Cromptons
 

Hi
I have been lurking a while. A most interesting forum you have here, with some great stories from people who have been in the industry!

When I was a kid I used to hang out at Bournemouth station. The push-pull operation involving Class 33/1s and 4TC units on the Bournemouth - Weymouth services was always very interesting.

A couple of very kind drivers on different occasions let me have a look around the locos (one was 33103 which I believe is still around), and one offered to take me down to the next station (that was in a 73 though) but I didn't go. I didn't want to have to ask my Mum to pick me up at the next station, and she might have said 'no' anyway!

Does anybody have any fond memories or stories about the Cromptons (Class 33)?

Welcome to the Forum Dryjoy. Look forward to more of your stories.

Best wishes,

John H-T.

Welcome
 

Welcome aboard the RF Dryjoy.

I spent some hours on the short push pull Kensington Olympia Drags in the late 80's, They are great workhorse machines and are amongst BRCW's finest IMHO.

Regards

Hello Dryjoy and welcome to the Railway Forum. I was also a lurker for a while before I joined. It was well worth it and I still need my daily fix of Railway Forum.

That was agreat trip to Weymouth behind a 33 did it a couple of times lovely exhaust sounds coming up the bank out of Weymouth very useful locos see that West Coast Rail use them on the Scotsman now.

Cracking locos the 33's usually kept spotlessly clean in the cabs and engine rooms,however the other Cromptons were a better loco,I refer of course to the class 45's probably the best allround diesel ever built.

Hello
 

Welcome to the forum dryjoy, I'm sure you will enjoy it.
I'll put some pics in my gallery for you shortly.

Great, thanks!

I've got a question, actually.
Does anyone know if there are any recorded instances of Class 33/1s working in multiple or push/pull mode with the Class 442 Wessex units?

Thanks!

Hi. I've just joined this forum. I love Cromptons! My favourite memories of Cromptons were of seeing one on a couple of mornings in 1987 at Fleet station. It was operating push-pull and on these particular occasions was pushing a heavily laden train towards Waterloo. What a fantastic noise it made leaving the station!

Hello Paul2712, welcome to the forum, a very friendly place it is too. We're almost neighbours, Fleet being just down the road from me!

A warm welcome from me too and hope you enjoy
Shame you never made the 73 trip. That would have been nice.
Regards
Phil

I remember the first time I saw a class 33 - it was at Exeter St Davids. As a new spotter I had taken a December merrymaker from Ipswich via the North London Line to Exeter where I had relations. The main object had been to see Westerns but this was a bonus as I had no idea at that time that cromptons worked that far. I think there were 2 x 33/0 and 2 x 33/1s if memory serves.

I also remember them working some trains from Chatham Dockyard to Forders Sidings (at Bedford?) when I lived in south -east London. I think the traffic was some sort of contaminated waste.


Dave

Thanks for the welcomes! I look forward to using this forum and expanding my limited knowledge and also sharing my enthusiam.

Forgive me: as usual Ian takes a month to get round to spotting then replying to an interesting thread. Amazingly, the only locomotive cab I've ever been in (apart from in museums) was a 33 back in the 1980s. I think it was the last day before full electrification of the East Grinstead line and they were offering short cab rides in a 33. A traction inspector showed us how the driver releases the brakes, powers up the diesel and watches the current on the ammeter climb. Network South East, as they were at that time, were rather good at organising such days but all that seems to have finished now.