View allAll Photos Tagged throwback
This week we are going back ten years to 2013 and AX 491 on Fleet Street. The bus is at the terminus for route 150 and is dressed for a service on that route to Rossmore. This route started around 1994 as one of the City Imp routes introduced in the mid-1990s. It replaced route 50 to Willington Roundabout, operating a higher frequency and using minibuses. After the year 2000, bigger buses started to be used on the route, ending up with double-deckers as seen here. In 2017 the terminus moved from Fleet Street (as seen here) to Hawkins Street, where it still operates from today.
AX 491 was new to Dublin Bus in 2006 and was withdrawn in 2021.
23/11/2013
This week we are going back twenty-one years to 2000 and to KD 329 on Eden Quay. This was the last year of Bombardier bus operations in Dublin. The first KD double-decker entered service in May 1981 (it was KD 2 on route 8). CIE went on to receive 366 double-deckers in total between 1981 and 1983, the vast majority built in Shannon. Originally there were only meant to be 365 KDs but KD 366 was built in 1983 to replace KD 111 which had been written off in an accident in 1982. Another extra one was built and sent to Baghdad to be trialled there, this one being left-hand drive. The majority of the CIE buses operated in Dublin, but there were also some in Limerick, Galway and Cork. The final day of normal KD operation in Dublin was in December 2000. A farewell run ran in January 2001 when the final fare-paying passenger was also carried. KD operation in Cork and Limerick had finished in the late 1990s.
As can be seen here, the two-tone green livery was also on the way out. The bus stop is blue, and two Olympians in the background are in the new standard livery, while the third is in CitySwift livery.
Route 77 became a DUTC bus route in 1939, connecting the city centre with Tallaght. It became more frequent in the 1980s and 1990s as that suburb of Dublin began to expand, and became a CitySwift route in 1997. It became cross-city route 27 in 2011 under Network Direct, and this route still serves Eden Quay.
14/04/2000
This week we are going back seven years to VT 7 on Leeson Street. The bus is operating a service on route 46A from Dun Laoghaire to Phoenix Park via the city centre. The 46A started operating in 1926 between Dublin city centre and Cabinteely. In 1936 it reached Dun Laoghaire.In the late 1990s the route became 'super charged' when it joined the CitySwift network and the Stillorgan Road Quality Bus Corridor became operational. The route started the new millennium as one of the most frequent in the city. In 2010 it became a cross city route when its northern terminus became the Phoenix Park, after it absorbed the northern half of route 10 under Network Direct.
VT 7 was one of twenty Enviro 500 tri-axle buses delivered to Dublin Bus in 2005. When these buses arrived their presence on the streets were certainly noticeable as this was a class of bus more associated with Hong Kong than with Europe. These buses were initially allocated to just the 46A (and some of the other 46 family of routes) but in 2007 another fifty arrived and the class started to appear on some of the busiest routes around the city. VT 7, along with the rest of the other first twenty VT buses, was withdrawn in 2018. It was sold to the UK and is now used on school services by Sussex Coaches. 28/10/2014
This week we are going back to 1994 and the final weeks of route 55. KD 34 is seen at the 55 terminus on College Street, alongside the wall of Trinity College. This route started in 1953 connecting the city with Kimmage and Walkinstown Cross. In the 1970s it was extended to Greenhills and was still terminating there on Limekiln Avenue in 1994. During the summer of 1994 the 55 underwent City Imp conversion, and became route 155, with services running at a much higher frequency than before. The 155 itself was absorbed into the 19A in 2001, which then became route 9 in 2010.
KD 34 was delivered new to Ringsend Garage in 1981 and spent all its life there. It was withdrawn in 1995 and was sent for scrap.
This location on College Street is no longer a bus terminus and is instead the Trinity tram stop on the Luas Green Line. College House in the background on Townsend Street was demolished in 2019.
Also in the background is MA 15 on the 83, a bus which featured in Throwback Thursday (226)
28/05/1994
This week we are going back forty-one years to 1981 and D 818 on the seafront (or Esplanade) at Bray. The bus is dressed for route 45A, a route that started operating between Dun Laoghaire and Bray in 1936. In 2004 it was extended to Ballywaltrim (it had previously served there too in the late-1980s/early-1990s), and in 2015 it was extended further south to Kilmacanogue. The latter change was part of a terminus swap with route 145 which moved to Ballywaltrim instead. In 2018, Go-Ahead Ireland took over operating the route.
D 818 was delivered new to CIE in 1976. It was withdrawn and sold for scrap in 1994.
Bray Esplanade ceased to be on the Dublin Bus network in 2012 with the end of route 45.
21/04/1981
It's 1997 and threre is some contrast on the streets of Dublin. KD 218 is seen loading up on Abbey Street with a 39 to Clonsilla. The route had transitioned to CitySwit operation in 1993 and was replaced by single-deckers operating a high-frequency timetable. Some of them can be seen behind the KD. Due to the increase demand on this route Dublin Bus did get some new Olympian double-deckers branded for CitySwift from 1996 on, so it is somewhat unusual to see the much older KD on the route in 1997. This bus had been delivered between 1982/83 and was coming near the end of its career at this point.
In 2018 no buses terminate on this part of Abbey Street and the 39 runs from Burlington Road to Ongar. 01/03/1997
It's Thursday and time for a throwback! In Gothenburg it's finally plus degrees again which means that it is raining again instead of snowing - sad, yes - but at least no more sliding to work on icy roads! Yay! So what better time to post a sunny throwback to lazy days at the pool?
How's the weather where you live? Comment below where you live and what's the weather like right now!
Photo: Michel Keppens @michelkeppensphotography
Model: Naomi Catrain
MUA: Sharon Grobben @sharongrobben
Stylist: Karin Nuyts
A short hop back to 2012 this week. RV 560 is seen at Dublin Airport with a 16. This was in its final days in service, and was the last high-floor bus in service with Dublin Bus. Once it was withdrawn the entire Dublin Bus fleet became 100% accessible.
In the background is Terminal 2 which at the time had only been officially opened two years previously. An Aer Lingus aircraft can also be seen landing in the background. In 2019 this airline is due to undergo a rebrand, so will we lose the distinctive green livery?
Finally, from the start of December 2018 this bus area is shared with Go-Ahead Ireland who operate the 33A and 102 from here. As a consequence the 16 has seen an increase in services.
Dublin Airport, 06/12/2012
Five Star Bus Company 88122 | 1006
*Anhui JAC HK6124AM1
*Five Star Bus Body | Higer A80 inspired | MAN R39
It is the year 2000 and GAC Bombardier KC 197 is still in service, but not for much longer. The bus entered service in 1982 five years before Dublin Bus was incepted, and eight months later all Bombardier buses had been withdrawn by Dublin Bus.
KC 197 operated out of Clontarf Garage and is seen here operating route 53. This is one of the shorter routes in Dublin, operating from the City Centre to Dublin Port via East Wall. Journey time is under half an hour. The bus is seen here at a terminus on Abbey Street. The bus stop has the 51A on it, and the 53 traditionally operated from Beresford Place. Today the route goes from Talbot Street, and this terminus is used by the 33, 41/A/B/C. Abbey Street, 07/03/2000
We have a first for Throwback Thursday this week - a picture taken after I started doing Throwback Thursday. What was once the present, is now the past.
AV 415 is seen crossing D'Olier Street as it heads from Fleet Street to Townsend Street. This bus was delivered new to Dublin Bus in 2005. During its career it has operated out of Conyngham Road and Ringsend garages. In February 2019 it became the last AV in service at Ringsend.
Here it is seen operating route 56A which connects The Square, Tallaght, with Ringsend. Along the way it passes the Go-Ahead Ireland garage at Ballymount, a bus company that started to take over a number of Dublin Bus routes in 2018 and operate them on behalf of Transport for Ireland. This company was announced as the winner of this contract in 2017.
Finally AV 415 is seen in an all-over ad for Lucozade Sport. In June 2015 it received an all-over ad for Coca-Cola. Then around September 2015 it received this Lucozade ad which, as we can see here, it maintained for over 6 months. The Lucozade ad was also on a VG, the first time a non-ALX 400 received a wrap. In 2018 they started to appear on EVs too.
07/03/2016
***Decided to merge images from my old Flickr account with my current account. Photos and descriptions from 2007-2009.
Location: New York, NY
Just had dinner at Mokofuku Noodle bar. We were taking the train back to Manhattan and I saw this DRUNK gentleman waiting for the train.
Here is a link to the Noodle bar we went to.
www.momofuku.com/noodle/default.asp
Here is exactly what we ate:
www.flickr.com/photos/fooddude/2827049938/
Courtesy of Edgar Maguyon:)
This week we go back thirty-seven years to 1983. KD 110 is seen in Beresford Place with a service on route 27B to Castletimon. This route started operating in 1971 and operated via Fairview, Malahide Road and Ardlea Road. It did a loop around the housing estate in Castletimon. In the late-1990s it started serving Beaumont Hospital by looping in off Kilbarron Road. In the early 2000s the route was extended north to Harristown Garage via Santry, but it still did the loop around Beaumont Hospital and the one around Castletimon. Harristown Garage also became responsible for operating the route, although the 27 and 27A stayed in Clontarf Garage. In the early days of Network Direct there was a proposal to merge the route with the 79/A and it would operate from Park West to Coolock Lane. A pull in spot was even built on Coolock Lane but it the merger did not happen. Then in 2016 a timetable appeared where the route would again operate from Coolock Lane to Heuston Station. However, after objections from people in Santry who would lose their link with Beaumont Hospital, this never happened either. Bus Connects may finally see off the 27B over the next few years.
KD 110 was delivered new to Dublin in 1982. It was withdrawn in the mid-1990s.
No bus stops at this point in Beresford Square anymore as it is now the route of the tram tracks for the Luas Red Line. The 27B has its terminus on Eden Quay. 09/12/1983
A lot has changed in this picture from 2012. On St. Patrick's Day of that year, a fire in a building on Benburb Street/Queen Street resulted in the Luas Red Line closing in the city centre. Trams could only run from Saggart/Tallaght to Heuston Station. As a result Dublin Bus had to provide extra buses between Connolly and Heuston to cater for the demand. Most garages had to provide buses, often doing a trip on the shuttle after arriving into the city from their usual routes. DT 4 is one such bus that was based out of Harristown. It usually operated extra duties on other routes in the peaks. The bus was withdrawn in 2017 and was sold to Ashbourne Connect. Behind it is a Donnybrook VT on a short 145 to the Belfield fly-over at UCD. This bus is still with Dublin Bus, but has lost its dot-matrix destination for a LED one. Heuston, 22/03/2012
This week we are going back twenty-three years to 1999 and AD 19 on Hawkins Street. The bus is dressed for route 86. This route started operating between Bray and Dublin city centre as a replacement for the Harcourt Street railway line that closed on the last day of 1958. Around 1971 the terminus was cut from Bray to Cabinteely. Around 2005 the route had been reduced even further, only running between Shankill and Sandyford Industrial Estate. The route ceased to operate on the 17th April 2009. By this point the Luas Green Line had been running along the old Harcourt Street line to Sandyford for five years. A subsequent extension to the tramline saw part of extended along Hawkins Street, in the traffic lane beside AD 19 in the photo.
AD 19 was delivered new to Dublin Bus in 1994, being one of 70 that made up the AD Class. It was originally painted in CitySwift livery. By 1998 it had received two-tone green Dublin Bus livery, and when it was withdrawn around 2004 it was in Dublin Bus blue and cream livery. It then joined the Bus Eireann school fleet in Cork and was withdrawn by 2011.
15/06/1999
A four pack of emd local power leads H-GALGFD through Colona, Illinois. This local set would take the manifest up to Ebner siding and tie it down.
It is 2001 and P 4 is seen on O'Connell Street with a 122 to Ashington. The bus had been delivered to Dublin Bus in 1993 for use on CitySwift route 39 to Clonsilla. However as the CitySwift routes became more popular, they transitioned over to double-deck buses, freeing up the single deckers like the P class. It was not just the CitySwift routes that became more popular, but so did the minibus operated City Imp routes. Therefore the P class were repainted into City Imp yellow/red and transferred to those routes, like the 122. Around the same time, some midibuses were purchased, like the WV in the background of this photo.
The 122 runs from Ashington off the Navan Road to Drimnagh Road via Cabra and Rialto, and still runs today. But it too has now gone over to double-deckers. The route no longer stops outside Easons though,but instead on Upper O'Connell Street. The P Class buses were withdrawn in the early 2000s and transferred to Bus Eireann where they were used on school services.
O'Connell Street, 10/01/2001
This week we are going back twenty-five years to 1996 and the end of a bus route. KC 44 is seen on Marlborough Street dressed for route 30. This route started in 1938, replacing a previous tram route, and connected the City Centre with Dollymount, via Clontarf. The terminus in Dollymount was Mount Prospect Avenue. Route 30 was replaced by City Imp route 130 on the 17th March 1996, a week after this photograph was taken. Originally it was meant to have started on 10th March, but the introduction of the new route was slightly delayed. The 130 also replaced route 44A on the same time, which operated between the City Centre and Seafield Park in Clontarf.
KC 44 entered service with CIE in December 1983. It was withdrawn in 1999. It spent most of its life in Clontarf Garage, though it ended its career in Conyngham Road Garage.
This part of Marlborough Street is now also used by Luas trams, as well as the occasional bus.
09/03/1996
This week we are only going back a decade to the end of a bus route. Dublin Bus AX 640 is seen at the terminus for route 11B within UCD Belfield. This route started in 1970, initially running to / from the city centre via Clonskeagh. In the early-1980s it was extended north to Griffith Avenue and Wadelai Park, though by the late 1980s all services terminated at Wadelai Park. Under Network Direct the route was abolished on the 26th June 2011 when a new route 11 started. However the day this picture was taken was actually the last day as the route only operated Monday - Friday in its latter years.
This 11B terminated in a number of locations with UCD over the years. The first one I remember in the early 2000s was behind the student centre, opposite the science block. With the construction of the new nursing school around 2005 the terminus was relocated to this location in the photo on the far side of the sports centre. Currently this home to route 142 during the week.
AX 640 was delivered new to Dublin Bus in 2006 and is still in service today.
24/06/2011
This week we are going back thirty-five years to 1987 and D 609 on Talbot Street with a service on route 44A. This VanHool McArdle AN68 was new to CIE in 1975. It was withdrawn by Dublin Bus in 1993 and sold for scrap. Over its career it operated out of Clontarf, Conyngham Road and Ringsend Garages.
Route 44A to Mount Prospect Avenue started running in 1936. It lasted until 1996 when it was replaced by new City Imp route 130, which also replaced route 30.
Beside the bus is a car with a registration plate that begins with "87 D". 1987 was the first year for this new style of car registrations, with the previous system dating from 1903 using just two letter codes for counties and some numbers (as seen on the bus). The new system adopted in 1987 put the two digits for the year at the start followed by one or two letters to represent the county. In 2013 it was adapted again when the year was split in half for registrations and either a 1 or 2 appended to the year number. 17/11/1987
A lot has changed in the thirty-five years since this photograph was taken. D 172 is seen parked at the 83 terminus on College Street. The bus was delivered new to Ringsend Garage in 1968. It was withdrawn in August 1983 and sold for scrap in 1984.
The 83 was a route that was in decline throughout the 1980s. In an attempt to revive its fortunes in the early 1990s it was the first route converted to City Imp. The double decker buses were replaced by minibuses which operated at frequent intervals. The strategy was a success and by the early 2000s double deck buses were back on the route. It was also extended across the city, operating from Kimmage to Harristown.
In December 2016 this location on College Street became the Trinity stop on the Luas Green Line. This tram route connects Broombridge with Brides Glen. 10/05/1983
It is 1988 and D 421 is seen at the 64A terminus in Stillorgan. Or is it Kilmacud? The 64A ran from the City Centre to Stillorgan via Leeson Street while the 64 ran from the City Centre to Stillorgan via Ballsbridge. They shared this terminus at Stillorgan with the 62 which also ran from the City Centre but went via Ranelagh and Kilmacud. This location was also the terminus for the 52 from Sydney Parade via UCD and the replacement 3A. Over time all of these routes ended and it became the terminus for the 11 (which used Kilmacud on the destination blind). Under Network Direct, Sandyford became the terminus for the 11 and this location is no longer used by buses. The 47 and 75/A pass by on the road on the left of the photo. Its location is more Stillorgan than Kilmacud. It is very close to Stillorgan Village and is practically behind the Stillorgan Shopping Centre. It is however just off the Kilmacud Road Lower, so perhaps that is where the confusion came from.
D 421 was delivered new to CIE in 1972. It entered service at Donnybrook Garage and spent all its life there before being withdrawn and scrapped in early-1989. 05/04/1988
A short hop back this week to 2014, but an important one. DM 1 is seen on South Great George's Street with a 9 to Charlestown. The bus is a Wrights Gemini 3 with a B5TL engine and was on loan to Dublin Bus as a demonstrator. It had entered service just two days previously and stayed for six months. The bus was used to evaluate its fuel saving abilities, through its lighter weight. At the same time Dublin Bus received a second demonstrator, DM 2, which was an electric hybrid. I think it is safe to say DM 1 was a successful trial as Dublin Bus have received Gemini 3's every year since 2014, and by the end of 2018 will have a fleet of over 400 SGs (their fleet designation). The Dublin Bus version do not have the side glass panels on the staircase like DM 1.
After its time with Dublin Bus, DM 1 returned to the UK and is currently in service with East Yorkshire, registration BX14 SYT. 14/06/2014
Like last year, we are going back to Skerries in 1985. KD 315 is seen parked in car park at Skerries Station on Christmas Day. Up until the early 1980s, bus services operated across the city on Christmas Day. This practice still continues in other cities around the world, including Britain, but on the island of Ireland there are no scheduled bus services on Christmas Day. With the introduction of 24-hour bus routes in 2019, maybe Christmas Day routes will soon return.
The 33 connects Dublin city with north county Dublin towns of Lusk, Rush, Skerries and Balbriggan. It can trace its roots back to bus services set up by the Great Northern Railway (Ireland) and which were taken over by CIE in 1958. In 2018 Go-Ahead Ireland took over the operation of the 33A between Dublin Airport / Swords and Skerries / Balbriggan.
KD 315 was delivered new in 1983 and remained in service until around 2000.
Skerries Station still has a shed where Dublin Bus outbase some of the buses used on the 33. 25/12/1985
Throwback Thursday this week is going back to 1982 and the end of rear-entrance buses in Dublin. RA 138, R 1 and KD 52 are seen on Drimnagh Road at the terminus of the 23 while on a special run to mark the end of these buses. The actual last day was over a week later on the 2nd April.
The 23 eventually became route 123 under the City Imp brand and extended to Kilnamanagh Road. 27/03/1982
A trip back in time this week of twenty-six years to 1990. KD 1 is seen at a bus rally in the Phoenix Park. This was the first of 366 KD buses delivered to CIE between 1980 and 1983. These buses were built in Shannon by Bombardier and an extra one was built for and shipped to Baghdad. KD 1 itself was built in Hamburg in Germany by FFG. The last KD was withdrawn by Dublin Bus in 2000. KD 1 was based in Donnybrook Garage and that is reflected in the scrolls for route 8 in the photograph. This was the first route to have a KD operate on it. In light of recent sporting events, the ad for the World Cup in Italy is quite topical. Phoenix Park 30/06/1990
My oh my. lol Well here is a throwback for all of you.
Since I never uploaded my duckfeet nails on here, here they are lol. I haven't gotten my nails done in so fucking long it makes me want to cry.
No, I do not get them this big anymore. (Even though sometimes I do miss them this big lol) So many people would talk shit or ask me how I do anything with them and I would get so damn annoyed lol. But don't worry I only get baby duckfeet WHEN I DO GET THEM DONE. I feel very ugly and incomplete without them... its been almost 2 years since I got my nails done and ya girl....just doesn't feel like a girl with them not on my fingers lol :(
P.S LOL I was such a Brohoe... I mean Ill always be one and this is just my lifestyle.... but never to this extreme ever again lol. I grew up lol.
[The selfie with the jacket is when I was 18? The one with the #Famous hat is when I was 17.)
P.S.S I will always love the "bro life" and be a brohoe at heart. I even named my first son Broden cus 1. "Bro" in the beginning DUH. and 2. It means Prince! Or "The Castle Brodie in Scotland" :) and duh of course it just fit and 3. SUCH A CUTE NAME I WILL ALWAYS BE OBSESSED WITH HOW CUTE MY CHILD'S NAME IS! 💓Broden Charles💓.
[I will make a seperate post allllllll about him]
This week we are going back to 2003. That was the year when then Special Olympics came to Dublin. The games took place in a number of venues around the city from the 21st-29th June. Dublin Bus provided a shuttle bus service between the venues with the Red and Yellow routes running from the Phoenix Park. The WV-class of buses were used as they were low-floor and easily accesible which resulted in some unusual buses on the routes the WVs normally operated on.
WV 25 is seen at the Phoenix Park terminus while operating the Yellow Route. 22/06/2003
I set up this account to upload photos from our trip to Australia 9 years ago, a trip for my 40th birthday! It is oddly reassuring to see that my hair was thinning even then!!!this was taken the day before my birthday. A week after we returned we left London for good.
I wonder where we'll be for my 50th?
A trip back to 2011 this week to see AV 120 on the 16A to Nutgrove. It is seen passing through Drumcondra on Dublin's northside as it heads south. AV 120 was delivered new to Dublin Bus in 2000. It was part of an order to operate Airlink services between Dublin City Centre and Dublin Airport. AV 116 to AV 128 were delivered in the special Airlink livery, while AV 129 and AV 130 were delivered in standard Dublin Bus livery. However all of them were delivered as dual-door buses. These were the last dual-door buses delivered until 2012 when the GT class started to arrive. Since then, every double-decker bus delivered to Dublin Bus has been dual-door. The arrival of the GT class in 2012 also heralded the beginning of the end for the AV class. AV 120 itself was withdrawn in 2013, having joined the regular fleet around 2009 when new VG-class buses arrived for the Airlink. And now in September 2019 the last of the 448-strong AV class is about to be withdrawn. The extremely similar AX-class will continue for a while, but the AV holds the distinction of being the first class of low-floor double-decker bus in the Dublin Bus fleet.
The 16A used to run from Nutgrove on the southside to Dublin Airport on the northside. It was merged with the 16 (Ballinteer to Santry) in 2012 under Network Direct, with the route going from Ballinteer to Dublin Airport.
Drumcondra, 11/09/2011
This week are going back to 1988 and to KD 85 at Donabate railway station. It is displaying route 33B although it may be on the 33C, although both routes were very closely related. The 33B connected the city centre with Portrane via Swords and Donabate. Overtime the city centre connection was reduced, with only two services from Dublin and four services to Dublin in 1988. Most departures went to / from Swords. By the early 2000s the route was solely confined to Swords to Portrane via Donabate. In 2018 the route transferred to Go-Ahead Ireland.
Route 33C ran between Donabate Station to Portrane Hospital. It was removed from the network at the same time as the 33B was cut back to Swords. The 33B was also diverted to serve Portrane Hospital.
KD 85 was delivered new to Dublin in 1982. It was destroyed in a fire by vandals at Skerries station in 1989. 25/06/1988
This week we are going back twenty-six years to 1996. Dublin Bus KD 172 is seen at the terminus for route 8 on Burgh Quay. This route became a bus route in 1949, having been the last tram route to run in the city on the 9th July of that year. It ran between the city centre and Dalkey via Dun Laoghaire. Controversially, Dublin Bus withdrew the route in 2001, but it returned in 2005 going via Glenageary Road Upper instead of Dun Laoghaire. It was withdrawn for good again in November 2016.
KD 172 was delivered new to CIE in 1982. The last member of the Dublin Bus KD fleet was withdrawn in 2000.
Dublin Bus no longer use this stop on Burgh Quay. Instead it is home to Dublin Coach who offer services to Waterford, Cork, Limerick and elsewhere.
29/07/1996
If you'd been stood in this exact spot oooh say er, in about 1997, this would have been a passenger train. A class 37 and a motley looking collection of mk2's.
Similarly back then, there was a little bit of a shortage of rolling stock. But instead of slashing the service and playing the 'poor us' game, someone got off their backside and did something about it.
Just saying...
3Q95 Crewe-Bangor, which I think was an ultrasonic test train, saunters into the down passenger loop at Rhyl on 19 May 2021.
Leading the way is 37612, a long term hire loco for Colas from the Harry Needle fleet. There's some history here, released into traffic as D6879 in October 1963, the loco was a solid South Walian for many years and there's a good number of pictures about of the loco on passenger duty on the South West Wales branches as 37179, a number carried from late 1973.
The loco was selected for a 1980's refurb, re-numbered to 37691 in 1987 and then spent time with Trainload Coal and Railfreight General before being selected for the EPS (European Passenger Services) fleet, further modified in 1995 for use on Nightstar work and re-numbered again to 37612.
Batty as it now sounds, the idea was direct sleeper trains through the tunnel from both Plymouth and Swansea to Paris and Brussels were to be hauled from the west to Dollands Moor by pairs of EPS 37's, running with Nightstar stock powered by a generator van converted from a mk3 sleeper.
Despite the conversions and the newly built Nightstar stock being in place, it never actually happened. Via Rail Canada came along and stole the stock for sixpence (almost literally...), the generator cars were quietly forgotten about and most if not all of the twelve class 37/6 locos were sold to the the fledgling Direct Rail Services, an operation established by BNFL (British Nuclear Fuels) to shift nuclear material around the country after the privatisation of the Railfreight operations.
Twenty years of DRS use ended in 2017 when DRS had one of their periodic clear outs and the loco was obtained by HNRC.
We've another Q train due tomorrow, the four-weekly visit of 1Q30 and it should be two red class 43 power cars. Pity the sky won't be quite so blue...
This is my friend Maike, who never thought she would look good on a photo before she jumped in front of my camera (after a great deal of persuasion). But she was very happy with the resulsts and surprised by herself. I love to surprise people with their own beauty on Photos :)
By the way, in 2017 i will start a 365 days Photo-Projekt in here...Hope it will work out :)