Back in the day...

[CW2]

Tuesday 06/12/77
Once again there’s a 40 on the “Bangor Mails”:
40084 2150 York – Leeds
DMU Leeds – York

Wednesday 06/12/78
I’ve got no memory of making this trip to Manchester. It can’t have been because of the motive power! Might have been music shopping?
47069 1126 York – Manchester Victoria
46047 1556 Manchester Victoria – York
This train ran in the path of the 1715 Leeds – York DMU, which had been cancelled.

Saturday 06/12/80
40056 had worked into Kings Cross on a charter from Selby in the morning, so I hoped it would be working back again. It produced:
40056 1915 Kings Cross – Selby
On arrival at Selby, I headed back south:
55021 2252 Selby – Doncaster
(Sunday 07/12/80)
I alighted at Doncaster to cover all the southbound services in the hope of getting another 40. Alas not, so I took a Deltic instead:
55008 0338 Doncaster – Kings Cross via Joint Lines

Sunday 06/12/81
I had a free pass burning a hole in my pocket, and was determined to do a sleeper from Kings Cross to Edinburgh, preferably with a Deltic (assuming there are no 40s about).
The 2215 Sleepers Only to Edinburgh (1S70) produced 55002, so I started off by boarding that, but then 55015 dropped onto the 2240 to Edinburgh, so I decided to have that instead. (55002 in its green livery was a bit of a “toy” loco, and tended to turn up everywhere, so given the choice I’d rather have 55015).
I watched 55002 depart, then watched with horror as 55015 was then detached and returned to Finsbury Park, leaving no loco on the 2240 to Edinburgh, until …
55019 2240 Kings Cross – Edinburgh via Selby
My machine! 25’ late, station overtime.

Tuesday 06/12/83
I had worked the late shift in Leeds Control, during which my night shift colleague called in sick, so I volunteered to work 12 hours, going home to York on the 2250 Shrewsbury – York “Bangor Mails”:
45117 0221 Leeds – York
Then after a good rest, it was time to come back to work:
47410 1254 York – Leeds
Then I was able to get away a little bit early after finishing my shift:
DMU Leeds – Dewsbury
40033 2214 Dewsbury – York

 

[xotGD]

I watched 55002 depart, then watched with horror as 55015 was then detached and returned to Finsbury Park,

LOL.

I bet you were expecting 4740x to drop on the front.

 

[CW2]

LOL.

I bet you were expecting 4740x to drop on the front.

Too true!

 

[D6130]

Nothing from me today, I'm afraid....but something very interesting tomorrow!

 

[Falcon1200]

Tuesday 6th December 1983

47466 0820 Liverpool-Poole (Oxford-Reading)

My commute home should have been:
47592 1902 Paddington-Oxford (from Reading) however the 47 failed at Reading and the train terminated there. So, as I have not recorded details, it must have been a DMU home, not really what you want after a shift selling tickets to the Great British Public.....

 

[D6130]

WEDNESDAY 7th DECEMBER 1983:

I managed to adjust my guard's route learning schedule to cover my first Peak haulage on the Brighton main line:

13 48 Brighton - Manchester Piccadilly: 45 130 Brighton - East Croydon via Quarry
10 23 Manchester Piccadilly - Brighton: 47 536 East Croydon - Brighton via Quarry

 

[CW2]

WEDNESDAY 7th DECEMBER 1983:

I managed to adjust my guard's route learning schedule to cover my first Peak haulage on the Brighton main line:

13 48 Brighton - Manchester Piccadilly: 45 130 Brighton - East Croydon via Quarry
10 23 Manchester Piccadilly - Brighton: 47 536 East Croydon - Brighton via Quarry

That's quite a novelty (but not one I would have taken many steps to copy, I must admit).
Meanwhile, a comparatively quiet day from me:

Wednesday 07/12/77
47266 1123 York – Leeds
This was the 1003 Newcastle – Liverpool, and included track recording coach DB999950.
40081 1206 Leeds – York
… and this was the 1010 Liverpool – Newcastle, including track recording coach DM395223.
Then after college in Harrogate (DMU York – Harrogate, Harrogate – Leeds):
47266 (again) 1706 Leeds – York

Monday 07/12/81
Having arrived at Edinburgh off 55019 from Kings Cross, I now faced the task of getting back to London – and the prospect of an HST all the way back didn’t feature very highly in my reckoning. I decided on the WCML route instead:
47443 0712 Edinburgh – Carstairs
87032 0805 Carstairs – Carlisle
87005 0930 Carlisle – Euston
This ran perfectly on time as far as Willesden, where we came to a complete halt whilst a class 6 freight meandered out of the south end of the Brent Yard, and right across our bows, before disappearing towards the Southern Region. There was a certain degree of leg-pulling when I got to work that night!
(I worked in Willesden PSB at the time). 5’ delay.

 

[Falcon1200]

Wednesday 7th December 1983

47138 1610 Paddington-Oxford

This train was formed of the temporary HST Generator set, which had the great advantage for the operators that any AB loco could haul it, whether ETH fitted or not. But I don't recall it working Oxford services too often ?

 

[xotGD]

7th December 1982

I was in the middle of my mock O-Levels, revising at home for an exam the next day. A 40 had gone to Carlisle on 1M04. How could I go for it without disrupting my exam preparation too much?

40069 Newcastle - Manors 1S15

What a total Ned!

7th December 1991

87018 New St - Cov
87023 Cov - New St
90009 New St - Cov
87010 Cov - Wolves
87010 Wolves - New St

No Cans - yay!

 

[CW2]

Friday 08/12/78
40118 2217 York – Doncaster
47543 2320 Doncaster – York
A required 40 on the 2030 Newcastle – Kings Cross, so I made the late-night round trip to Doncaster.

Monday 08/12/80
There was an additional 1830 Kings Cross – Leeds running, and it got a class 40:
40047 1830 Kings Cross – Peterborough
The total number of passengers (including me) on this 8-coach train was 5!
At Peterborough, a further treat awaited in the form of my Deltic machine, 55019:
55019 2022 Peterborough – Kings Cross
This was the 1743 from Cleethorpes, and this was the second Deltic to Cleethorpes that day. I never had a Deltic to Cleethorpes, despite several attempts …

Tuesday 08/12/81
Three inches of snow had fallen over London, which was enough to bring the public transport systems to a horrible shuddering halt. I was working late shift in Willesden PSB. To get home to Harringay I enlisted the help of the signaller to stop the 2255 Willesden Brent – Barking Freightliner outside the box so I could cadge a lift home:
31278 + 31209 2300 Willesden PSB – Highbury & Islington
The plan was to alight at Upper Harringay and saunter (i.e. slither) gently home from there. Alas a points failure saw us diverted via Highbury, so I arranged with the driver to set me down there instead. At Highbury the North London Line platforms were entirely covered in snow, so I had to alight very carefully, then waved goodbye to the pair of 31s, giving my thanks to the train crew.
There had been no passenger trains on the North London Line for many hours, so the platforms had been closed, meaning I was stranded behind a locked barrier. By bellowing very loudly through the barriers, I managed to get the attention of a member of staff, who brought the keys to let me out. I did get home eventually, some time well after midnight!

Wednesday 08/12/82
I had moved to York, working in the timetable offices, and I noted 40057 was active on the Pennines, so I took a half day’s leave:
40057 1354 York – Liverpool, started 9’ late, and arrived on time!
I hung around at Liverpool for the return working:
40057 1805 Liverpool – York, 4’ late.
Then, to my surprise, 40057 was quickly fuelled and watered, and placed straight onto the 2206 to Shrewsbury. How could I refuse? I stuck with it for another trip over the Pennines to Stockport and return …
40057 2206 York – Leeds
… or possibly not. We came to an undignified halt at Marsh Lane for 7 minutes due to a compressor failure, then limped forward to Leeds, where 40057 was removed, and replaced by 31406. I’d never had a 31 to Stockport over this route, so I decided to carry on:
31406 2302 York – Stockport via Guide Bridge
(Thursday 09/12/82)
31406 0059 Stockport – York via Guide Bridge
… and home to bed for a few hours, then back to work!

Tuesday 08/12/92
43012 + 43140 0739 Reading – Paddington
91007 0800 Kings Cross – Glasgow Central, 15’ late.
I was meant to be catching an earlier train from Reading to ensure I caught the 0800 from Kings Cross, but I overdossed, and mentally resigned myself to having the piss taken out of me relentlessly by my boss for my inability to catch a train! It was already past 0800 when I arrived in Paddington, and by chance there was a Hammersmith & City Line train straight to Kings Cross. I arrived on the concourse just as the delayed 0800 was being whistled away, and managed to board at the very last second, before catching my breath and sauntering through the train to take my reserved seat beside my boss as though nothing untoward had happened!
86233 1700 Glasgow Central – Euston, 15’ late.
I might have hoped for something a little better to get me home from Glasgow.
43157 + 43155 2330 Paddington – Reading, 27’ late.
Just to round it off, the HST home was late as well. Not the finest of days, although doing a 91 all the way from Kings Cross to Glasgow Central was notable.

 

[D6130]

Nothing from me now for a couple of days....but I really must try to dig out my guard's train journal books from my period at Brighton in the mid-late 'eighties. They will throw up all sorts of gems, including the week in the summer of 1985 when I had a different Peak on the mid-day Manchester-Brighton four days in a row.

 

[xotGD]

8th December 1984

45141 Newcastle - Durham 1M76
45107 Durham - Newcastle 1E08

Drink may have been taken in Durham.

 

[CW2]

Friday 09/12/77
Another Friday afternoon escape from college move, hunting class 40s, this time with some success:
DMU Harrogate – Leeds, Leeds – Skipton
40012 1514 Skipton – Leeds
DMU Leeds – Huddersfield
40083 1636 Huddersfield – York
40052 1735 York – Leeds
45043 1906 Leeds – York, making a handy minus connection onto …
40150 1925 York – Leeds
DMU Leeds – York

Tuesday 09/12/80
40047 1830 Kings Cross – Leeds additional. 18’ late start, converted to a punctual arrival!
47420 2234 Leeds – York

(Thursday 08/12/83)
47476 2234 York – Crewe via Guide Bridge
There was a good reason for this long-distance duff move – the 0204 Crewe – Cardiff was experiencing a massive pre-Christmas surge in parcels traffic, so it had been allocated a class 50 in the hope of keeping better time than the usual 47 could manage:
Friday 09/12/83
50038 0204 Crewe – Newport.
This was load 13, and the initial start from Crewe as we pounded our way around the curves onto the Shrewsbury line under floodlights amidst the frosty night air still lingers in my memory.
After the Lord Mayor’s Show comes the Dustcart (with a swift cross-platform connection):
47471 0444 Newport – Paddington
Then after breakfast, it’s time to head back to work in Leeds:
43116 + 43168 1050 Kings Cross – Leeds

Sunday 09/12/84
The Larbert – Perth main line was closed all day for engineering works, with trains diverted via Winchburgh Jn – Dalmeny and Ladybank. This all added to the journey times, so by late afternoon Eastfield’s stock of ETH 47s ran out …
37184 1625 Glasgow Queen Street – Perth via Falkirk Grahamston, Winchburgh Jn, Dalmeny, Ladybank.
Some manner of class 47 took over from 37184 at Perth, so I called it quits and returned south by the same route by which I had arrived, having achieved my goal of getting a 37 over the diversionary route:
47522 1857 Perth – Glasgow Queen Street via Ladybank, Dalmeny, Winchburgh Jn., Falkirk Grahamston

Monday 09/12/85
37012 1805 Glasgow Queen Street – Perth
At Perth I was surprised to find the 1940 DMU to Edinburgh via Ladybank was being hauled dead by 27003, which was the final 27 I needed for haulage:
27003 1940 Perth – Haymarket (hauling 51250 + 59069 + 53159 dead).
This was also the first DMU drag I’d personally experienced in the UK. (I had arranged a few while at work, but obviously was never there to have them).
47713 2103 Haymarket – Glasgow Queen Street via Falkirk High

 

[Cheshire Scot]

Wednesday 9th December 1981
This was my first trip to an away match in Europe. Unfortunately, the details of the trains used are lost in the mists of time, but the routings and combining of football and railway interests are detailed below. Hard to believe this was 40 years ago today!

Wednesday 9th December 1981
Having caught the boat train from Victoria the previous evening which I seem to recall used to run to Folkestone (sailings between Folkestone and Boulogne/Calais were daytime only meaning ships were available for night use on the Belgian route), I arrived in Oostende in time to catch the first train to Cologne where I connected onto an InterCity to Hamburg arriving there in the early afternoon. I recall snow lying and intermittently falling throughout the journey north behind the ubiquitous class 103.
S Bahn Hamburg Hbf to Pinneburg
SV Hamburg 3 Aberdeen 1 – UEFA Cup third round second leg, aggregate 5-4, on a very cold snowy night – the pitch had been cleared of snow although it continued to fall intermittently. Not only was this my own first European away, it was the first time Aberdeen had got beyond the second round in any European competition, and having already knocked out the holders in the first round, were it not for a first leg missed penalty then a second very late away goal conceded through tactical naivety against a Hamburg team including Kaltz, Beckenbauer and Magath, they might well have gone further in 1981. Nevertheless, this was another chapter in Fergie’s education in arts of European competition which ultimately brought trophy success less than 18 month later.
S Bahn Pinneburg to Hamburg Hbf – by now it was snowing heavily but with no adverse effect on the trains. I then travelled overnight in a couchette from Hamburg to Offenburg.

Thursday 10th December 1981
From Offenburg I proceeded to Strasbourg and then Mulhouse for an interesting visit to the French Railway Museum (now Cite du Train). I then followed by a roundabout route to reach my final goal in Lyon by taking a train from Mulhouse to Paris.

Friday 11th December 1981
I travelled in a couchette on the overnight Paris to Lyon service (soon to be discontinued at least as daily service as the TGV frequency ramped up) which as far as I recall departed at or around 00.25 (hence Friday, not Thursday), travelling on free passes a berth in a couchette was a much cheaper option than a night in a hotel.
I returned from Lyon to Paris on a TGV around three months after their introduction and back then then only the southern part of the LGV was in use, the first of many TGV journeys. In those early days maximum sped was 270kph / 168 mph, a significant step up anything I had experienced previously. The mid-day boat train from Paris to Boulogne completed the continental leg of this trip followed by a ferry to Folkestone and another trip up the Harbour branch before heading to Victoria and north overnight for a match on the Saturday which was ultimately postponed due to the weather – as were all the of Aberdeen’s scheduled matches (home and away) until late January, in that very severe winter!

 

[xotGD]

9th December 1986

West Midlands Day Tripper. Highlights of the day were:

85002 New St - Wolves 1S59
81020 New St - Wolves (via Bescot) 1P70

Other haulages from 86431, 86251, 86207, 87028, 86239, 86243, 86259, 47566

9th December 1989

Taking in some FA Cup action...

86239 New St - Crewe

Crewe Alexandra 1 Bishop Auckland 1

The interesting sight of fans in Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesbrough shirts standing on the same terrace.

86237 Crewe - New St

Bish lost the replay 2-0

 

[CW2]

Wednesday 10/12/80
Having done Kings Cross – Leeds with 40047 the previous evening, I spent a few hours dossing at my sister’s house in York, then in the wee small hours I returned to York station, as I had to be back in London to work early shift in the morning. Unfortunately the ECML was in a state of uproar north of Darlington due to a Freightliner train having failed, trapping several passenger trains behind it. The first southbound train to arrive was the 1925 ex Aberdeen, with 40173 on the front, which had been diverted via Sunderland. That’ll do very nicely!
40173 0245 York – Peterborough 53’ -> 70’ late, via Selby.
40173 was removed at Peterborough due to loss of power, as can be judged by the fact we lost 18 minutes from York to Peterborough. It was replaced by a 31! Just how that was meant to represent an step up in available horsepower is a bit tricky to fathom, unless 40173 was seriously unwell. I declined that kind offer, as it was non-stop to Kings Cross, and my easiest way to get to work vaguely punctually would be to find a train calling at Stevenage. Well, guess which fine legendary class 47 arrived on the 2035 Aberdeen – Kings Cross, presumably also having been diverted via Sunderland:
47054 0553 Peterborough – Stevenage, 60’+ late.
“Christ” he cried “I’m caught once more
Forty Seven Oh Five Four!”

 

[xotGD]

10th December 1986

Pre-Christmas evening out in Cheltenham and Santa came early for the train back:

47646 New St - Cheltenham 1V73
50022 Cheltenham - New St 1S19
37142 + 37306 Lickey Bankers 1S19

Nice to have English Electric power on both the front and back of the train.

 

[Harvester]

Friday 11th December 1981

Visited Cambridge, hoping for some Deltic haulage on route. It was a cold day with snow and ice on the ground.

DMU 10:32 Nottingham-Grantham
43117+43119 12:07 Grantham-Peterborough
DMU 13:36 Peterborough-Cambridge
DMU 15:51 Cambridge-Peterborough
55016 17:12 Peterborough-Grantham (16:03 Kings Cross-York)

Stood on a freezing platform end at Grantham, to watch 55016 depart on a clear still evening. The Deltic could be heard for around three or four minutes after it’s departure (maybe for a distance of two miles), as it accelerated north towards the Trent Valley and Newark.

DMU 18:30 Grantham-Nottingham

 

[D6130]

FRIDAY 11th DECEMBER 1981:

A flying weekend visit to see friends in Ireland:

07 55 Dumbarton Central-Motherwell: 303 046 Hyndland-Argyle Street

Then after work:

16 03 Glasgow Central-Euston: 87 025 Glasgow C-Preston (Consist: M81218/11057/11012/11027/11018/10026/12124/12129/12167/12118/12148 Load 11 AB/EH)
18 12 Blackpool North-Manchester Victoria: M50496/59219/50571 Preston - Manchester Victoria via Chorley

After a few beers and fish & chips in Manchester:

22 37 Manchester Victoria-Holyhead: 47 455 (Consist: M25957/24109/15935/25582/24887/25375/81577 Load 7 VB/DH)

 

[CW2]

Monday 11/12/78
I’d been asked to work overtime in Leeds Control, so I did a 12-hour shift through to 0200, then went to catch the Mondays Only 0055 Manchester – York. This was a train that often got a class 40 from Manchester Victoria, but not this morning. It arrived behind 47048, then 31402 replaced it, but only to shunt off a van, and eventually 47182 attached and worked to York:
47182 0218 Leeds – York
At least I required 47182 for haulage.

Friday 11/12/81
40068 1625 Kings Cross – Peterborough, 14’-> 20’ late, snow.
The boiler was turned off before departure from Kings Cross, due to fuel leaks.
It was a prolonged wait at Peterborough as the 1814 York – Kings Cross (which was in diagram for 55013) was also running very late:
47425 2029 Peterborough – Kings Cross, 35’ -> 70’ late, with special stops at St Neots, Sandy and Stevenage, and Slow Line running most of the way.
Not a good evening trip at all.

Wednesday 11/12/85
An after-work leap on the West Highland Line:
37408 1820 Glasgow Queen Street – Arrochar & Tarbet
37411 1945 Arrochar & Tarbet – Glasgow Queen Street

Monday 11/12/95
Another evening trip to Peterborough, this time with 91s:
91018 1705 Kings Cross – Peterborough
91030 2059 Peterborough – Kings Cross

 

[NorthWestRover]

Saturday 11th December 1982

A few gaps in today's moves which again would have been Cans, Duffs, Trams...

87010 Crewe to Wolverhampton
50003 Birmingham NS to Cheltenham Spa
50020 Cheltenham Spa to Birmingham NS
50020 Birmingham NS to Gloucester
45142 Cheltenham Spa to Birmingham NS
45108 Birmingham NS to Wolves
85017 Crewe to Warrington BQ

 

[Falcon1200]

Sunday 11th December 1983; A nice steamer again for my commute:

47191 1055 Manchester Piccadilly-Paddington (Oxford-Reading)
50001 2300 Paddington-Plymouth (Reading-Didcot)

 

[xotGD]

11th December 1984

I was in the Upper Sixth, so was embarking on a series of interviews at universities to try and secure a place. Happily, the council reimbursed the cost of up to three such trips.

First up was Birmingham. The journey there was a Tram, but coming back offered:

47428 New St - Sheffield 1E64
47608 Sheffield - Leeds 1L16
45104 Leeds - York 1E16
47563 York - Newcastle 1E59

 

[CW2]

Tuesday 12/12/78
The Deltics were now centred on York, but were still used on some services to / from Leeds, so occasionally the 2150 York – Shrewsbury would get a Deltic as a convenient way of moving the loco from York to Leeds, being removed from the eastbound Shrewsbury – York in the wee small hours then working a Leeds – Kings Cross in the morning.
55008 2150 York – Leeds
Unusually instead of running through to Stockport and back, on this occasion the loco came off at Leeds, to be replaced by something much less attractive. I hung around and waited:
(Wednesday 13/12/78)
55008 dropped straight onto the stock to form the 0040 to Kings Cross, so that was my next move settled:
55008 0040 Leeds – Doncaster (via Viaduct)
… and at Doncaster I didn’t have long to wait for another Deltic home to York:
55014 0320 Doncaster – York via Selby
A tidy little triangular overnight Deltic move.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________
... and for tomorrow ...

Friday 13/12/85
A pre-Christmas family trip to visit the in-laws:
86102 1705 Glasgow Central – Crewe
33013 2048 Crewe – Abergavenny
Another “Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing” and a late night Crompton.

Saturday 13/12/86
At this time, 37/4s were seldom used on the Dundee – Edinburgh circuit, because of traincrew traction knowledge (neither Dundee nor Haymarket crews were trained on the /4 subclass back then). I was browsing through the traincrew diagrams, and found that the Eastfield driver who worked the 1603 Queen Street – Dundee to Perth was booked to travel passenger to Edinburgh for his next work. So – as I was on the Eastfield traction job that morning – I made arrangements for 37425 to work the 1603 Queen Street – Dundee, then the 1830 Dundee – Edinburgh, with the Eastfield driver acting as traction conductor to the Dundee driver. I primed the Queen Street Traincrew Supervisor, and also explained to my late shift colleague (who was also a closet crank) what I had set up, and thankfully he made sure it didn’t get swapped:
37425 1603 Glasgow Queen Street – Dundee
37425 1830 Dundee – Edinburgh
47705 2030 Edinburgh – Glasgow Queen Street
I always had a soft spot for 37425, as it was formerly 37292, the 2000hp testbed loco.
One of those rare events of fixing a loco then going out and catching it in person.

Saturday 13/12/87
After dossing the night at a mate’s house, it was railtour time once more:
86261 0736 Milton Keynes – Bescot U&DGL
On arrival at Bescot the train was routed in error into the Hump Yard, so we had to be drawn back and then re-routed onto the Up & Down Goods Loop. 08765 did the honours:
08765 0943 Bescot Hump Yard – Bescot U&DGL
2968 0955 Bescot U&DGL – Chester via Wolverhampton, Shrewsbury, Gobowen
2968 1442 Chester – Bescot U&DGL via Crewe, Shrewsbury, Wolverhampton
86261 1802 Bescot U&DGL – Birmingham International
47828 1916 Birmingham International – Reading

 

[D6130]

SATURDAY 12th DECEMBER 1981:

Having arrived at Holyhead in the wee small hours of the morning on the 22 37 from Manchester Victoria, hauled by 47 455, I set sail for Dun Laoghaire on board M.V. St Columba at 03 15. On arrival in Ireland at 06 45, I discovered that all Dublin suburban services were replaced by buses for the whole weekend due to engineering works in connection with the DART electrification project. Therefore I found a cafe in Dun Laoghaire for a full Irish breakfast, before taking a RRB to Bray, where I was staying with friends for a couple of nights.

 

[AJM580]

12/12/81

55002 Norwich - York
55002 York - Norwich

 

[xotGD]

12th December 1987

Heading home from uni for the Christmas holidays. Avoiding a Tram...

86245 New St - Carlisle 1S59
31427 Carlisle - Newcastle 2E40

The Goyle came as a pleasant surprise when I was expecting a unit.

12th December 1989

A pre-Christmas beery evening including a couple of moves...

47527 Leamington Spa - Coventry
86430 Coventry - International

 

[CW2]

A rather less productive day (unless you are a fan of ETH 47s):

Saturday 14/12/85
Having deposited my wife with her parents, I returned to Glasgow:
47527 1451 Abergavenny – Crewe
87024 1736 Crewe – Glasgow Central

Tuesday 14/12/99
Some sort of event at the National Exhibition Centre?
47851 0733 Reading – Birmingham International
Late afternoon I got a lift back as far as Banbury, and guess which loco arrived?
47851 (again) 1703 Banbury – Reading.

 

[D6130]

SATURDAY 14th DECEMBER 1974:

Following completion of the WCML electrification through to Glasgow in May of that year, BR had a special promotional offer of a limited number of £5 day returns from London to Glasgow or vice-versa on Saturdays only until Christmas. I and a couple of friends from Petersfield decided to take advantage of this offer, which was valid for return travel overnight....but not in sleeper accommodation. We travelled up to London on the Friday evening, staying overnight with one of my friend's grandparents in Kenton. On the Saturday morning, we took an early DC electric service into Euston, in good time to catch the 07 45 to Glasgow Central. My two Southern friends had never even seen a class 26 or 27 - let alone been hauled by one - so we made good use of our day in Scotland by having an impromptu visit to Eastfield depot (no problems getting round), a trip to Edinburgh and back on the push-pulls and finally a trip out to Helensburgh to meet-up with a couple of school friends....before returning South on the Glasgow-Euston via Dumfries sleepers and seats:

M61154/70154/75154 Kenton-Euston
87 021 Euston-Glasgow Central
082 Glasgow QS LL-Springburn
Walk: Springburn-Eastfield Depot and return
045 Springburn-Glasgow QS LL
27 201 + 27 114 Glasgow QS HL-Edinburgh via Falkirk High
27 117 + 27 210 Edinburgh-Glasgow QS HL via Falkirk High
27 004 Glasgow QS HL-Helensburgh Upper....banked by
27 014 Glasgow QS HL-Cowlairs
Walk: Helensburgh Upper-Helensburgh Central
089 Helensburgh Central-Glasgow QS LL via Yoker
50 031 Glasgow Central-Carlisle via Dumfries

It was the first time any of us had been hauled by an 87 and my friends were very happy with the number of Scottish locos underlined in their Ian Allan Locoshed books.

See tomorrow's exciting episode for the conclusion of this journey!


MONDAY 14th DECEMBER 1981:

After a weekend visiting friends in Co. Wicklow, it was time to return home to Glasgow via Belfast:

08 27 Greystones-Dublin Connolly: 214 Bray-Dublin Connolly
10 30 Dublin Connolly-Belfast Central: 111
Bus: Belfast Central-Belfast York Road
14 20 Belfast York Road-Larne Harbour: 73/703/74
16 00 Larne Harbour-Stranraer Harbour: MV "Galloway Princess"
18 36 Stranraer Harbour-Glasgow Central HL: SC51012/59410/51048
21 02 Motherwell-Dalmuir: 303 051 Glasgow Central LL-Hyndland

 

[xotGD]

14th December 1985

Returning home after my first term of being a student. Worth saying that some of us had stayed up all night the night before, so I was in a bit of a state when I presented myself at the front door!

47530 New St - Sheffield 1E54
31436 Sheffield - Leeds 1L17
45131 Leeds - Newcastle 1E08

13th December 1986

Same thing, a year later, but a different route home...

86434 New St - Carlisle 1S59