Newport (Mon.), Wednesday 15th January 1975. I'd got up a bit late and had to get a move on to catch the 09:06 dmu from Temple Meads. Once arrived, I thought I'd wander down to Cashmore's scrapyard, for old time's sake. The last time I'd been there they'd been breaking some of the D600 "Warships". I didn't think this photo-worthy and was more interested in the neighbouring Buttigeig's yard, where they were still cutting up steam engines. On this occasion I couldn't see anything of interest and ignored the red Class 03 shunter in what appeared to be a coal merchant's yard across the road. I crossed the Usk and descended on the far side to a street "of uneven paving stones and small tobacconists". The air, I noted, was filled with a pleasant, sherry-like odour emanating from a nearby factory. All this was "normal" and uninteresting at the time and I took no photographs. I walked all the way along Spytty Road (now known, I see from Google Maps, as the "Southern Distributor Road") to the railway, not far from the "RTB Spencer Works" at Llanwern. Keeping as close as I could to the railway I started to make my way back towards the centre of the town and paused to take this shot from Somerton Road. Street View shows the usual proliferation of greenery, blotting out this prospect of the distant Spencer Works. The branch, which, on my A-Z seems to go a mile or so down to the docks, is now singled. The houses on the far side of the line are painted in pastel colours. The main line had been colour light for years as far as I remember, so the agreeable GW semaphores, with finials, must have been for the branch only. A kestrel hovered overhead, with cords trailing from its legs. "Jesses" I thought, remembering the word from Kes. At the station D1033 WESTERN TROOPER was on the 11:15 from Paddington. I waited 2½ hours for it to return, so that I could ride back behind it to Bristol Parkway. There was permanent way work in the Severn Tunnel, which meant a stupendous uphill acceleration from the lowest middle part. Fab!