Peaky Blinder
A reprocessed image that has buffed up quite a bit better than the original upload the day I opened the Flickr account in 2011.
Peak class 44 no. 44002, sadly without its "Helvellyn" nameplate, basks in the sun as it arrives at Toton Yard with the evening tanker trip working from the British Celanese plant in Spondon. This was a reliable working for 44s at the time and, arriving around 6.30pm, often prompted an evening bike ride with the camera on fine days. This one would have been a bit more exciting than most seeing as it entailed a several hundred yards thrill along the busy A52 dual carriageway - not for the faint-hearted, even with the more sedate (and smaller) cars of the 1970s.
In this shot the driver is having a look at where he'll be reversing in a few minutes when he sets back into the yard to the south-west of the depot. Moving right to left across the image there are a few things worth noting - the signal box, and Long Eaton gasometer, both now demolished; the then wagon repair shops just visible below the gasometer; and finally the Up hump shunting yard reception sidings on the left - which look like they didn't have much work on this occasion.
Agfa CT18
20th May 1977
Peaky Blinder
A reprocessed image that has buffed up quite a bit better than the original upload the day I opened the Flickr account in 2011.
Peak class 44 no. 44002, sadly without its "Helvellyn" nameplate, basks in the sun as it arrives at Toton Yard with the evening tanker trip working from the British Celanese plant in Spondon. This was a reliable working for 44s at the time and, arriving around 6.30pm, often prompted an evening bike ride with the camera on fine days. This one would have been a bit more exciting than most seeing as it entailed a several hundred yards thrill along the busy A52 dual carriageway - not for the faint-hearted, even with the more sedate (and smaller) cars of the 1970s.
In this shot the driver is having a look at where he'll be reversing in a few minutes when he sets back into the yard to the south-west of the depot. Moving right to left across the image there are a few things worth noting - the signal box, and Long Eaton gasometer, both now demolished; the then wagon repair shops just visible below the gasometer; and finally the Up hump shunting yard reception sidings on the left - which look like they didn't have much work on this occasion.
Agfa CT18
20th May 1977