Screen grab from the Channel 4 programme,
with acknowledgements to Lion Television, Channel 4 and Vimeo
In 2012 Lion Television made a documentary 'The Great Train Robbery's Missing Mastermind' for Channel 4, which later became available on Vimeo. It included footage of SXF580 being driven. Richard Lines (SXF590) contacted me because of confusion that it might have been his vehicle that was featured, and the possibility that it was involved in the robbery itself — it's known that the gang used a couple of Land-Rovers in the stopping of a Glasgow-to-London mail train at Bridego Railway Bridge, Buckinghamshire, on Thursday 8 August 1963, stealing mail bags containing over £2.6m.
Screen grab from the Channel 4 programme,
with acknowledgements to Lion Television, Channel 4 and Vimeo
Having viewed the footage (which was archive, from earlier programmes), I've found a brief section at 30.35 which shows the SXF580 in the yard of Leatherslade Farm (where the gang laid low for a few days after the robbery), being driven towards the gates and the road. I'm of the opinion that 580 was not involved with the robbery in any way — it's possible to make out that it's lettered 'Field Cable Party' on the doors, and is carrying a detachment board (which I've not been able to read). If it had been 'civilianised' (and I don't think that Civil Defence were disposing of their vehicles that early anyway) it would probably have had the livery removed. If it were involved in the robbery, it would have been carefully handled by the police (on a low-loader?) to preserve any evidence.
My conjecture is that it was still in CD service, and was maybe there installing temporary additional phone lines for the police to supplement the single line that would have served the farm(?). But it's an interesting piece of footage, which can be seen in fuil at vimeo.com/45590371.
Elsewhere in the programme there is 'archive footage' of Series 1s PXB468 and VME857 being driven away from the farm... but that is clearly re-creation stuff from an earlier TV programme that Lion re-used. NOT the original vehicles involved in the robbery.
Research by others indicates that the two LRs used by the gang were a Series 1 80", and a Series 2, both of which had been given false plates reading 'BMG757A'.
A pic uploaded to the 'Everything SXF' Facebook page. My guess is that this is also at Leatherslade Farm... I think I can make out 'Field Cable Party' on the door, but the detachment board is still undecipherable.
To add (or alter) information on this page, please contact me on sxf@teeafit.co.uk.