Crowds and cars for an older form of transport
Penperlleni, Monmouthshire, April 16, 1983
The locals of Penperlleni – and from much further afield by the looks of it, judging by all the cars – have turned out en masse to witness Great Western Railway ‘Castle’ class locomotive number 5051 Drysllwyn Castle pass the hamlet. The photographer was probably a bit miffed at all the modern vehicles crowding his view of the Welsh Marches Pullman but now, more than 40 years on, everything here is a fascinating period piece.
There’s no longer any DVLA record of MOR 409L, the blue 1972 Saab 96 V4 foremost in the shot, which means it probably disappeared from the road soon after this picture. Details of what’s behind it are still on Swansea’s database; however, VKG 291S was a 1294cc Chrysler Alpine GL registered in May 1978 and taxed until July 1988. The next cars are a Ford Escort MkII – with those black bumpers, probably a Popular or Popular Plus – nose-to-nose with a Ford Capri MkIII. Then there’s an Avenger, standing out in Caribbean Blue. The lack of wraparound front indicators means an earlier Hillman, not a Chrysler or Talbot.
Vibrant colour scheme
Also very noticeable thanks to its vibrant colour scheme is MCE 641P, a yellow 1290cc Fiat 128 3P. Registered in July 1976, it survived until September 1991. Distinguishable beyond are a Ford Cortina MkIV, Volkswagen Golf MkI and Austin Allegro Series I or II. Then there’s another Chrysler Alpine and, just discernible, the jelly mould shape of a Ford Sierra; very new at this point as it was only launched in September 1982.
While we doubt many – if any – of the cars here still exist, the steam engine naturally does, albeit on static display at Didcot Railway Centre wh
