The Way We Were
Toton, Nottinghamshire, Summer 1993
We walk amid the soon-to-be condemned this week, and while that’s especially true of the diesel locomotives here, it was probably just as likely for some of the cars, too.
The location is Toton Traction Maintenance Depot in Nottinghamshire, which started developing in the late 19th century. It’s now one of the UK’s largest rail depots, responsible for looking after many mainline locomotives. Unfortunately, the ones here were no longer loved, for this is Toton’s scrap line of withdrawn Class 20s. Known as ‘Choppers’ – because of the distinctive helicopter sound of their engines – these distinctive 1000hp machines were built between 1957 and 1968. A handful remain in service today, others have been preserved. But not the ones here. Withdrawn and dumped, in their mixture of British Rail ‘Corporate’ Blue and Railfreight ‘Red Stripe’ liveries, they had one final journey ahead of them – being towed to MC Metals in Glasgow for cutting up.
While the cars parked alongside, presumably belonging to depot staff, are still in use at this point in time, we’re not entirely convinced that some of them have too much time left, either, judging by their condition. That glorious metallic brown Volvo 240, which looks to be the oldest vehicle here, probably outlasted everything else around it, but some of its companions are looking decidedly dodgy.
B53 MBC is our first vehicle potentially on shaky ground. It’s a Bedford Astravan, dating from 1984 and based on the Astra MkII. The bars extending back along the roof mean it’s not the high roof Astramax
model but the version that was effectively an Astra estate, albeit with the rear side windows deleted. The front numberplate is broken in two places, there’s rust on the front wing and the bonnet is looking past its best. It’s not surprising that this beige load-lugger is no longer registered on the DVLA’s database.
Adjacent is a metallic beige – sorry, we mean gold – 1982 Renault 18 that, at 11 years old, is also showing its age a little too much, with tinworm flourishing under its big plastic grille. Launched onto the British market in 1978, it was the 10th most popular car in the country during 1980, selling 30,000 examples. But sales tailed off thereafter and it was withdrawn in 1986.
The cavalcade of corrosion continues with the Ford Escort MkIII next door. Like the Bedford, it also has rust flourishing in its front wing, albeit along the top edge, and that front valance covered in thick black underseal hints at even more problems elsewhere. C673 NAU would have been just eight years old at the time, so it must have led an even harder life than some of the adjacent class 20s.
The Blue Ovals continue with two Sierras – one a B-reg, the other an earlier Y-reg example. They look in better nick than their companions, although the red one does seem to have a slightly wonky bumper. The smooth noses, sans grilles, denote higher-spec variants. There’s a red Maestro sandwiched in between the Sierras and the 1980 Volvo 240 saloon which, with its larger rectangular headlamps, is also a plusher version, meaning it’s likely to be a GL or GLE.
Ford territory returns with the blue Ford Escort – being 1988, it’s one of the newest vehicles here – and then another Escort MkIII, rebelling against the pack by parking nose-in to the Class 20s. A Fiat Regata is keeping it company, after which we go east, with two Japanese offerings, an N13 Nissan Sunny and a Datsun Bluebird. These last three cars were once common sights on British roads, but when did you last see one? You’ve probably got more chance of running into a working Class 20…
‘While the cars parked alongside the Class 20 locos are still in use, we’re not convinced that some of them have too much time left, judging by their condition’ NEVER MIND THE DOOMED CLASS 20s…