In the course of my research over the years i’ve met many interesting characters online and in person. Pete recently responded to a question I posted on a Facebook Group about the Great Central Railway. He forwarded over a number of photographs that he took during Easter 1967 and very kindly gave me the green light to publish them here.
By way of context I asked Pete to write a few lines about the photos.
“For many years when I was growing up in West London, my mother would take my brother & I to stay with our grandparents in Leicestershire, normally 3 times a year at Christmas, Easter and for a couple of weeks during the summer holidays, travelling from Harrow on the Hill to Leicester Central. These were trips I always looked forward to and led to a strong affinity with the GC route. Hence, when at the age of 16 I saw that the GC was to close for through traffic, I resolved to take one last return trip on the day it closed, 3rd September 1966. Accordingly I caught the 0854 from Harrow, and after visiting my grandparents caught the very last Up Semi fast service, the 1745 back from Leicester to Harrow, pulled by Black 5 44984. On a subsequent visit to my grandparents during Easter 1967 I decided to visit the station one last time to take as many photographs as I could, to remind me of how the station looked. In the absence of staff or trains I was able to wander back and forth over tracks photographing the turntable, signals, water towers, and remaining trackwork and infrastructure. These are the photos that follow. In hindsight I wish I’d taken another roll of film with me, but it is what it is.”
You can navigate through the images below. Click on the thumbnail to view a larger image. These images are the ©property of Pete Garrard and have been reproduced here with his permission.
