WELCOME TO DAVID HEY'S COLLECTION    

This site is growing!...
Over 1,300 photos of BR steam/diesels during the 1950-60s and 1980s

'TRANSITION FROM STEAM'

 

(Above) Take a look at this! Have you any idea what it is? Another cracking shot from my non-anorak chum, Phil Spencer, whose journalistic approach to raiway phtography goes to prove that a prerequisite for taking a good railway photograph doesn't neccessarily require an actual 'real' train in the shot. Click on photo to find the answer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

(Above) Human nature being as it is, we're inclined to view the past through rose-tinted glasses, hence this site is constantly being updated with photos from old steam days. However, in view of the number of emails requesting shots of diesels taken during the 1980's it's abundantly clear that nostalgia isn't exclusive to the curmudgeonly over-Fifties! Point taken...if blue diesels are your bag then click on photo for link to 1980s page. 

This website is intended to be a good-humoured look at contemporary attitudes and lifestyles; a personal observation of a gentler, more innocent age. The railway photos cover a period from the 'Dowdy Fifties' to the vibrant 'Swinging Sixties' which, for my generation of post-war 'baby-boomers' (brought up on a diet of jam butties and roly-poly pudding) was something of a 'Boy’s Own' adventure, if you like. But there is a serious side to this website  too. It is the growing sense that if we lose sight of our past then we may as well say goodbye to the future.

That's easier said than done, however, for having started the 'David Hey's Collection' back in 2007, I've been happy to let change happen at its own pace and updated pages as I went along rather than reaching some kind of deadline. As a consequence, some pages are unfinished, others put together in a haphazard fashion. Truth is, this website started out as a rehabilitive form of exercise - a hobby and nothing more. I did it for my own amusement.

But now the time has come to get a grip. After all, this collection would not have been possible without the generous help 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. Their photos deserve to be displayed in the best possible way, so I'm replacing the original thumbnail images with large-size photos to fit the page. The whole point of the collection  is to build the best website possible and give something back to the community. Please note - if the text in the photo is illegible, then 'click' on the image as you would a thumbnail to see the correct size - example below.     

           Polite notice: all text and photos are protected by copyright. Reproduction prohibited  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although the history Britain's railways should be taken seriously, some pages on this site are pitched in a light-hearted fashion to relieve the tedium; contrary to popular belief we are not all 'nerds', 'geeks' and 'anoraks'! Hopefully it will give you a measure of the 'knockabout' banter amongst enthusiasts. After all, we enjoy a joke - often at our own expense - though the delivery might be so deadpan that non-enthusiasts might fail to recognise the bone-dry humour.

For example, the photo below contains a personal stock of memories.  The painting of Class A4 Pacific No. 60020 Guillemot (on the floor) heading the 'up' Elizabethan through York raised a few smiles when it appeared in the May 1988 issue of ‘Railway Magazine’ together with the caption: 'This illustration - used on the jacket of the Oxford Publishing Company’s book 'Northern Steam Remembered' by David Hey and Peter Batty - involved the publishers in considerable correspondence as this locomotive, never having been fitted with a corridor tender, was not rostered for the Elizabethan. However, it was a particular favourite of the artist, whose explanation is that it had substituted for a failed diesel!' True, I did say that, but it was a lame excuse to make. No 60020 - a Gateshead engine all its life, and one of eleven A4’s coupled with a non-corridor tender - was a regular visitor to Leeds and I must have seen it countless times. However, the mistake was later redeemed by P.W.B. Semmens, who wrote in his Railway Practice & Performance feature (tongue in cheek, I might add) ‘I was amused by the caption to David Hey’s painting of Guillemot on the 'up' Elizabethan leaving York, and would confirm that there must have been some major failure that day. The 'up' line out of York station runs almost exactly south-west, and the light in the picture is very clearly coming from the left-hand side as viewed, which means the time must have been about 7pm - long after the train’s booked time!'   Bless you, Mister Semmens…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 



 

 

 NEW LINKS: Fast track navigation to New Pages (Left), BR Region Pages and BR Diesels (Below). Click on image to visit the page, then click on 'X' top right screen to return to this page. Meanwhile, the main menu will direct you to every single page on the site. The main menu is perhaps the best way to navigate the full site.  

As I recall it, the end of steam overshadowed everything in the Sixties, but locking away one’s feelings will not dispose of them, rather it evokes a lot more feelings besides. Once you start unearthing childhood memories long lost in the mists of time a much bigger story begins to unfold. As you get older you begin to develop an extraordinary affection for old red telephone boxes, Dinky Toys, Hornby Dublo trains, Vespa scooters, frog-eyed Sprites, old bangers with running boards and starting handles - even women PCs in stockings and suspenders. Indeed, much of what has disappeared during the past fifty years means something special to someone in one form or other, especially BR steam in everyday service. 

But there must be countless thousands of ex-spotters like me who still bear the emotional scars of abandoning their allegiance to steam during the 1960s. Many abstained from the hobby as a matter of principle, others in reluctant surrender, but whatever the reason the overall feeling was that as steam had outlived its usefulness, then so had our interest in trains - a view in which I managed to persist until the bitter finale came in August 1968, and there were just five steam locomotives left: 3 Black 5s Nos 44781, 44871, 45110; a solitary 8F No 48448 and the last working 'Britannia' No 70013 Olver Cromwell.

 
Click photos below to visit the relevant web page.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 


  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But modernisation didn't effect everyone. The spotting community was made up of countless thousands of youngsters, who, by virtue of their youth had no way of knowing what had gone before, so with the introduction of charismatic diesels like the 'Peaks', 'Deltics', 'Warships' and 'Westerns', the end of steam mattered little to them - and, if truth be told, even die-hard steam enthusiasts had to admire the performances of the new diesels. At the same time,  BRs decision to name diesel locomotives was a commendable policy. The fitting of bodyside nameplates and, in some cases ornamental regimental crests, upheld a tradition  going back donkey's years which added a certain panache to the new diesel fleet. 

By 1965, BR's diesel fleet entered the much-maligned era of the 'Corporate Identity Programme' and the newly-formed British Rail Board (BRB) decreed that everything had to conform to a given standard. The BRB's design panel advised British Rail on the best means of attaining a high level of appearance by introducing a new livery for diesel and electric locomotives, passenger coaches, freightliner rolling stock and ships, along with the use of a new barbed wire logo, based upon the idea of two-way traffic movement. The diesel fleet's unimaginative colour scheme (devoid of a two-tone livery and bodyside lining) wasn't helped by the BRB's strict policy forbidding any concession to livery changes, which deprived depot staff of any incentive to take a pride in their particular traction, and it wasn't until the late 1980’s that the BRB finally adopted a more enlightening approach for its newly-launched Regional Services and Sectors.

(Right) But I’m getting ahead of myself...back in the Sixties the British Rail Board's (BRB's) Corporate Identity Programme left me stone cold, and everything that came afterwards was a poor second best. In particular I hated the BRB's 'barbed-wire' logo, which was an ugly design compared to the first British Railways totem (1948-1956) consisted of a 'British Lion' embracing a flanged wheel to symbolize rail transport. The second BR emblem (1956-1967) also had the 'British Lion' rising from a crown holding a driving wheel in its front paws , and a new coach roundel (1959-1967) appeared on coaching stock, diesel multiple units and electrical multiple units. A variation of the 'British Lion' and crown totem was cast in polished aluminum for the WR's prototype 'Western' class No D1000 Western Enterprise and the LMR's new fleet of WCML electrics - all were super designs and should have been left alone. After all, what is wrong with 'Britishness'?
 

PLEASE NOTE - IMAGES FROM THIS SITE SHOULD NOT BE PUBLISHED ELSEWHERE ON THE WEB WITHOUT THE PRIOR CONSENT OF THE RIGHTFUL COPYRIGHT OWNERS. IF YOU WISH TO USE A PICTURE ON THE WEB THEN YOU MUST ASK FIRST. A GOOD FIRST STEP IS TO CONTACT ME VIA THE E-MAIL ADDRESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE. PERMISSION IS RARELY REFUSED, A RECIPROCAL LINK TO THIS SITE IS USUALLY THE CASE.

 Click on any photo below to visit the relevant web page.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  


                                     A POT SHOT AT ANORAK BASHERS!!

Why does the media label things indiscriminately? On the one hand, it does a wonderful job exposing any Government shenanigans that might otherwise remain hidden behind a wall of bureaucratic spin; it embarrasses  minor-league celebrities, who'll cheerfully strut their stuff at every paparazzi opportunity, then just as quckly vanish into thin air when they're caught with their trousers down - metaphorically speaking, of course. But as soon as there is nothing newsworthy to report, some mean-spirited hack will bash out a few column inches on train spotters (anoraks) for a cheap laugh.

Laugh? I could crush a grape! The very idea of turning inncocent people into fodder for satire is both unfair and infuriating in equal measure, especially when I'm on the receiving end of it. Okay, call me a grumpy old fart, but this outpouring of bog-standard journalism is reprehensible in my view. Clearly the media have got their wires crossed somewhere, because when I look at the spotting fraternity I don’t see a gang of disaffected youths mooching about in shopping malls, blasting their brains into a mulch with mega-decibels of gangsta-rap from walkmans. Nor should train spotters be confused with the angst-ridden youngsters who wear back-to-front baseball caps, or hide behind a mask of hard-faced indifference under the hoods of anoraks. And train spotting isn’t a tribal thing either, so you won’t find us squaring-up to a ritual punch-up with a rival gang of fans, or pestering rail passengers into handing over money to feed our drug habit. No, the kids I’m referring to are not lonely, insecure or desperately in need of a sense of purpose, but because of their passion for trains, they’ve become an easy target for ridicule.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



(Above-Below) My own interest in train spotting has its roots in childhood, so I have no genuine nostalgia for the current scene. I lost interest in train spotting because from 1959 onwards visits to the lineside produced less evidence of Britain's railway past, which, until then, had always seemed so constant. For example, my last Ian Allan abc Locospotters book - the winter 1958/59 edition - could not keep apace with the modernisation. By the early 1960s, unwelcome gaps began to appear among the steam classes (due to scrapping) and the proliferation of new diesels did not enter the equation because they were not yet listed. Call it a dereliction of duty, if you like, but the inconsistencies creeping into the hobby was totally at odds with the orderliness that spotters expected, and many disenchanted youngsters turned to something more rewarding, such as railway photography - a natural adjunct to train spotting. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As for today's spotting fraternity? I suppose an old fogy like me should be impervious to derision - and I am - but I'm also aware that today's youngsters lack the granite self-assuredness that comes with adulthood, so is it any wonder that fewer and fewer boys will declare an interest in railways when the very words 'train spotter' now carries snide overtures? Well, enough is enough, - the boundaries of common decency have been pushed as far as it can go. If you ask me, the British media is no longer a byword for decent family principles because the values they promote seem unreasonably out of touch with general sentiment. That train spotting has become something of a national joke is undeniable, albeit in a light hearted way (I hope) since I suspect the populace is laughing ‘with us’ and not ‘at us’, yet the way in which the 'anorak' label has stuck in the nation’s consciousness is a rather worrying story, in much the same way as the media's all-pervading influence on its readership is another.  

Of course, the media didn’t invent our image, they went to a railway station and found us there, and in case

 

 
anyone is wondering what they found, then let me be quite honest about this. The interest in trains is huge, therefore the train spotting fraternity is bound to attract its fair share of nerds, geeks and wacky characters. Indeed, the media's views might contain just enough truth to gain wide currency, but since we can’t exclude people from joining us it’s pointless sinking into a mire of righteous complaining because it doesn’t solve the problem. Instead we must find a way of improving the general public's perspective of us. Perhaps the solution can be found by looking at the country’s obsession with boom-time consumerism and the crafty way some advertisers keep bombarding us with a stream of glitzy imagery. It seems immensely fashionable these days to have a scantily dressed girl draped over the bonnet of a new car at a motor show, or a beau idol stripping off his denims in a launderette, yet the public are not so easily fooled. We know some adverts are deliberately phony. For instance, I’m unlikely to find myself being seduced by a bevy of gorgeous girls because I’ve splashed on a certain men’s fragrance – a sex symbol, me? In your dreams image-makers. I’m a train spotter, for goodness sake, and dullards like me are not supposed to have sex appeal! 

Like it or not, image plays an important part in our lives, so if we create the right image, then all the rest will fall neatly into place. Create the wrong one, however, and we end up becoming a laughing stock. It reminds me of the pair of jogging pants I once bought which came with the guarantee not to run in the wash. It was a faux pas I found only mildly amusing, whereas the multi-million pound advertising campaign launched by British Rail in 1973 wasn’t even remotely funny - ‘This is the age of the train’ trumpeted BR’s publicity department. ‘Time to get new ones,’ commuters shot back. Oops!...an own goal if ever there was one. Only the gaffes haven’t stopped there. Whilst the private train companies now responsible for running our railways are making millions of pounds profit for their shareholders and fat-cat executives award themselves huge bonuses, is it any wonder that passengers (customers in case it’s forgotten) demand more for their money rather than late trains, dirty trains, crowded trains, even cancelled trains. Worse still, when the delays are blamed on the 'wrong kind of snow' and 'leaves on the line' what are the chances of train spotters soliciting approval from anyone?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 



 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 


 

Okay, let's not waste any more time complaining about the media's blatant intrusion on our lives. This site concerns the highs and lows of train spotting in the Fifties and Sixties, only in doing so I've had to trawl my own experiences, therefore I may be accused of throwing up a smoke-screen of romance which fuels the desire to believe that train spotters were somehow denied the best years of their lives when steam vanished from the scene. True, it did effect our lives but it wasn’t only the demise off steam (tragic though it was) that brought my passion for spotting days to a premature end, it was the arrival of adolescence. For many testosterone-fuelled boys, the fun-loving Sixties offered so many other distractions we simply outgrew the hobby, which is a crying shame really, and I do wonder how many of today's closet spotters wish they had the chance to do it all again? My guess is - all of us! So, in the final analysis, rather than accusing the adult enthusiast of being trapped in adolescence, isn’t it about time we were forgiven our passion for trains? For me, a steam train ride on a preserved railway is like a trip down memory lane - a poignant reminder of all the good times I missed all those years ago. Perhaps my reminiscences may jog some memories of your own?

(Above) Thank goodness for the preservation movement! This photograph of the unique Class 8P No 71000 Duke of Gloucester awaiting departure from Bury with the 17.20 to Ramsbottom on the East Lancs Railway on 29th March 2008 evokes memories of spotting days at Crewe in the Fifties. No 71000 was the sole Class 8 Pacific designed and built by BR, emerging from Crewe Works in 1954 to work WCML expresses between Euston and Scotland. Following withdrawal from traffic at Crewe North shed (5A) in 1962, the story of its remarkable preservation can be found on the 71000 (Duke of Gloucester) Steam Locomotive Trust website - Link Here. (Below) Standard Class Pacific No 70000 Britannia at Bridgenorth on the Severn Valley Railway reminds me of the scrap lines we encountered in the Sixties, yet the circumstances couldn't be more different. Introduced to traffic on the Eastern Region in 1951, the engine was withdrawn at Newton Heath shed after 15 years in service. In 1966, the preservation movement was still in its infancy and it wasn't until 3 years later that Britannia was saved from the cutter's torch. This view shows the sterling work that goes into preserving our national heritage. The fact that almost 400 ex-BR steam locomotives have survived in preservation is a remarkable achievement...

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


On a final note, the most popular idols back in the Fifties were the comic 'cape crusaders' Spiderman, Batman or Superman, together with the Hollywood cowboy stars: Hopalong Cassidy, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and the Lone Ranger. However, the idols I worshipped above all others did not come from your usual ruck of pop singers, soccer players or film stars – and, unless you were a train spotter, none were household names. They were the railway photographers whose pictures appeared in the 1950-60s monthly magazines - the unsung heroes who helped shape my perception of the railway scene.

So when I bumped into Jim Carter in the mid-Eighties, the fear of causing him even the slightest embarrassment deterred me from asking for his autograph. We met on the embankment overlooking Marsden’s reverse curves at the Yorkshire end of Standedge Tunnel, a line he regularly worked during his days on the footplate. Mindful of those romantic tales about steam, I asked him – Did he really fry eggs and bacon on a shovel across the firebox? Jim left me in no doubt about his feelings – “Yon shovel is for feeding t’engine, not your gob!” So there you have it - straight from the horse’s mouth. This shot of a Class 8F and WD on snow clearing duties at Diggle at the Lancashire end of Standedge Tunnel is a classic. Few photographs – or photographers, for  that matter – can leave such a lasting impression.

Thanks Jim, this site is dedicated to you...  

 

Although this website is still in its infancy, I’ll be pleased to include your spotting reminiscences from

 
steam days, but be warned - the seasoned spotter can spot a 'porky' a mile off, so embellishing your story with fictional flourishes is hardly convincing. That’s because train spotting captured the hearts of thousands of boys during the less-worldly Fifties, and although most of us are well past our prime (and in all probability forgotten what we did two minutes ago) the ageing process is surprisingly kind in another way. In the glow of memory we only remember the good stuff, so our spotting memories are bound to be mired in sentimentality. 


On the other hand, critics would argue that writing a personal account of ‘bunking’ sheds and chasing ‘cops’ is seldom illuminating or remarkable because all you are doing is regurgitating old anecdotes, which, by the very nature of the hobby, are exactly the same as everyone else’s...RUBBISH! Call me an old-fashioned day dreamer, but any memory of bygone days is better than none. Just send me a favourite old photo accompanied by a meaningful caption and it will give visitors to this site a chance of escaping the grim reality of today’s modern world...

New email address. Please note - this is not a 'clickable' mail-to link via Outlook Express; you will have to mail me manually. dheycollection@ntlworld.com

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