Class 50 50027 'Lion' in large logo livery about to roll at Paddington station with an NSE service to Oxford
<b>Memories of the fine art of Vac bashing</b>
Between 1983 and 1991 I spent many, many happy hours with my friends riding the rails behind the mighty 'Hoovers' or Class 50s. As well as enjoying the thrash, I managed to record many of the trips and railway scenes encountered on film for posterity. Those days are now long gone, but happily the photos remain for me to reminisce over and share ;)

50027 'Lion' is seen chugging away at the head of an NSE Paddington-Oxford service - the loco carries the black roof modified paint scheme as applied to several Laira based Class 50s in the mid 1980s. The loco retained the large logo livery long enough to be repainted straight into the revised NSE livery in 1988. [the loco received its final overhaul, or F-exam, at Laira in late 1987, and emerged in the revised Network SouthEast (NSE) livery on 31 December 1987]

<b>Locomotive History</b>
D427 entered service 15-Jun-68
Renumbered 50027 in 1974
Named 'Lion' 17-Apr-78
Withdrawn 23-Jul-91
'Lion' was one of the lucky survivors - the locomotive was preserved and can now be found working on the Mid Hants Ralway (The Watercress Line) in NSE livery.

More on 50027 'Lion' here: <a href="http://www.watercressline.co.uk/article.php/71/50027-class-50-lion" rel="noreferrer nofollow">www.watercressline.co.uk/article.php/71/50027-class-50-lion</a>

Taken with a Soviet made Zenith TTL SLR camera and standard lens.

You can see a random selection of my railway photos here on Flickriver: <a href="http://www.flickriver.com/photos/themightyhood/random/" rel="noreferrer nofollow">www.flickriver.com/photos/themightyhood/random/</a>
london diesel paddington class50 50027 station 427 locomotive d427