Roger Winnen
Warminster/Imber
Guy Vincent
Warminster station was overwhelmed today by a large influx of visitors who came from far and wide for the annual 'Imberbus' event which sees a large fleet of classic red London buses running a shuttle service to the abandoned village of Imber on Salisbury Plain. UK Railtours ran a special train from Waterloo for this event, formed of preserved class 33 D6515 (33012), the 'London Transport' 4-TC set and class 73 73107. I was unable to see the outward run and sadly 'proper' photography of the return train was near impossible due to the sheer numbers on the platforms and footbridge but I did manage to grab a few shots of the 1Z84 1704 departure for Waterloo. Of course, until May 1988 33012 was a regular visitor here when it made calls on the Portsmouth-Cardiff loco-hauled 'Table 132' services. To show how much has changed I've added a scan of sister 'Crompton' 33013 arriving on the 1007 Bristol-Portsmouth service on 7th May 1987. Note the lack of vegetation and the former Geest banana ripening and distribution warehouse on the right. This was built in 1959-60, was rail-connected and received deliveries from Barry and Avonmouth until the early 1970s. The factory closed in the late 1980s and was demolished to be replaced by a modern housing estate.
Guy Vincent
Guys detailed reports make fascinating reading - Many thanks.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imber
and for more details of the imberbus service please click below.
https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/blog/2019/02/05/routemaster-buses-to-drive-through-a-military-firing-range/
Michael Forward
All the best, Michael Many thanks Michael - a golden oldie.