Thursday 28th December 2006 ~ Rail Slides from the Rodney Hood Collection

By Danny Sawyer

Appeared in Journal 505

This slide show was originally scheduled to follow last year’s AGM but after John Day was delayed on the GE main line that evening it was decided to defer it until this year’s Christmas meeting. This proved to be a blessing in disguise as the more intimate surroundings of the ITM’s Sunbeam Tearoom helped create the more relaxed and informal atmosphere that the occasion warranted. Being a ‘rail night’ the slides came from the period when Rodney was most interested in photographing the main line railway scene in colour between 1978 and 1984. From want of any better plan, it was decided to present the slides chronologically, thus interspersing many shots taken in and around Ipswich with trips further afield.

Rodney didn’t set out to take prize winning photographs, and rarely ventured out to record special or rare workings. He was content to record the more humble everyday scenes, and deliberately included his subjects within their natural surroundings. From looking at his slides it was possible to see how much the railway scene has been transformed during the last quarter of a century, especially in and around Ipswich. Colour light signalling has swept away semaphore signals and once familiar signal boxes, while lineside scenery and buildings have either long since vanished or changed beyond recognition.

Rodney obtained his first slide film, a roll of Agfa CT18, in 1965. This took him eleven months to get through, a reminder perhaps of how expensive colour film was then. From this first roll we kicked off the show with two shots of steam locos, showing Black 5 45031, 8F 48655 and 3F 47437 (along with H.N. James in attendance) at Chester Midland shed on 22nd May 1966 on one of the ILTS marathon bashes. Next followed a series of Kodachromes in crisp, early spring sunshine in 1972 from a special steaming of the Peckett loco at Sproughton beet sugar factory. On the main line, most of the local shots featured the usual array of locos, station pilot 03179, various 31s, 37s, and 47s on routine freight and passenger workings, as well as more humble Metro-Cammell and Cravens dmus. Winter weather was no deterrent either with a few snow scenes at Ipswich Station. Highlights perhaps were a shot of 47114 beside Ipswich Goods Junction box, a 47 on a freightliner rounding the curve pass the gasholder towards East Suffolk Junction, class 105 dmu coasting past the Harris bacon factory, 47063 bringing a freightliner under the old Hadleigh Road bridge (a shot taken from East Suffolk Junction box), and a panoramic view of the upper goods yard from London Road bridge with no catenary clutter yet in sight. Also memorable were three spectacular shots taken in May 1980 in crisp sunshine from above the tunnel portal, looking over the station and stabling yard area, taking in locos and dmus with a vista stretching back past the upper yard to Sproughton beet factory and beyond. A series of four pictures from summer 1981 followed the progress of track relaying work at Bridge Street crossing, with steam crane in attendance, before the roundabouts were installed. More nostalgia was invoked by shots of 03196 on shunting manoeuvres in the lower yard, and also further along the docks trundling past the Pauls, Burtons and Cranfields mills, towering structures which have only recently been lost from our local skyline. Over on Griffin Wharf 08661 was seen with a freightliner, and was also caught (opportunistically through a car windscreen!) about to cross Wherstead Road bridge with more containers. While most of the slides seen so far were everyday scenes, a couple of specials were nevertheless captured on film passing through the area, including 55007 on ‘The Deltic Anglian’ at Ipswich on 12th September 1981, and 40004 on ‘The Broadsman’ pausing at Woodbridge on 24th July 1983. Big changes were on the way, though, and 1984 brought track rationalisation and colour light signalling to Ipswich in readiness for the forthcoming electrification of the GE main line from Colchester; signal boxes became redundant, and the station box was demolished in April 1984, an event Rodney also captured on film half way through the destruction.

Venturing outside Ipswich, one of Rodney’s favourite haunts was Manningtree, a particularly photogenic area where we saw atmospheric shots of 37s on freights on the triangle, and a 47 crossing the Stour with a freightliner. There was also a 31 passing through the station on a down early evening passenger turn (possibly the boat train). Needless to say this was thirsty work and visits to Manningtree were often rounded off with a pint or two of real ale at the Station Buffet, a favourite watering hole at the time, before returning home. On a trip to Sudbury in July 1979 Rodney also recorded for posterity the crumbling remains of the old station and Goods signal box, as well as the Cravens dmu arriving on the branch service from Marks Tey. On the other side of Ipswich we saw another Cravens unit passing Bentley station and signal box in June 1979. There were also scenes from visits to Sandy with class 101 dmu in reversed livery, Bedford with another dmu nestling under the neglected and mouldering station canopy, Audley End with 37s on both freight and passenger duties, Ely and Cambridge. An outing to Thetford forest on 21st July 1979 to catch summer specials produced a shot of a 37 with a rake of Mark 1s (and Kenny Hammond lurking in the undergrowth), and a pair of 25s presumably bound for Great Yarmouth at Santon Downham. Further memorable pictures included 03017 among the clutter on the docks branch at King’s Lynn, while a trip to Murrow on the doomed GN/GE joint main line provided more nostalgia with 37054 on sand hoppers, a ‘light’ 47, and Murrow West box also recorded for posterity. Trips to this part of the world usually included calling at March shed, where classes 25, 37 and 40 were seen in May 1980, and ADB968008 (former train heating unit and originally 24054) with Mark 1 sleeper in September 1983. A visit to St Albans City station produced three fine shots, with a 45 on a Midland main line passenger coasting in past the impressive Heath & Heather herb specialists’ building, and two pictures of 45141 taken from the signal box after being invited in by the signalman – no health and safety or security worries then.

Outings further afield were usually on ITS shed bashes or Merrymaker day excursions which used to venture as far as Exeter, Cardiff and Edinburgh. These various trips offered opportunities to see and photograph classes of loco rarely, if ever, seen at home. These included shunter 09024 at London Waterloo, 20192 at Westhouses, 25042 at Cardiff Central, 33028 at Exeter St Davids, a 40 bringing a passenger working past Edinburgh Haymarket shed, 46002 at Gloucester, 46025 at Exeter, 47711 and 47712 at Haymarket resting from Edinburgh-Glasgow push-pull shuttles, 50003 at Waterloo, 50049 at Exeter, 55005 and 55007 at Edinburgh Waverley, 56s at various sheds (delighting the Vice President in the front row!), 76s at Orgreave and Wath, 86214 (with large number and logo, and yet to appear in our part of the world) at Crewe, and 87010 bringing a west coast main line service into Glasgow Central. Departmental shunter 97651 was also found at Radyr shed on 13th June 1981 on a Merrymaker trip to Cardiff which included a coach ‘add-on’ for shed bashing and, notably, taking in Woodhams yard at Barry Docks to see and photograph redundant steam locos still there awaiting collection for restoration. These scenes provided a direct contrast with a visit to Doncaster works on 12th July the same year where new class 56s were seen undergoing construction, with Colin Prime and Martyn Hunt looking on. Rodney also went on a couple of holidays to Scotland, recording 26s in the far north in September 1981 with fine shots of 26024 with four Mark 1s at Achnasheen on the Kyle line, 26037 with observation car 9004 at Kyle of Lochalsh, and 26015 at Thurso with Royal Mail van in attendance. On the same trip 26035 was also depicted resting with vintage breakdown train in morning sunshine at Glasgow Eastfield, next to an impressively tall clock stating the time as seventeen minutes to ten. A return to Scotland in September 1982 included a visit to Oban, where 37190 was seen with Mark 1s for Glasgow Queen Street – is that tree still growing on the platform? This trip also produced a shot at Glasgow Polmadie shed of Barclay shunter 06008, still in storage following withdrawal in October 1980. As mentioned above, Rodney didn’t usually go off chasing steam specials, however a trip to the Settle & Carlisle line on 21st March 1981 produced a fine shot of ‘Duchess of Hamilton’ 46229 bringing a long rake of Mark 1s on a ‘Cumbrian Mountain Express’ into Hellifield station off the Blackburn line – plenty of smoke and steam on a crisp and cold spring day.

After 1984, perhaps because of all the changes and the sweeping away of so much that had been familiar, Rodney’s interest in main line railways diminished. From then on it was mostly industrial, narrow gauge and model railways only, as well as trams, although he continued to take main line photographs during occasional trips to the continent. From these we saw some slides of Dutch and German locos and stock depicted at Den Haag and Venlo in 1985, including Nederlandse Spoorwegen 1502 ‘Electra’, once familiar on BR metals on the Woodhead route. In later years some ITS members embarked on an annual self-drive hire minibus bash over the late spring Bank Holiday weekend, mostly for PSV purposes although these often produced the occasional rail shot. In 1988 this included 08995, with cut down cab for the Gwendraeth Valley branch, at Pantyffynnon stabling point. In 1993 sprinter 150236 was pictured at Bere Alston on a Plymouth-Gunnislake run (and with David Sparkes somewhere on board). Scotland was visited in 1994, stopping off for a real time warp at Hassendean, the first station north of Hawick on the Waverley route; here we found the long disused station buildings, platforms and footbridge eerily still in situ. Heading north again in 1997 a stop at Warrington produced a superb shot of 60028 on a merry-go-round. Another trip to the west country in 1999 found sprinter 150267 at Okehampton on the summer Sunday service from Exeter, connecting with vintage bus services. Rodney’s liking for signal boxes resurfaced on the way home from Grimsby on 12th March 1994 with a request to stop at Holton-le-Moor to photograph the box still serving on the Barnetby-Market Rasen line. Closer to home, the EUR150 celebrations in June 1996 were commemorated by a couple of shots, one of ‘Britannia’ 70000 near Haughley coasting effortlessly on one of the steam specials to Bury St Edmunds, while LNER B12 8572 was depicted at the loco display at the former Croft Street MPD – another edifice only recently swept away for redevelopment. This brought us, poignantly, to the last rail photograph Rodney took; this was of sprinters 150235 and 150217 passing at North Walsham on 3rd October 2003 after a visit nearby PSV operators Sanders and Bluebird (and partaking of a bacon sandwich and coffee on the latter’s Leyland Fleetline dining bus!)

Time now for a little light relief with a few slides from the ITM’s visit to the Yaxham Light Railway and a narrow gauge loco driving session on 17th August 1997. This produced a number of familiar faces displaying various degrees of concentration at the controls including Mark Smith, Martin Stevens, Brian Dyes and, of course, Rodney himself.

There was still just time to squeeze in a few continental tram slides – it was a rail night after all – with shots taken in Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Den Haag, Antwerp and Gent between 1983 and 1987, and displaying Rodney’s talent for including his subjects within their natural settings with some fascinating local architecture and street furniture. We finished off with a shot of Rodney himself, at ease with pint in hand one Sunday lunchtime in September 1996 in the ‘Water Lily’, a fitting way in which to end – thanks to Martin Stevens for acting as photographer for this one.

For making things possible on the night, thanks are due to Roger Harrison for checking about forty of us in, to Joyce for firing up the half-time kettle (evoking memories of meetings at the Town Hall), to John Yelverton for flogging us raffle tickets, and to John Day for his expert presentation and commentary. Our grateful appreciation also goes to our friends at the ITM for the generous extended loan of Rodney’s slides from its photographic archives, and for the use of the tearoom. Last but not least, thanks also to the assembled company for chipping in with their own memories and recollections of some of the scenes depicted, all adding to the informal and relaxed atmosphere – Rodney was after all ‘one of us’, both as an ITS member and a friend.

Front Cover. Ipswich Buses Omnicity 75 waiting for its turn on service 13 on 29th January. Photo by Fred Ward

Rear Cover Top. Citaro demonstrator BX56 VTP on loan to Ipswich Buses for trials on service 12 on 1st February. Photo by Fred Ward.

Rear Cover Bottom. On 23rd January, GBRf’s brand new 66724 in First Group livery poses in the sun at Ipswich on its maiden run. Photo by Graham Hardinge.