35mm Gricing, Home & Abroad 1964 – 1972 by Mike Robinson

Wednesday 1st May 2024

At the final meeting of the current season, Mike Robinson, Managing Editor of the Railway Observer entertained the audience with a presentation titled “35mm Gricing, Home and Abroad, 1964 to 1972”.

He began in the Darlington area of the North-East where coal traffic was in prominence as were pristine looking locomotives from the Works which employed 2500 people at the time. It was here that the rare sight of clean WD’s featured as well as hard working locos hauling coal and steel trains. Passenger trains were mostly in the hands of Deltics, Class 40’s and 45 diesels and locals were mostly DMU’s although some steam remained on the rural branches of Co. Durham.

Mike then moved to the West Riding of Yorkshire where he covered images from the final years of steam featuring a whole variety of locomotives on various services. In some cases London trains that split at Wakefield featured the Bradford coaches being steam hauled whilst the Leeds section remained behind the diesel that had hauled from London.

Then across the Pennines to feature workings at Manchester Exchange, Carlisle, Shap and the long lost Silloth branch.  We then ventured to Scotland to see images of the Aberdeen expresses in the hands of A4’s and then shots around Stirling, the Glasgow suburbs and Crab hauled coal trains in Ayrshire. Thence to the South featuring workings at Bath Green Park, Bournemouth, the S & D and finally the Wimbledon area of South London.

An overseas section followed featuring a trip in 1966 that took in a variety of motive power in Germany, Denmark, Belgium and France before returning home with a set of images of electric workings on the lamented Manchester – Sheffield route and finally suburban Glasgow services.

A most enjoyable evening of nostalgia from the era.