Hey Russ! You have some amazing footage on your channel! I was just wondering if it would be possible to use some of this in a video/doc I am making on Virgin XC!? I would provide appropriate credit of course - but this would be super helpful! Thanks!
I was hoping to see the pick up shoe gear in detail as these emus were unique in the UK, and its difficult to make out how the third rail and pick ups met up, all I know is that they were not top contact like the rest of the UK third rail system
Were the Class 47s running a regular service to/from Lime St?. The reason I ask is that I have some home video taken on the 15th Sept 1990 where we were travelling from Wigan to Lime St to go to a model railway exhibition at Liverpool Cathedral. On the train heading back was a Class 47 diesel named Blackbuck, it was on the back of the engine pulling, though I don't know what class engine was at the front. The carriages weren't the regular DMU type with electric doors but the old fashioned type that could be opened manually by passengers, and the seats were the type you would expect nowadays on an excursion special. Anyone know if this was a special they were running that day?.
As a Trainspoter in the 70s in Cornwall aged 15 I loved every exciting moment.. I'M NOW 61 and I feel so sad for the spotters of today.. HAVING said that I still have a soft spot for the odd locos seen passing by here were I now live in SOUTH WALES. Those brief yet odd moments transport me back 50yrs. So sad that today's railways are predictable and boring. TRAINSPOTTING will never die.. But my era did.
the life and soul left springburn when the calley went, my whole family worked there at one time or another,a great uncle lost his life when he was caught between two buffers,my memory of it is at home time when the narrow pavements were filled with workers walking home and some wifeys waiting to get the paypacket before the pub got it ,hard times but real
Used to bunk the shed on a monthly basis in the 1970,s. You never had any problems getting to the entrance of the shed, but regularly got kicked out once you walked around inside the shed. Great days.
Wrecks were usually left on a scrap scrapline outside the works which had direct access into MCs yard next door, enabling easy disposal of many locos over the years.
It's ironic that we see 47475, in trans pennine livery, in this video, as she was a parcels sector machine at the time of this video. Moreso, she wasn't even working the Trans Pennine that day! And yes, 47475 is on my layout, and working trans pennine!
I have lots of old footage of Springs Branch taken during the early-late 90s, and some footage of passing trains heading out of Wigan from Haydock Junction and also at Winwick Junction which we used to go to to watch the trains and take the dogs for a run on the nearby field, something you probably can't do now. We used to walk along the disused line at Golborne that you could get onto from near to the chippy where you walk up the embankment to the line, over the years they fenced it off half way and since then the spare land has been built on with yet more houses and likely to be fenced off to stop anyone getting onto the line. Used to spend hours there in the summer as kids.
No eastfield traction depot is on broadholm st springburn that was my depot when I started as a fireman 1974 my uncle was a mainline driver I fired too him on many shifts on the west highland line to Oban hope that was some help
Great footage and memories. I visited these works round about the same time. Sad to think most things here have disappeared. Even the works closed in 2019. The last I heard the deal for the railway preservationists fell through and some multi millionaire wants to buy it to house his car collection.
Oh wow, I was around 7 at that time, my dad used to take me and my cousijs walking along the line, the sheds are as I remember them, 30 years ago now, seems like yesterday, we used to live in the maisonettes on Captains green, a great fun place to grow up.i can still remember the smell of the creosote on the sleepers, thanks for posting, any more footage, would love to see the signal box, I was too young to get into it, but my cousin used to climb into it and mess with the levers.
