Willesden depot lists 1983-1989

[kemal]

Hi to all members

I am thinking of starting a model layout of Willesden Depot with the variety of locos that were around at the time in 1983 - 1989. I wondered if any member has any records of Willesden Depot visits from the above years. Old Oak Common was probably visited by loads of enthusiasts around this time as well as both depots were both very close by to each other.

Thank you

Kemal Ali

 

[Cowley]

You’re going to need a big budget for this one!
I don’t unfortunately have any list left but I remember visiting a few times back then and seeing plenty of Intercity exec liveried 86s and 87s as well as standard blue ones of course.
Also 81s and 85s in standard blue. The ones I remember the most though were the remaining two class 82s (82008 was in smart IC exec livery) and 3 class 83s (83012 was also in Intercity livery but retained headcodes too) that were limited to 40mph and used on empty stock workings out of Euston.
If a layout featured any of those, especially the IC liveried ones then it could only be set there.
I also remember seeing 86401 pictured here:

Around Euston/Willesden back then.
Class 90s started appearing towards the end of your timescale too.
What scale are you thinking, there’s more models available in 00 I assume?

 

[Helvellyn]

If starting in the mid-1980s you have all 100 86s and 36 87s based at WN plus the aforementioned ECS 82s/83s for moves between Wembley and Euston. So 141 locos as a starting point for being based there.

You could include 86214 Sans Pareil and 86235 Novelty in Rainhill trials commeriation livery (and 87 style headlight); 87006 City of Glasgow in experimental large logo grey; Colwich crash victim 86429 THE TIMES which was short lived as an 86/4 in InterCity Executive colours; or unique Thyristor control 87101 STEPHENSON.

With the Class 86s consider which (and when) Class 86/0s became Class 86/3s and/or Class 86/4s. Also for the 86 and 87 fleet when they started to be fitted with the TDM multiple working cables. If you are going up to 1989 you also have the eight Class 86/2s that were converted for freight use as Class 86/5s. This lets you have some in Railfreight General livery (e.g. 86502 LLOYD'S LIST) complete with the 'Greyhound' roundel designated as the Willesden logo by Railfreight (and only carried as I recall by the 86/5s).

 

[Cowley]

It’s an expensive hobby when you start trying to recreate a busy prototypical place from that era.
I tried to do a rendition of a South West station on a summer Saturday during a similar era and realised that I needed at least three class 47s before I even got to the point of having a celebrity (you can’t have a depot full of ‘celebrity’ locos. It just doesn’t look right).
I ended up with twenty odd locomotives, and various rakes of stock to achieve this. It cost an absolute bomb!
It might be worth thinking about whether you want to model the whole depot (pretty big), or just a cameo bit of it?

 

[Rover]

Is this any good?
http://www.britishrailways.net/sheds/willesden.html

 

[Cowley]

I noticed that I had a Platform 5 motive power pocket book from 1987 (right in the middle of the timeframe).
This is a photo of the WN loco allocation during that period:



Might be useful?