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  3. 1960's Archive

1963-1966 odds and ends

50+ years old images taken when I was still at school with a bunch of old time, point and shoot style cameras. All Kodak ranging from a folding 620 through a Brownie 127 to an Instamatic, none of which was of great quality, Black and white predominates as for a 14 year old schoolboy that was expensive enough! A few Instamatic colour shots which was a luxury, the film probably came with the camera as a present in 1965.
Everything has been scanned from an album of prints that I still have (negatives having been long lost) and is not of the highest quality - I didn't really know anything about the fundamentals of photography then and the images were just snapshots while trainspotting. Chasing the trains was expensive enough on limited pocket money and came first.

(Details and, if possible estimated dates, will follow shortly. I am undertaking the research at the moment - of course, all my notebooks are long gone. From 1966 my "Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll" years took over - I blame it on the ending of steam in the UK!)
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The last regular steam working I photographed at Reading (General as it was then) was not of a Western engine but of Black Five 44869. The date would be from late 1965 to the middle of 1966 when the locomotive was allocated to Banbury which, by that time, was a Midland region shed.
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The last regular steam working I photographed at Reading (General as it was then) was not of a Western engine but of Black Five 44869. The date would be from late 1965 to the middle of 1966 when the locomotive was allocated to Banbury which, by that time, was a Midland region shed.

  • 34104 "Bere Alston" Eastleigh Shed.<br /> This picture (judging by the printing marks on the rear of the photo) seems to have been taken at the same time as DS235.<br /> The USA tank is said to have been released from the Works in March 1963 and 34104 bears the obvious marks of having come freshly out of overhaul (the upside down chalked number on the smoke deflector). Record cards say 34104 had a light intermediate overhaul between 19 April and 18 May 1963 and this picture must date from that time. While I may have had the film in the camera over both photos, taken a month or two apart (quite likely as film and developing was expensive for a 13 year old!), the photo of 34104 would appear to date from the release back to traffic in 1963.
  • 44944 London Euston 1964<br /> The last time I saw a steam engine at Euston was this "Black 5" taken during the rebuilding works of the station. I didn't bother going to Euston again for spotting purposes but still visited Willesden as steam was still common on the shed, although diesels were becoming more common on each visit.
  • Taken during one of my many visits to Swindon Works on Wednesday afternoons in 1964. Overhauls of some Midland Region engines had been taking place although work on most Western steam engines had stopped. At the same time the diesel shunters of the D95xx class were being buit in the main shops! This engine survived longer than most, ending up at North Blyth until withdrawn in September 1967.
  • D9507 acting as station pilot at Newport High Street (as it was called then) in late 1965/early 1966. One of the few photos of mine that survive in colour from that period, taken on the Instamatic camera. Black and white was expensive enough for a fifteen year old schoolboy in those days so I expect Colour was even more so! It must have been a present or some special occasion for this cartridge to have arrived.<br /> I saw all of these locos ("Teddy Bears" as they are known now) during their construction at Swindon Works during 1964 and 1965 but saw very few actually out working. Many of the early locos were allocated to Newport Ebbw Junction depot, including this example.
  • The last regular steam working I photographed at Reading (General as it was then) was not of a Western engine but of Black Five 44869. The date would be from late 1965 to the middle of 1966 when the locomotive was allocated to Banbury which, by that time, was a Midland region shed.
  • D1705 at Eastleigh in late 1965/early 1966. these locos started to appear regularly on inter-regional freights during 1965, mostly working through from the Oxfod/Basingstoke direction. The loco was only delivered in November 1965 to Tinsley depot - as it hasn't been cleaned for a while you have to assume that it has been "on the road" ever since! The lamp over the buffer would seem to be a tail lamp, which were used for light diesel engines at this period, although no obvious red slide has been put into it. The "3M00" headcode adds nothing paticularly as 3 would indicate a parcels service at this time, M indicates a train from the Southern Region to the Midland Region and the "00" is petty non-descript! No help there then.
  • This one was not taken by me but by someone with a "proper" camera, i.e. a 35mm, and the money to buy colour film. I have long lost track of his name but if he sees this - many thanks. We were all on one of these mega-bash tours that were so popular in those days (this was on the first day and the trip carried on throughout the night until late the next afternoon. I think I tried to take some shots during the night using flash cubes on my Instamatic - needless to say they were a misrable failure.)<br /> <br /> 60129 (without "Guy Mannering" nameplates) at Darlington shed 21 August 1965<br /> <br /> The two "oiks" in anoraks in the background are my friend and schoolmate Will and myself. The unknown photographer promised to send us copies as our cameras would have been unable to do it justice!
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