This evening I was told of an event that took place around 1979/80. Due to OHLE damage at Hemel Hempstead a postal train hauled by a class 83 was diverted vis the WR to Reading. It seems on arrival at Birmingham NS a Saltley crew with a Peak was attached and dragged the train to Reading. There (surprisingly) the seagulls said we don’t sign past here,unhooked and disappeared into the distance with the peak leaving the 83 and its train stranded at Reading. Some hours later apparently a 50 arrived and dragged the train to Euston via Acton Wells. Can anyone corroborate this and more importantly are there any pictures of the 83 at Reading?
I vaguely remember something of this ilk no gen - oddly it is the 45/46, then 50 into Euston I can sort of recall, not the ACL bit, but that's not to say it didn't happen. ISTR something about it was supposed to go via Wycombe with a Banbury crew relieving. 40+ years ago, too many grey cells dead, and still a student at the time and not as fully into the WMids stuff as I was by 1981.
However, it is true Reading was the
nominal limit of
default Saltley enginemen route knowledge at that time; individuals may have known beyond, at depot level no.
There are far far too many fables myths and legends about what Saltley was alleged to have done - and in this particular direction - via Reading - many of the oddball workings were actually NewST *** enginemen not Saltley. NS depot probably had a bigger route mileage knowledge than SY, and an equally wide traction range but of different types - what NS lacked across diesel classes they made up by ACL and EMU classes. Everyone forgets NS, who just got on with it, without bragging about it or creating seagull badges and myths. Wolverhampton depot also had almost as wide a range of knowledge as NS and I think knew Padd too.
For example AFAIR diesels NS knew - I think - (24) 25 31 * 40 45 45 47 50 and Banbury also 20 and 33, and both knew Paddington via both Oxford and Wycombe; when you look towards Reading, in the 79s/80s era referred SY did know that lot and 37 56 58 - but w.r.t. roads SY not beyond Reading. Yet even at the time neds were stating SY did this that and the other when actually NS did. Drags to/from Padd, planned drags were all booked 50 or 47/4 (ETH for coffins) and from the LM end with NS/WN crew, so no issues, emergency drags used any on hand crew and power e.g. 56/58s with conducting arranged as necessary.
Yes, as always, there were individuals transferred from other depots to SY that knew Padd, and back then that was 'allowed' if confident of competence, but that did not mean SY as a depot did. Cue all sorts of wibble about 34567 doing 1X76 on the fourth blue moon in Febrytober in 197x but these were the exceptions where the right individual was in the right place at the right time, and 'fixes' of traction types also often involved fixing of enginemen working (overtime !!!) .
Where I say crews at depots here obviously this allows for links.
Anyway, the reason for this rant is I would say it is right that by default a SY crew would not work beyond Reading as they did not know it, and finding a WR crew at Reading that knew 45/46 would also have been not easy, and the obvious step is those crew remove the loco and themselves.
*** and often Banbury
* NS may have learnt 37 later as 37s work spread across LM; not sure on that point except NS not knew them early 80s anyway
man is. However, to my knowledge does not even have email never mind web access; when next our paths cross maybe I will remember to interrogate him.
