GWR 150 celebrations

[61058]

The chocolate and cream DMU was seen over a lot of the region. It certainly appeared in west Wales. I think it was a class 117 allocated to Bristol Bath Road?

I remember seeing the class 117 DMU at Skegness one summer !

 

[Cowley]

There was a BR black Manor on it at least one day, I remember seeing it & apparently memory wasn't playing up - https://www.philt.org.uk/PreservationScene/GWR/i-NHvBqf9 . How ironic . There was a service to the docks too ( link subsequently removed ), I don't remember what ran that. The Portishead trains didn't quite make it to Portishead itself as the station wasn't there anymore.

7819 Hinton Manor (the black one) was I seem to remember one of the better performers out of the steam locos. We saw it at Exeter on one of the runs.

 

[Helvellyn]

Thanks for all the posts. Certainly seem to have stirred up a few memories!

I have to admit being confused over what was named purely the GWR150 celebrations and it's less than I thought. The suggestion of 50007 being a prototype repaint makes sense as well - it's lining was totally different as well once I've looked up pictures to refresh the memory.

 

[Western 52]

A lot of mention of the chocolate and cream DMU in this thread. I found this picture I took on 24th June 1987 of the unit, B430, at Howton forming the 1408 Cardiff Central to Hereford.

 

[Strathclyder]

From consulting Railcar, two of the vehicles that made up the GW150 117 (set number B430, T305 and lastly 117305) were withdrawn in October 1995, last working out of Penzance as a 2-car set. One of the vehicles (Driving Motor No. 51368) wasn't officially withdrawn until April 1999 however, and there is photo evidence of it working with NSE-liveried 117 vehicles beyond 1995 (attached image copyright of Stuart Mackay).

Class 117 DMU at Aller

The history of Diesel Multiple Units (DMUs / railcars) in Britain.

www.railcar.co.uk

I remember seeing the class 117 DMU at Skegness one summer !

It certainly made it there in April 1993!

GWR at Skegness

117305 at Skegness on a Derby working.April 1993.

www.flickr.com

(attached image copyright of Stephen Burdett)

 

[Ashley Hill]

One thing I acquired at an GW 150 event on Newton Abbot station was this medallion. Time has dulled the memory a bit but on the date on the medallion the two steam locos hauling a passing excursion had both failed,one at Taunton the other at Exeter SD so a pair of 37s worked forward from Exeter.
I haven’t seen another medallion since and wonder if similar were issued at other GW 150 locations?

 

[CarltonA]

I remember some of the GW liveried 47s and the 50 appearing on the Network Expresses in 1988/9. About ten years later they painted a class 60 into GWR livery for an OOC open day which I attended. I'm not sure how long the locos stayed in those colours.

 

[sprinterguy]

I'm not sure how long the locos stayed in those colours.

47079 wore the GWR scheme for the shortest period of time - It received Trainload Metals livery in 1987. At the other end of the spectrum, 47484 and 50007 carried the livery until their withdrawals, in 2000 and 1994 respectively. 50007 continued to carry the livery in preservation until repainted into BR blue around ten years ago, and 47484 still, just about, carries the livery today in dilapidated condition.

47500 gained RES livery in late 1991, I think, and 47628 was repainted into BR Mainline at the beginning of 1990.

 

[nanstallon]

Weren’t there steam shuttles down the Portishead line?

I remember watching a light mogul of LMS origin taking a special down to Wapping Wharf; looked very striking among the bonded warehouses and the dock area generally. It was in September 1985.

 

[Sean Emmett]

I was a student in Bristol in 1985 and did a trip down the Avon Gorge to Portishead behind SVR mogul 46443. Other loco on those was Hinton Manor. The return trips were via the Temple Meads avoiding line, past St Philips Marsh depot.

IIRC the trips to Wapping Wharf were all behind the mogul due to sharp curvature? Happy to be corrected.

The choc cream 117 also did trips down the gorge. Have pics with it under the suspension bridge.

Got on my bike and pics of the main line specials in and around Bristol, but didn't find too many good locations. A hunch took me to Bedminster Down to see the mogul powering up the grade from Ashton Gate to Parson St.

Visited mate in Torquay and we saw double headed Castles over Dainton.

I did a tour Swindon Works on a Bristol uni trip, arranged before the closure was announced. They were finishing off the refurbishment of the SR CEP/BEP emus.