When asked by Coastline Radio 97.7FM - a local radio station on the Costa del Sol - to talk about train spotting in the Sixties, the idea did not sit easily with me - and just as I feared, when I opened my mouth to speak, a lot of emotional twaddle came out. That's because the shock of seeing so many once-proud (and still serviceable) steam locomotives being towed away for scrap is engraved in granite, and stuff like that doesn't go away that easily. It was the end of civilization as I knew it.

But the misery didn't end there. When Beeching became BR chairman in 1961 he turned the screw even further. Not only did he orchestrate thousands of station closures, he slashed the railway network by half, and had the radio station given me a chance to explain this perplexing - and, some would say, chaotic background to train spotting in the Sixties - then I could have voiced my opinions in a more rational manner. But the producer didn't want a mind-numbing lecture on railway history - 'It might send listeners into a coma,' he said.

Well, he couldn't have put it more eloquently, though how anyone can describe the twilight years of steam as being deadly dull is the same as saying that people like me should be pitied and that's just asking for trouble. What the producer couldn't possibly understand - he was too young to know, or care - is that train spotting was the national hobby for boys during the Fifties; it cut right across all social classes and I wouldn't have missed it for all the world. 

That's why I started the 'David Hey's Collection' website back in 2007. It began as a rehabilitive form of exercise, a means of stimulating the last few remaining grey cells in retirement. The site is meant to be a hobby, pure and simple; it gives me the chance to showcase some old rail photos (and paintings) on the web and to share old train spotting memories with others.

Since then, however, the site has grown and grown, though this is not entirely down to me; the site would not have been possible without the generous help of dozens of photographers, all of whom have searched through old negatives, prints and slides to find suitable pictures to fill the gaps of my own collection. I am grateful to everyone, of course, but in an odd sort of way their help with photos has given rise to some misunderstanding. Fast-forward a couple of years and the domain name, 'David Hey's Collection' is something of a misnomer. It implies that the site contains photographs from my own collection; that all the photographs belong to me. THEY DON'T! Worse still, I risk delivering a snub to the dozens of cameramen whose generosity allows me to post so many photos on the site in the first place, which is definitely not what I intended. And in case you're wondering, the name 'David Hey's Collection' was chosen because the 'Embsay & Bolton Abbey Railway' and 'Lost railways of West Yorkshire' websites adopted this name back in 2007 (I contributed photos to both sites) and so I merely followed their lead. Meanwhile, I've decided to get back to basics - the original intention was to showcase old railway photos on the web - therefore I'm adding a page of my own reminiscences from bygone days. They may not be the best railway photographs in the world but they do rekindle fond memories of watching trains - well, the memories I can dredge up, that is. Unfortunately, forgetfulness is one of the foibles of old age - a senior moment, as it's often called - and it's not until you dig deeper into your subconsciousness (ferreting through memories shoved furthermost to the back of your mind) that the foggy confusion suddenly clears and the awful truth dawns...nostalgia is nothing like a rehabilitive exercise at all! 

(Right) Talking of anomalies…all artists nurture delusions of painting a masterpiece; it is the fabric that binds us together. We dream that one day our masterpiece will bring instant success and recognition for our work, and the chance of earning some proper money. Well, sorry to disillusion anyone, but in the real world it just doesn't work out that way - the pictures that fetch the highest prices have been painted by artists now deceased! This painting of 'Coronation' class No 46246 City of Manchester on the down 'Royal Scot' was inspired by Eric Treacy's shots of steam at Penrith.

Some helpful advice when viewing this page. Press F11 on the keyboard to empty the screen of all extraneous clutter (tool bars top-bottom etc) revealing a full-size webpage on screen. After clicking on super-wide images to view larger size, move cursor off the mage and right-click to return back to the page. You can press F11 on the keyboard again at any time to return to the original screen.

 

 

(Above-Below) Few artists can claim not to be inspired by a great photograph. I certainly have. The one man who has fired my enthusiasm for the Western Region is Dick Blenkinsop, whose books on the Western Region: 'Silhouettes'; 'Shadows'; 'Reflections' and 'Echoes' - to say nothing of his similarly titled books on the 'Big Four' - inspired me to seek out the locations he visited in South Devon. Needless to say, I hadn't a hope of replicating the great man's shots of steam days (see IC125 shot at bottom of page) but his photographs have always been a source of inspiration. In particular I recall his shot of 'Battle of Britain' class No 34061 73 Squadron heading a local Plymouth-Exeter train along the seal wall between Dawlish and Teignmouth. It appears in 'Echoes of the Big Four', in which he writes - 'it is not easy to obtain pictures of trains with a clear seascape in the background.' But there is! It's called artistic licence! And this is the result; a painting of 'King' class No 6024 King Edward 1 heading the 'down' 'Cornish Riviera Express' towards Teignmouth. Okay, I've turned the Earth on its axis (hence the sun is shining from the north) which might be taking artistic licence a step too far, but surely that's one of the joys of painting pictures…(below) another case of artistic licence that should be taken with a hefty pinch of salt! In this case a major siesmic shift in the earth's crust has moved Durham Cathedral quite some distance south in relation to the viaduct straddling the city! But then railway art is like railway modelling; you can do whatever you please, so long as it looks right in the end. I suppose the jury is still out on that one!

TRAINS, TRAIN SPOTTING, AND THE MEANING OF LIFE… 

If I had to find a plausible reason for compiling a website about train spotting, it is the chance of reviving memories of the best years of my life. I'd give anything to turn the clock back and re-enact the military-style hit-squad 'bunks' of engine sheds, the thrill of chasing 'cops' and the eye-popping moment I copped my las Class A4 'Streak' at Doncaster shed on May 23rd 1959. But then, sentimentality is a human condition that we all suffer from at one time or other, and this is especially the case as you get older and your memories become more distant. Trouble is, this business of regressing into second childhood can also bring with it a bagful of insecurities long since forgotten, and are best left alone. So I'll stick to writing a quirky account of spotting days peppered with anecdotes in an attempt to strip the hobby of its eccentric aura and make it look cool...some hope! It stcks in the craw that the public's perception of train spotters will probably never change.

Memories of Horsforth Station. The question most frequently asked by friends is - 'What on earth do you see in trains?' It's simple. As a small boy, the fascination for trains was handed down by one's peers - an older brother, for example, though there were thousands of boys, myself included, whose penchant for collecting engine numbers came from the simple pleasure of collecting things: stamps, cigarette cards, even birds' eggs. I'm harking back to a more innocent age when children fished for sticklebacks in the local beck (Brookfoot in Woodside) or played hopscotch, tiddlywinks and marbles. Indeed, there was little else to stimulate a boy's interest - no television, no computer games, and definitely no emporium-style toy shops awash with expensive playthings that perverts the sensibilities of today's kids. Instead, toddlers had to create our their amusement, and since I was born and raised within sight and sound of the Leeds-Harrogate line, the earliest childhood memory I have is watching the steady procession of steam trains(woo-woos) from my bedroom window overlooking Woodside in Horsforth. (Left) A Sixties view of Brookfoot Beck running alongside Horsforth Station. (Below Right) I can't work out what was achieved by the orgy of Beeching's cutbacks. Even if a station survived, the demolition of passenger facilities was a deplorable state of affairs. The demolition crew do their worst at Horsforth station in June 1972.The best chance of seeing trains at close quarters came on a Sunday evening when my family took a leisurely stroll through the woods to the Fox & Hounds pub near Horsforth station. I remember the two evening expresses (one in each direction) both headed by the strikingly handsome Class A4s based on Tyneside. The booked time for the 'down' train was approximately 7pm which coined its nickname the 7 o'clocker and the 'up' train became known as the 8 o'clocker for the same reason. The memories of those two Sunday-night streaks will never go away, for the sight and sound of an A4 was the defining moment which kick-started my interest in train spotting. Better still, being a relative newcomer to the hobby, my visits to Horsforth station produced a 100% success rate of cops, all carefully logged in an Ian Allan abc Locospotters Book, costing a princely sum of 1/3d (6½p) and backed in brown wrapping paper to protect it from the rigours of a day's spotting. But it wasn't long before my cop-rate had reached saturation point, and the same old engines appeared with monotonous regularity; even the more engaging express trains between Liverpool and Newcastle brought relatively few cops after a while. I decided it was time to move on to pastures new, and that's when I discovered another Horsforth station on the line between Leeds and Shipley - a four-track main line with engines galore...the chase was on!

 

(Above) Washday Blues! The 1S57 northbound 'Queen of Scots' Pullman tops the summit of Headingley Bank just north of Horsforth station in July 1962. The 'Queen of Scots' was the most luxurious train on the Leeds-Harrogate line - and what luxury! The carriages even had electric table lamps, which left an indelible impression on this youngster in the early Fifties. We lived in a house without electricity until 1954, and so there were no labour-saving devices such as fridge-freezers, vacuum cleaners and washing machines. Instead the household chores had to be done the hard way, especially on a washday. First a peggy tub was filled with hot water from the gas boiler. Then, as the dirtiest clothes soaked, the more stubborn stains were removed on a scrubbing board followed by strenuous possing - yes, possing! - before the heavy sheets and towels were rinsed in a stone sink, the whites soaked in water laced with Dolly Blue. Then, the clothes were squeezed through a mangle and 'pegged' out on the washing line to dry - what a palaver! For the record, the 'Queen of Scots' coaching stock is made up of an almost uniform rake of the new Metro-Cammel Pullman cars, first introduced on the London-Sheffield 'Master Cutler' Pullman in September 1960. They appeared on the 'Yorkshire Pullman' and 'Tees-Tyne' Pullman duties in January the following year. The 44 vehicles were used entirely on the East Coast main line services, but as no Pullman brake cars were built in the same order, the elderly flat-sided Pullman brakes were utilised. 

(Right) If I had to choose my best spotting moment, it was time I 'copped' my last Class A4 'Streak' 60031 Golden Plover at Doncaster shed on May 23rd 1959. It was a prized cop and I couldn't wait to tell my old spotting chum, Bonzo. Oh, big mistake! At one time he'd have blown up a storm, but he had more important things on his mind. He was all awash with debilitating testosterone - and Bonzo being Bonzo, it was more like a bloody tsunami. Verging on the cusp of manhood he had fallen madly in love with the delectable Sonia Barker, a 5th Form girl at school. For some reason he had the crazy notion that she found him irresistible and spent most days hanging around the school gates hoping to walk her home. Trouble is, Bonzo was the latest casualty that she'd hoodwinked into thinking her flirty sideways glances were meant especially for him - the truth is the only person she fancied was herself and, despite telling Bonzo for the umpteenth time that she wouldn't be seen dead in his company, he had some half-baked idea that she was playing hard to get. And that's when Bonzo screwed up badly. She had made it abundantly clear from the start that his feelings were not reciprocated, but he wouldn't take no for an answer and began shouting ribald invitations at her outside the school gates - more innuendo than anything else - then the obscenities began to flow. Now I don't know why I didn't try to stop him - laddish bluster, peer pressure? - perhaps both or neither, I haven't a clue. One thing for certain, though, the only cure for his animal passion was a rabies jab. His behaviour was totally at odds with the far-reaching hopes I had of my own for Sonia Barker in the back row of the 'flicks'. I was aware that a girl's perception of a potential suitor was based on the company a boy kept and Bonzo's outburst, for me, spelled the end of our friendship. Not only had he queered his own patch, he'd queered mine too -  it was the first lesson I learned about the ways of the world...sometimes you have to leave someone behind in order to grow and develop yourself.  

(Below) Each time I look at this photo of Saltaire station in 1984, I hold my hands up in reluctant surrender - this could well be me in a few years time! Contrary to appearances, however, not all Yorkshire folk are grim 'up north' stereotypes, who wear cloth caps, shove ferrets down trousers, clog dance in streets, breed whippets and race pigeons, and live on a diet of pork scratchings. These gentlemen could well be ex-train spotters reminiscing about old times when the old MR Anglo-Scottish expresses plied the Aire Valley route between Leeds and Skipton and local passenger services were hauled by Midland 1P 0-4-4Ts. How times have changed! The station at Saltaire was demolished soon after closure on 20th March 1965, but the service was resumed on 9th April 1984 when the enterprising West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (WYPTE) financed a new station, built generously in local stone in keeping with the famous Sir Titus Salt's mill complex; the village of Saltaire is one of the finest examples of an intact Victorian industrial villages in England 

 

(Above) My first railway photographs were taken on my sister's battered Kodak Brownie 127 camera, which I borrowed for spotting trips to Doncaster and York; it was the most basic camera in the Kodak range and the results were poor, but it whetted my appetite for buying a new Halina 35X 35mm camera out of mum's mail order catalogue. Trouble is, I had such low expectations of success I daren't take the camera out of its leather case (I hadn't a clue what the range of shutter speeds and 'f' numbers on the lens barrel meant). Then a more experienced photographer gave me a quick lesson on aperture settings and optimum shutter speeds - he's the gentleman on the left winding the film on in his camera. He explained that my camera's maximum shutter speed was 1/200sec; the largest aperture f3.5 and the film I had loaded in the camera had an ASA rating too! Reassured by his five-minute lesson, I photographed Class A1 No 60116 Hal o' the Wynd on the 'up' 'Heart of Midlothian' on April 20th 1960. No 60116 was one of 17 locomotives in the class which perpetuated names borne by the former NBR 'Atlantics' and 'Scott' class engines after characters in the books of Sir Walter Scott - Hal o' the Wynd was the blacksmith in 'The Fair Maid of Perth'. The remainder were named after racehorses, birds and the names associated with the LNER's constituent companies and their loco superintendents. (Below) Later that same day, I knew all there was to know about the basics of photography...a likely story! I was an impetuous clever-clogs, who hadn't the foggiest notion what I was doing! When I took this shot of Class A3 No 60064 Tagalie restarting a train for Newcastle beneath the great arched roof at York station on April 20th 1960, it's a marvel that I got any picture at all, I grant you that. The friendly photographer I mentioned earlier advised me to keep a record of shutter speeds and aperture setting for every photograph I took, so in the event of photographing a similar one in the future at least I'd have a guideline… excellent advice as it turned out. On the left, a BRCW 3-car set awaits departure for Scarborough. The dmu service commenced on March 17th 1960, replacing most of the weekday steam-hauled passenger services to the Yorkshire coast, the majority of which were through workings from Leeds.

(Below) Click on links to four pages of 1950s-60s nostalgia...

(Above) Class 8F No 48209 heads a Leeds-Carlisle goods on June 11th 1962. Amazingly, the Class 8F (introduced in 1935) was still doing the job for which it was designed - hauling heavy freight - right up to the end of steam days in 1968...a fitting testimony to Stanier's design.

(Left-Below) It's extraordinary how some photographs can whisk you back to a moment in the past, overwhelming you with vivid, sometimes quite forgotten images of childhood. One such place is the retaining wall in Newlay Cutting on the Aire Valley line between Leeds and Shipley, which provided a perfect grandstand view of trains in both directions. In 1960-61 it became a veritable hiding place where I could indulge my passion for watching trains without any bigoted gazes heading my way…the spotting fraternity was stigmatised even then.  To the indigenous wildlife in the cutting, however, I must have cut a rather reclusive, enigmatic figure sitting there for hours on end beneath the overhanging trees, spending most of the day shaded from the sunlight shimmering through the canopy of leaves. But then I've always had a love of the great outdoors and despite the hectic railway timetable, the cutting was as close to nature as anyone could get. In between the stately passage of trains (steam still carried considerable clout in those days) the peace and tranquillity of the cutting suited me just fine, since it was a rural idyll that few people knew about and I claimed it as my own. As the months passed by and my visits became more frequent, a tacit understanding seemed to develop between this intruder and the local wildlife; the birds became more daring, the rabbits and squirrels more inquisitive, though I suspect this had more to do with the scraps of food I left behind, which had all gone when by the time I returned the next day...because there was always a next day, and the day after that - and in no time at all the days had turned into weeks, the weeks into months and I was metamorphosing into Tarzan. However, I had good reason for my bohemian existence, and it's pointless hiding behind any fancy rhetoric to justify what I did. I should have been at school, but I hated the drudgery of school lessons and spent the best part of a year avoiding school. I became a serial truant; the prospect of going to school filled me with loathing, and the cutting was the only place I could escape. Alas, I did get caught in the end, although I'm not sure if it was a teacher who spotted me, or someone in class that snitched - whatever the reason, I was hauled before the Headmaster, who told me in no uncertain terms that unless I attended school for the remainder of the year, he would impose an extra term on my education…and he wasn't joking! A whole year of school rules, regulations and discipline was my worst nightmare, so I had no choice. I went to school, realised how much catching up I had to do, and regretted wasting a precious education! (Below) The same spot, but looking quite different in 2004...

(Above-Below) An 'up' train headed by 'Jubilee' class No 45677 Beatty passes 2-6-4T No 42072 working an express from the south on the final leg between Leeds City and Bradford Forster Square. (Below) With the Aire Valley route now dequadrified between Leeds and Shipley, Class 47 No 47541 The Queen Mother heads the lightweight 16.10 Leeds-Carlisle through Newlay Cutting on 20th June 1983. The Queen Mother became the first member of the Royal Family to name a locomotive after herself at Aberdeen on Wednesday October 20th 1982. The nameplate was unveiled during a visit to the Granite City to attend a civic function. (Inset) Holbeck's 'Royal Scot' class No 46117 Welsh Guardsman storms through the cutting with the northbound 'Thames-Clyde Express' in March 1960.   

 

(Above-Below) Class 9F 2-10-0 No 92111 ambles through Apperley Bridge & Rawdon with a mixed goods for Healy Mills in March 1962. (Below) The LMS 6P5F 2-6-0 'Crab' was essentially a Hughes design built under the direction of Sir Henry Fowler. The angled cylinders necessitated raising the front portion of the running board, which gave the parallel boiler a squat appearance between the frames and earned the 245 members of the class the nickname 'Crabs'. The first engine didn't emerge from Horwich works until after Hughes retired as CME of the LMS in 1925 and his successor, Henry Fowler, made several changes to the original plans, including the pairing of a much narrower tender. A group of spotters note down the number of No 42895 heading a light parcels train out of Thackley Tunnel between Leeds and Shipley in June 1963.

 

 

(Above) A typical view of the Calder Valley, where the small town of Hebdon Bridge - 'The Pennine Centre' - is enclosed by steep hillsides. It is well worth the climb to enjoy the spectacular view of the river, road and canal winding through the valley. The shot graphically illustrates how well the railway blends into the landscape compared to say that of a motorway, which, with a minimum width of traffic lanes, hard shoulders and a central reservation would look truly awful in such a setting, let alone the intrusion of noise - one has only to witness the devastating effect that the M6 has had on the tranquillity of the Lune Valley in Cumbria. Here, a pair of Calder Valley units - one in each direction - is barely discernible amongst the trees. Out of all the Pennine rail links, only the Settle-Carlisle, Hope Valley line, Standedge and Calderdale routes have survived the Beeching era, which is more than can be said for the Waverley, Stainmore and Peak Forest routes.

(Below) Introduced in 1960, the Birmingham Railway & Carriage Co (TOPS Class 110) dmus were built for the steeply graded Calder Valley line across the Pennines. Two 6-cylinder engines powered the 3-car sets in order to gain the additional horsepower necessary to maintain the tight point-to-point schedules. By January 1962, the Leeds-Bradford-Manchester route was served by an hourly service with some trains running throughout between Harrogate and Liverpool. In this view of the upper reaches of Calderdale, a 3-car Calder valley set (forming the 13.58 Manchester-Leeds) descends from the 2,885 yard-long Summit Tunnel to Todmorden in July 1984. In the foreground is Gauxholme Viaduct, which carries the railway over the Rochdale Canal. The original turreted skew bridge consisted of a self-contained iron arch bridge that supported the deck system by means of hangers, but was reinforced with girders by the LMS in 1905.

 

(Above) The ever-dwindling traces of closed branch lines are still comparatively easy to follow, while others have been obliterated with the passing of years. The former NE and Midland Railway route linking Arthington Junction on the Leeds-Harrogate line with the Leeds-Ilkley route at Burley in Wharfedale lost its passenger service on March 3rd 1965, involving the closure of Otley and Pool in Wharfedale stations. In misty conditions, Class J39 No 64920 takes the Otley branch at Arthington station with the daily pick-up goods from Leeds on 3 January 1961. 

 

(Above-Below) In between photographing the LMR's allocation of new EE Co Type 4s, including shots of the class working the 'Royal Scot' in both directions at Hest Bank see (Class 40 page) I had just about given up hope of catching a 'Coronation' class on an express until No 46242 City of Glasgow appeared heading a southbound train. (Below) After my Halina 35X camera let me down in such a ruinous fashion  - see Tebay, Lune Valley & Shap page on the original site - I bought an Agfa Silette 35mm camera, but with slow film speeds and inaccurate guesses on which f-stop to use, railway photography was still a hit and miss affair, and shots of fast moving trains in dull weather were usually avoided. However, if it looked good in the viewfinder, then it was always worth a chance. This shot of 'Coronation' class 8P No 46238 City of Carlisle is a case in point. The engine is scooping up more than enough water from Dillicar troughs during a sudden downpour in May 1961.

 

With the passing of years, our old snapshots can become valuable archive material for a variety of reasons. The two photographs of Beeston Junction show a scene that has changed dramatically over the years. With ever-increasing demands for modern housing and purpose-built industrial units, there seems to be no stopping property developers making inroads into 'green-belt' areas. Today, a modern out-of-town shopping centre occupies the fields on the extreme left, whilst the post-war pre-fab housing at Cottingley in the distance has been replaced by high-rise tower blocks - and typical of the motorway extravagances in the region, the Leeds Ring Road has been upgraded to serve the busy M62 at Junction 28. (Top) Stanier 2-6-4T heads empty coal wagons towards Leeds. The loops on either side of the main line were once the start of a fly-over junction with the Batley Branch, which closed to passenger traffic on 29 October 1951. (Below)  The same spot twenty years on, but a view already consigned to history following the completion of the ECML electrification scheme connecting Leeds with the main line at Doncaster - a 3-car Metro-Cammell dmu heads towards Wakefield in 1983.

 

(Above) There are those with fallible memories who believe that station closures are exclusive to Beeching. Not so! Between 1948 and 1955 (from nationalisation to the Modernisation Plan) the British Transport Commission (BTC) approved the closure of 100 passenger services and 324 stations. The outer tracks at Beeston Junction once formed the start of a fly-over junction with the Batley Branch, which closed to passenger traffic on 29th October 1951. The 'down' track crossed the main line by a flyover, which can be seen in the background of this August 1961 shot of Class A1 60117 Bois Roussel heading a Leeds-bound goods. Tingley Gas Works can be seen on the horizon.  

(Below) A photograph doesn't necessarily have to be valuable archive material; it may simply trigger a distant memory. For example, John Booth dropped a line - 'Just found the picture of Class A1 60117 on your website page (BR Steam Days Leeds 1) which brings back many happy memories for me. Now aged 73, I recall spending countless hours train spotting at Beeston Junction as a boy. My disabled grandmother lived in the ground floor flat of the first house facing Dewsbury Road; it is just visible behind the left hand side of clump of trees to the right of the roadside telegraph pole. My mother and I visited almost every other day to help care for her, and a kindly neighbour kept an eye on her when we were not there. In the bottom left hand corner can be seen a wooden fence on which I sat. Many a time the signalman would order us to get off the fence. I suppose (technically) we were trespassing, though I cannot recall ever actually doing anything wrong. Although my favoured position was the other side of the bridge to where this photo was taken, the view as illustrated is the better vantage point. It may be that I was told not to cross to the other side of the line so that my mother could see me from my grandmother's flat; the door now has a white surround and can be seen on the gable end on the shaded side of the house. Many thanks for bringing back so many memories, John…'

(Above-Below) Staying on the subject of valuable archive material (hope I'm not jumping the gun here!) I was trawling through my old railway negatives and came across these two oldies from 1960, both showing EE Co Type 4s 'whistling' up the bank from Leeds to Horsforth at the head of Liverpool-Newcastle expresses. There is nothing spectacular about these photos and they would never have seen the light of day in the normal way, but the location is the former AR Briggs & Co Ltd quarry in Clayton Woods which has recently been identified as a potential site for redevelopment. Among the proposals put forward is the provision of a new railway station, which (subject to putting in place the necessary highway infrastructure on the A6120 Ring Road) will help alleviate the parking congestion at Horsforth; the station at Horsforth is the last on the Leeds-Harrogate line to fall within the auspices of the WYPTE. The proposed Woodside station offers by far the best solution in minimising the need for commuting by road into Leeds - not to mention the prospect of easing the traffic congestion it causes. Indeed, why not go the full hog and provide a rail link to Leeds & Bradford airport? This could diverge from the Leeds-Harrogate line just beyond Horsforth station (see 'Queen of Scots' Pullman photo above). Ironically, the planned Park & Ride facilities at Woodside will occupy the site of the short-lived station opened by the NER in 1850, only to be closed fourteen years later…the words 'rising', 'ashes' and 'phoenix' spring to mind!

 

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT! SUPER-WIDE VIEWS, SOME TWICE THE SCREEN WIDTH... 

(Above-Below) A Paddington-bound 1C125 powers through Sonning Cutting. (Below) Holbeck's newly-acquired Class A3 No 60082 Neil Gow (named after the 1911 2,000 Guineas winner) passes the disused platforms at Holbeck Low Level with the 'up' 'Thames-Clyde Express' in May 1961. The lattice signal gantry on the right controlled traffic to Wellington Street Goods Depot and Leeds Central station. On the left are siding serving the gasworks, and in the middle distance the former MR Wortley Junction signalbox. The name Wortley Junction is now given to the present day divergence of the Harrogate line from the route to Bradford, Skipton and Ilkley near Armley Bridge. Holbeck Low Level station closed on 5th July 1958.

(Above) I have fond memories of photographing the two Anglo-Scottish expresses on my local line between Leeds and Shipley. Prior to the arrival of the BR/Sulzer 'Peak' class Type 4 diesels, a variety of steam power worked both expresses north of Leeds - 'Jubilees', 'Scots' and BR Standard 'Britannia' classes, all based at Holbeck shed - but the most surprising allocation was the eight Class A3s transferred from Tyneside due to the cascading effect of dieselisation on the ECML It was a welcome move for Holbeck crewmen, as most of the A3s were fitted with the double Kylchap blastpipe which produced a freer steaming engine and gave fireman an easier time over the steeply-graded Settle-Carlisle line. In this view (above) Class A3 No 60086 Gainsborough heads the northbound 'Thames-Clyde' though Whitehall Junction in May 1961. The two turntables at Holbeck shed were found unsuitable for turning the Gresley Pacifics - length 70ft 5ins - hence sister A3 No 60082 Neil Gow (just visible in the right background) is being turned on the triangular junction to the west of Leeds station, while an 'Austerity' is awaiting a clear road on a down freight.

(Left) Being Yorkshire-born and bred, I was brought up on a mix of ex-LMSR 'Royal Scot' and 'Jubilee' classes, together with the prestigious 'A' class Pacifics belonging to the former LNER, so the Southern Region engines were all foreign to me. I remember borrowing books of trains from the local library, and pictures of the ex-Southern Railway's 'Spam Cans' in their original form (with air-smooth casing) looked strange to me. Odder still, under the Southern Railway's numbering scheme the Bullied Pacifics carried a 21C prefix that represented the continental system of wheel arrangement - the number of axles on the bogie was denoted by a '2', followed by a '1' for the pony truck, and the six driving wheels were represented by the letter 'C'. It wasn't until I'd reached my teens in the early 1960s that I visited the Southern Region. By then, most of the Bullied Pacifics had been rebuilt - and, whilst not wishing to incur the wrath of SR fans, they looked like proper engines with their streamline casings removed. The Bullied Light Pacific was essentially a scaled-down version of the earlier 'Merchant Navy' class introduced in 1941. The new engines were named after cities, towns and tourist spots in south-west England, and became known as the 'West Country' class, whereas later examples had wartime commemorative names, mostly taken from RAF Squadrons associated with the Battle of Britain. Here, 'West Country' class No 34092 City of Wells (built at Brighton in 1949 - preserved in 1971) heads the 'Scarborough Spa Express' out of Leeds in the 1980s. Today, no fewer than 20 have been preserved, nine of them in unrebuilt condition, which is a fitting tribute to the Bulleid design.

(Below) Fast forward twenty-odd years and the scene has radically changed at Whitehall Junction. This 1983 view shows one of the 'First Generation' Class 108 dmus (built to designs conceived during the 1950s) which, by the time this photograph was taken 30-odd years later, were a long way past their best. In 1975 BR introduced a refurbishing programme, including repainting, improved heating and ventilation, soundproofing and general improvements to the interior. The treatment may have been tangible proof of the worthiness of the old stock, but it also served to underline the need for more modern vehicles; it wasn't until 1984 that BR embarked on the replacement of its existing fleet with the introduction of the second-generation dmus, including the new Class 14X 'Pacer' and Class 15X 'Sprinter' types. I sat here for hours watching trains coming and going; the junction is less than a mile from the city centre, yet the grassy bank was like a green oasis amidst the industrial setting. Behind me is the busy Armley gyratory road system, but the distant hum of traffic was barely noticeable as the dmu rattled past on its way to Harrogate. Note these are a 'super wide images' - click on photos once, then again to see the full wide-angle shots.  

 

(Above-Below) The view from Nineveh Road overlooking Holbeck shed yard was a popular venue for weekend spotters in steam days. The shed (20A) came under the auspices of the North Eastern Region in 1957 and was subsequently re-coded 55A, along with its sub-depots bearing suffixes B-G in the regional reshuffle. Here, Class 8F No 48083 trundles empty flat wagons through Engine Shed Junction towards Stourton. In the shed yard, Stanier 'Black Fives' are accompanied by a pair of Class 25 diesels and a solitary Class 03 diesel shunter with its distinctive striped cab. The shed closed its doors to steam on September 30th 1967 and the buildings and No 1 type concrete coaling tower was demolished in 1970 - the structure had two bunkers that could hold 300 tons of coal and was able to service two engines at a time. (Below) This view was taken from the former LNW viaduct on 6th July 1982 during an ASLEF dispute. The scene shows the fuelling point (built on the site of the coaling stage) and the diesel maintenance depot (on the extreme right) containing two repair shops with 200ft tracks and a large overhead crane. In the foreground, a variety of diesel locomotives, including Class 08s, 31s, 40s and 45 'Peaks' - it's a far cry from shed's allocation of famous steam classes, which included 'Claughtons', unrebuilt 'Patriots', Stanier 'Jubilees' and rebuilt 'Scots', BR Standard 'Britannias' and Gresley A3s. Sadly, all are now but just a memory. 

 

(Above-Below) How many of today's adult enthusiasts wish they had taken more railway photographs when they had chance? I certainly do - and I would have done a lot more - but, as ever, reality was not so clear cut. For one thing, most of the kids I knocked around with didn't understand my passion for photographing trains. In their view, it was juvenile and 'square', and the question most frequently asked was - why did I do it? But why not? Perhaps they thought I was not quite the full shilling, unhinged, probably certifiable, but I felt neither shame, regret or even a shred of guilt for what I did. I had embarked on a personal crusade to record the railway scene before it vanished completely and no amount of peer pressure was going to be intimidate me. But the rules of engagement were about to change. As dieselisation got into its stride, visits to the lineside might yield the odd photograph of steam, but for the most part I had to satisfy myself with taking pictures of dreary-looking diesel multiple units. Alas, railway photography had taken on a whole new meaning, since BR's stock of motive power seemed to consist of only run-down steam classes and equally drab-looking diesels and, if truth be told, the enjoyment gone out of railway photography. The lack-lustre railway scene was a truly depressing sight and I could see no point in watching steam's imminent demise in such a lametable state. At the beginning of 1961, an hourly service of 3-car dmus commenced between Leeds and Huddersfield. The Standedge route was complimented by a two-hourly service throughout to Manchester, along with the introduction of EE Type 4 (Class 40) haulage on the Newcastle-Liverpool service. In this vew, a 3-car Metro-Cammell set (Class 101) departs from Ravensthorpe station in April 1962.On the right are the Calder Valley lines looking towards Healey Mills and the site of the ex-L&Y Thornhill Station, closed in 1952. The aged semaphores were replaced when signalling came under the control of the power box at Healey Mills in 1970. 

(Above-Below) Class 45 'Peak' No 45111 Grenadier Guardsman emerges from Standedge Tunnel with the 12.05 Liverpool-Scarborough in May 1983. On the right is the Huddersfield Narrow Canal, less than 7fy wide, which enters the hillside through a 5,456 yard long bore at a lower level beneath the railway. The bridge carries overspill water from a local reservoir. (Below) Phil Spencer captures the whole scene looking in the opposite direction, as 6201 Princess Elizabeth heads the return leg of the Railway Touring Co's 'Scarborough Flyer' on 20th August 2010. Phil adds: What a wet, miserable night! Several photographers called it a day. The light faded so fast that I ended up taking this shot n virtual darkness at 8.35pm on a Nikon D3 using a 70-200mm Nikkor lens at 3200 iso - the exposure was 1/125 sec at f5. The train had been put into the Marsden Loop for some 25 minutes before getting up steam for the climb through Standedge Tunnel  to Diggle.

(Above-Below) The NYMR is host to several diesels - the first one being Class 24 No D5032 which arrived on the line following a request by the Forestry Commission for a cessation of steam working during the hot summer of 1976. The fire risk within the National Park is always a problem, and the introduction of a well balanced steam-diesel fleet has offered a solution to the hazard of steam operation through the coniferous forests. The tabular hills of the North Yorkshire Moors can be clearly seen as D5032 runs downhill through Newtondale in 1983. (Below) Following the reduction in rail traffic over the Settle-Carlisle line its future was in some doubt. Its decline as a major rail artery culminated with the re-routing of the scheduled Nottingham-Glasgow expresses via the Hope Valley line which clearly revealed BR's intention to demise the S&C (by re-routing traffic away from the S&C it effectively reduced its importance as a major rail link, thus making closure an easier option). The blunt disclosure by BR of the deterioration of the quarter mile long viaduct at Ribblehead and the cost of repair was given as the main reason for the decision to close the line. But it wasn't until August 1983 that the rumour of closure was confirmed. By then, only a modicum of freight, together with two daily passengers services in each direction formed the line's regular service. The announcement saw the start of the longest public hearing ever held by the Transport Users Consultative Committee. Here, Class 31 heads the 16.35 Carlisle-Leeds past the remote Blea Moor Sidings on 23rd June 1983. Super-wide image - click on image once, then again to see extra-wide view.

 

THE FIFTIES AND SIXTIES REMEMBERED...HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL  

For countless thousands of post-war baby boomers, the less-worldy 1950s was the very foundation upon which society was formed. There was a wonderful sense of belonging and instilled in every child was an appreciation of traditional family respectability, and an even stronger sense of moral values. Even so, we didn't always see eye to eye with parents; throughout the Fifties wartime stringencies were very much in evidence and many families had to struggle to make ends meet therefore children had a somewhat repressive upbringing. Discipline was strict and when children stepped out of line, school teachers and parents didn't hesitate to give a child a hefty clip around the ear for daring to complain about their lot  - 'Brave men fought and died in the war for your freedom' was the mantra. It was enough to silence even the most dissenting voices.
    Clearly the rules of propriety were defined by World War 2 and children learned the differences between right and wrong from a very early age, which is more than can be said for the today. Too often, it seems, the traditional values that we were taught in the Fifties - no matter how authoritarian they now seem - has given way to a casual and selfish attitude, and the only thing that children seem to care about is themselves and the pretentious lifestyle that the celebrity culture brings. Crying out loud! - what today's kids lack is firm discipline and solid role models, not some jumped-up 'here today, gone tomorrow' celebrity...

For all its strictness, however, the Fifties was a great place to be; quite apart from halcyon days of train spotting, we were actively encouraged by parents to play outside in the fresh air; we ran errands for elderly neighbours and had a share in the household chores; we walked to school, climbed trees and played rough and tumble games in the street, we were even allowed to go train spotting to faraway places such as Crewe above and below (Brownie 127 shots) and if we minded our manners, a sweet was rewarded as a special treat. 
    A well-mannered child was the embodiment of respectibility for parents, but in a child's mind the sweet was a bribe and just about sums up the hypocrisy of the 1950s. Because certain things about childhood still bug me today and it's taken me until now to speak of it. 
    I'm harking back to a more innocent age when coalmen delivered to the door, and rag 'n' bone men clip-clopped down the street with a horse and cart. In those day black people were an exotic rarity: they wore jazzy costumes, sang calypso songs and limbo danced under burning poles. Equally rare were fitted carpets; we had polished lino in the front room that looked like a wall-to-wall pizza with swirling colours that made me feel 'thee-thick'... 
    As you can see I hadn't any social skills to speak of, but even at that age I was aware of an outpouring of deference by grown ups which led to children developing an inferiority complex that took years to shake off. I'm talking about the suffocating Hyacinth 'Bouquet'-style pretences that seemed to permeate the very fibre of the nation's consciousness; it had something to do with respectability, conformity and a firm belief in prurience, primness, restraint and trust; it was supposed to be the backbone of a society that taught children to respect their elders and neighbours.
    Now I'm not sure when I first became aware of this special kind of inverted snobbery that working class folk reserved for anyone better off than themselves, and I certainly had no idea why they had such high regard for posh folk. Even more curious, I couldn't understand why their heavily-accented 'Ee-bah gum! Ecky-thump!' voices suddenly changed into a hoity-toity pitch when addressing such company - in those days, getting ideas above your station, or social climbing in any shape or form, was seriously frowned upon by women exchanging idle gossip over back garden walls.
    Crazier still, this inverted snobbery wasn't confined to my family, everyone in the street seemed hell-bent on keeping up with the Jones's. Okay, you didn't see any fancy cars parked in the street (unless the Doctor called) nor would you find any telltale phone lines leading to a neighbour's roof (telephones were for toffs) yet there was plenty of evidence of houses boasting the fanciest white net curtains in front windows and the shiniest cardinal red doorsteps, though it wasn't a case of trying to outdo one's neighbours; it was more a question of ambition. In other words, working class people were simply trying to keep up appearances, which, in view of the harshness of those times, stands to reason, doesn't it? 
    After all, where would this country be without pretensions? If we didn't try to make the most of ourselves, then nobody would budge an inch from the manner into which they were born, and society would end up reverting back to Dickensian days of waifs and serfs donning their hats to the gentry. That's the difference with a modern society; if everyone valued their ordinary surroundings we'd be a happier nation. The class neurosis began to wane in the 1960s; the social hierarchy may have subscribed to its stuck-up assumptions about the right order of things, but as more and more doors opened it became relatively easier for the less well-off to improve their lot - just as long as you didn't let go of your values nor forget the three 'Rs' - respect for yourself, respect for others and responsibility for your actions.

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