Saturday 17/03/79 – the
Penmanshiel Tunnel Collapse
On this day, work was being undertaken on Penmanshiel Tunnel to enable gauge clearance for 8'6" maritime containers. In the wee small hours of the morning the tunnel collapsed, killing two men, Peter Fowler and Gordon Turnbull. Their bodies remain interred in the tunnel to this day, as it was found the ground was too unstable to excavate.
Obviously this blocked the East Coast Main Line between Berwick and Dunbar, and an emergency timetable had to be put into place, involving diversion of some passenger and freight services via the Newcastle – Carlisle line and over Beattock, and also running some daytime services to Dunbar / Berwick with a road shuttle in between.
It was decided to build a new section of line around the tunnel site, which also involved construction of a new section of the parallel A1 trunk road so that the new railway alignment could run on the former roadway. Astonishingly this was all completed in just 5 months, and the main line reopened in August 1979.
The first days on the ECML were understandably chaotic – not least because the winter weather was especially severe that year – but eventually a revised timetable was published. For the next few months, ECML overnights diesel hauled over Beattock were a nightly occurrence, not just a periodic weekend oddity. As an impoverished student I couldn't do much, but in the coming weeks I did venture out occasionally.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penmanshiel_Tunnel
Monday 17/03/80
50037 + 46004 0815 Plymouth – Taunton
50037 was under test after repairs at Laira. It was removed at Taunton, to return to Plymouth piloting 50019 (?) on the 0830 Paddington – Plymouth. An unusual pairing.
I also alighted at Taunton for:
50036 1039 Taunton – Paddington
Tuesday 17/03/81
Having arrived at York from Kings Cross behind 40068, I had to return south:
55002 0105 York – Kings Cross via Selby
At Kings Cross I dossed in the stock of what I thought was the 0550 to Aberdeen, intending doing it as far as Stevenage for the last Aberdeen – Kings Cross overnight. Wrong!
47403 0524 Kings Cross – Peterborough ECS
This was an ECS to Peterborough to form the 0834 to Kings Cross, as I discovered when we went sailing through Stevenage non-stop. Oh well, adopt, adapt, improve …
31242 0750 Peterborough – Kings Cross
Wednesday 17/03/82 – the continuing pursuit of 40069 (Day 2)
After spending all day with 40069 on the Edinburgh – Dundee circuit, I had to find myself a decent overnight, and had decided to go to Newcastle and return, hopefully with 40025 on the 2000 from Kings Cross. That had been thwarted when 47051 failed at Chevington Loop. We festered there, waiting for assistance to be sent from Gateshead. What grimy coal-stained 37 would they dig out for us, I wondered …
46027 0140 Chevington Loop – Newcastle
So, a no-heat 46, not quite what I had in mind.
When we reached Newcastle, there was nearly a serious incident, as the following Aberdeen – Kings Cross overnight was permitted onto the other side of the island platform that we had occupied, and missed the overhanging coaches by a mere inch.
It turns out that the 2000 from Kings Cross had indeed been 40025 – but only as far as Peterborough, where it was replaced. I made the best of it, and headed back north in the comfort of a first class compartment on this second class only train …
47268 0340 Newcastle – Edinburgh
After a shower and some breakfast, here we go again, 40069 is on the same diagram:
40069 0705 Edinburgh – Dundee
40069 0920 Dundee – Edinburgh
25064 1125 Edinburgh – Inverkeithing
27106 1211 Inverkeithing – Edinburgh
40069 1235 Edinburgh – Dundee
40069 1430 Dundee – Edinburgh
At this point 40069 was declared a failure due to a defective boiler, so there was no point hanging around Edinburgh any longer:
47703 1730 Edinburgh – Glasgow Queen Street
37112 1823 Glasgow Queen Street – Crianlarich
37190 2022 Crianlarich – Cowlairs
474xx 22xx Cowlairs – Mossend
