When I neared Reading on my journeys to London my heart both rose and sank. The long stretch of fields and canal ended with a sharp turn left and a junction, so I realised Reading West would soon be upon me, and the ‘town’ would give way to the ‘country’ that I’d enjoyed, and factories and blocks of flats would soon hem me in along with crowds of people and pollution. On the other hand, there would be lots of interesting sights railway-wise on the run in to London, so I accepted my lot, and set myself to make the best of it.
9402 heads a line of similar class out-of-use 0-6-0 Tanks on the south side of Reading Depot in August 1959. A snow plough is parked against the shed that has had the first couple of its straight chimneys replaced by rotating ventilators, and on the near side of the locos is the remains of an air raid shelter. 5908##A01-RDG-E_SHD-VI_SW
A Swindon-built green and yellow-finished ‘Warship’ heads a train of chocolate and cream stock past a big station with sunstantial signal gantry – possibly Reading. The gantry supports are wooden, but the starter for the D8XX is very high tubular steel – suggesting an obstruction like a footbridge would obscure it from sight if it was just normal height. 6####HZ01-UNK–D8##-PASGR
D6326 is parked before Reading depot, some time after introduction. One of its bodyside flaps is out of sinc, but they are all intact, and a yellow warning panel has been added to the front end. The whole appearance seems workman-like, but unspectacular. 660313A01-RDG-D6326-PARKD
D7062 is parked next to a breakdown tools van to the east of Reading Depot on 14th July 1969. This sort of sight was familiar to me, although I seem to remember the trees behind blocking more of the view of the DMU Depot in the background from sight. The ‘new’ building to the right impressed me, though I never trespassed there. 690714A01-RDG-D7062-PARKD
D846 “STEADFAST” approaches Reading from the east, passing a Southern Region commuter service. The loco has a small BR emblem above its nameplate that was an unusual feature. The area had yet to be resignaled and the station structures upgraded. 700117A01-RDG—D846-PASGR
Coupled to a GUV and parked on a central road between platform edge tracks, D1015 “WESTERN CHAMPION” waits until required. Both vehicles catch reflections from the adjacent platform edge and seem in respectable condition. Behind parcels are stacked on a BRUTE, and a railman passes by. 7####CT01-RDG-D1015-SHUNG
With a speeded-up passenger service to the West of England, D831 “MONARCH” (leading) and D823 “HERMES” pause at Reading station in 1970, passing between an eastbound train of oil tanks and a platform of BRUTES comfortably loaded with parcels. 700117A02-RDG—D8XX-PAS_D
D827 “HERMES” and D831 “MONARCH” are pictured at Reading on a speeded up service to the West of England. Both are in penultimate ‘D’-prefix BR livery, but D831has its number away from the cabside as orginally envisaged by Design Research Unit: a style swiftly abandoned. Photo: Derek Canning. 69###BC1-RDG–D8XX-PAS_D
Sometime before willows obscured the view, “81D” is seen from the DMU depot above it near Reading West station. On shed are two SR 33s, a Western and a Warship – dating it to before 1972. Reading was always a depot that must be viewed as I passed it, as besides locos, it also had interesting civil engineering vehicles parked in the sidings alongside. 7####GT04-RDG-DEPOT-VI__N
On 24th February 1970, 1662 “ISAMBARD KINGDOM BRUNEL” waits on the centre road at Reading Station. It’s British Rail logo is positioned in an unusual place, as one was normally placed midways on the body side, reducing the cost of two per side. The AB/VB stencil has been neatly positioned beside the builder’s plate, below it’s number. 700204A01-RDG-d1662-PARKD
Green PWM653 is parked up amid sleepers, a crane and other permanent way equipment before Reading depot in 1973 – a sight I saw a couple of times, though my normal sighting of this shunter was at Taunton later, when in corporate yellow paintwork. A Hymek and breakdown vehicles are separately arrayed behind it, and on the skyline is Reading DMU depot. 780329A01-RDG-P~653-PARKD
Parked out of use on Reading depot, awaiting removal now the Open Day is over, is small prairie 5573. Beyond it is the Reading/Reading West curve, with a city office block at far left, and to the right trees typically associated with water in Berkshire. 7####BJ01-RDG-s5572-PARKD
Parked up between duties are 47128 and a classmate at Reading Station – headcodes set to zeros. The chimney on the building behind is typical of railway architecture, and the track before them is a mixture of bullhead and flat-bottomed – with prominent fishplates. 7####DQ01-RDG-47128-PARKD
Spotters are at the end of the platform as 47227, with headcode set to 0000, draws into Reading with a train of mixed passenger stock in the early 1970s. On the other side of it is a Water Tower, signalling block house and shunter 08640 – and, behind, a gasholder. 7####DR02-RDG-47227-PAS_U
A London-bound passenger service slews into Reading Station from the west, headed by D1021 “WESTERN CAVALIER”, as two trainspotters add the sighting to their notebooks. In the background a DMU runs towards the station from the Oxford direction. 7####ET01-RDG-D1021-PAS_U
These photographs of ‘Westerns’ passing through Reading are all from a batch by the same photographer – in those days of limited graphic images, the negatives were probably thrown away as the prints were what mattered! Quite similar, so a little monotonous, they still are unique examples of historic events.
1010 “WESTERN CAMPAIGNER” wears an unusual headcode as it waits at Reading Station with a westbound train – catching the attention of one of the spotters at the platform opposite. The driver looks back for the “right away” instruction to proceed. 74###AD01-RDG-D1010-PAS_D
This batch of originally square-format ‘Instamatic’ photographs are of ‘Westerns’ at Reading – a favourite haunt of enthusiasts as the West of England and Bristol lines converged there – with significant freight as well as passenger services passing through. 740507A01-RDG-D10##-PAS_D++
With a service from the South Wales direction, D1068 “WESTERN RELIANCE” approaches Reading in 1975. It is in awful external condition, incongruous with its top link duty, as it was not expected to still be in service by this date. A Class 31 is in the yard behind. 75###AA01-RDG-D1068-PAS_D
With exhaust gently rising and trailing behind, a grimy D1011 “WESTERN THUNDERER” begins to pull away eastwards from Reading Station with a London-bound passenger service. Photo: I T Langhorn and http://www.the-transport-photo-interchange.co.uk. 7507##A01-RDG-D1011-PAS_U
47226’s headcode gives the misleading impression that these describers are still in use as it passes 47090 “VULCAN” on a London-bound train, entering Reading Station. In this ‘Rail Blue’ era, the arrival of a named Class 47 was a rare and very welcome event. 760601A01-RDG-47226-PAS_U
The power is on, but the inertia is a drag on 47223 as it moves off from Reading Station towards London with a train of Mk II stock. The huge buffer ends gave these locomotives a “hunched up” appearance, as if they were clenched fists, assisting their determination to move. 760601A02-RDG-47233-PAS_U
Spotters congregate around the cab of 47498 heading an ACS passenger service from the West, at Reading Station, before it lumbers into life and completes the final leg of its journey to London in June 1976. Behind empty vans wait with open doors after being emptied. 760601A03-RDG-47498-PAS_U
With the exception of the freshly-laid, concrete sleepered track that the train is on, the recently re-ballasted trackbed at the top of Sonning Cutting shows signs of contamination from oil leak as D1010 “WESTERN CAMPAIGNER” descends with a freight. 650805A01-SGC-D1010-PAS_D
The four-tracked “Sonning Cutting” east of Reading was a famous site for railway photography, and a ‘Western’ is seen here descending westwards with the 1C45 Paddington to Penzance in the mid to late 60’s. Today’s view is obscured with overhead electrification. 6####EG01-SIG-D10##-PAS_D
A parcels unit leading a 3-car rumbles past Reading on 13th September 1986 – the parcels in all-over blue and the 3-car in grey and blue. In the background is the tower of Caversham Road Fire Station – a notable landmark in Reading Station photographs for many years. I saw several such units from a distance, but sadly never up close to better examine them. 860913B01-RDG-PARCL-PAS_U
The Eric Curnow Collection 