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Class 101 DMU approaches Redcar (early 1980s)

A view of a Class 101 DMU approaching Redcar in the early 1980s; a previous poster had added the comment ”I hated these smelly, noisy, uncomfortable, draughty things – it made the bus worthwhile – and a car inevitable. I notice that this is before Redcar Central Station became a business park and the railway became single track.” Tom Sayers has replied with: ”These DMU1s were very comfortable and not at all draughty. This track is not, and never has been single track.”
Image courtesy of Russ Pigott and many thanks to Tom Sayers for rectifying the errors in posting.

Crag Hall Yard 1990

Taken from the back of the signal box looking towards the works, this image shows the train assembly yards for Skinningrove Works. I can’t make up my mind whether it’s a guard’s van or a small shunter on the rightmost rake of wagons.

Image courtesy of Russ Pigott.

Class 37 at Salburn (1987)

The Class 37, like the 25 and the 20, is the unsung hero of the diesel era. A scaled down Class 40 it has pulled everything under the sun, single, double and triple-headed!
Image courtesy of Russ Pigott.

Class 37 Carlin How (Early 1980s)

There is something about black and white and railway images, they just seem to go well together. Here, a Class 37 and a train of empties head across the new bridge at Carlin How en-route to Boulby for loading.
Image courtesy of Russ Pigott.

Class 20s at Boulby (1987)

Possibly the same pair as the other post, just rolling with the loaded train.
Image courtesy of Russ Pigott.

Class 20s at Boulby (1987)

Slightly contre-jour (backlight), a photograph of a couple of Class 20s in the classic nose-to-nose configuration, leaving the loading yard at Boulby Potash, bound for Saltburn Junction.

Image courtesy of Russ Pigott.

Class 20s Saltburn West (1987)

I told Russ that my favourite diesels were Class 20s, Class 25s and Class 37s – there follows a whole series of lovely images – from that privileged track-side position.
Image courtesy of Russ Pigott.

Market Place Guisborough

How lovely to see Guisborough like this free of traffic. Dating the image is possibly best via directories and Census: Bulmer’s Directory of 1890 lists a William Jackson as a Bootmaker trading in the Market Place, the 1891 Census lists William Jackson, but the 1901 Census does not. So the photograph was probably taken post 1891. We are still researching! 

Image from a collection compiled by Derick Pearson.

Putting The World Right?

I wonder what the topic of the day was with these men gathered at the cross in Guisborough? You wouldn’t or couldn’t stand there today. Owen Rooks suggests: “This is only a suggestion-not a definitive answer! This could be a picture of the hirings, A process by which young able bodied men were engaged as agricultural labourers on yearly contracts. My father left school at the age of 12 in the early 1900’s and became a farm worker living in with his employers at various locations around the area. I remember him telling me how he walked from Skelton to stand at the Market Cross in Guisborough in the hope that someone would “hire” him. I don’t know how often this ritual occurred but it must have been a rather humiliating process. The picture seems to show such a group of young men with a prospective employer standing to the left (holding the stick).

Thanks to Owen Rooks for the update.

Loftus Fire Crew – 1978 – at ICI Wilton on exercise

Loftus Fire Station Crew on exercise at ICI Wilton in 1978.

Back row: Ken Verrill, Colin Gallilee, Ivan Gallilee (Station Officer @ Loftus), Jerry McElvaney.

Front Row: Bill Hicks, Keith Gallilee.

Bill Hicks worked at ICI Wilton as a fireman and subsequently became Station Officer @ Loftus, replacing Ivan Gallilee. ICI Wilton were very supportive of local retained fire crews and offered additional training sessions. Ivan was father of Colin and Keith.

John Preston advises: “The Gallilee family had had a long firefighting tradition, Ivan’s dad (my step grandfather) Fred was also in the brigade and I can recall him telling stories of having to catch the horse to pull the pump.”

Image courtesy of Eileen Hicks, thank to John Preston for the update on the Gallilee family.