Although without doubt a major attraction for the enthusiast, with it's bustling yards and locomotive depot located conveniently next to the station, Bescot always seemed to lack a certain something to me. I'm sure the roar of the adjacent M6 motorway didn't help. Neither did the forest of concrete and steel or the distinctive qualities of the nearby sewage treatment plant. Whereas many of my seventies haunts are remembered with the aid of the proverbial rose-tinted spectacles Bescot has always had a touch of the damp Tuesday afternoon about it.
Once again aesthetic concerns have taken second place and having deposited me on the platform EMU number 062 resumes it's trip to Birmingham New Street. Look at all those short wheelbase vans in the yard!
The various 'Roarers' were always fond favourites, the 84s doubly so. Little did I realise when I grabbed this shot of 84003 that I'd never get the chance to photograph one in active service again. Class 47s, on the other hand, were another matter entirely and 47285 drifting through the station light-engine was just another routine moment, one that can still be experienced today. Just.
The Class 25 "Rats" were everywhere, scurrying around decaying industrial areas with scraps of freight in tow.
25147 obligingly pulls to a halt by the footbridge, enabling me to snap a nice close-up of the cab.
Homeward bound: EMU number 007 pulls in with the service that will take me the short distance back to Walsall and a bus home.