Trips before I was EbbwJunction1

[EbbwJunction1]

From the mid 1970's until about 1980, I took either a seven day or a fourteen day All Line Rail Rover around the UK visiting all manner of places.

The main aim was to see the locomotives that I needed, and this meant that I travelled quite a few miles around the UK whilst doing so. Sadly, the notebooks that I used for the majority of these trips have long ago been thrown out, but I can reconstruct most of three of these trips (in 1978, 1979 and 1980) from the diaries that I kept at the time.

As the notebooks have gone, I can't give you many ideas of haulage, but I'm sure that you'll know what it was if you were around at that time.

I generally stayed in YMCA Hostels or small hotels, some of which were very good ..... and some weren't! As we go around the country, I'll try to give you some idea of what was good and bad ... but as it is now thirty plus years since the last of these trips, I can't remember everything, so some things will have to be left to the imagination!

So, here we go with 1979, which took place between Friday 2nd June and Sunday 11th June. This was a seven day Rover, but as you'll have worked out, additional trips were taken, although I don't know whether this was at the beginning or the end of the week.

Day One began with a trip to Nottingham via Birmingham and then back to Birmingham. From there I went via Crewe to Liverpool, where I probably stayed in the YMCA, which was then near to Lime Street Station. I've got no record of where I went to on this day, but I guess that it was to all the usual depots.

On Day Two, I followed a round robin path from Liverpool to Manchester (probably Longsight and others) to Chester to Crewe and back to Liverpool.

The first long distance trip took place on Day Three, when I went from Liverpool to Glasgow. However, before this I made a short dash to Wigan (for Springs Branch depot) and back. I was probably in a small hotel in the Charing Cross area of Glasgow for the next few nights .. it wasn't great, but I think that it was cheap - and it's not there now!

Day Four saw a trip to Falkirk (for Grangemouth) then back to Motherwell (for the depot), and back to Glasgow. In the afternoon, I went to Edinburgh, where a small hotel (this time a very good one) was my base for the next two nights.

The second long distance trip was on Day Five, as I went from Edinburgh to Aberdeen, on to Inverness via Elgin. the return trip from Inverness was via Glasgow. I remember that I always managed to book a trip around Inverness depot, sometimes quite late in the afternoon / early evening, and this was probably no exception.

The following day (Day Six) saw me leave Scotland and travel to Yorkshire. my first stop, though, was Darlington and then Thornaby depot, which is now sadly just a memory for some. from there it was up to Newcastle and then south to York, followed by a short trip to Sheffield.

I was staying in the YMCA, and was shocked to be told by the taxi driver who took me there that it was in the middle of the red light district of the city! They didn't cause me any problems, though!

Day Seven saw a trip to Birmingham, but first I went to Grimsby and Doncaster as a diversion! I can't remember where I stayed in Birmingham ... it may have been the YMCA or a hotel, but I have no memory of it!

I do remember, though, sitting in a café next to New Street Station and deciding on the spur of the moment to go to London. It took about ninety minutes to get there, another ninety minutes back, and I had about an hour there for a quick walk around. Still, it all added to the mileage!

I see from the diary that I went back to Sheffield on Day Eight. However, this trip was first to London Euston, a tube across to (I guess) Liverpool Street and a train to Norwich From there, it was a short trip to March for the depot and then on to Sheffield via Birmingham. I was very lucky at march, because I managed to persuade the person at the station to look after my case whilst I walked out to the depot. It was, as I remember, very hot and I didn't fancy carrying it (no wheels then!) there and back!

Day Nine was mostly spent in South Yorkshire, as I first went to Barrow Hill, then Shirebrook followed by Wakefield. I returned to Sheffield via Leeds - possibly including visits to Holbeck and Neville Hill.

The last day (Day Ten) mostly featured a round robin trip to York, Doncaster and back to Sheffield. The last act was to return to Newport via Birmingham.

So, there we are, the story of my 1978 trip. I hope that you've enjoyed reading it, and if you have any questions, please let me know.

 

[Techniquest]

Such a shame you chucked out all your notebooks! It would have been rather interesting to see what was about and where at the time, even though it was well before my time.

Thornaby depot, I think I went past it before the very last of it was getting knocked down, the trip I'm thinking of was 8th November 2008. Certainly wasn't anything interesting going on at that time. By the next time I passed by in 2011 on a 7 day ALR it was certainly a very different scene!

 

[EbbwJunction1]

Such a shame you chucked out all your notebooks! It would have been rather interesting to see what was about and where at the time, even though it was well before my time.

Thornaby depot, I think I went past it before the very last of it was getting knocked down, the trip I'm thinking of was 8th November 2008. Certainly wasn't anything interesting going on at that time. By the next time I passed by in 2011 on a 7 day ALR it was certainly a very different scene!

Yes, it would have been nice to have had some more information on these trips. As you'll hopefully see later, when it comes to writing up some of the days in the 1980 trip, the details in the diary are very sparse indeed, so I will have to guess as to where I actually went to!

As I recall, Thornaby depot was one of those "must visit" places because of it's size and allocation. It was also one of the depots which was considered to be very difficult to get around. This was because they didn't issue permits and you had to rely on a friendly shed foreman to let you visit, either officially or non-officially! I only went there the once, I think, although I did go past the site many years later after the shed had gone.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
So we now move on to 1979, which was probably the first of my two Fourteen Day All Line Rail Rovers. As we shall see, though, it was more than fourteen days, as there was an “add-on” at the end of the second week.

The trip started on Day One with a journey from Newport to Holyhead, probably via Chester (but maybe Crewe). Some of you will know that at the time there were two Class 01 (?) shunters based on the Holyhead Breakwater, from where they never left. These were the objects of the long journey; it may or may not have been successful, as I see that I repeated the journey in 1981! From Holyhead, I went to Liverpool for three nights, where I stayed in either the YMCA or a small hotel near to Lime Street Station.

Day Two seems to just have been a trip to Crewe. I can’t think why I just did that, unless it was for the Crewe Works Open Day - or maybe I had arranged a visit permit? It’s all lost in the mists of time!

Day Three began with a trip to Birkenhead and the Southport to visit the local depots. After I returned to Liverpool from Southport, it was off to Glasgow, where I stayed for one night, probably in the same place as in
1979.

The Glasgow depots featured heavily on Day Four. I would think that I visited Shields Road (another difficult one), Eastfield and Polmadie; a visit to Glasgow Works would have to wait until the following year! In the afternoon, I travelled to Edinburgh for two nights, staying near to Haymarket Station.

Visits to the Edinburgh Depot(s) – probably just Haymarket, I think, took up the morning of Day Five. In the afternoon, I made my first visit to Ayr. It may seem strange to do it on this day and from Edinburgh, but that’s what the diary tells me I did! It meant, of course, that I had to go back to Glasgow and down the coast and then retrace my steps, but it was doubtless good for the mileage.

A round trip to Inverness, via Aberdeen on the outward journey and via Stirling on the return journey, occupied me on Day Six. I have a vague memory that I tried to visit Ferryhill depot in Aberdeen, but I may not have managed it for some unknown reason; I do think that it was a fair way away from the station, though? I probably made my tradition late in the day visit to Inverness. It was, however, back to Glasgow for the evening, thus making my trip to Ayr from Edinburgh the previous day even more incomprehensible!

Day Seven featured a marathon trip from Glasgow to Sheffield, but via Carlisle and Newcastle. I had always wanted to travel along to cross country line between Carlisle and Newcastle, and this was my opportunity. It’s probable that I didn’t go to either of the Carlisle depots as I probably wouldn’t have had time, but it looks as if I did visit Gateshead depot in Newcastle; the diary says “North East Depots”, whatever that means! A return visit to the Sheffield YMCA for two nights was the “attraction” … if you have read the 1979 report, you’ll know why!

The first week ended on Day Eight with a trip from Sheffield to Hull, and thence via the ferry to Grimsby. This was before the opening of the Humber Bridge, and the ferry ran from Hull on the north side of the Humber to New Holland on the side of the river. I have a recollection that they were building the bridge then; certainly it opened just over two years later, so that’s probably right.

From Grimsby (the subject of an excellent Elton John / Bernie Taupin song, of course) I went to Immingham depot. This was, I think, one of the “must visit” depots but as it was a fair way from civilisation (well, Grimsby!), it wasn’t easy to get to. Following this, it was back to the delights of Sheffield!

So, that was the end of the first week ….. the second week will follow!

 

[Techniquest]

I'll have to read that properly later, looks like a good read

 

[Karl]

Thanks for sharing. I love reading these trip reports from my spotting era. Proper traction as well in those days.

I'll look forward to week 2.

 

[EbbwJunction1]

Not, I hope(!) just for Karl, here's the second part .....

The second week began on Day Nine with a round trip from Sheffield to Doncaster, onto York and finally back to Sheffield. The diary doesn’t tell me what I did, but I guess that I probably visited (or tried to visit) the depots in York and Doncaster. I’m sure that I would have visited the National Railway Museum in York, but probably not Doncaster Works, unless I had been able to get a permit.

I see from the diary that Day Ten started in Sheffield and ended in Portsmouth – now that’s what I call a long journey! En-route, I seem to have visited the depots at Toton (TO), Nottingham Carriage Sidings (NM) and Leicester (LR) before travelling to London – I guess that this was probably St Pancras. Following a cross London journey on the tube to Waterloo, I travelled to Portsmouth. I don’t know where I stayed there; it was either a small hotel, or the YMCA!

The Isle of Wight was the first port of call on Day Eleven. I probably went out and back from Portsmouth, and travelled on the Island Line whilst I was there. Given the timings, it’s possible that I would have travelled on the Isle of Wight Steam Railway as well. After my return to the mainland, I went to Southampton and Eastleigh; I may have visited the depot and / or the works there, but that’s probably unlikely. Portsmouth was again where I stayed overnight.

The main feature of Day Twelve was a trip along the South Coast, which ended in Dover for the night at another small hotel. En route, I called in at Brighton, Ashford (a view of the depot and works only, I think) and Ramsgate. The latter was the scene of a mad dash from the station to the bank and back in order to cash a cheque (that takes me back – there were no cash machines then, of course!). I had very little time to get there before they closed … otherwise I would have had no money – but I made it!

Having successfully filled my wallet (and not spent it all in Dover that night!), early on Day Thirteen I travelled to London. After another cross London tube journey to Liverpool Street, my next stop was Norwich. I changed there for the train to Leicester, stopping en-route at March. This was again a large “must visit” depot, and was again a fair way from anywhere. However, I did have a problem, and that was “what do I do with my case?” As I was away for over a fortnight, it was quite large and pretty heavy and I really didn’t fan y carrying in all the way to the depot (and back)! Luckily, I was able to persuade the person in the station to look after it for me … for which I was very glad!

After returning to March station and retrieving my case, the next stop was Leicester, where I stayed in another small hotel. At this time, there was a fairly large chain of pub / restaurants called Berni Inns which offered good food at a reasonable price; they’re sadly not with us any more, but I used them quite often when I was travelling. This night was no exception, and having eaten I visited another of my regular haunts, i.e. the local rugby club. This evening, it involved a visit to Leicester FC (they weren’t called the Tigers then!) at Welford Road which ended up as a pretty long night!

Most of Day Fourteen was spent around the Midlands, with the first stop being Birmingham. I usually visited Saltley and Bescot when in the area, and I’m sure that this day was no different. I then took a return trip to Stoke and from there to Derby, which is where the Rail Rover part of the trip ended. I can’t remember what I did in Derby, but I do know that it involved one of the very few overnight stays on a station.

The reason for this is that I was joining a coach trip around the South Yorkshire depots, which took up most of Day Fifteen. I was picked up at silly o’clock in the morning having spend a few hours in and around the station and, despite being June, it was at times quite chilly! Sadly, the name of the club with which I took this tour is lost, but it was very good. I also can’t remember exactly where we went to, but I’d guess that we visited all the main depots and some smaller ones besides. At the ned of the day, I was dropped off in Sheffield where I stayed the night.

The last day of the trip was Day Sixteen, which started in Sheffield. The main purpose of the day was to return home to Newport, but I didn’t go direct; that would have been too easy! Instead of going straight to Birmingham via Derby, I travelled via Lincoln.

Unlike today, in those days there were two stations in Lincoln, St Marks and Central. So, what I did, was to take the train from Sheffield to Lincoln Central, walked from Central to St Marks and then to the train to Nottingham and beyond. It sounds easy …. but I do remember hurrying through the streets of Lincoln (large and heavy) bag in hand, hoping that I would not miss my connection! You see, it’s the first rule of travel – if you have to change stations, make sure you know how far they are apart and how long it will take you to walk!

Anyway, it did work, ad I travelled back to Newport and my own bed – and thus endeth the 1979 trip!

Hopefully, the story of the third and final trip will follow next week!

 

[Techniquest]

Another excellent read, despite it not being my era. After all, I wasn't born until late 1984, let alone enjoying life on the railway!

Looking forward to the next part when it's ready

 

[EbbwJunction1]

Thank you everyone for the kind words.

Whilst I gather my breath before telling you about 1980, here are just a few thoughts about a couple of related matters.

Firstly, you will have seen that I've mentioned food and drink a couple of times, and I've been thinking about how hard this was at times then. For example, there were no Weatherspoon pubs and, indeed pubs selling food of any description were very few and far between! You might have found one that sold crisps and the (very) odd pie, but the general reaction when you asked "do you sell food?" was "where do you think you are?!" There were also very few stores like Tesco or Asda, even though they were in existence then.

I generally had a good breakfast wherever I was staying, and this lasted me for quite a while. I did used to look for a snack lunchtime, but probably not always with success. The evening meal was often the most difficult time, as pubs didn't sell food and depending on where you were, there might not be very many restaurants.

I'm not sure when this happened, but I remember being in Newcastle one evening having come back from a long day out to (I think) the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. I was very hungry, but do you think I could find anywhere to eat? I admit that I am pretty picky about what I eat - i.e. I don't like curries etc., but there just didn't seem to be anywhere to have a meal! I had to go back to Jesmond, where I was staying, and visit that well known standby for food .... the local chippy!

I know that Newcastle (and virtually everywhere else) is very different now, but I'm sure that these words will hit a chord with some of you!

My second thought in this piece is that I am surprised that my long distance journey that I referred to somewhere else a while back on a different topic doesn't feature in any of these trips. It would definitely have been part of a Rover ticket (otherwise I could never have afforded it). I'm also pretty sure that I did it twice in consecutive years, but the diaries give no indication of when this was.

The journey began at Newport with a short hop to to Bristol Temple Meads (behind a Western, I think) and then a longer one from Bristol Temple Meads to Crewe (this was either via Birmingham or Shrewsbury, I think the latter). After an evening on Crewe station (and a clandestine visit to Crewe Diesel Depot), I boarded the sleeper to Glasgow at around midnight; I'm not sure what time it arrived in Glasgow Central, but I probably got off at about 7.30am. After breakfast (I'm not sure where!), the morning saw visits to the Glasgow depots (principally Polmadie and Eastfield) before going to Queen Street station by lunchtime.

I then took the early afternoon train to Inverness, arriving there at about 5.30pm. I said in one of the trip reports that I was always successful in getting permits for Inverness depot, and this trip was no exception; the time of the visit, though was around 5.45pm, which was probably unheard of anywhere else! After a couple of hours in the pub (on one occasion reading "This One's on Me", which is the story of Jimmy Greaves's decent in to alcoholism - which was probably not the best thing to read in a pub!) I went back to the station for the overnight sleeper to London Euston. This left, I think, at around 11.00pm and apart from being woken up by the change of engine at Mossend, I slept all the way to London.

On arrival at Euston and after breakfast, it was a cross platform connection to Manchester Piccadilly, probably arriving there at around lunchtime. The Manchester depots were visited in the afternoon, and I finally took to a bed that didn't move (probably in the Manchester YMCA) later that evening.

I don't know what the mileage for those three days was, but it was very good .... I'm not sure I'd want to do it again now, though!

So, there we are .... 1980 to follow soon!

 

[Tommy1581]

I loved reading the posts about your trips!!!

 

[EbbwJunction1]

The second Fourteen Day All Line Rail Rover took place in 1980, and also featured “add-ons”, but this time at the beginning of the period. It began on Day One with a trip to Birmingham (probably for Tyseley, Bescot and Saltley) and then to Lincoln for a view of the depot there. The last journey that day was to Nottingham, where I stayed some where overnight … but exactly where, I can’t say!

Day Two was taken up by a visit to Toton followed by a short trip to Leicester for a view of the depot. I then returned to Newport, although I’m sure that I no sleep in my own bed that night!

This was because on Day Three, I joined the Cardiff and Avonside Railway Society for their trip to Crewe and Cheshire. This in fact probably started at around 11.00pm outside Newport station when I joined the minibus for the overnight travel north. According to the diary, we went to Birkenhead, Crewe, Northwich, Stoke and Liverpool, but I’m not sure exactly which depots we visited and in what order! Knowing CARS, though, it was probably all of them, even if some would have been at a distance and for a short time. This was the club’s 120th trip since it’s formation in 1971, and I’m amazed (but very pleased) to see that in April they’ll be arranging their 500th trip! I left the trip in Liverpool, where I stayed overnight, probably in the same place as in 1979.

The Rover started properly on Day Four with a short trip to Manchester. I’m sure that I would have visited Longsight, Newton Heath, Reddish North and Guide Bridge as well as Piccadilly and Victoria stations. It was then back to Liverpool.

Day Five seems to have only included a trip to Wigan for a visit to Springs Branch depot. However, I’m sure that there must have been more, quite probably visits to some of the Liverpool depots, i.e. Allerton and Edge Hill?

I mentioned in the 1979 trip report that I visited Holyhead to see the two Class two Class 01 (?) shunters based on the Holyhead Breakwater, from where they never left. I’m guessing that that long journey hadn’t been successful, as on Day Six I repeated the journey! I went via Chester, so I possibly visited the depot there, either on the way out or the way back to Liverpool. With that journey, though, my time in the North West was at an end, as I then went on to Carlisle for a one night stay.

The morning of Day Seven was taken up by visits to Carlisle Kingmoor and (probably) Carlisle New Yard. As anyone who has been to either or both, they’re a long way from the centre of Carlisle, but I seem to remember that they were worth it! In the afternoon, I travelled on to Glasgow three nights. The afternoon saw visits to the depots at Hamilton, Motherwell and Mossend.

Another visit to Stranraer and Ayr took up the morning of Day Eight. After I returned to Glasgow, I visted Corkerhill and Shields Road, although the latter might have been view, as it wasn’t easy to get access.

The rest of the Glasgow depots (Polmadie, Eastfield and Hyndland) and Glasgow Works filled most of Day Nine, after which I made the short journey to Edinburgh for a three night stay in Haymarket.

I didn’t go too far during the morning of Day Ten, as the main visit was to Haymarket depot, just down the road! Further afield were the depots at Craigentinny and Millerhill, where I was helped a lot by a friendly driver. I arrived at the yard at one end and asked for permission to have a look around, which was granted.

I was then asked “Did I want to go to the depot at the other end of the yard?” to which I said “Yes, please!” The response was “Well, I’m driving up there now in that Class 40 over there – would you like a lift?” I’m sure that you can anticipate my answer …. “Yes, please!” So, there was I, not only cabbing a Class 40 (I can’t remember which one, sadly) but having a ride in it as well – a great pleasure! The help didn’t end there, though, as when I got to the other end of the yard and looked around the shed, I was given a lift back into Edinburgh - to the back entrance of Waverley station, in fact!

This saved me quite a lot of time, as otherwise I’d have been on the bus, and enabled me to go to Perth for a couple of hours before returning to Edinburgh.

If the previous day had been good, Day Eleven possibly surpassed it in terms of an achievement. Early doors, I was away from Edinburgh on my way to Dunfermline, where my target was to visit Townhill depot. Now, this was commonly believed to be one of the most difficult of all the depots to visit. They didn’t give permits, and personal approached were more than likely to be refused ... but I did it! It was mainly by luck rather than judgement, but whatever I did seemed to work, so that’s one of the better memories of that trip.

From Dunfermline, it was back to Edinburgh and then on to Inverness via Dundee and Aberdeen. I can’t recall whether I visited either or both depots there, but I do know that I paid my usual late evening visit to Inverness, again no doubt with a permit. I don’t really know any details of the trip, but I see that I didn’t stay overnight in Inverness, but returned to Edinburgh after visiting the depot … I must have got back to the hotel pretty late, though!

From Edinburgh, on Day Twelve I went down to the North East, staying in Jesmond on the outskirts of the city for one night. From here until very nearly the end of the trip, (and I don’t know why), the diary gets very vague about where I went to and what I did. For example, for this day it just says “NE” or “North East”; but with no other details.

I know that I stayed for one night, because on Day Thirteen it says “Humberside” followed by “Doncaster to London”. From this, I guess that I travelled down to York or Doncaster and then possibly went to Hull or Grimsby, returning later to Doncaster. It doesn’t say where I stayed in London, but it was probably a small hotel.

Sadly, the entries for the next three days are completely unhelpful, as they read “South West” (Day Fourteen), “South East” (Day Fifteen) and “East Anglia” (Day Sixteen). All I can say is that I may have gone as far as Plymouth in the South West and stayed somewhere like Exeter overnight. I could then have moved along the south coast and finished up in London on the middle day. Finally, I may have gone up to Norwich and across to the East Coast main line on the third day. It does look as if I got as far as Leeds or Bradford and stayed there overnight! It would be an interesting exercise to try to recreate my movements. Maybe I’ll do it one day – does anyone have a 1980 timetable I could use?!

The last entry in the diary is for Day Seventeen. It says “Bradford, Leeds, Doncaster”, thus reinforcing the view that I stayed somewhere in that area the previous night – although I have no memory of doing so! It then says “Doncaster to London to Newport, so I obviously went from Doncaster to London Kings Cross, across to Paddington on the tube and then home.

So, here endeth the 1980 trip, albeit with more questions at the end than answers. I hope that you’ve enjoyed my ramblings, and if you have any questions, I’ll try to help.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

I loved reading the posts about your trips!!!

Thank you; I hope you enjoy the latest episode as well!


--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Here are some more random musings about these trips.

Firstly, I've been thinking about where I actually stayed whilst I was travelling around Britain during the three years covered by these trips.

I know that I stayed at some of the YMCA hostels, but otherwise I used small hotels and guest houses - but the questions are, which was which and what were the latter called?

As far as I can recall, the YMCAs were in Liverpool and Manchester (neither of which are in the same place now, and the latter doesn't offer accommodation any more).

The hotels that I can identify were in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Newcastle (Jesmond), Dover and Leicester. In addition, I'm sure that I stayed in Norwich at least once, but it may not have been on any of these three trips.

That leaves the hotels that I cannot identify, which were in Birmingham, Portsmouth / Southsea, Nottingham and Carlisle.

I do remember using "Where to Stay" tomes published annually by the English & Scottish Tourist Boards .. it's much easier now with the internet!

Secondly, there seems to be a marked lack of photographs in my collection.

This is particularly noticeable in view of my current photography practice, where I say that I follow the Japanese principle. What, you've never heard of this? it's quite simple ... it works on the basis that "if it moves, take a photo of it; and if it doesn't move, take a photo anyway because it might!"

I've had a quick scan of the albums for that period, and have found that I have the following photographs (listed in the order of travel):

August 1976: Glasgow, Liverpool, Crewe area, Portsmouth, Sheffield (Tinsley depot), Newcastle, York and Doncaster.

August 1977: Glasgow, Stonehaven, Tay Bridge, Edinburgh, Darlington, March depot and Doncaster.

August 1978: Nottingham, Allerton depot, Wigan depot, Grimsby; Birmingham (Snow Hill area) and Barrow Hill depot.

May 1980: Slade Green depot, Ashford depots, Edge Hill depot, Manchester Victoria, Hull Paragon station & Hull docks, River Humber, Bournemouth, March depot, London Kings Cross and Doncaster.

May 1981: I have a series of photos taken in and around Manchester, featuring the following paces: Blackburn, Horwich Works, Newton Heath depot, Manchester Piccadilly, Longsight depot, Reddish depot and Buxton. This was the Cardiff & Avonside Railway Society trip (no. 137) to Preston and Manchester, so I obviously went on that one as well.

Well, I think that's all for now .... I hope that you have enjoyed my stories!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
I thought that I would revisit the 1980 trip to see if it is still a practical proposition.

Much to my surprise, for the most part this is very much the case, with only a couple of days where there are / may be problems. I generally looked to start at around 09.00 / 09.30 and tried to finish between around 16.00 - 17.00.

The first six days follow the original routes and activities closely, with the only difficulty being a late finish on day six in Carlisle. Day seven provided the first small problem, as depending on the time that I left Carlisle, visiting the Glasgow depots might be a bit tight. The first real problem occurred on day seven, when it would not prove possible to go to Stranraer and Ayr; the shorter leg has therefore been adopted to allow other Glasgow depots to be visited.

Normal service was resumed on days nine and ten. On day eleven, it proved impossible to visit depot(s) in Dundee and / or Aberdeen and go to Inverness and back. I have therefore adapted the route to go out via Dundee and Aberdeen and back via Stirling and Perth, although there will be a late return to Edinburgh.

The main travel on day twelve from Edinburgh to Newcastle is fine as you would expect. It would leave most of the morning and all afternoon to go anywhere, but I haven't looked that far. I decided not to visit Leicester again on day thirteen, so after visiting Tinsley in the morning, I went to Birmingham around lunchtime to visit the depots there. Following these visits, I decided to take the Marylebone service to London, which worked just fine, albeit with slightly late arrival in London.

I decided that on day fourteen I would call in at Bristol to visit the Bath Road depot (yes, I know it's not there any more, but remember that I'm using 2015 times for a 1980 trip!). After this, I went straight to Plymouth for a visit to Laira deport - which is still there!

The real problem came on day fifteen, as it proved impossible to travel from Plymouth to London along the south coast and visit depots en-route. Having looked at it, I'm even more surprised and confused about what I did actually do back then. I see from the photograph list elsewhere that I did visit Bournemouth depot, as I took some images there, but they are the only ones I took that day, so that's not a great help!

I therefore compromised and set up times to travel direct from Plymouth to London Paddington or via Westbury and Southampton to London Waterloo. Either route would allow visits to be made to London depots, albeit that the latter route would take about an hour longer.

The following day (sixteen) saw a reasonably long trip from London Liverpool Street to Norwich. Two options were available, via Cambridge or Ipswich; the latter would have been the one I would have selected, I think. From Norwich, the cross country route via Ely took me to March (for a visit to the now-closed depot - that wouldn't have taken very long, then!) and then on to Peterborough. From there, it was a short trip up the East Coast main Line to Doncaster, where I decide to stay overnight owing to the lateness of the arrival times.

The morning of the final day (seventeen) saw another change because of the different overnight venue. I didn't go to Leeds or Bradford; instead, I took a short trip to Sheffield for a visit to Tinsley. This was followed by the return journey home and, much to my surprise, National Rail Enquiries offered me two alternative journeys. One was via Stockport and the other (which I thought would be the only one) was via Birmingham.

So, here endeth the new version of the 1980 trip; I think that I would have enjoyed it!