19th March 2019 · ‘An 8th Colour-Rail Journey’

Presenter: Paul Chancellor

Paul Chancellor gave one of his excellent selections from the Colour-Rail Portfolio, this one being the 8th such journey. The 20 attendance were involved in guessing some picture locations as well as finding out more about the Colour-Rail facility. This time around Paul largely concentrated on the year 1959 highlighting the many stock changes taking place, especially with steam and diesel motive power. Other rail facts from that year were also highlighted. Taking us around the then 5 BR regions, as well as with other systems, we covered the then BR system from Inverness down to Padstow and St Blazey the latter complete with its roundhouse shed and 16xx class locomotives. Steam was certainly still in its ascendency with some new diesels having real availability issues. Local scenes came into view as with a Class 4F on a Dursley branch working with one carriage and with the Severn Railway Bridge still in one piece. He rounded off the show with the changing scenes from pre-war years and into the 21st Century covering Gloucester, Euston, Reading, Doncaster, Waterloo and Haymarket including such as a former N.E.R Atlantic, the Chalford auto train, Euston’s Doric Arch, Bulleid Pacific rebuilds and even early liveried Pacer units. It was a superb nostalgic evening.