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As above. Those services from London Paddington in the late 80’s early 90’s (the rave period) that had 50’s then 47’s with rakes of Network SouthEast coaches. Im assuming Oxford was an often one but Newbury? Did the locos run around the train at Newbury or continue to elsewhere? Did they make it to Westbury pulling Network SouthEast trains?
Cheers

I remember catching the 1000 Reading - Paddington (0935 from Newbury), Mark 2c's, hauled one day by 50 046 "Ajax" with 47 541 "The Queen Mother"

They really lifted up their skirts and were standing in Paddington at 1026.

And then we had turbos...

OTC

Ran to Banbury as well. I think there where 2 trains in the Evening 1 via Oxford and 1 via High Wychombe but stand to be corrected by those with extensive timetable collections.

Not the most reliable transport towards the end.
One evening while spending a week on a Network rover I arrived at Paddington to find a 47 had failed and another had been dispatched from Old Oak. We left a bit late with the 2 47s on the front only for the replacment to expire at Reading gas works. An 08 hauled us into Reading where a third 47 was attached to haul the train and 2 failed 47s to Oxford where the train terminated.

That’s funny, I don’t remember seeing that one on JourneyCheck!  ;)

Class 86s used to pull rakes of coaches from Liverpool Street to Cambridge, where the 86 was swapped for a 47 for the onward journey to King's Lynn.

Class 50s, 47s, and 33s used to run Waterloo to Exeter with NSE trains and then continue beyond to Paignton and even Penzance although the NSE jurisdiction went only as far as Whimple or Feniton. Not sure what the revenue split was.

I just finished my first spell of commuting just (two months) before the re-organisation and re-branding. Based on my memories of that time, a substantial proportion of the Oxford to Paddington peak services, a number of Twyford to Paddington services (which I think ran empty onto Reading) and Newbury or Bedwyn services were locomotive hauled, and I think continued to be until the arrival of the Turbos, with old-style DMUs filling in on off-peak, shorter and branch line services.

I commuted from Tilehurst, and my "normal" morning train was loco-hauled with Mark 1 corridor stock, but occasional Mark 2s (much more comfortable in my view!). If I got up early, there was the luxury of an early HST service that ran non-stop after Tilehurst. I remember a collective audible groan from Platform 4 at Tilehurst one morning when a class 31 arrived about 10 minutes late at the head of the train.

For a few years, Cotswold line services were provided, in the main, by 1st gen DMUs, that connected (after a fashion) with Class 50 or Class 47 loco hauled fasts at Oxford, run by NSE.  I'm thinking late 1980s / early 1990s.  Huge contrast between rattly old dogbox DMU and the relative comfort of MkII coaching stock.  The NSE accommodation was usually a rake of 10 MkIs or MkII c/ds, or a mixture.  The MkIs by this time were well past their prime.  Held together by force of habit alone, I always used to think.  And yet 30+ years on, many are still alive and well, and living on a heritage line somewhere

The Class 50 or Class 47 loco-hauled services did do turnarounds at Westbury, most often in peak time.

Widening it out there was the Bournemouth to Weymouth push-pull operation with Class 33 coupled to a 4TC. Such a combination was also used on Reading to Basingstoke on occasion.

Widening again ... I thought of the Night Ferry, but that ceased in 1980 and NSE came in 1982.  Also thought that there were locomotive hauled (top 'n tail) trains out of Paddington right until 18th May 2019  ;D

I asked a NSE Station Inpsector why they ran empty to Reading and went back ECS to Pad. He explained they ran round in the Up side goods loops so they weren't blocking platforms in the peak at Reading, remember this wasa the old station with only 4 through platfroms.  Probably quite uneconomical.

Similarly the Newbury's I think ran to Westbury to run round not sure whther ECS of in service. NSE ended at Bedwyn.

Interesting stuff, thanks for the replies. The reason I’m intrigued is if these dragged services ran to places without accommodation for running round the train, what did they do instead? I think a loco could run round at Newbury because both through platforms are on loops off the mainline but that would mean a quick turnaround to avoid blocking platforms. I just don’t recall any loco hauled train waiting at Newbury in those days but I could be wrong. Bedwyn obviously has its reversing siding but I’m guessing any loco dragged service would have to run to Westbury to run round, seems a very bizarre way of avoiding extra services for Pewsey and Westbury. Oxford and I think Banbury both have accommodation for trains to turn and wait.

We’re the twyford terminators the same situation as today? Advertised as twyford but actually ended at Reading to avoid a longer journey for some passengers? Radley and Ealing Broadway play a similar role.

If there were a spare loco (remember, such things existed in the '70s and '80s!) it could wait in the reversing siding at Bedwyn until the next terminating train arrived in the Down platform.  Then:
Loco 1 from siding to Up platform to get out of the way
Loco 2 draws terminating train from Down platform to Siding, uncouple
Loco 1 from Up platform to siding, couple to London end of stock.
Loco 1 takes train into Up platform ready for return to London.

Then loco 2 from the terminating train remains in the siding, to repeat the process for the next train.

I dunno if Bedwyn ever hosted moves such as this, but the signals exist for it to occur.  Similar loco-release sidings were still in the Liverpool Street layout when it was resignalled in 1989 (but they've been taken out since.)

I suspect it was before NSE but I remember when I got hold of my first working timetable there were some Twyford terminators which ran empty to the former carriage sidings at Malago Vale just west of Bristol Temple Meads.

That seems really extreme. Dead running that far seems ludicrous now.

During one timetable, Reading Transport ran the first No. 1 bus from Newbury bus station (4.55 I think it was) dead from Reading garage to start, which I always thought a little extreme. Especially as you were given more time to get to Newbury out of service as you were to do the journey back to town.

That quote went wrong as it’s being done on a phone but you get the gist.

Sorted for you - I hope.   From a full-sized laptop!

I've just dug out some carriage labels which I kept as 'souvenirs' of my commute between Twyford and Paddington in Network SE days:

As I said I'm pretty sure that the Twyford terminators ran round in the up goods loops at Reading, leaving the coaches by the signal box they ran light engine had to run nearly to Tilehurst to change lines and run back to pick up the stock and  and run non stop ECS back to Padd. As there were no plaforms they couldn't convey pssengers to Reading or pick up passengers for Paddington. They could have stopped to pick up at intermediate stations but as the NSE Inspector said they were needed tio form the next train out of Padd.

I would doubt that any loco changes took place at Bedwyn.

Malago Vale was well outside NSE teritory.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/131083590@N05/23069384256/in/photolist-B9yCdq-jH9Nj3-2jcQ6ZS-q29R2A-UZfpTB

Photo from Carl Looker on Flickr of what I was looking for. A loco running round it’s train at Newbury in Network SouthEast days.

Their was a 06:50am service westbury to Paddington,ECS from Malago vale.

Not sure of the engines,but I do recall the coach's had just been, WELL, painted in Network south east colours.

As I was unable open the sliding windows in the six passenger compartment sections

So a further question sort of on this subject. I’m guessing that full daytime Bedwyn to London services arrived with the Turbos, as the London to Newbury loco hauled trains ran around at Newbury or continued beyond Bedwyn. Did this mean that Bedwyn was the terminus for the all stops service from Reading (General) until the turbos arrived?

The 1982 WTT shows a DMU service from Reading to Bedwyn running roughly every 2 hours off peak and the 1989 Paddington Station Workings do not show any Paddington to Bedwyn services off peak so it would seem to be the case that the regular service from Paddington was not introduced until the arrival of the turbos.  I wonder if the turbo service from Paddington was initially all stations west of Reading or if the Reading to Newbury shuttle was introduced at the same time, giving Newbury 2 trains per hour from Reading off peak (quite an improvement from what was on offer in 1982)?

From the history page of Bedwyn Trains (https://steve09478.wixsite.com/btpg/station-history)

Browsing through some old timetables, the 1747 London Paddington to Westbury service appears to have run for the final time on Friday 13 March 1992, to be replaced by a 1747 from Paddington to Bedwyn from the following Monday, which I guess would have been when this train became Turbo operated.

Off-peak Paddington to Bedwyn services started on 28 September 1992, running two-hourly and calling only at Theale and Thatcham between Reading and Newbury. On the other hour there was a Reading to Newbury all stops service.

Two trains per hour between Reading and Newbury must have been a later innovation (sometime between 1996 and 2000).

I do recall when I was young in the early 90’s, that there was a local and a semi-fast loco hauled between Reading and Newbury. Possibly one semi-fast an hour and the local every two hours but I do remember there being more than one option back to Theale or Reading at least during some hours of the day. I’m also perhaps thinking that there was a few more intercity stops during the day at Newbury then, before a solid two an hour was introduced but the early 90’s are a very hazy time for me. 

I’ve now seen a video on the YouTube with evidence of this happening. I think the video was 89 or 90

No doubt this was when the 17.47 was due to go over to Turbo operation. However, loco hauled operation of that service soldiered on until Friday 3rd July 1992 - presumably running ecs to Westbury as there would have been no opportunity to run round at Bedwyn.

In terms of the Twyford terminators (!) running ecs to Malago Vale, I wonder if that was every day, or just on Fridays prior to running Summer Saturday trains. I would imagine there were quite a few loco-hauled extras to Weymouth / Weston  - or replacements to allow dmus to double up.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UPmco2llz5w

A great video by Soi Buakhao demonstrating a class 47 running around its train at Newbury has now appeared answering the question fully finally. He has plenty of other videos from the NSE era and beyond.