Reading General in 1968
 

Just after steam finished, I got interested in Railways and practically lived on Reading station.Heres what you would have seen if you were me

Westerns of course with Warships on West Country trains (double headed and non-stop on the Cornish Riveira Exp!) (D600-4 and D800-2 i never saw in Reading)

Hymeks on Glouscester and Oxford trains,

WR 47's (and Falcon) from South Wales

ER/LMR 47's on the cross-countries (D1800's very rare)

The occasional Class 22 on P Way or freight

PWM 650-654 occaionally and signal works no20 all the time.

2 bil and hal units on Waterloo trains

Tadploes on Guildford trains

Hampshire units on Basingstoke lines

Pressed steel DMU's everywhere with InterCity units occasionally (later replaced by Gloucester Cross Country units)

Class 33's particularly on some Guildford trains with three coaches and a PMV

Very rarely a 73 might turn up as might a Birmingham based DMU or a Hastings unit.

Classes 20/31 never 37/40/45/46 very very rarely

Two pilots in those days...West end would be a Western and east end was an 08 (the numbers D3268/9,D3831.D3947/48/53 seem to stick in my mind (nice and warm in the winter)

Lots of parcels and Post traffic...trollies and mailbags everywhere.Loads of freight about too...

Of course they have just anounced a £650 million pound plan to rebuild Reading because it is the "bigest bottleneck" on the western main line, and the second busiest station outside London*. I dont know any more details.

Better get you nostalgia trip book soon, Arthur.


* Which is the busiest I wonder, York?

Is that "busiest" in terms of passengers or train movements?

New Street I guess

Dont know. Just quoting from memory from the newspaper article.