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Request for Info from anyone who spotted in 1976.

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al20a

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Hi,
Is there anyone on the forum, who has any old logs from their note books that survive from 1976 of any locos, DMU's or EMU's from any of these places:- Piccadilly Station and Victoria stations Manchester, Longsight depot, York Station, Bristol Temple meads station, Newcastle station, Reddish depot, Warrington station or anything on the line between Stockport and Wythenshawe that passes through cheadle Heath, cheadle and sharston. Preferably on the school holidays or on any Saturday or Sundays plus on any away day trips to some of the above places that year from the Easter holiday up until the end of October.
You see I am trying to build up a picture from back then and that will possibly stir some old memories in me that I have long forgotten. I came across a site looking for some class 76's at Reddish in 1976, that had class 24's stored there. I had total forgotten about them being stored there, it brought back memories of seeing them on a trip at that time with quit a few 76's there as well. So one question would be were there any 76's stored there over that year that didn't move off site. Another question might be, what might I had seen on a regular basis that year at any of the above places, i.e. Shunters, derelicts or stored locos or units.
So hopefully your logs from the other places I have listed will stir something else up in my old memory. Maybe a Deltic or two or a class 52.
I don't know if this makes it any easy for any of you. I came across some scanned pages of note books on the photo website flickr. The guy had them up as Haulage logs. So it might be easy to scan an odd page now and then and send it in an attachment in an email. If that would make it easy for any of you.
You see I was also a plane spotter back then as well, again all those records where lost as well. I have spent several years getting back that data from 1974-89. Which is more or less complete now, so I can give my full attention to my trainspotting days. People would send me logs in all sorts of forms, written down on paper, scanned and sent in an email or just emailed from their computer data base. I would also make frequent trips to Central library in Manchester as they held Air Traffic Control Records. Also with collecting books and magazines of the period as well, helped build up my memory and of my lost logs. What I also found out is that the memory can cheat. You think you remember something about a certain time period or event and the records prove otherwise.
I will be trying other avenues to try and build up a picture of that era. I don't expect to get everything back, but if I get back odd snippets that would be fantastic and remember an odd loco that would be great.

regards
Albert from Stockport.
 
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4SRKT

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One of the things that's quite surprising on this forum is how young most people seem to be. When I started posting I was surprised by this because like most people my age (especially those who've been out of touch with the scene for a few years) I couldn't imagine what attraction there could possibly be in today's rail network. I've mellowed out on this considerably over the last couple of years TBH though.

It means there aren't that many posters who will have been spotting in 1976. I'm one of the older posters on here and although I was starting to take an interest in the railway at that time I was still very much in short trousers!
 

al20a

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I suppose a lot of the old spotters are in the great loco shed in the sky. I am not back spotting just yet! 1. Because I am having to be a nurse to my wife, who badly broke her ankle out walking in Castleton three weeks ago and won't recover for a few months yet. So I am in charge, cooking, cleaning, basically doing everything. 2, Want to get some memories back from the past first, while I have some time at home. 3, I do like the idea of looking for stored, scrapped or derelict locos, perhaps visiting some scrapyards like the one in Rotherham and also going to steam Railways. Which I have visited a few over the past few years whilst on family holidays.
 

4SRKT

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I suppose a lot of the old spotters are in the great loco shed in the sky. I am not back spotting just yet! 1. Because I am having to be a nurse to my wife, who badly broke her ankle out walking in Castleton three weeks ago and won't recover for a few months yet. So I am in charge, cooking, cleaning, basically doing everything. 2, Want to get some memories back from the past first, while I have some time at home. 3, I do like the idea of looking for stored, scrapped or derelict locos, perhaps visiting some scrapyards like the one in Rotherham and also going to steam Railways. Which I have visited a few over the past few years whilst on family holidays.


Snap! My wife is laid up in bed with a badly slipped disc, waiting on a date for an operation. I'm having to do everything, which combined with a job is hard work!

I've got back into the railway in the last 2-3 years in a big way after an absence of several years due to 'time of life' issues (young family, no spare cash, faintly disapproving wife etc). However, now I'm back with a vengeange and spend my spare time designing trips maximising interest while minimising cost. The trouble with that is that once they're designed, you feel compelled to do them! Now I've got a spare time issue as I've a considerable backlog of trips to be done!
 

Gordon

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I suppose a lot of the old spotters are in the great loco shed in the sky.

Ouch - steady on!
I hope I'm not yet heading for the great loco shed in the sky (I'm 51 this coming June).

More of a problem IMHO is that there was a reduction in the overall number of spotters after steam ended, and 1976 fell in that 'inbetween' era. It took some years for the generation of spotters interested in diesels to develop, reaching a new peak (pun intended) in the 1980s, when some diesels in turn became threatened with extinction.

I was spotting in 1976, but I'm afraid I didn't go to the Manchester side of the Pennines regularly, as I was born in Sheffield (my dad (still going strong aged 86...) taught the late Peter Fox at school) and lived in Mansfield from age 3 (1963) to age 17 (1977).
My grandfather was vicar of Wath upon Dearne so I spotted regularly at the Wath end of the Woodhead.

One of the things I do remember about 1976 was seeking out the new Class 56s by snooping around the peripheries of Shirebrook, Doncaster and Tinsley

Neverthless, I will look out my notebooks of the time to see if I made any trips to the area you describe.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Hi,
any old logs from 1976 of any locos, DMU's or EMU's from any of these places:- Piccadilly Station and Victoria stations Manchester, Longsight depot, York Station, Bristol Temple meads station, Newcastle station, Reddish depot, .

Without checking any notebooks, I can tell you the following from general railway knowledge and personal observation:

York: would have been all Deltic on the top link East Coast trains (HST didn't arrive until 1978), plus at York there were usually 25, 31, 37, 40 and 47 in evidence
DMUs included quite a few of the 1st generation DMU types including the BRCW types

Britsol Temple Meads would have seen 45, 46, 47, 52, but also 25 and 37

Longsight depot would have no doubt contained a fair few Class 40s
 

4SRKT

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DMUs included quite a few of the 1st generation DMU types including the BRCW types

From my earliest memories (a couple of years later), Metro-Cammell 101s and 111s, Derby 108s and Heavyweight 114s, BRCW 110s, with 104s much less common. the odd Cravens 105 turning up for added variety.
 

Saltleyman

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Ouch - steady on!
I hope I'm not yet heading for the great loco shed in the sky (I'm 51 this coming June).

More of a problem IMHO is that there was a reduction in the overall number of spotters after steam ended, and 1976 fell in that 'inbetween' era. It took some years for the generation of spotters interested in diesels to develop, reaching a new peak (pun intended) in the 1980s, when some diesels in turn became threatened with extinction.

I was spotting in 1976, but I'm afraid I didn't go to the Manchester side of the Pennines regularly, as I was born in Sheffield (my dad (still going strong aged 86...) taught the late Peter Fox at school) and lived in Mansfield from age 3 (1963) to age 17 (1977).
My grandfather was vicar of Wath upon Dearne so I spotted regularly at the Wath end of the Woodhead.

One of the things I do remember about 1976 was seeking out the new Class 56s by snooping around the peripheries of Shirebrook, Doncaster and Tinsley

Neverthless, I will look out my notebooks of the time to see if I made any trips to the area you describe.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


Without checking any notebooks, I can tell you the following from general railway knowledge and personal observation:

York: would have been all Deltic on the top link East Coast trains (HST didn't arrive until 1978), plus at York there were usually 25, 31, 37, 40 and 47 in evidence
DMUs included quite a few of the 1st generation DMU types including the BRCW types

Britsol Temple Meads would have seen 45, 46, 47, 52, but also 25 and 37

Longsight depot would have no doubt contained a fair few Class 40s

You would have seen (what later) were class 45's and 46's at York also, on Liverpool to Newcastle and Bristol and Cardiff to Newcastle trains.
 

al20a

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27 Feb 2011
Messages
13
Well Guys and those still living, I am 50 next January and the memory has finally awoken. It looks like I was out on the year for some of my further a field trips, instead of 1976. They where in 1977. I have three interesting dates from 1977 I am looking for. I am more than sure these where the dates of my trips that year. Does anyone have any logs that match these dates below at York, Newcastle or Bristol Temple Meads.

Sat 12th Feb 1977 Manchester Victoria to York.

These two where during the school holidays
Tue 22nd Feb 1977 Manchester Victoria to Newcastle,
Thur 24th Feb 1977 Manchester Piccadilly to Bristol Temple Meads.

A long shot I know, but ahey. Just thought it was worth asking.

regards
Albert
 

martinsh

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Well Guys and those still living, I am 50 next January and the memory has finally awoken. It looks like I was out on the year for some of my further a field trips, instead of 1976. They where in 1977. I have three interesting dates from 1977 I am looking for. I am more than sure these where the dates of my trips that year. Does anyone have any logs that match these dates below at York, Newcastle or Bristol Temple Meads.

Sat 12th Feb 1977 Manchester Victoria to York.

These two where during the school holidays
Tue 22nd Feb 1977 Manchester Victoria to Newcastle,
Thur 24th Feb 1977 Manchester Piccadilly to Bristol Temple Meads.

A long shot I know, but ahey. Just thought it was worth asking.

regards
Albert

Pity you didn't go to Bristol on Sat 26th Feb 1977, as that was the last day of the Westerns :roll: I was there (travelled from Oxford), I probably still have my notes from that day, but god knows where they are !

PS age = 52 !
 

Masboroughlad

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(Wednesday?) 2nd August 1976

Sheffield Division Merrymaker from Mexborough, Rotherham, Sheffield and Chesterfield to Torquay and Paignton. 45 039 throughout on a long rake (13-16?) of Mk1s (or did it seem long because I was 6!). Red hot day.

Adults £4.50 / Kids £2.25

Great day out had by me, my brother and my Dad! :D

(Can remember this, but ask me what happened last week and I'd struggle! lol :lol:)
 
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