Book(s) on the Cross Country Sleeper Services?

[mailbyrail]

I worked in Liverpool Lime Street refreshment rooms as a student during the vacations 1971 -1973. The Liverpool-Glasgow sleeping car was most definitely running then. We used to supply the whisky bottles to the steward along with mixers, beers - all sizes from miniatures to half bottles of whisky. There were quite a few....

 

[Cheshire Scot]

I worked in Liverpool Lime Street refreshment rooms as a student during the vacations 1971 -1973. The Liverpool-Glasgow sleeping car was most definitely running then. We used to supply the whisky bottles to the steward along with mixers, beers - all sizes from miniatures to half bottles of whisky. There were quite a few....

The 1971 ScR train marshalling book has it running only on summer Friday nights and only with seated accommodation, and likewise in 1972/73 book.
Was there maybe a trolley service on these trains being stocked, or stocks for the London sleeper?

 

[30907]

Given the often stated fact that one of the reasons the Plymouth-Edinburgh service lasted so long was Royal Navy traffic between Plymouth and Rosyth it's always intrigued me the service to Poole didn't actually run to Portsmouth instead to tap into similar traffic.

Didn't the Poole start when Plymouth traffic was falling off?
My guess is that the loco from Reading returned on one of the day trains, so it was operationally simple and therefore economical (as necessary in those days as now).

 

[Cheshire Scot]

Given the often stated fact that one of the reasons the Plymouth-Edinburgh service lasted so long was Royal Navy traffic between Plymouth and Rosyth it's always intrigued me the service to Poole didn't actually run to Portsmouth instead to tap into similar traffic. Can only presume it was viewed as easier to route any Navy personnel needing overnight travel via London.

A fair point.
The cross country concept was up and running by the time it started and their main route was to/from Poole - maybe change at Winchester or Southampton for Portsmouth.

Plymouth was a further extension to a long established Birmingham to Scotland route which had previously already been extended to Bristol and no doubt at least in part driven by naval traffic whereas the sleeper to Poole was a completely new venture perhaps looking to build on the existing daytime route to the South Coast including Poole.

 

[mailbyrail]

Possibly confusion on my part, the association of the numerous sizes of whisky nightcap orders was the memorable bit!
It might have simply been the London sleeper and my memory playing tricks.

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

The 1971 ScR train marshalling book has it running only on summer Friday nights and only with seated accommodation, and likewise in 1972/73 book.
Was there maybe a trolley service on these trains being stocked, or stocks for the London sleeper?

Yes, I only have the WR timetables for the period (the LM ones on Timetable World are not free unfortunately), but they do have a BR Sleeper Services map in the introduction. It looks like the Liverpool / Manchester - Glasgow SCs finished in May '70.

 

[Cheshire Scot]

Possibly confusion on my part, the association of the numerous sizes of whisky nightcap orders was the memorable bit!
It might have simply been the London sleeper and my memory playing tricks.

Or maybe you were there in early 1970 (Easter maybe) or even before and it is that part of your memory playing tricks

I have to admit to being surprised anything larger than a miniature was being issied as it strikes me the accounting side would be difficult with naything larger. Maybe the half bottles were 'side orders' on the quiet, there were lots of 'initiatives' by stewards back then!