the east coast Azumas seem easier on the arse than the GW units.
@@BoogiesTrains Yes it was GW units I was talking about. Haven't tried the others.
Great video
A Class 120 DMU at St Pancras? Must have come in on a semi-fast from Derby. 45106 0:48 destined to be the last survivor of the class, lasting until 1988.
The train at 6:25 is more likely to be the Ratcliffe power station to Fletton fly-ash working.
Hi Peter. Haven't heard from you for a while. I imagine you are correct.
Many thanks for another great slideshow, do you have any of the Southern region?
Wishing you a Happy New Year!
Hi. There are two. If you search in my channel for Southern Region they should come up. The first covers the SECR section and the other the LBSC and LSWR sections. The slides were all taken in the mid 70s. I was living in Beckenham at the time which is why the SECR section gets a show of its own. I hope you enjoy.
The refurbished St Pancras has lost that great vaulted look though, the 45/46’s were very impressive and business like, I remember on their arrival at St Panras there would be an oil lamp on the platform placed adjacent to the great tumbling Sulzer loco, they had a real air of having..‘done something’..
Walked into St Pancras the old way earlier today. Still quite impressive and as quiet at that level as it always was with most people beavering away on the lower level. 5 Eurostar 374s lined up at the buffer stops.
Shocking footage!!! Everything looked worn out, broken and incredibly dirty ugly. Many of these impressive pictures seem to show some rotten place in Ceacescu's ROMANIA! Thinking THIS was England is really shocking and kinda sad. Let's all be gratefull that these dark days are over.
Our railways were in a very poor condition in the 1970s. There were proposals to close much more of the network. Luckily most of it survived and has had some investment but there is still a lot of modernisation required. We still have main lines that are not electrified.
@@BoogiesTrains Sure! I've been to Britain many times but only AFTER its economic recovery in the 80s and 90s. Today most of Britain looks like the (relatively) wealthy Western European country it is. But in the 1970s! Jesus Christ! 😂
The railways in deed got much better, faster and massively modernized. Why electrification is still such a problem in the UK remains an all British mystery that I never really understood.
@@MarioStahl1983as you been to Britain what was the number of times you visited?