B812 (51462, 59530 & 51530) passes Stoke Orchard with the 14:57 Worcester Shrub Hill to Gloucester service on 13 March 1982. Note the plated over square section under the centre windscreen - the site of the former two character route indicator panel. On this unit the destination blind is missing, revealing the three bulbs used for illumination! This location is now spoiled by ubiquitous palisade fencing, which together with much lineside vegetation makes this view impossible now. In the 1980s a young couple could take their son to the lineside to watch the trains go by, with just a simple concrete post and wire fence between them and the line. |