Chester Railway Station in the 1980s – Class 37s, 40s, 47s & Classic British Rail

Chester Railway Station in the 1980s – Class 37s, 40s, 47s & Classic British Rail.

Step back in time to Chester Railway Station during the 1980s, when British Rail blue, large-logo locomotives and classic diesel multiple units were still part of everyday railway life.

Chester was — and remains — a fascinating railway crossroads, with trains heading towards North Wales, Holyhead, Liverpool, Manchester, Crewe, Shrewsbury and beyond. During the 1980s, however, the railway had a very different atmosphere.

In this nostalgic collection of footage, we return to an era of traditional locomotive-hauled passenger trains, rattling diesel units, parcels and mail traffic, semaphore signalling still surviving in the wider area, and the unmistakable sights and sounds of British Rail.

Chester could offer the enthusiast an interesting variety of traction, including Classes 20, 25, 31, 37, 40, 47 and 56, alongside the familiar first-generation diesel multiple units. Class 37s in particular became closely associated with trains along the North Wales Coast, eventually becoming one of the defining sights of the railway through Chester.

The station itself also had a very different feel. The magnificent long station building and overall roof were instantly recognisable, but the surroundings were often darker, grubbier and far less polished than they are today. Diesel exhaust hung beneath the roof, locomotives idled noisily alongside the platforms, doors slammed and BR announcements echoed around the station.

For many railway enthusiasts, that was all part of the magic.

So join us as we travel back more than four decades and experience Chester Station in the 1980s, during an unforgettable period of British railway history.

How much of the Chester you remember survives today? And given the choice, would you rather spend an afternoon trainspotting at Chester in 1985 or 2026?

Let us know your memories in the comments.

If you enjoyed this journey back into Britain's railway past, please like the video, share it with other railway enthusiasts and subscribe to the channel for more archive railway films, forgotten stations, classic locomotives and memories from the days of British Rail.

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