What was I doing 50 years ago today

8th January 1976
It is a Thursday and I am at work, out of the office, trackside on the Nottingham - Newark line.
Fiskerton Station SB - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/10814428563/

 

Probably at work in Southampton TOPS office.
A couple of years later the view from my office window.

Cheers, Neil

 

10th January 1976
A Saturday with just this one photograph which I suspect is because this trip to Grantham was actually to visit my friend of now 70 years, Phil for a weekend of sampling the pubs and nightlife of his home town.

Grantham SB - https://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/8753040956/

 

17th January 1976
A sunny winter Saturday at Doncaster
40184 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/6769410461/
55015 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/6148875903/

 

Minor correction; your image of 40027 exiting Mound Tunnel is the wrong end as its actually exiting from Carlton Tunnel at the east end of the station; Mound Tunnel is at the West end of the station leading into Princess Street Gardens.

 

Probably working on the roof at Steamport or laying in some more track..

 

24th January 1976

A Saturday ride over to Crewe

47279 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/5560725898/
47515 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/20261547919/
86003 – https://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/14090904112/
86229 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/18073193194/
86256 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/24201651802/

 

25th January 1976

A Sunday look at what is stabled in the carriage sidings at Nottingham before a ride out to Loughborough for a look at the fledgling Main Line Steam Trust operation that is now of course the Great Central Railway.

Littleton No5 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/16775129916/
08894 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/14938437918/
20044 – http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/6928801007/
45117 – http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/11683619136/
47322 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/6856069088/
Loughborough Central SB - https://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/54245370561/

 

29th January 1976
Its a Thursday and a day off work with a trip to Wakefield Kirkgate to photograph the then still significant freight traffic in the area, predominately in the hands of Class 40's. Although on this day I would not have known this (no virtually instant social media news in those days) January 1976 was the start of the Class 40 fleet rundown with the first six (excluding D322 of course destroyed in an accident in 1967) withdrawn
08162 – http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/6081477461/
20127 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/7095380183/
37042 – http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/6475512969/
37120 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/15435234770/
40046 – http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/5889583677/
40073 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/16552528148/
40092 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/7319031566/
40192 – http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/5890154012/
40194 – http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/5742168370/
40196 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/6919364430/
45039 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/8598883843/
46050 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/7968612406/

 

31st January 1976
A grey Saturday day out to Leicester, Nuneaton and Rugby. 24038 would only last in traffic for a few more days as it was stored in February 1976 and withdrawn in the July.
24038 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/5831757934/
25120 – http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/6325228388/
25176 – http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/5946373852/
45144 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/15802534149/
47109 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/5732288151/
47220 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/5976420891/
86247 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/20618861380/
86255 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/23942024939/
87023 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/8225812023/

 

7th February 1976
Another grey Saturday and a repeat of the previous Saturday with a day out to Leicester, Nuneaton and Rugby. 24046 would survive for another five months before being withdrawn.
24046 – http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/5831763478/
47149 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/9319980530/
81001 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/6168678576/
87027 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/8005226396/

 

8th February 1976
It is a Sunday and another rather grey day as I take a late morning/afternoon ride out to Lincoln and a walk out to the depot. At this point in time in addition to its considerable DMU fleet Lincoln had an allocation of ten diesel shunters (03021/22/25/26, 08060, 08101/33/37, 08277, 08418).
03022 – http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/6403849897/
08027 – http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/5530679688/
08060 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/24923414682/
31113 – http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/6174399850/
45046 – http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/5947153238/
Sincil Bank SB - https://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/28243762746/

 

13th February 1976
It is Friday so a day off work for a trip to the North East with walks out to Thornaby and Sunderland depots. 03099 BR career is virtually over as it was withdrawn in February 1976. However it was sold to the National Coal Board for further use and eventually entered preservation in 1992.
03099 – http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/5808786095/
08774 – http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/5808789145/
08775 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/10939405964/
31138 – http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/6787608145/
37035 – http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/6064180459/
37249 – http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/5808782907/
45032 – http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/5900029104/
46035 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/7968613888/
47408 – http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/5843927525/
Sunderland MPD - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/10240149583/
Thornaby MPD – http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/5808780167/

 

21st February 1976

A Saturday in the North West with the last two green Class 25s

08297 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/7566430316/
25043 – http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/5770220321/
25102 – http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/5760255019/
25106 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/7158785491/
25156 – http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/5530099469/
25319 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/11416045504/
40010 – http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/5564753738/
40076 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/7065445487/
40099 – https://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/49151104702/
40122 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/6497731943/
40171 – http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/6271697292/
47455 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/8394640834/
82001 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/14114100883/
85012 – http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/6657903851/
M51117 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/8134009534/
TDM1001 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/7360511788/

 

An interesting aside here is the photographic evidence of me bunking round Newton Heath depot. I can still generally remember taking nearly all of my photographs from the 1970/80s, however without these couple of shots from Newton Heath depot I would have sworn that Newton Heath was one of the handfull of depots in the country I did not bunk round in this period. I have no recollection of the journey out from Manchester Victoria, walk out to the depot or bunking round the depot itself

 

Reminds me of driving to pick up my fiance- now wife- when she worked as a manager at Southampton Travellers Fare

 

I often think that I wouldn't remember very much were it not for refreshing those memories from the actual photographs I took at the time. My memories of getting to and from sheds and whether I was granted permission, bunked or had a permit, is very vague.

 

22nd February 1976

Its Sunday and a trip to Derby and Sheffield with a bus ride out to Tinsley. However with the lack of depot photos, just the two from the access road it looks like I failed to bunk round the depot and got turfed out. Most unusual for Tinsley in the 1970's on a weekend.

08033 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/49262265188/
20xxx - https://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/40156407243/
45017 – http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/5595827811/
45109 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/9681894999/
47537 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/25700899490/
Engine Sidings No.2 – http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/6503819975/

 

28th February 1976

A Saturday with just this one photograph which I suspect is because this trip to Grantham was actually to visit my friend of now 70 years, Phil for a beer or two in his home town.

47457 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/8724251385/

 

29th February 1976

1976 is a leap year so we have a 29th February. It is a Sunday and I have had a ride down the Midland Main Line to St Pancras, nipped across to Kings Cross and broke my journey to/from Nottingham at Leicester. Platforms 2 and 3 at Leicester at this time was a rather bleak place with the station having lost its overall roof a couple of years earlier, replaced by some totally inadequate temporary canopies which survived until the station platform buildings were rebuilt in the early 1980's

31403 – https://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/50347246313/
45114 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/5596412658/
45115 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/7162954440/
45128 – http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/5932044399/
45135 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/14641044045/
45149 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/6297688522/
47425 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/7813045144/
M50057 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/8133982709/