Pope Visit to UK 1982

[40012Railrover]

Hi All,

I'm looking for some information regarding the additional services which ran for the Pope's visit to the UK in May/June 1982.

TheBashingYears website has a raft of information (and I was out bashing in the North West so I have plenty of details for trains to/from Manchester and York) but I can only find records for trains FROM Birmingham/Leamington TO Bristol/Weymouth.

There seemed to be approximately 22 additional services southbound from Leamington on the afternoon of 30th May (Sunday) but I cannot find any record of Northbound services.

Many of these trains ran from Birmingham New St via Leamington Spa to Bristol TM (presumably via Didcot West Curve), but what about the Weymouth services? Did they also run via Bristol/Westbury, or were they via Basingstoke?

Any information regarding the service pattern on that day to/from Coventry/Leamington Spa would be most welcome.

Cheers

Mike

 

[eastwestdivide]

There were Marylebone-based 4-car DMUs that formed specials at Leicester to (I think) Coventry for that papal visit.
Sorry, can't help any further though.

 

[DarloRich]

there was an article on the extra trains to York in a past issue of Traction magazine - which obviously i have only recently chucked out!

while of little help in the requested example it was very a very detailed record of all of those movements. Perhaps the authors could help you?

 

[ChiefPlanner]

A series of additional trains came up from Cross City South to Leamington via Coventry. DMU workings.

 

[caliwag]

There was also a fascinating article re York in a Railway Magazine within a year of the visit which listed all the extra services. of course there were double the number of movements as a result of stabling, some as far away as Darlington, despite the fact that it was pre modelling York for electrifaction and it had far more sidings.
There was also the logistics of cleaning and servicing the buffet stocks, tanking and fueling the locos etc. there were a few long (8/9 car) DMUs.

In between all this control still managed to sneak in a rake of scrapped 26s off the ECML round the back of the (current) IECC for temporary storage...unbelievable. Rather than go and see the Pope on the Knavesmire, which I left to my wife, along with millions of others, I lurked at the South end of York station, err, without a camera, would you believe. We travelled from Hull, in a rake of perhaps 10 or 12 mk1s behind a 40. Splendid and well done to all the authorities for making it work. In the BR planroom I later found (when I worked for the architects) a detailed plan of all the queing arrangements around the concourse and tea room square...wish I'd sneaked that one out.

 

[EveningStar]

For the papal visit to Liverpool on 30 May 1982 there was a ten minute interval service on the 750v lines along with a special one day rover ticket. Still have the timetable and ticket somewhere in my loft. Trains were not that busy, but busier than a normal Sunday.

 

[HMS Ark Royal]

If I remember rightly, the Pope's train at one point used a 73 using the electric system because they didn't want to give anybody a fight should the loco emit black or white smoke! I seem to recall the train was given the code HF standing for Holy Father

 

[MontyP]

I remember travelling to the event in York as a youngster with my family on one of the special trains from Huddersfield - it ran via Wakefield Kirkgate and Castleford. It was a DMU of some kind. On the way back I seem to remember queuing at York station for several hours before catching a train back on the more usual route via Leeds.

 

[Dhassell]

Hi All,

I'm looking for some information regarding the additional services which ran for the Pope's visit to the UK in May/June 1982.

TheBashingYears website has a raft of information (and I was out bashing in the North West so I have plenty of details for trains to/from Manchester and York) but I can only find records for trains FROM Birmingham/Leamington TO Bristol/Weymouth.

There seemed to be approximately 22 additional services southbound from Leamington on the afternoon of 30th May (Sunday) but I cannot find any record of Northbound services.

Many of these trains ran from Birmingham New St via Leamington Spa to Bristol TM (presumably via Didcot West Curve), but what about the Weymouth services? Did they also run via Bristol/Westbury, or were they via Basingstoke?

Any information regarding the service pattern on that day to/from Coventry/Leamington Spa would be most welcome.

Cheers

Mike

I have a traction article from years ago with em on! ill dig it out for you

 

[Phil.]

If I remember rightly, the Pope's train at one point used a 73 using the electric system because they didn't want to give anybody a fight should the loco emit black or white smoke! I seem to recall the train was given the code HF standing for Holy Father

It ran from Gatwick to Victoria on electric but left Gatwick on diesel and ran thus as far as Horley when the driver switched to electric. This was standard operating procedure for all the specials - we used to run two royal trains per year - and was to prevent the juddering through the train as it ran over the electric gaps through the crossovers.