Saturday 27/05/78
A Saturday afternoon bash in search of class 40s. The Yarmouth – Newcastle (1441 ex Selby) was always a good bet, but the 1627 York – Kings Cross was a big bonus.
47519 1413 York – Selby
40176 1441 Selby – York
40199 1627 York – Selby
47521 1659 Selby – York
40075 1733 York – Huddersfield
46051 1834 Huddersfield – York
Thursday 27/05/82
86035 0243 Preston – Euston
82004 1815 Euston – Northampton
EMU Northampton – Rugby
86218 2004 Rugby – Euston
An 82 on the “Master Cobbler” – what’s not to like. Coming back into Euston with the 86 from Rugby, we passed the 2055 to Stranraer around Primrose Hill with 82008 on the front. That rather eclipsed my run to Northampton - I could have had an 82 all the way to Carlisle.
Friday 27/05/83
I was working in the timetable database office in York, and work was a bit slack temporarily, so the boss told each of us to take a day out to familiarise ourselves with the railway. Suitably furnished with passes, I decided to do the Darlington to Eastgate trip.
43xxx + 43117 0815 York – Darlington
Lesson no 1 was “Never believe the Timetable”. I reported to the traffic manager at Darlington to be told the Eastgate trip had long since departed, running about an hour ahead of schedule. Curses. Quick, I need a Plan B.
Plan B was to go to Newcastle to look at the MGR coal operation.
47518 0935 Darlington – Newcastle
On arrival at Newcastle I spoke to the signalman and discovered a loaded train from South Hetton Colliery to Blyth Power Station would be arriving shortly. 56081 duly rolled in with 32 MGRs in tow (HAA or equivalent), I presented my passes to the driver, and off we went. This was the first time I’d been in the cab of a 56, and my first experience of riding a freight train. I’d done the Blyth & Tyne route before, but the branch into the power station was all new to me.
On arrival there, I had the choice of sticking with the train as it was all unloaded, or stepping straight across onto 56078, which was waiting to depart empty to Easington Colliery. I chose the latter.
56078 1215 Blyth Power Station – Easington Colliery
56078 1510 Easington Colliery – Newcastle
At Easington we had to draw the train empty through the hopper then set it back slowly, downhill, as it was loaded, requiring a great degree of skill from the driver. The real fun came with trying to restart the loaded train (30 HAAs) from Easington Colliery onto the main line. The 56 just would not grip. It was wound up to screaming pitch and left there for some considerable time before – eventually – we got a bit of grip and slowly – oh so slowly – inched our way out onto the main line. It was a real eye-opener to see at first hand the way these trains were operated. I think none of my office colleagues took quite such an adventurous approach to their days out!
HST 1642 Newcastle – York
Tuesday 27/05/86
I was working early shift on the Queen Street + Perth power control desk. My night turn colleague had left me a note saying that there was a class 27 at Perth that was needed at Dundee for a ballast working that night, and he had tried and failed to find anybody available to move it. My calls to the traincrew supervisors that morning met with the same response. There wasn’t a body to be had. Then I had a brainwave. The “Arbroath” diagram had a 27 on it that day. The circuit was Dundee – Edinburgh – Perth – Glasgow QS – Arbroath – Dundee. So, all I had to do was multi up the spare 27 at Perth during the layover there, and it would automatically end up at Dundee (having travelled a considerable distance in the meantime). It all worked out – so I had to go and have the pair of 27s on the 1603 out of Queen Street, just to be sure!
27003 + 27056 1603 Glasgow QS – Dundee
27046 1830 Dundee – Haymarket
47701 2003 Haymarket – Glasgow QS
Wednesday 27/05/87
40122 0800 Crewe – Cwmbran
37429 1111 Cwmbran – Crewe
(Another night shift, another irresistible daytime bash)…
Saturday 27/05/89
37408 0958 Crewe – Abergavenny
Monday 27/05/96
87001 1540 Euston – Crewe
A Saturday afternoon bash in search of class 40s. The Yarmouth – Newcastle (1441 ex Selby) was always a good bet, but the 1627 York – Kings Cross was a big bonus.
47519 1413 York – Selby
40176 1441 Selby – York
40199 1627 York – Selby
47521 1659 Selby – York
40075 1733 York – Huddersfield
46051 1834 Huddersfield – York
Thursday 27/05/82
86035 0243 Preston – Euston
82004 1815 Euston – Northampton
EMU Northampton – Rugby
86218 2004 Rugby – Euston
An 82 on the “Master Cobbler” – what’s not to like. Coming back into Euston with the 86 from Rugby, we passed the 2055 to Stranraer around Primrose Hill with 82008 on the front. That rather eclipsed my run to Northampton - I could have had an 82 all the way to Carlisle.
Friday 27/05/83
I was working in the timetable database office in York, and work was a bit slack temporarily, so the boss told each of us to take a day out to familiarise ourselves with the railway. Suitably furnished with passes, I decided to do the Darlington to Eastgate trip.
43xxx + 43117 0815 York – Darlington
Lesson no 1 was “Never believe the Timetable”. I reported to the traffic manager at Darlington to be told the Eastgate trip had long since departed, running about an hour ahead of schedule. Curses. Quick, I need a Plan B.
Plan B was to go to Newcastle to look at the MGR coal operation.
47518 0935 Darlington – Newcastle
On arrival at Newcastle I spoke to the signalman and discovered a loaded train from South Hetton Colliery to Blyth Power Station would be arriving shortly. 56081 duly rolled in with 32 MGRs in tow (HAA or equivalent), I presented my passes to the driver, and off we went. This was the first time I’d been in the cab of a 56, and my first experience of riding a freight train. I’d done the Blyth & Tyne route before, but the branch into the power station was all new to me.
On arrival there, I had the choice of sticking with the train as it was all unloaded, or stepping straight across onto 56078, which was waiting to depart empty to Easington Colliery. I chose the latter.
56078 1215 Blyth Power Station – Easington Colliery
56078 1510 Easington Colliery – Newcastle
At Easington we had to draw the train empty through the hopper then set it back slowly, downhill, as it was loaded, requiring a great degree of skill from the driver. The real fun came with trying to restart the loaded train (30 HAAs) from Easington Colliery onto the main line. The 56 just would not grip. It was wound up to screaming pitch and left there for some considerable time before – eventually – we got a bit of grip and slowly – oh so slowly – inched our way out onto the main line. It was a real eye-opener to see at first hand the way these trains were operated. I think none of my office colleagues took quite such an adventurous approach to their days out!
HST 1642 Newcastle – York
Tuesday 27/05/86
I was working early shift on the Queen Street + Perth power control desk. My night turn colleague had left me a note saying that there was a class 27 at Perth that was needed at Dundee for a ballast working that night, and he had tried and failed to find anybody available to move it. My calls to the traincrew supervisors that morning met with the same response. There wasn’t a body to be had. Then I had a brainwave. The “Arbroath” diagram had a 27 on it that day. The circuit was Dundee – Edinburgh – Perth – Glasgow QS – Arbroath – Dundee. So, all I had to do was multi up the spare 27 at Perth during the layover there, and it would automatically end up at Dundee (having travelled a considerable distance in the meantime). It all worked out – so I had to go and have the pair of 27s on the 1603 out of Queen Street, just to be sure!
27003 + 27056 1603 Glasgow QS – Dundee
27046 1830 Dundee – Haymarket
47701 2003 Haymarket – Glasgow QS
Wednesday 27/05/87
40122 0800 Crewe – Cwmbran
37429 1111 Cwmbran – Crewe
(Another night shift, another irresistible daytime bash)…
Saturday 27/05/89
37408 0958 Crewe – Abergavenny
Monday 27/05/96
87001 1540 Euston – Crewe
