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Cromptons on the Marches

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Southof1E

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A good few of us must remember Cromptons thrashing through the Marches on Cardiff - Crewe type services with 5 or 6 Mk I's in tow.
Did all the Cromptons work the Marches a list of 77 here but a fair few gaps that would be good to fill along with any marches memories

cheers

NR

http://www.leightonlogs.org/Class33marches.htm

Class 33's on the Marches 1981-1986 (and beyond)

Class 33's were introduced on Marches turns with the May 81 timetable. They

were to continue on the route until late 1986. As per the list below a good few

different "Cromptons" worked the Marches (77 different 33's so far). 33'1s were

officially barred from the route as the Southern needed them for push pull duties

but at least 4 different 33'1s have produced!

Thanks to Dave Spencer, GK and "TC" for much of the gen<

Anymore Marches Cromptons memories to share?
 
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WesternLancer

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A good few of us must remember Cromptons thrashing through the Marches on Cardiff - Crewe type services with 5 or 6 Mk I's in tow.
Did all the Cromptons work the Marches a list of 77 here but a fair few gaps that would be good to fill along with any marches memories

cheers

NR

http://www.leightonlogs.org/Class33marches.htm
Interesting link- also as the 1st pic under the list at Newport has in the background what looks like a Mk1 met cam Pullman coach in the other platform. Wonder that that was doing there. Tour?
 

Southof1E

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also as the 1st pic under the list at Newport has in the background what looks like a Mk1 met cam Pullman coach in the other platform. Wonder that that was doing there. Tour?

Yes the pullman was part of a steam special that had also done the Marches that day
 

WesternLancer

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also as the 1st pic under the list at Newport has in the background what looks like a Mk1 met cam Pullman coach in the other platform. Wonder that that was doing there. Tour?

Yes the pullman was part of a steam special that had also done the Marches that day
Thanks!
 

CW2

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I've had a trawl through my records, but can't add anything meaningful to the list. At the time they were working I lived in Crewe and had in-laws in Abergavenny, so trips up and down the Marches with Cromptons were commonplace. I only ever had 33/0s.
 

Polarbear

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Unverified I know, but I seem to recall a similar discussion about whether all the 33's worked Crewe - Cardiff back in the day. As I recall, the consensus was that all bar one managed to appear.

I know that's just hearsay, but I was out spotting in the early 1980's & was pleasantly surprised that being based in the North West of England, the 33's made life easy for me by heading north!8-)
 

AJP62

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looks like inwards opening doors I think. That's a Pullman thing. Did XP64 also have those?
They did have recessed doors - they may have folded to give a wider opening.

They did have recessed doors - they may have folded to give a wider opening.
Looking at the picture on a bigger screen rather than my phone I think you may be right about the Pullman! I don't recall them being blue/grey and marked first class but that's not to say they weren't.
 

WesternLancer

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They did have recessed doors - they may have folded to give a wider opening.


Looking at the picture on a bigger screen rather than my phone I think you may be right about the Pullman! I don't recall them being blue/grey and marked first class but that's not to say they weren't.
Thanks - I've learned something there so that's good! I can't see how it compares with his XP64 pic since I think that is not a saloon or it's the other side of the coach to that seen at Newport behind the Class 33

Also different bogies in the 2 images but I don't know if XP64 coaches that survived to the early 80s would have had the same bogies as in the older pic on my link.
 

Cowley

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Thanks - I've learned something there so that's good! I can't see how it compares with his XP64 pic since I think that is not a saloon or it's the other side of the coach to that seen at Newport behind the Class 33

Also different bogies in the 2 images but I don't know if XP64 coaches that survived to the early 80s would have had the same bogies as in the older pic on my link.
I started a thread about XP 64 coaches a while ago that you might find interesting:
 

WesternLancer

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I started a thread about XP 64 coaches a while ago that you might find interesting:
Thanks Cowley - I'll peruse that.
 

AJP62

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I think that's just a standard Mk1 despite the title.

Photos of the XP64 carriages seem hard to come by as I've been finding the last couple of days!
 

Peter Mugridge

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I think that's just a standard Mk1 despite the title.

Photos of the XP64 carriages seem hard to come by as I've been finding the last couple of days!

If that's the blood and custard vehicle in the thumbnail on the link, that is captioned as a Mk 1 - the XP64 vehicle appears at about the 5th image down.

If you mean the blue and grey one in the background of the first class 33 image on the other link, that's 100% definitely a Met-Cam Pullman from the 1960 / 1961 build. It even has a three digit number beginning with 3, although it's not fully readable as to which exact vehicle it is.
 

AJP62

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That 5th image is what I'm thinking of with the recessed doors! I can see the difference to the Pullman now
 

WesternLancer

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I think that's just a standard Mk1 despite the title.

Photos of the XP64 carriages seem hard to come by as I've been finding the last couple of days!
Yes, as Peter M says - it was images further down that link I was referring to ref the XP64 - apols as I didn't make that clear. But looks like we have a consensus - Met Cam Pullman behind the class 33 in that image. XP64 info over on other thread as per post #12!
Interesting to read people's comments on this however.
 

Cowley

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Did pairs of 33s work the Welsh Marches line?
There’s a pair pictured in the third photo on the link given in the opening post, but they’re only hauling five coaches so I’d say it was more likely a result of an engine failure or a balancing move.
I did a bit of bashing on the Cardiff - Portsmouth’s in the 80s and I don’t think I ever had a pair on them.
 

Ash Bridge

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Agree Mk1 Met Cam Pullman, size of the windows is an easy identifying feature of them.
That was the big giveaway for me too; also the original table lamps quite visible, don't think any mk1 FO charter stock had received them at this early stage?
 

delt1c

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That was the big giveaway for me too; also the original table lamps quite visible, don't think any mk1 FO charter stock had received them at this early stage?
The Mk1 FO charter stock with table lamps were later and I believe painted IC Livery. A couple of the East Coast 2nd class Pullmans were reclasified as normal 1sts ( they had 2 + 1 seating ) and were used on the Liverpool St Norwich and Harwich routes in the mid 70,s proir to AC stock being cascaded. I am wondering if the one in the picture was one of them as it is in standard Blue Grey.
 

jimm

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Did pairs of 33s work the Welsh Marches line?

There’s a pair pictured in the third photo on the link given in the opening post, but they’re only hauling five coaches so I’d say it was more likely a result of an engine failure or a balancing move.
I did a bit of bashing on the Cardiff - Portsmouth’s in the 80s and I don’t think I ever had a pair on them.
I'd agree with Cowley on this one. Never saw a double-headed service on the Marches line myself when regularly visiting Shropshire in the 1980s, but there are other pictures floating about showing that pairs of 33s would turn up there and on South Wales/Bristol Portsmouth runs occasionally, so seem likely to have been for the reasons Cowley notes.
 

Richard Scott

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There’s a pair pictured in the third photo on the link given in the opening post, but they’re only hauling five coaches so I’d say it was more likely a result of an engine failure or a balancing move.
I did a bit of bashing on the Cardiff - Portsmouth’s in the 80s and I don’t think I ever had a pair on them.
Know it's digressing but had 33047+33015 paired on a Portsmouth-Cardiff train both under power (33015 returned south later that day). Was August 1987 and believe 33047 had a no heat restriction on it so was rare on passenger (obviously wasn't an issue in August).
 

Cowley

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Know it's digressing but had 33047+33015 paired on a Portsmouth-Cardiff train both under power (33015 returned south later that day). Was August 1987 and believe 33047 had a no heat restriction on it so was rare on passenger (obviously wasn't an issue in August).
That’s interesting. I mean I know it’s slightly digressing (not that we’ve talked about 33s on the Welsh Marches anyway :lol:), but these are all parts of the diagrams that got the 33s all the way out to Holyhead in a way...
 

alistairlees

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I did once have a 33/0 and 31/4 pairing on a Cardiff - Portsmouth service. Both were working so far as I know. It would have been in about 1985 or 86.
 

Whistler40145

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I travelled on a special on The Welsh Marches hauled by 33053+37068 in multiple, it started at London Waterloo and made several journeys between Hereford and Crewe. IIRC the driver who worked to Crewe had requested that the Crompton led on all journeys as it was his final chance of driving a Crompton before retiring
 

Crewe Exile

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Used to enjoy doing Cromptons on Marches/North Wales Coast. Only ever had 33/0’s bar a couple of 33/2’s. ‘Bags’ were exceptionally rare - never saw one on the route. The Crewe - Bangor turn would sometimes be used for an ex works loco to pilot the crompton.
Really great engines the 33s - always thought they handled the route better than the 37s that came in soon after.
 

CW2

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Back in 1986 I managed to have a then-pristine ex-works 33022 in and out of Holyhead and Fishguard Harbour on consecutive days. I imagine there must have been a link via the Marches there somewhere.
 
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