Trains In The 1980's Crewe Diesel & Electric Variety, Autumn 1988 

I may be American, but I know for a fact that yes, Britain's railway system is kinda crap these days. For me, it's too many different companies and liveries, as well as not enough locomotive-hauled passenger trains; here in America, pretty much all passenger rail is still loco-hauled, mainly in push-pull configuration on commuter routes; we do have some multiple units, but they're few and far between, and many of them are European designs that don't meet our very, very strict crash safety standards because our freight trains are bigger, longer, and heavier than in Europe.

@@Trainlover1995 Why is the British railway system so divided today? In the 80s there was only one company.

Times move on, people in the era in the video would probably still be mourning what they had 30 years earlier. For all its faults, today we have a rail system that carries twice as many passengers on more trains much more safely.

@@MGstaR17 do sone research maybe?

I agree

Class 45 etc all amazing engine sounds proper railway

Thanks very much.

Glad you enjoyed it and brought back some great memories. I did a few All Line Rovers back in the mid-late 1980s too - they were certainly great value if you wanted to clock up some miles!

Thanks. BR Blue was never the most exciting livery, but the Class 56s looked smart in it.

Thanks very much. Things were certainly very different back then compared to today - just glad I was able to record a selection of 1980s & 1990s railways before things changed.

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it. Yes, those electrics always sounded great when they took power after sitting idle.

+nwguyuk Thanks very much, i'm glad these old videos bring back good memories for so many people. Although not local to me, I do have more movies from Crewe back then on my channel - so you may spot yourself yet!

Proper English railway back then. It's all European shit now

The "304"s were supplemented by "303"s and "305"s in the '80s and '90s.

At Crewe it's still human beings

+mscangliarail Thank you very much.

Some got a coat of NSE tooth paste too, but they got withdrawn not long after that.

+soupdragon12345 Thanks. Crewe back then was much better than today, then again so were many other places! There's a good Bristol Temple Meads 1990's movie on my channel too if you've not seen it.

+Flyfactors UK 47484 was one of those locos you always liked to see. I was lucky enough to see it on the Great Western and on the Midland Mainline too. As you say, today it's all a bit too unit like, but there are some special liveries out there to chase.

v11cu96 didn’t the Euston - Aberystwyth train go via Birmingham and Shrewsbury?

Well you're wrong there.

+Victor Meldrew -7homas These were the days to be an enthusiast I guess, not the same now - although there's certainly a lot more colourful trains to film I guess!

I know what you mean. I wish I had gone further and filmed more now, but i'm just grateful I've the hours and hours of footage from the 80's & 90's I have - one of the reasons I film a lot now is that you never know how things will have changed in 30 years from now.

Indeed they were - and still are doing work for Colas, and before too long GB Railfreight too :-)

it did look rather odd. :) i presume the 90 was still on test, which would explain it.

I quite liked the Class 155's - there's been talk of more coming back by doubling up Class 153's, which seems crazy! lol

They double them up(and even treble them) on Great Western, seen such consists working out of Bristol. Also saw a GW 153 coupled to a South West Trains 158 this week - interesting pairing.

+Ben 1337 E3195 was 86426 repainted during 1988 for some celebration or another - cannot remember which as I was only 15 years old in 1988.

Flyfactors UK Geez, I wish I could have been there, I LOVE the BR Blue Era.

E3195 was repainted in "original" livery in 1987 for the InterCity 21 celebrations. It was displayed at Bounds Green Open Day, and used on specials to for the sector as well as operating in normal traffic as seen here.

It looks like platform 1. The big wall would be behind him.

No, it's not. There was definitely more variety on Britain's rail system in those days. Nowadays, most passenger trains are boring old multiple units built by foreign manufacturers, and the interesting multiple units like the Pacers, Sprinters, Turbos, and Networkers are being withdrawn because of bullshit safety standards, and bean counters who would rather buy foreign than rebuild older rolling stock to modern standards (at least the InterCity 125 isn't going anywhere for a long time). I may be an American who's stuck with Amtrak and publicly-owned commuter rail agencies, but even I know that Britain's rail system was second-to-none in those days. BR should never have been Privatised, and I would kill to see it Renationalised under the BR banner with good old loco-hauled passenger trains and Rail Blue paint. And if they're feeling real good, bring back steam, too. Better for the environment, and can benefit from modern technology.

@@Trainlover1995 How are Sprinters interesting?

Travelling by train was a luxury. Now it's all about poxy money

@@Trainlover1995 sadly the 125s are almost all gone now due to the rubbish 800 class

Those "303"s used to break down on the Hadfield services. I was once stuck outside Newton for over an hour.

Omg you’re right!

Colchester, london victoria both do, and Ipswich I think

There is a lot. What I meant was a switch that is used on a regular basis to move trains at that platform.

+DekkasTrains Yes Ipswich does, if you come in from East Suffolk Line (terminus Lowestoft) you have to switch as the Lowestoft train arrives at Platform 1 and departs from there. The East Suffolk Line had a "straight through" to London Liverpool Street for about a year every 2 hours around about 2009/10 then it was axed. Previous to that there was a 5 day a week "commuter" train which ran from the early 1970s up to around the late 80s it used stop at Halesworth at 7.05 am and return about 7.05pm Monday to Friday. It was normally hauled by a Class 37 with a rake of Mk1s totalling 9 including a buffet. I used love standing on the road bridge to watch it as a kid, as the 37 would stop at the bridge, and to hear the driver "give it some welly" as he pulled away if he saw me was great!!!

+BladeRunner21577 Sheffield has at least two switches coming from Platform 1 and one coming off the opposite which is Platform 4.