The good old days - takes me back to my childhood. Brilliant

What a great video .I remember that station well used to spot there 1980 to 1988 . Days I will never forget can smell the fumes ! Happy times. Thanks a lot for posting enjoyed it loads !!

Reading had so much more character and interest in those days. Lovely to hear the HSTs with their original Valenta engines! We took them for granted then - what crowd would a Valenta engined IC125 draw today!!!

Wow, wonderful memories and such a variety of locos too. Used to spend many happy times watching these beautiful engines as a young gal back then and getting diesel fumes in my hair! Thank you for the video!

I used to "live" there back in those days. Used to get a DMU from Goring and spent many freezing evenings ducking in and out of the Travellers Fare cafe on platform 4, clutching a brew trying to keep my hands warm inbetween trains!! Thanks for bringing back great memories, they were care free, happy days before the railway lost its soul to modernisation and plastic trains.

04.11 , was the front power car involved in the deadly Southall crash in 1997. 43173.

7:46 "Reigate Redhill and Gatwick". She missed out "And flying past Nick's house at Dorking Deepdene" I came here for day out in 1979. I can still smell all the diesel fumes and dust and filth, so much varied traffic. I hate to be one of 'those people' but jeez the railways are so sterile and samey now. The Valenta 125s really were fantastic, big, solid brutes of things. Can't beat a mail train 19:50. Agreed with the person below too - can't beat a bit of BR in the lashing rain. 35:35 oh WOW. what memories - I used to sit in that spot whenever i could going to school from Dorking to Guildford in the early 80s. All those sounds, so familiar. 37:42 the driver gotcha there! That horn sounded SO loud.

@RailFlicks

Жыл бұрын

Thanks so much for all your observations here on Railflicks, Nick it's much appreciated! So pleased you're enjoying these films that not seen the light of day for so long. More to come when I get a chance to edit them. 👍

An old intercity 125 noise is sooo sexcccc, literally could listen to that noise all day

Thank you for sharing, memories of happier times.

Best days for the railway

Every piece of movement is a spectacle!

I remember Reading station before the first revamp, I used to commute into Reading from Winnersh (before Winnersh Triangle existed). You had to get to the other platforms via the underground Victorian tunnels, I wonder if they are still there.

@markcf83

Жыл бұрын

I think they are.

i miss the old reading station have not been in years nice video

classic Reading, and classic Vac footage of 50036 at the end - stand clear of the shutter blades.

I remember going home to East Horsley with my mum on a regular basis in the early to mid eighties from Reading Station, when I was a young kid.

Superb video, thank you very much for sharing it with us. I loved the shots in the lashing rain - very atmospheric! Fair play to you for filming in those conditions.

@RailFlicks

2 жыл бұрын

I'm a fraud.... I was perfectly dry under the canopy of the adjacent platform! Don't think my camera would have taken too kindly to that downpour otherwise! 😃

15:50 We must be grateful that never caught on.

@RailFlicks

3 жыл бұрын

Yes, a white tumblehome, what were they thinking? That's never going to stay clean very long! 😁

great video,Reading station as it should be,remember it well in the middle sixties with westerns flying about etc,questions have to be asked why were clowns allowed to trash it, great memories of the middle sixties, you could also see Huntly and Palmers biscuits from the station

@formidable38

2 жыл бұрын

A horrible, sterile place it is today. Completely ruined.

@grassytramtracks

2 ай бұрын

​@@formidable38 still a major improvement on what it was right before, it was awful

An excellent video. Thanks for sharing. It is hard to believe this was almost 35 years ago now.

@RailFlicks

3 жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

I loved Reading like this, those were indeed the days, great video, thanks for sharing, I may well have been there somewhere...😁

I used love the breathless platform announcements at Reading. "Tile'urst Pangbourne Goring Cholsey Didcot Appleford Culham Radley an' Oxford next train to depart platform 7."

At 08:00 that HST was coming in ‘hot’!

Superb video. I used to bunk days off school and College in the mid 80's to go to Reading, was always something of interest going through there

@RailFlicks

3 жыл бұрын

Ha! that made me smile, I have to admit to doing likewise to film anything unusual on the Bournemouth to Weymouth line!

@thegridnutter8377

3 жыл бұрын

@@RailFlicks Glad i wasn't the only one then!! I used to head home when the afternoon Jumbo train went back to Merehead behind a pair of 56's. The irony to that is that i now live on the Bournemouth to Weymouth line in Poole.

@RailFlicks

3 жыл бұрын

So to complete the switch between us, I've just got to move to Reading ! 😃 Small World!

This is very good quality footage.

@RailFlicks

3 жыл бұрын

It's very wishy washy by today's standards, but for the time it's okay. Modern editing tools really helps. No 'steady shot' back then! Thanks for your comment!

I remember the cornel on the country end of platform 5 and 8, shouting "Number nine"!

You can smell the diesel fumes from the HSTs and the DMUs. Very nostalgic. And a failed power car there 1:55 (43019 I think, which was written off in the Ufton Nervet crash) And 43173 3:50, which written off in the Southall crash in '97))

@RailFlicks

3 жыл бұрын

When I was editing this, I swear I could taste the diesel!

Reading is my local station and it's a very clean and boring place now 😴

Rather tram obsessed aren't we? could have filled 40 minutes of Class 50's instead, oh well it's all history now. Used to go there between 1985 and 1992 not anymore!

Prefered these days during the 1980s before redevelopment ❤Great footage and Love the Sounds of Classic Locomotion to The sound of the Screaming Paxman Valenta ❤️ Sadly nowadays😢 confined to history,I was back in 1988 Glad i was seeing sights like this as a 14 to 15 years old teenager born in July of 73.Great memories ❤️

Ah, memories of sitting at the Country end of Platform 5.....

Dirty, noisy but great footage. So much change in just 30 years. Thank god we don't have to listen out for tannoy announcements that you could never hear anymore! Thanks for sharing, brought back lots of pleasant memories.

@RailFlicks

3 жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it

@chrisrichmond403

3 жыл бұрын

Oh the memories... It had everything From failed HST to a Crompton with dragging brakes to one of the Mirlees MB190 engine Powercars but above all my Hoover’s out and about .. great times I was 9/10 years old in 1988.

@Fcutdlady

3 жыл бұрын

@@chrisrichmond403 could explain to the irish eejit (me) what a hoover is. I know my grids, sheds and tractors but never heard of a hoover!

@chrisrichmond403

3 жыл бұрын

@@Fcutdlady look at their first appearance @ 11.40 - 13.45 , Courageous then Indy on separate trains . They were the last two Hoover’s in original NSE in traffic ... Now here we are 2021 Indy is preserved 😀. Hoover’s are one of the nicknames of the fine loco class 50’s .. Other nicknames are Vac or Vacs or Thunderboxes .. Class 50’s ... 007 Hercules , 008 Thunderer, 049 Defiance , 050 Fearless are all mainline registered Locos 😀 today and can be seen all over parts of the national network either hauling charters / railtours or stock transfers . 07&49 have been busy prior to Xmas & before moving withdrawn HST Powercars to various locations or HST Mk3 carriages to scrap at Newport S Wales .

@RailFlicks

3 жыл бұрын

'Hoover' is a class 50, I believe.

I was never at the old Reading station prior to the revamp in 2014 . Was there a couple of weeks ago .

With the Class 33s, as the smoke seemed to be coming from both bogies of the leading loco I'd suggest dragging brakes

@railfreightdrivergallagherGBRf

2 жыл бұрын

Traction motors more likely. They were very hard worked & thrashed little locos back then. A pleasure to drive though.

I think this may be heading straight in to my top 10 KZread videos. Absolutely brilliant video. Lots of great traction and 80s liveries. Nice to see 50s in the original NSE, much preferred that to the later version. Intercity Swallow on HSTs was a cracking livery without the full yellow front anyway. I assume the Intercity livery 47 running light was the same one that arrived with stock just before 21:54 . Was that a terminus service? The smoking 33, any idea what was up with it. Posted a link on various Facebook groups on Saturday for the period so expect lots of views. Thanks very much for uploading. Cab ride in first gen DMU, how I miss them. Mine used to include crossing the Forth Bridge.

@RailFlicks

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for such a praising comment! 💖 Personally I never really liked the network south-east livery, found the colours too garish for me. And when the paint faded it was even worse! I liked the 50's in large logo livery the best, but personal taste. Yes, the IC47 was a terminating service & run round. The smoking 33 we believe was due to dragging brakes overheating. Thanks for the links, also the HST's at 125mph and more is also a popular video, shot on the same trip as this one, if you haven't seen it already.

@OlafProt

Жыл бұрын

@@RailFlicks agreed about the NSE livery. It didn't age well at all.

Great video, got a time machine...

@RailFlicks

3 жыл бұрын

A man called HG Wells wrote about one once, I think...but sadly no, I don't have a TM. Glad you enjoyed it. More from the archives to come in future.

What a pity this footage wasn't undertaken in the steam age with so much more variety and excitement 👍

@RailFlicks

8 ай бұрын

I missed the steam age. And many have now missed the diesel age. They'll no doubt be mourners of the electric age as we move into the nuclear age!😄

@PerthMRC

6 ай бұрын

I think there is a bit of Reading in steam days in this video. kzread.info/dash/bejne/Y6iWqbqcl9fOYZM.htmlsi=qHy8i45a2JOGzUaJ

@OlafProt

2 ай бұрын

The variety here in the diesel age is still a marked improvement on the bland age we're in now!! 😂

never made it to reading my train spotting days were at west drayton ,iver and ,langley and a bit earlier 1976-79 but good times with loco hauled trains ...........tony

Fantastic I remember that place from years ago, great bit of filming . The variety of trains, and what have we got today!!

@RailFlicks

3 жыл бұрын

Many thanks!

My wife is American, ask an American to read Reading.......or Worcestershire sauce thats a laugh too 😂

great video. i remember this station in the middle 60s when huntley and palmers biscuits were opposite, the blue pullman used to go through, great days and a great station until clowns got hold of it and trashed it,they have a lot to answer for,thank goodness for your film

@RailFlicks

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for your comment. Captured for posterity, pictures would have been better shot in Super 8 film, but the sound from this VHS recording is far better than cine sound! I remember I had to save up a long time to buy the camera, as I was just an apprentice at the time! Quality looks terrible today, but I think the content makes up for that! 😃

As someone who did not live in these days, I don’t see how this can be objectively better than the current railways in Reading. The trains are old, slow, short and dirty, platforms few and visually plain. I appreciate the many people who are nostalgic of fond childhood trainspotting memories, and it’s so heartwarming to read people’s reminiscing comments. But fun train watching as a child is not a reason to groan about today - which is, longer, faster trains, easier rolling stock for maintenance, accessible platforms, clean, spacious station, electrified, more regular mainline service. (Oh, and the diversity of trains isn’t even that bad)

@MontyCantsin5

Жыл бұрын

Of course this is objectively better.

@mst4309

Жыл бұрын

@@MontyCantsin5 please expand?

@MontyCantsin5

Жыл бұрын

@@mst4309: The diversity of locomotives and units found on railways today is terrible. Just about anyone interested the rail network and everything associated with it would rather see loco hauled trains, less cheap plastic crap imported from other countries, have comfier seating, see stations with more character, etc.

@markedgar6437

Жыл бұрын

Modern trains are indeed more reliable, more predictable more punctual. More economical too, and less pollutive. So yes you are correct, trains have way improved. The appeal back then though was the unpredictable victorian highly manpowered, noisy, smokey, clackety clack stock from the 1950's, unusually non standard machinery style railway that was not too way different from a hundred years previous with mechanical signals, mysterious men moving around at the sounds of bells in a signal box, not having mobile phones to check a timetable meant you were not quite sure what was going to happen next. So while you are correct that there is a lot to see still the romance has been dulled a little. Health and safety stepped up (yes also a benefit i agree) means no longer sitting on embankments 20 feet away from passing (very noisy exciting sounded thunderous trains disturbing the peace, not to mention all the diesel smoke that a kid doesnt know is poisonous filling the lungs) trains. Also travelling on trains, getting the clackety clack, watching the hypnotising telegraph poles fly by, sticking your head out the window (also improved now with safety standards) to get a full on high senses affect, not knowing whether you will arrive on time or sometimes even arrive 😂. Yes the social railway, the not knowing or being able to locate your needed locomotive numbers just added to the fun. Once again, you are correct in that things are better now technically speaking but oh boy the romance and the human aspect has fizzled a bit (having the railways stay the same for practically 150 years and the last 25 years totally changed to become a money making business, ofcoursethat was always the intention) just saying.... 😂

@formidable38

Жыл бұрын

Funny thing is though, the trains are not faster. An HST was timed for just 22 minutes between Paddington and Reading back then. Its not been bettered today, if anything, its sometimes slower. Plus, I can tell you without a doubt, these old trains were certainly more comfortable, 10 fold!!!

2:46 vintage DMU death rattle!

@RailFlicks

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah, they did sound rough, but it's just the exhaust pipe going into resonance with the engine rpm. Think some had Leyland bus engines!

Before the hst’s what worked the endless West Country to Paddington trains?

@Househead1200

7 ай бұрын

50's and 52's before the HST's had established fully. 52's before the 50's. Anything could turn up though.

@iainmaturin8460

6 ай бұрын

Westons

@Thunderer0872

12 күн бұрын

After steam Kings & Castles in the early to mid 1960s it was the fleet of Class 52 Westerns with 42 Warships to Bristol or Westerns and class 35 Hymeks to Cardiff and Swansea in pairs and back. But once the WR Hydraulic fleets (35,42 & 52) were withdrawn between 1970 and 77 it was 31's, 47s, and Class 50s when they came to the WR in 74/76 some trains did also see 37s on occasion, 50s worked until 1990, 47s finished in 1992 when the rancid Thames Turbo took over all non HST work. The HST first started on the Bristol TM to Paddington then Swansea and Cardiff trains then through the late 70s worked into Cornwall taking over the Loco Hauled train as the years passed, However due to the popular Devon and Cornish resorts there were plenty of additional workings to cover the HSTs with 15 coach Jumbo trains usually hauled by a class 50

@RailFlicks

12 күн бұрын

Fantastic timeline with dates. Thanks for your input, I'd forgotten so much of the details over time.