LOCHEE WEST STATION IN COLOUR

Got a rare, recently discovered colour photo from the 1960's of Lochee West Station at the junction of Elmwood Road and South Road.
Still lots of open land around the area back then, and even some quaint farm cottages across the road. In fact, you wouldn't think there would be much call for a rail stop at this point. Quite a change from how it is nowadays.
A reminder that there are a couple of other items on Lochee West Station in the March 2011 Retro Archives, including map and film footage.
Thanks to Gordon C.

END OF THE LINE

As I bring the recent railway theme to a halt, I'm going to end it with the same topic I started it off with - the Lochee line.

The map section I scanned in shows Lochee West Station & Lochee Station, with the line then continuing up towards Downfield.

Before it reaches the Kingsway, another line branches off East to Fair Muir and Maryfield goods stations.

The aerial photo is from around the mid 60's and it too has the Lochee line visible on it.

The easiest way to spot it is - you see that small dark square clump of trees near the bottom right of the picture, well the thin grey track brushing passed it is the Lochee line, and in fact that is where Lochee West Station was located.

You can follow the line on the photo all the way along it's swooping curve through Lochee and up beside the Kingsway Ice Rink.

You'd probably be best to save the large versions onto your own computer and go back & forward between the 2 to match them up.

And just in case the obvious escapes you - the left side of the map corresponds to the bottom of the photo, so you'll need to twist the images around in your mind!

GETTING THE SIGNAL - 1970'S / 80'S

Not exactly a brilliant picture this one but to be fair my brother was on board a train when he snapped it.

It was taken in the early 70's around the area between the rail bridge and the station.

To get technical for a moment - the WHISTLE sign was to warn of an approaching train shunting in the wrong direction over the up line.

The 2 signal arms on the tall post are shunting signals controlling one of the entrances to the goods yard.

What amuses me about the photo though is the reminder that back in the 70's my brother used to show his photos using a slide projector & screen at home, and every time this photo popped up on view, everyone in the room started to whistle!
 

Now this is a much better picture - this time one of Neale Elders.

You should recognise the view taken from the end of the platform.

The image was shot in December 1983, a year before these semaphore signals were replaced with a new coloured lighting system.

The signal boxes in the background are West Box & Central Box.
 

Another Neale Elder image here - the view along the rail bridge tracks taken in March 1986.

The "Push-Pull" train in the picture is another piece of history, and I'm pretty certain it has ScotRail on the side too!

If you need to delve deeper into the images, click onto them for the large versions.

2 BRITISH RAIL ADS - 1979/84

The top ad from 1979 has quite a lot of well known, but now long gone, BR services on display - Railfreight, Motorail, Red Star, Sealink etc - all of which have either been sold off, re-branded or closed down!

The 2nd one is a Dundee based ad for ScotRail dating from 1984.

The ScotRail name is still on the go - but minus the BR logo.

LOCAL RAIL TICKETS - 1980'S

Here's a nice wee collection of old BR tickets that were on the go in the mid 80's.
The large red & white ticket was probably the most common one in use back then for everyday city to city travel. Not only is the ticket a Dundee one, the machines that dispensed them were local too - the equipment being manufactured by NCR.
The white Excess/Travel slips were dished out by on-train staff in the days before they were given portable ticket machines for the job.
The wee pink ones were called Edmondson tickets and were issued at Broughty Ferry up until the station became unmanned in March 1985.
Big thanks to Neale Elder.

THE BROUGHTY FERRY TRAIN

There doesn't appear to be much of a difference with the view along Douglas Terrace nowadays and when the above photo was taken - the mid 70's.

This is one of my brothers snaps and you should be able to notice he managed to catch the moment a train went whizzing past Royal Tay Yacht Club.

So just for a bit of fun, I thought I'd accompany the image with this piece of film below - the same scene, but from the train drivers viewpoint.

The footage is from inside the drivers cab, and is the full, uninterrupted trip from Dundee Station to Broughty Ferry Station, passing places such as the Docks, Stannergate, Grassy Beach and of course this stretch here in the snap.

Duration? - 4 minutes.

"ALL ABOARD!"

BROUGHTY FERRY STATION - 1980'S

Well I've passed it often enough, but I've never actually had any reason to use Broughty Ferry Station - so for those of you who were Ferry passengers, this batch of photos from the mid 80's will take you back.

Top one is of the level crossing & signal box at Gray Street and was taken in July 1985.

The signal box and footbridge were later dismantled and is currently in storage, perhaps to be reassembled sometime in the future.

Middle shot is a view from the other side of the structure as seen from the platform. Picture is dated February 1984.

The last image is a look inside at the station's ticket office. If you zoom into the large version you'll find plenty of BR paraphernalia to read. This was snapped in September 1984, and then a year later it became unstaffed.

The station is now operated by mission control in Dundee.

Photos by Neale Elder.

RAILWAY RECORDING BOOTHS

Dundee used to have a Recording Booth (like the one above) at the rail station in the 60's and 70's.

Just like a photo booth, you'd plonk your coin in the slot, but instead of posing for some snaps, you'd start speaking.

The idea was that those who were travelling could send a voice message from the location they were visiting - a bit like a sonic postcard!

2/6 (13p) for a 3 minute recording at the standard speed of 45rpm.

Mind you, it was also put to use by the locals from time to time.

Yvonne J (Susan Childe from The Flamingos) was telling me that when she was a young teenager she once popped into the booth and recorded a full song - a bit of a precursor to her later years in proper recording studios.

The booth in the picture isn't the Dundee one, but I'm sure every main town in Britain had one back then.

I guess they must have been phased-out some time in the mid/late 70's.

RAIL STATION & GOODS STATION - 1983

The top photo is a nice reminder of how Tay Bridge Station looked before it became the design it is today. The one on top being a basic shoe box design - functional rather than eye-catching.

This is exactly how I remember the area when I lived in Dundee.

At the time the picture was taken (21st December 1983) the larger building next to it, the goods station, was being demolished, although obviously all the work was being done at the rear.

If you view the large version, you can see the rail station's Christmas tree.

The close-up image of the Dundee West Goods Station sign was taken on 22nd December 1983, and as you can see it was the depot of National Carriers.

Another relic from the past that's in the bottom shot is the guy wearing a Kestrel Marine jacket!

Photos by Neale Elder.

2 OLD LOCHEE RAIL STATIONS

Lochee by rail? Well you could once upon a time.

The top picture is Lochee Station, taken around 1970-ish.

It had been closed down for quite a while by then, but the station itself was saved and converted in 1972 into the Lochee Burns Club.

I really like the patchwork quilt stonework. You'd think Gaudi had paid a visit.

The other one, a bit further along the line, is Lochee West Station.

This outpost was flattened rather than rescued, but just before it disappeared it was filmed for posterity in the late 60's.

The footage below doesn't last long, but it lingers long enough to notice that it had separate waiting rooms for the Gentlemen and the Ladies!

2 DUNDEE BUS ADS - 1970'S

Me not being a motorist meant that buses were my main mode of transport back then for getting from A to B.

These 2 ads are from the 70's

The top one is for Alexander's, the rural service who's yellow buses were based at Seagate Bus Station.

Something I can remember about the bus station when I was schoolboy aged was using the grubby photo booth a few times. One such session was in 1972 when me and my mate (both Slade fans) went in and got our photo's taken, pushing our fists up close to the camera with our thumbs out sideways, copying the "SLAYED" album cover!

I also have a memory of there being a Nestles chocolate vending machine that was always empty!

 

The other ad is for the local Council bus service who had a depot in Dock Street and an office in Barrack Street.

The 70's was when they changed from green coloured Corporation buses to blue Tayside Regional Council buses.

Does anyone know what product it is advertised on the side of the bus in the picture? The slogan is "Make Your Pins Look Sharper", but I haven't the foggiest what they are referring to!!

You may need to enlarge the image.

RADIO TAY MARATHON TEAM - 1984

This was the fashion for the Radio Tay team when running in the Dundee marathon in 1984.
Left is Iain Duncan. 2nd right is Peter Fraser and far right is George MacKintosh. For some reason the female runners aren't mentioned, however I can tell you that in the background, Norma Gamble is on the wheels of steel!!

These outfits reminded me that there was a wee film made in the early 80's called "How To Improve Your Radio Tay T-Shirt". It was the work of Jock Ferguson and features Craig Methven in the starring role, which consisted of making a few alterations to the garment!
As of yet, it remains in Jocks vault in it's original film format still to be converted into digital format. Let's hope at some stage it will see the light of day!

RADIO TAY NEWS TEAM - 1980

This was the fashion for the Radio Tay News team when roving around Dundee in 1980.

RITE TYME PLAY CLAN BALL

A title that I will decode for the younger ones!
Rite Tyme were a dynamic Dundee beat group, on the go in the mid to late 60's.
Band line-up : Stuart Cuthbert (vocals) - Frankie Vettraino (guitar) - Norrie Tennent (bass) - Bill Smith (keyboards) - Glen Jones (drums) - (also Wullie Munro drums).
Also on the scene in the swinging 60's was the new sound of Radio Scotland. Not the BBC one as it is today, but Radio Scotland the Pirate Station who broadcast from a ship based off the Scottish coast, transmitting on 242 meters. The radio station began on Hogmanay 1965 and quickly became very popular with Scotland's young hipsters. Because of this popularity, Radio Scotland started a club called Clan 242, which entitled members to merchandise, newsletters and the monthly 242 magazine (as shown above). In addition, the station began organising Clan Balls in various towns around Scotland, allowing 242 members to meet the DJ's and dance along to the bands on the bill.
So that's the title explained.
The above ads (both for Aberdeen in summer 1967) show the kind of bands that were involved in these Clan Balls - big hitters such as The Move, well known Scottish acts like The Beatstalkers and new performers such as Robert Plant and his Band Of Joy. Wonder what became of him?!
Another was held in Kirkcaldy's Raith Ballroom, and on the bill that night were Rite Tyme playing alongside, Cat Stevens, Gaels Blue and the Raith Showband.
All groovy things must come to an end however, and in August 1967, the Pirate Station was eventually forced to shut shop (or should that be shut ship!).
Below you can hear an extremely rare recording of the original Radio Scotland broadcast for the Kirkcaldy event.

YELLOW ALEXANDER BUSES

The yellow Alexander buses were the ones we used in the 60's & 70's to go to places like Arbroath and Fife. What I remember about them is that it seemed like everytime I went passed the Seagate Bus Station, the place was always full of them, but on the occasions I needed to go to the Station to actually travel on them, the Station would be mysteriously empty and had to wait ages on one!
The above photo featuring an Alexander's bus was taken in the early 70's. Nobody was hurt in the accident but the funny thing about it is that it's my brothers Austin Maxi that's crushed and it was him that took the picture. He was the only one in the car and as soon as the collision occurred he just stepped out the car and took a few snaps. Not even any camera shake!!
The car was a write-off and the photos were used in my brothers favour when it was insurance claim time!

THE TRAIN LEAVING DUNDEE

It was good to get away from Dundee from time to time. I enjoyed travelling by train, so in the early 80's I pounced on the chance to get an Inter Rail card, which allowed unlimited travel around Europe for 1 month. Dead easy to use. Just write the destination on the card and away you go. No need to queue for tickets.
Unlike nowadays, when most people tend to choose their own holiday dates, back then most folk were stuck with the "Dundee fortnight". On the Friday everybody came off work, it seemed like half the town teemed down to the rail station to depart!