British Rail Southern Region 1985-London Victoria with Class 73, DEMU Thumpers & EMU's 

Thank you.... I used to do the Gatwick's as a fill in move when i dated my BR Staff Travel Box. If i had only one day trip out a few trips to gatwick would help knock off the 73s.... Although i got my last Gat Ex one for haulage (202) on the very last trip they ever did when it was top & tailed with another! better late than never......

@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus Cheers mate. You were not alone. But I missed one or two Class 73/2s. I did manage to cabride one Class 73 and one GLV on one trip. It was quite odd, watching the dual controls in front of you move, without you touching them. A bit like riding an OBB 2143 diesel hydraulic, which I have also done. One of the most exhilarating runs behind a Class 73 I had was from Waterloo to Reading. The route has loads of level crossings, where the road is wider than the loco is long, causing it to get gapped. Full power, blinding flash electrocuting the shrubbery, no power, second blinding flash electrocuting the shrubbery, full power and launched back into your seat. The 500hp diesel up onto the GWML was less impressive ! When the 4REPs were donating their traction motors to the Class 442s, Class 73s also worked daily to Bournemouth and Portsmouth. The Channel Islands Boat Train used to be a Class 73 to Bournemouth and a Class 33 to Weymouth Quay, using conventional Mark 1 TSOs. I have also done a Class 73/9 from Fort William to Edinburgh, via Bathgate. It is strange a Southern engine built to the Hastings Gauge of 8' 8" ended up in the north of Scotland.

Thank you, some of my earliest videoing.....

Watching train vids again lol...... hope your keeping ok. 👍😎

Thank you.....

At the time it was just a regular day out.......

@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus Yes and we'll done for the vision because We have quality posterity videos to look back on and enjoy!...Thanks👏🏾👏🏾😊😊

@@4vepvik781 Thank you, video was such a massive increase in quality over cine film.... and with sound!

And the place had daylight! But this was before NSE had been formed, funny to think now i've had a video camera since August 1985.......

Yes, the old terminals were fairly bright places until built over.....Now they are like Underground stations!

It seemed a long train for an early afternoon working?......

Some classic traction on this upload for sure.....

Yes, it was a totally different station back then!

It's "Railway Station", not "train station". Just to be correct. The latter is a horrible Americanism that has crept into usage over here.

@@mirvids5036 He might be American !!

@@Martindyna Indeed he might well be !

@@mirvids5036 Well hot dang! ...I'm from London as it happens ;-)

Either way, i prefer stations that have natural daylight compared to being in a dungeon!

Funny to think this period was nearer to steam operation than we are to this time now......

That was the Gatwick Express service.....

Thank you.... Yes Man Vic was totally destroyed. I understood loosing a couple of platforms for Tramlink but to reduce the main lines so much was madness! Check out my upload here ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-bE1tg-cAcjk.html

My pleasure.....

I'm pleased you enjoyed it!.... Trains certainly creep about a whole lot more these days, that's for sure......

Yes, amazing how light & airy it was back then!

Because of the natural light probably. It's a shame BR buried so many stations in concrete.

It was a long time ago now, even i forgot how light & airy it was.....

Thank you.....

My pleasure.....

Yes, a nice view of things just before the Network Southeast rebranding. To think you could once travel in Inter-City 1st Class luxury on the Gatwick Express and now it's 'ironing board' seats throughout in the woefully inadequate Class 378's. Even the supposed inferior service run by Southern has more comfortable seating in their 377's and their passengers pay less!

Not a Tadpole as such as by that time they had been disbanded. One of the Hampshire units was formed with a Hastings unit motor coach for a period during 1985 before withdrawal on completion of the East Grinstead electrification. The Blood and Custard website says, about unit 1107, "MBS 60106 condemned 25‑Jul‑85 due to severe roof corrosion and defective door pillars; replaced by ‘long’ Hastings MBS 60037 (ex. disbanded 3R no.1206) this coach seating 30 giving a unit total of 19 first and 184 second"

Thanks for the detailed info.....

@@onanexcursion Well, ex-Tadpole (3R) motor coach, although I confess that in my day they were "short" (3-bay) rather than "long" (4-bay), so maybe 1206 had had a replacement from a later Hastings unit at some point?

Probably had a rationalisation in the 1960s perhaps?......

Thank you.....

Thank you....

It's amazing how much it has changed there now..... A bit like Liverpool Street East Side Suburban....

455s are still about, mind you

Yes, that's an EPB unit......