Take a seat, it's another long one ...
Monday 26/11/79
After a visit to York with my girlfriend, we got up in the wee small hours to go to York station to head south. For once the Gods smiled on me:
40160 0337 York – Kings Cross via Selby, 30’ late.
That evening – and solo this time – I returned to Kings Cross once more to see what was about. What’s on the 2015 Edinburgh? Nothing! Eventually 55007 dropped on, so I boarded and awaited departure. No sooner had we exited Gasworks Tunnel than I knew we were in trouble; the loco would take power then immediately overload, take power / overload, take power / overload, and so it continued. During the booked Stevenage stop, the driver phoned ahead for a replacement loco (although I didn’t know that at the time). We arrived at Peterborough 20 minutes late, having departed from Kings Cross 10 minutes late waiting loco (off repairs?). 55007 was cut off, and replaced by 37084. That’ll do nicely!
55007 2015 Kings Cross – Peterborough, 10’->20’ late.
37084 2142 Peterborough – York via Selby. 30->25’ late.
Once more I returned home to York, and spent the night there, and all the following day, (Tuesday 27/11/79) before coming back to the station during the wee small hours of Wednesday 28/11/79 to head back south. After all, I was supposed to be attending some lectures at university!
(Wednesday 28/11/79)
So I covered some of the southbound services, to see what traction was about. The 2230 Edinburgh – Kings Cross was the heaviest train of the night, so was a good bet for a Deltic. However I noted it was running 45 minutes late … Here it comes: It’s a 40. No, it’s a 37!
37084 0221 York – Kings Cross via Selby
Yes, 37084 again, on load 15 including several sleepers. Apparently, it had worked all the way through to Edinburgh the previous night, sat unused all day on Haymarket. It was then sent back south on the heaviest train of the night, as that was the only one driven by Gateshead crews who signed class 37s, whereas at the time Haymarket crews didn’t. As might be expected, it was a flat out effort all the way – and a bit of a totter. It (eventually) managed to reach a gravity-assisted 90 mph going down Stoke bank, but couldn’t maintain it on the flat. Departing Peterborough there was a prolonged and severe bout of wheelspin trying to get the heavy train moving on the rising gradient over the Nene bridge in the early morning dew. I bet some of the sleeper passengers were thrown out of bed by that treatment! We lost a further 45 minutes to Kings Cross, arriving there 90 minutes late. Epic!
Monday 26/11/84
A quick 87 bash before work:
87013 1045 Glasgow Central – Lockerbie
87011 1250 Lockerbie – Glasgow Central
Saturday 26/11/88
I had come north from Crewe to cover some engineering diversions because of closure of the WCML for bridge replacement works:
37402 0347 Mossend – Glasgow Queen Street via Stirling
First off – after breakfast at least – was the 0715 Glasgow Central – Euston, which was booked to be diverted via Newton on Ayr / Annbank / Mauchline, which was required track. To my surprise instead of the expected ETH 47, there was 47006 on the front:
47006 0715 Glasgow Central – Carlisle via Kilwinning, Newton on Ayr, Annbank, Mauchline
The run back north was a bit more conventional, both in route and traction:
47644 1036 Carlisle – Glasgow Central via Dumfries
Then across to Queen Street to intercept the southbound Clansman at Stirling:
47641 1333 Glasgow Queen Street – Stirling
47619 1426 Stirling – Carlisle via Whifflet North Jn, Rutherglen East Jn, Larkfield Jn., Muirhouse Jn., Dumfries
Another slug of interesting track, avoiding the Glasgow termini. At Dumfries it all came to a (literally) shuddering halt, as one of the brake blocks on the loco had broken, and then become wedged between the brake rigging and the tyre. The loco could go neither back nor fore. During this time the terminating DMU arrived from Carlisle, and blocked the Down platform, as it needed to go through the crossover to return south, so now both roads were entirely at a standstill, and trains began to queue up for miles around. Eventually, after breaking open the emergency tool cabinet in the brake van, and extracting a large crowbar, the offending brake block was removed by brute force, then the brake rigging was tied back, and brakes isolated on that bogie. We came forward at a reduced speed to Carlisle.
Now there’s “sensible things to do” and there’s “ooh, I need that”. My sensible option would have been to stick with this train, and head south to Crewe and home to bed. However, I heard an announcement for any passengers for Newcastle to hurry to join the train in platform …
37509 was waiting there on a rake of 6 air-cons. It was a Carlisle – Polmadie via Craigentinny ECS service which had been purloined to run as a Carlisle to Newcastle local in place of the DMU which was still back of the queue somewhere near Dumfries. That’ll do nicely.
I didn’t need 37509 for haulage – I’d had it previously as 37093. However whilst en route to Newcastle I realised that 37509 / 37093 was the loco which featured in the famous BR commercial, when it was repainted into Police Car livery, and the Newcastle – Carlisle line was the very one it had been shot on, so here I was having the Police 37 over the authentic route:
37509 1815 Carlisle – Newcastle
After all that excitement, it was a slightly less invigorating (but much warmer) ride home:
143 016 Newcastle – Carlisle
(Sunday 27/11/88)
87023 0007 Carlisle – Crewe
Saturday 26/11/94
It’s Rugby season, so the Cardiff Valleys are the place to be:
47816 0921 Reading – Cardiff Central
150 269 Cardiff Central – Ystrad Rhondda
37197 1221 Ystrad Rhondda – Cardiff Central
47781 1355 Cardiff Central – Treherbert
37197 1500 Treherbert – Cardiff Central
37408 1645 Cardiff Central – Cwmbran
158 830 Cwmbran – Newport
37402 1817 Newport – Birmingham New Street via Chepstow, Gloucester, Cheltenham Spa, Lickey, Camp Hill.
47814 2042 Birmingham New Street – Reading via Coventry