The Definitive answer: Motorcycles on the Train.

[MotocycleTrain]

Sadly, you can't take a motorcycle on the train anymore. I have memories of doing this in the late 70s and early 80s myself. Pretty sure they went free, as baggage. I speak of another world.

Seems the notion you once could is distasteful to some, however motorcycles on trains stopped sometime in the mid 80s to late 80s.

Seems the enormous guard's van of old are gone, and I suspect Health and Safety concerns with flammable fuels didn't help either.

Today, anything with two-wheels has to have pedals. You'll wangle an electric-bike, just about.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

@MotocycleTrain. Hello again and welcome back.

Think we had a very similar thread a couple of years ago; indeed you look to have started it off.

Are Motorcycles still permitted on trains?

Last time I did this was in roughly 1981, and at the time, I was BR staff. First time would have been June 1977 Watford to Bangor with a 50cc moped. I wasn't staff at the time and I'm pretty sure the moped went for free - as baggage? I'm sure times have changed. This thread got bogged-down with...

www.railforums.co.uk

Doubt that much will have changed since last time you asked. Anyone else on here got anything relevant to add?

 

[contrex]

In 1968 aged 16 I was in a shop in West Norwood near my home, chatting to my mate about motorbikes while waiting to be served. When I got to the counter, the man sold me 10 Woodbines and said 'You like motorbikes?' I said I did, and he said his son had left a 1955 BSA Bantam in his shed. He was selling the house, the son didn't want the bike, if I wanted to come and collect it, he'd give it to me with me the log book. There were a couple of catches - I lived at Herne Hill, the house was at St Helier, the bike had been stored for years and probably didn't run; I hadn't actually ridden a motorcycle at that time! I dug out a map and found the address wasn't far from St Helier station, so the next Saturday off I went. Got the bike, a D3 model looking almost new if a bit dusty, down to the station, here's the thing - I can't remember exactly what ticket I had to buy for the bike, if any. I do remember getting it down the stairs to the platform (bumping it down with a firm grip on the front brake!) a headcode 06 'roundabout' train to Holborn Viaduct via Wimbledon and Tooting arrived, the guard helped me get the bike on board and we had a nice chat all the way to Herne Hill, where a kind porter took me down to ground level in the goods lift. I wheeled it home, cleaned it up, pumped up the tyres, drained the fuel tank and put some clean two-stroke mixture in, and it fired up! Taught myself to ride, rode it to Bristol and back along the A4 quite a few times, passed my test, sold it for £15 (a week's wages for a Civil Service Clerical Officer, maybe £300 today?).