Very sad, i used to love traveling on the old class 421 and 423's. Back in the early 80's i remember me and a friend coming back to Portsmouth on the late ferry from Ryde, unfortunately we were a bit too late to catch the last train back to Croydon. We explained our situation to the station staff and they said not to worry, and pointed us to a twelve car set sitting in one of the platforms for the night. Told us to go and find a comfy first class compartment to sleep in, and told us to just take the light bulb out so we could get some sleep in the dark. Even told us they would wake us with a cuppa in the morning! He also signed our tickets saying that they would be valid the following day. Come the morning we were woken with a cuppa, only to be told that engineering works just outside the station had over run and that trains could not travel, but not to worry, we have booked a taxi to take you down to Fratton station and you can catch the train from there. Did not cost us a penny! Fond memories of them days, and fond memories of these units. Can't help but think that maybe it was one of the units being broken up that we spent the night in all those years ago.
dont know if anyone gives a shit but if you guys are stoned like me during the covid times then you can watch all of the new movies and series on Instaflixxer. Been binge watching with my girlfriend for the last few days =)
When I was 16 in 1988 and going to gigs in London, I always knew that if I missed the last train home to Dorking I could get across to Victoria and either attempt to get on the Mail train to Redhill, or get the Gatwick Express to Gatwick and sleep in the lounge and then get the first train to Dorking Deepdene in the morning. And the staff would honour my ticket. I hate being such old fart but we really did have SO much more freedom in those days, and the railways were run with a bit of common sense .
I grew up with these 'slam doors' VEP units on the Ashford - Charing Cross line (I lived in Paddock Wood). Many happy hours were spent spotting at PW - when a through-service on the fast lines thundered along at high speed, me and my friends would stand right above them on the old Victorian footbridge; the sound was incredible, and the whole thing would shake its nuts off. No wonder the bridge was declared unsafe and replaced a few years back!
Nostalgia can easily provide us with rose-tinted specs but I really think the old rolling stock was better from a passenger perspective. It had an air of solidity, wood capping here and there, lovely clicking of the compressors, comfortable....... There's a horrible irony in the fact we invented the railway but now foreign-built locos are hauling the remnants of UK built stock for scrap. It's like clearing out the cupboards after a relative dies and then selling the house.
Oh I'm going to have to disagree with you strongly. Solidity? Go and look at what happened at Clapham. The Mk1 stock was anything but solid in a crash. Comfortable. Yes the seats were extremely comfortable, but they were cold in winter and sweltering in summer. Don't get me wrong when maintained they were extremely reliable and I have fond memories of travelling in them. But most commuters if you ask them, A VEP or a 450, would take the 450.
I once went into a cost study of buying a carriage, setting it up and converting it for living. I forget the actual price but it was astronomical and way beyond my short reach.
@@TheMichaelWilcock2016Railways I included that in my original estimate and it was a major part of the overall cost. £34K was just the cost of a carriage. Then there is a piece of land, planning, a length of rail, transport, services in and out and that is before conversion work starts. A regular house comes out cheaper but it means being surrounded by neighbours which I am not keen on.
That brought a tear to the eye. Fond memories of these being in and out of the area I live . The smells , sounds and the motion of them were good. Now only the odd 1 is main line certified and its hard to get it sometimes to see it . Thanks for sharing this vid
This video actually makes me so sad, I only remember these trains from when I was really young but its so sad to see a whole generation of trains ripped apart without many even being preserved, so many characteristics lost that we'll never get back, thanks for the video though, haven't seen many like it
I was a member of the " Barry Island Railway " preservation group, which has now disbanded. Lots of enthusiasts came to take photos/videos of the locos, but very few wanted to pay for a ride or even but a coffee.sandwich. So we could not afford to preserve/service/run the locos..
@@TheMichaelWilcock2016Railways Typical of rail fans. Alway shouting that "they" should preserve everything, but willing to pay a penny of their own money towards it.
Ahhh - -THAT D422! Caerwent is an operation which had slipped from my memory in recent years - from bygone days in Glasgow Control I remember occasional MOD traffic heading there. Fascinating to see it - thanks!
The American in the age of Steam use to colid there steam engines head on at the end of there lives, Take a look at this czcams.com/video/LZz2xxqsM2g/video.html
Modernisation has to come I suppose....yes the new stuff lacks character but that's what they said about diesels at the time and we lament their passing now...up here in Scotland I would ride the class 27s and 110 dmu's...trains now are faster and quieter and more energy efficient and yes bland....some old footage with clouds of diesel fumes at stations can't have been good for health...but I also agree this is our heritage and an effort should be made to preserve a few of each for future generations to enjoy like we did....anyway that's my take on it...ps seeing class 37 27 47 etc scrapped is still very sad as these machines lived
Was such a shame to see the old SR stuff gone, I used to know one of the yard folk down at Bournemouth West where many a EPB was shunted there for an age waiting disposal and this chap said to me these trains were in superb running order and had another 50 years left in 'em but the private companies wanted to buy flash new trains instead of just investing in conversion to sliding doors and so the CIG, CEP, VEP, BEP, BIG, EPB were thrown away in what I consider not best value for money especially as so many of the replacements have turned out to be utter crud. It is heartening to see the old mainline diesels such as 37's and 73's are still putting the modern American rubbish to shame and of course the old 86 proving itself still an incredibly powerful engine in much demand.
Thanks for watching Ian. I'm so pleased I was able to join this special group visit. Nothing remains at Caerwent; so I was " just in time " Mike off to Dean Forest today
And have trains that are 90 years old because of nostalgia? The new stuff will serve Britain's Railways for now and the future and the old SR will not. It is cheaper as well to build new, than modernising these trains to meet disability standards and then to source parts for these which will be incredibly difficult. Time to move on and have a modern railway.
mjosiah1 I disagree if these had sliding doors on them then they would last. Unfortunately I never got to ride a slamdoor. Wish the slamdoors stayed so I could see them
Rubbish Niff, the trains would start to fall apart. You cannot have trains that will not meet passenger demand simply because you like old trains. In Victoria we have enough of that old crap, so much so that we have to put on replacement buses because the trains keep on breaking down because they are old!!
Around 2004 I saw a line of 4-VEPS in the centre roads at Newport. The seats were piled up inside. It was getting dark. It was raining. It struck me. This is it. THE END.
This Caerwent was so different to what I envisaged! As I thought it was a big site with loads of siding etc. It looks grim and it was for the units and 87. Another great video Mike. Still playing catch up😁
The 2 sets in the first clips - I'm sure I read somewhere that only 2 sets were ever painted in the Connex colours? If that's true then 100% I rode on these trains many times on the Hastings line.
Slammers are Electric Multiple Units. They propel themselves. Loco hauled stock are helpless without a loco and are marshalled into sets of however many coaches are required.
at what point does the disused single track that goes directly into the military base join (or used to join) the Gloucester-Chepstow line (or whichever line the train is seen on at the start coming out of the tunnel)? thanks 👍
The level crossing is at.......51.585 -2.737 on Google Maps. or Symonds Cliff Way , Caldicot............the line also crosses the A48 at Caldicot...you can even see the crossing on Google Earth,,,,best of luck ......Mike in Wales at 5.51am
nice video there mate in the background I can hear the Augustus 109 helicopter in the background whilst you are looking at the freightliner class 666 loco taking the scrapped units to caerwent
Very good video. I'm I right in thinking those bars across the windows were to prevent passengers from sticking ther heads out of the windows when the train was travelling through tunnels?
@@TheMichaelWilcock2016Railways Hello mike .Yes i joined the track just as it comes off the mainline.Overgrowth bramble half a mile down the track is horrendous.So ive plans to rejoin the track at the cric bridge.The track is still in reasonable condition.Someone at the moment is looking into turning it into a heritage line.
@@TheMichaelWilcock2016Railways ive taken photos as well somewhere.If you want to add me if your on facebook can send you them .Unbelievable the rate nature takes things back.
So so sad to see the old slam doors being broken up a sad end to such lovely trains. I would love to have got hold of the two tone horns. I'm sure somewhere someone has some luck people
Interesting but sad video. The way they scrap these trains is just like the modern method of demolition, mechanical monsters just pull them to bits, no method whatsoever.
@@TheMichaelWilcock2016Railways I agree. They seperate nonferrous metal especially copper. That's where the money is made. There's a lot of methods in scrapyards. They know what they are doing. They've bought an investment and they will realise it, which includes allowances for brass, copper, aluminium etc.
Its a pity that they scrapped a good locomotive that could still make itself a good usage as a spare backup locomotive in case a another locomotive breaks down.
what keep an electric what an insult to the railways its a pity they did not keep more steam loco,s after all they rule the rails and they all ways will.
Scrapped on site on 27.12 04. Nobody wanted to buy it, let alone pay the cost of removal. As I've said before, who wants to spend £1000s on an old loco. We don;t even do that with cars
The problem is, " who are they ". It's very expensive to repair old stoc, where to keep the stock, hire charges for storage, keeping secure away from vandals. I was involved at Barry etc.where enthusiasts would come to take photos/videos but not pay to ride on the train, when we had spent £100s on running them etc.....................hope this helps you understand why"they should preserve them " doesn't work
That is a ridiculous comparison, but here goes. Foreign aid is going to help the poor of this planet survive and I have no problem with that. Paying for old trains that are knackered just because train enthusiasts like them is an entirely different matter.
Why query 66613, that's moving the units as they have no power when being scrapped. The title states the 66 " emerges from the tunnel with more units!"
They are not up to Health and Safety Standards, People with disabilities had to seat in the luggage carriage and if they needed the bog couldn't fit your wheelchair down the narrow corridor or between the carriages. Had to hold on if you can until you get to the next station.
Do they have the infrastructure to run them on?. Trained staff to service/repair and spare parts for maintenance. 3rd world countries have poor rail systems without investment That's why they're scrapped
mjosiah1 Well if they put sliding doors on these beauties then they would've lasted. Melbourne has locos from 1950s and still going strong. Whilst here we aren't preserving anything
Very sad, i used to love traveling on the old class 421 and 423's. Back in the early 80's i remember me and a friend coming back to Portsmouth on the late ferry from Ryde, unfortunately we were a bit too late to catch the last train back to Croydon. We explained our situation to the station staff and they said not to worry, and pointed us to a twelve car set sitting in one of the platforms for the night. Told us to go and find a comfy first class compartment to sleep in, and told us to just take the light bulb out so we could get some sleep in the dark. Even told us they would wake us with a cuppa in the morning! He also signed our tickets saying that they would be valid the following day. Come the morning we were woken with a cuppa, only to be told that engineering works just outside the station had over run and that trains could not travel, but not to worry, we have booked a taxi to take you down to Fratton station and you can catch the train from there. Did not cost us a penny! Fond memories of them days, and fond memories of these units. Can't help but think that maybe it was one of the units being broken up that we spent the night in all those years ago.
What a wonderful story. Would have made a good video clip !! Thanks for watching
dont know if anyone gives a shit but if you guys are stoned like me during the covid times then you can watch all of the new movies and series on Instaflixxer. Been binge watching with my girlfriend for the last few days =)
@Ryland Fox definitely, been using InstaFlixxer for years myself =)
When I was 16 in 1988 and going to gigs in London, I always knew that if I missed the last train home to Dorking I could get across to Victoria and either attempt to get on the Mail train to Redhill, or get the Gatwick Express to Gatwick and sleep in the lounge and then get the first train to Dorking Deepdene in the morning. And the staff would honour my ticket. I hate being such old fart but we really did have SO much more freedom in those days, and the railways were run with a bit of common sense .
I grew up with these 'slam doors' VEP units on the Ashford - Charing Cross line (I lived in Paddock Wood). Many happy hours were spent spotting at PW - when a through-service on the fast lines thundered along at high speed, me and my friends would stand right above them on the old Victorian footbridge; the sound was incredible, and the whole thing would shake its nuts off. No wonder the bridge was declared unsafe and replaced a few years back!
Thanks for watching; that whole area has been cleared of all the stock. A t time I was fortunate to gain access and make the video
Nostalgia can easily provide us with rose-tinted specs but I really think the old rolling stock was better from a passenger perspective. It had an air of solidity, wood capping here and there, lovely clicking of the compressors, comfortable....... There's a horrible irony in the fact we invented the railway but now foreign-built locos are hauling the remnants of UK built stock for scrap. It's like clearing out the cupboards after a relative dies and then selling the house.
Oh I'm going to have to disagree with you strongly. Solidity? Go and look at what happened at Clapham. The Mk1 stock was anything but solid in a crash. Comfortable. Yes the seats were extremely comfortable, but they were cold in winter and sweltering in summer. Don't get me wrong when maintained they were extremely reliable and I have fond memories of travelling in them. But most commuters if you ask them, A VEP or a 450, would take the 450.
I once went into a cost study of buying a carriage, setting it up and converting it for living. I forget the actual price but it was astronomical and way beyond my short reach.
And then the cost of transporting it to your property? thanks for watching.......................Mike in Wales
@@TheMichaelWilcock2016Railways I included that in my original estimate and it was a major part of the overall cost. £34K was just the cost of a carriage. Then there is a piece of land, planning, a length of rail, transport, services in and out and that is before conversion work starts. A regular house comes out cheaper but it means being surrounded by neighbours which I am not keen on.
That brought a tear to the eye. Fond memories of these being in and out of the area I live . The smells , sounds and the motion of them were good. Now only the odd 1 is main line certified and its hard to get it sometimes to see it . Thanks for sharing this vid
This video actually makes me so sad, I only remember these trains from when I was really young but its so sad to see a whole generation of trains ripped apart without many even being preserved, so many characteristics lost that we'll never get back, thanks for the video though, haven't seen many like it
I was a member of the " Barry Island Railway " preservation group, which has now disbanded. Lots of enthusiasts came to take photos/videos of the locos, but very few wanted to pay for a ride or even but a coffee.sandwich. So we could not afford to preserve/service/run the locos..
@@TheMichaelWilcock2016Railways Typical of rail fans. Alway shouting that "they" should preserve everything, but willing to pay a penny of their own money towards it.
Ahhh - -THAT D422! Caerwent is an operation which had slipped from my memory in recent years - from bygone days in Glasgow Control I remember occasional MOD traffic heading there. Fascinating to see it - thanks!
Glad you enjoyed the show !
More to come when I have the time to edit my old tapes...............thanks for watching.....Mike
More extremely rare footage Mike, fascinating to watch...Bob
So carefully shot and edited, thanks Mike.
I must go back one day....if the authorities allow
I do not like seeing railway stuff scraped, thanks for shearing it Mike.
I like smashing up old junk and it's great to see crap stuff chopped apart and melted so they can make better traction.
The American in the age of Steam use to colid there steam engines head on at the end of there lives, Take a look at this czcams.com/video/LZz2xxqsM2g/video.html
Great shots! D422 is currently preserved at the Lavender Line in East Sussex.
I used to go on these old slam door trains in the 1990s Bentley to waterloo no: 52 once a month,I feel a certain sort of nostalgia.
Nothing there now; suppose it had to happen, at least I got a video and the 1 open day that year.
these carriages had much more legroom and comfy seats. John Prescott was the mp responsible for getting rid of the slam door trains..
He wasn't. The HSE were responsible. Go read the Clapham crash report. They wanted the mark 1s gone then.
So sad to see these beautiful slam doors getting scrapped they had years left them in them
Parts would be quite expensive, new ones have air con. etc. Thanks for watching. With over 1000 clips it takes a while to reply to you all
Satan's train? 666-13 - the grim reaper of rolling stock itself...
Modernisation has to come I suppose....yes the new stuff lacks character but that's what they said about diesels at the time and we lament their passing now...up here in Scotland I would ride the class 27s and 110 dmu's...trains now are faster and quieter and more energy efficient and yes bland....some old footage with clouds of diesel fumes at stations can't have been good for health...but I also agree this is our heritage and an effort should be made to preserve a few of each for future generations to enjoy like we did....anyway that's my take on it...ps seeing class 37 27 47 etc scrapped is still very sad as these machines lived
Was such a shame to see the old SR stuff gone, I used to know one of the yard folk down at Bournemouth West where many a EPB was shunted there for an age waiting disposal and this chap said to me these trains were in superb running order and had another 50 years left in 'em but the private companies wanted to buy flash new trains instead of just investing in conversion to sliding doors and so the CIG, CEP, VEP, BEP, BIG, EPB were thrown away in what I consider not best value for money especially as so many of the replacements have turned out to be utter crud. It is heartening to see the old mainline diesels such as 37's and 73's are still putting the modern American rubbish to shame and of course the old 86 proving itself still an incredibly powerful engine in much demand.
Thanks for watching Ian. I'm so pleased I was able to join this special group visit. Nothing remains at Caerwent; so I was " just in time " Mike off to Dean Forest today
And have trains that are 90 years old because of nostalgia? The new stuff will serve Britain's Railways for now and the future and the old SR will not. It is cheaper as well to build new, than modernising these trains to meet disability standards and then to source parts for these which will be incredibly difficult. Time to move on and have a modern railway.
mjosiah1 I disagree if these had sliding doors on them then they would last. Unfortunately I never got to ride a slamdoor. Wish the slamdoors stayed so I could see them
dover one foxtrot Don't get me started on those dreadful Aventra and Class 800 trains.
Rubbish Niff, the trains would start to fall apart. You cannot have trains that will not meet passenger demand simply because you like old trains. In Victoria we have enough of that old crap, so much so that we have to put on replacement buses because the trains keep on breaking down because they are old!!
Some would say "Just boxes on wheels" but as a driver at Eff Junc,Guildford, Salisbury and Bournemouth there is a 99% chance I've driven one of them 😢
Thanks for watching. That whole area is now closed, so at least " I was there".............History in the making!
Northern Rail could use one or two of those to replace those dreadful Pacers. That lot of units still looked all right.
Around 2004 I saw a line of 4-VEPS in the centre roads at Newport. The seats were piled up inside. It was getting dark. It was raining. It struck me. This is it. THE END.
I used work the 305s from Edinburgh Waverley to North Berwick.
Now that would have made a good video.thanks for watching................Mike in Wales
This Caerwent was so different to what I envisaged!
As I thought it was a big site with loads of siding etc.
It looks grim and it was for the units and 87.
Another great video Mike.
Still playing catch up😁
Damn good footage here mate. Needs to be archived.
I have all the original tapes, and as always pleased to share on YT................MORE TO COME SOON.
I've always regretted not getting some airhorns off these and some Loudaphones.
We used to work 305s from Waverley I don't think any were preserved.
The 2 sets in the first clips - I'm sure I read somewhere that only 2 sets were ever painted in the Connex colours? If that's true then 100% I rode on these trains many times on the Hastings line.
Slammers are Electric Multiple Units. They propel themselves.
Loco hauled stock are helpless without a loco and are marshalled into sets of however many coaches are required.
at what point does the disused single track that goes directly into the military base join (or used to join) the Gloucester-Chepstow line (or whichever line the train is seen on at the start coming out of the tunnel)? thanks 👍
The level crossing is at.......51.585 -2.737 on Google Maps. or Symonds Cliff Way , Caldicot............the line also crosses the A48 at Caldicot...you can even see the crossing on Google Earth,,,,best of luck ......Mike in Wales at 5.51am
thank you for the help!
nice video but upsets me watching it :( wished 4vep 4cig could of be saved thanks for sharing
The site is now clear, so all have gone to that great scrapyard in the sky !
nice video there mate in the background I can hear the Augustus 109 helicopter in the background whilst you are looking at the freightliner class 666 loco taking the scrapped units to caerwent
Very good video. I'm I right in thinking those bars across the windows were to prevent passengers from sticking ther heads out of the windows when the train was travelling through tunnels?
Correct; new trains/carriages now have air conditioning, so no windows to open
@@TheMichaelWilcock2016Railways many thanks Mike
How old were these slam door trains they were so comfortable to ride on and alot cooler in the hot weather
Young 66 given the dirty deed
Ive been down that track a good few times this year massively overgrown such a shame .
You've gained access to the site? I thought it was closed
@@TheMichaelWilcock2016Railways Hello mike .Yes i joined the track just as it comes off the mainline.Overgrowth bramble half a mile down the track is horrendous.So ive plans to rejoin the track at the cric bridge.The track is still in reasonable condition.Someone at the moment is looking into turning it into a heritage line.
To @@simondavids9438 Thanks for the extra information.
@@TheMichaelWilcock2016Railways ive taken photos as well somewhere.If you want to add me if your on facebook can send you them .Unbelievable the rate nature takes things back.
@@simondavids9438 Is he still trying or has he given up
So so sad to see the old slam doors being broken up a sad end to such lovely trains. I would love to have got hold of the two tone horns. I'm sure somewhere someone has some luck people
Nothing was available to " take away "...........I was lucky to gain access to the site....thanks for your comment
Mike Wilcock thanks Mike for your reply. Take it easy sir
and that was the helicopter that was flying low
87016 can't have been there long, as Virgin were still running them in 2004, they soon got rid of that one!
It had recently arrived before my visit; not sure of the date.
Interesting but sad video. The way they scrap these trains is just like the modern method of demolition, mechanical monsters just pull them to bits, no method whatsoever.
The metal is going to be melted down and reused; that's a good method
@@TheMichaelWilcock2016Railways I agree. They seperate nonferrous metal especially copper. That's where the money is made. There's a lot of methods in scrapyards. They know what they are doing. They've bought an investment and they will realise it, which includes allowances for brass, copper, aluminium etc.
gone already? dam
It was crossing the M48, not the M4 btw, nice video though
Thanks for the correction; I should have known better!
It's a shame to see those classes go, but people don't have enough common sense not to open the doors when in motion now. 🤣🤣
Can someone tell that bloke to turn his bloody motor off. It's annoying.
So what ever happened to this class 87? Scrapped, preserved or sent to Bulgaria?
Scrapped on site, 22.12.04 according to the 87 web pages.
Its a pity that they scrapped a good locomotive that could still make itself a good usage as a spare backup locomotive in case a another locomotive breaks down.
what keep an electric what an insult to the railways its a pity they did not keep more steam loco,s after all they rule the rails and they all ways will.
Scrapped on site on 27.12 04. Nobody wanted to buy it, let alone pay the cost of removal. As I've said before, who wants to spend £1000s on an old loco. We don;t even do that with cars
87016 what a sad ending for what was once the cream of the west coast main line
They should have presverd some of these old desil units.
The problem is, " who are they ". It's very expensive to repair old stoc, where to keep the stock, hire charges for storage, keeping secure away from vandals. I was involved at Barry etc.where enthusiasts would come to take photos/videos but not pay to ride on the train, when we had spent £100s on running them etc.....................hope this helps you understand why"they should preserve them " doesn't work
Exactly, if you want them preserve then pay for them, dont expect volunteers and/or taxpayers to foot the bill!
NiffIncentro At6/5 how many taxpayers would agree to finance unnecessary restoration works?
No they bloody well should not. If they are used for heritage, it should come out of volunteers pockets. OKAY.
That is a ridiculous comparison, but here goes. Foreign aid is going to help the poor of this planet survive and I have no problem with that. Paying for old trains that are knackered just because train enthusiasts like them is an entirely different matter.
Honestly!!? Unit #66613??
Why query 66613, that's moving the units as they have no power when being scrapped. The title states the 66 " emerges from the tunnel with more units!"
Why can't we keep the old slam door trians on the track
because they are old, outdated and potentially dangerous. next question?
They are not up to Health and Safety Standards, People with disabilities had to seat in the luggage carriage and if they needed the bog couldn't fit your wheelchair down the narrow corridor or between the carriages. Had to hold on if you can until you get to the next station.
that is 66613 mike
Yes, that's what I indicated, but I'm also referring to the scrap loco at the site
interesting
All scrap locos were removed a few years ago. Nothing there now in 2017
sad
Why do they scrap them? Why not sell them to a 3rd world country to use for a bit longer?
Do they have the infrastructure to run them on?. Trained staff to service/repair and spare parts for maintenance. 3rd world countries have poor rail systems without investment That's why they're scrapped
its a pity the 66 did not get the torch as well as the coaches hate big diesels long live steam steam rules the rails and all ways will.
Who will pay for the expenses of running inefficient steam
the people who pay for inefficient electrics thats who.
Timothy, no!
Niff absolutely not!!
mjosiah1 Well if they put sliding doors on these beauties then they would've lasted. Melbourne has locos from 1950s and still going strong. Whilst here we aren't preserving anything