Back in the day...

[Cheshire Scot]

@D6130 Great story, thanks for sharing.

Yes, very much appreciated. I had assumed there must be some propelling involved and so it proved to be.
I got to both Brechin and Fraserburgh on a DMU tour (from GLQ) which must have been late 70's.

 

[xotGD]

Nothing from me today, but I've just seen that 33012 has been announced as a guest loco for the KWVR Diesel Gala in June.

And yes, I do require it for haulage

Fingers crossed that DRS will also send something suitable...

37075 is due a spin out on Easter Saturday morning, so I might just pop down for the day.

 

[CW2]

Nothing from me today, but I've just seen that 33012 has been announced as a guest loco for the KWVR Diesel Gala in June.

And yes, I do require it for haulage

Fingers crossed that DRS will also send something suitable...

37075 is due a spin out on Easter Saturday morning, so I might just pop down for the day.

Wasn't 33012 the one that was painted in some Cromptonized version of large logo / ice cream van livery for a while?

 

[xotGD]

Wasn't 33012 the one that was painted in some Cromptonized version of large logo / ice cream van livery for a while?

Yep...

https://railphotoprints.uk/img/s/v-10/p994032569-4.jpg

 

[Graeme.Hutchis]

14th April 1984, Spinning around Strathclyde

311105 Greenock West - Glasgow 07.05 Gourock - Glasgow
37175 Queen St - Dumbarton Central 09.50 Queen St - Fort William
37011 Dumbarton Central - Queen St 08.00 Oban - Queen St
37191 Queen St - Dumbarton Central 12.20 Queen St - Oban
EMU Dumbarton Central - Queen St L L 12.54 Helensburgh Central - Airdrie
27032 Glasgow - Kilmarnock 13.50 Glasgow - Carlisle
27056 Kilmarnock - Glasgow 12.40 Carlisle - Glasgow
DMU Glasgow - Paisley 15.15 Glasgow - Largs
47148 Paisley - Glasgow 13.15 Stranraer - Glasgow
37014 Queen St - Dumbarton 16.50 Queen St - Fort William
37188+37264 Dumbarton - Queen St 14.15 Fort William - Queen St
37033 Queen St - Arrochar 18.20 Queen St - Oban
37191 Arrochar - Helensburgh Upper 18.00 Oban - Queen St
37081+ Ethel 1 Helensburgh Upper - Queen St 17.40 Fort William - Queen St
47051 Glasgow - Paisley 22.00 Glasgow - Stranraer
303081 Paisley - Branchton 22.45 Glasgow - Wemyss Bay.

 

[CW2]

Tuesday 15/04/80
I was on the 2230 Edinburgh – Kings Cross, which had reached York well late behind the distinctly underpowered 31181. Thankfully there was something a bit beefier lined up for the onward journey south:
55007 0221 York – Kings Cross via Selby, 105' late.
50049 0830 Paddington – Reading
50007 + 50034 0913 Reading – Paddington, both locos powering.
50043 1055 Paddington – Reading
50019 1232 Reading – Paddington
Until getting checked by a late-running HST ahead, this newly-refurbished 50 was running better than the pair I'd had earlier, on the same load.
55021 1405 Kings Cross – York via Selby
Time for a quick trip home, change of clothes, then back out for some more …
47518 1943 York – Newcastle
31406 2140 Newcastle – Darlington via Sunderland
This was a seats + sleepers portion round the Durham coast to Darlington, where the seating coaches were detached to work back the corresponding northbound train the next morning, and the sleepers attached to the 2255 Newcastle – Kings Cross. That conveyed sleepers only, and arrived behind 40080. I asked the guard if I could travel with him as far as Doncaster (where a seats + sleepers portion from Leeds was scheduled to be attached) but he declined the offer of my company. So I just had to wait it out for the next southbound service. I used the time wisely to buy another 3D ticket. The clerk who issued it forgot to stamp "Darlington" in the FROM section. Instead he put the start date of the validity of the ticket (i.e. valid for 3 journeys FROM 16 APR 80). So now the ticket inspectors had even less of a clue as to what journey I was supposed to be making!

Monday 15/04/85
There was a Gourock to Blackpool North ADEX running, so I was able to have a little spin with that for the novelty value before going to work:
86230 0730 Gourock – Carlisle via Shields Jn., Larkfield Jn.
87012 1145 Carlisle – Glasgow Central

 

[xotGD]

This was a seats + sleepers portion round the Durham coast to Darlington

Fortunately this service continued to operate for some time after it stopped being a sleeper portion, just with the seated coaches. As can be seen upthread, catching the morning northbound service from Sunderland (using a 5p 'Transfare' ticket) was a regular move of mine a couple of years later. A Gateshead chuck-out turn that produced plenty of variety.

 

[NorthWestRover]

Thursday 15th April 1982

85027 WBQ to Preston
40092 Colwyn Bay to Man Vic, 1J53 15.17 Holyhead to Man Vic

Saturday 15th April 1989

Day out in London...awful, awful day 170 miles north. On the tube that night, saw the first headlines about Hillsborough on the front of the Evening Standard.

50037 Oxford to Paddington, 09.35 service
50026 Paddington to Oxford, 21.05 service

 

[D6130]

TUESDAY 15th APRIL 1975:

A day out to catch some 'Western' haulage:

7337/7056/ 7353 Petersfield-Guildford
1201 Guildford-Reading
1067 "Western Druid" Reading-Paddington
1033 "Western Trooper" Paddington-Reading
1204 Reading-Guildford
7353/7056/7337 Guildford-Petersfield

Other 'Whizzos' seen in service during the day included 1001/21/26/36/51/54/56/71.


SATURDAY 15th APRIL 1978:

A wander around the South-West London suburban lines which -almost inevitably - finished with a Crompton bash from Waterloo to Woking:

7351/7056 Petersfield-Guildford (08 50 Portsmouth Harbour-Waterloo)
7396 10 04 Guildford-Ascot via Aldershot (reverse)
7353/7410 Ascot-Virginia Water (11 32 Reading-Waterloo)
7381/7412 Virginia Water-Feltham (12 32 Reading-Waterloo)
5906/5912 Feltham-Twickenham (13 14 Windsor & Eton Riverside-Waterloo)
5916/5931 Twickenham-Barnes (13 16 Waterloo [Main]-Waterloo [Windsor])
5128 Barnes-Waterloo via Teddington (13 49 Waterloo [Windsor]-Waterloo [Main])
33 013 15 00 Waterloo-Woking (to Exeter SD. Consist: W25955/25921/25923/14062/14048/1904/5040/5032 Load 8 VB/DH)
7815/7812 Woking-Petersfield (15 20 Waterloo-Portsmouth Harbour)


FRIDAY 15th APRIL 1983:

Still on holiday with friends in Ireland:

128+123 Bray-Dublin Connolly (07 45 from Rosslare Harbour)
141 Dublin Pearse-Bray (15 12 from Howth)

 

[xotGD]

15th April 1989

My one and only trip to Highbury...

50030 Slough - Paddington 1F47

Arsenal 1 Newcastle 0

And no loco-hauled option back from Paddington.

15th April 1990

Heading north for Easter...

47833 New Street - York
47444 York - Newcastle

 

[D6130]

Arsenal 1 Newcastle 0

And no loco-hauled option back from Paddington.

What?....I don't believe it! Double disappointment! Which was the worst of the two?

 

[CW2]

Wednesday 16/04/80
I had stood and watched 40080 departing Darlington on the 2255 Newcastle – Kings Cross sleepers only, and determined to chase it south. Fortunately there was a suitable steed not far behind:
55010 0004 Darlington – Doncaster via Selby
This should have missed the 2255 ex Newcastle at Doncaster by about 5 minutes, but it was still in the platform having C&W attention, so I was able to board the Leeds portion and have 40080 after all:
40080 0140 Doncaster – Kings Cross, 25' late.
50025 0850 Paddington – Birmingham New Street via Solihull
81005 1120 Birmingham New Street – Crewe
The purpose of the visit to Crewe was to cover the 1005 Euston – Holyhead, which was the booked test train for ex-works locos. Sadly – as on my previous visit – it was a common or garden ETH 47 that was on test:
47464 (+ 47491 not powering) 1229 Crewe – Chester
40031 1313 Chester – Manchester Victoria
40031 1540 Manchester Victoria – Bangor
40031 1930 Bangor – Manchester Victoria Cab ride throughout.
Then to the pub, where I learned that 40068 was working the "Bangor Mails" York – Stockport and return. Excellent, that's my overnight sorted …

Saturday 16/04/88
85018 0536 Crewe – Euston
40122 0958 Liverpool Street – York via Norwich, Ely avoider, Peterborough, Doncaster, Hambleton. "The Class 40 Farewell".
https://www.sixbellsjunction.co.uk/80s/880416ic.htm (with detailed timings and photos)
The final run of a class 40 in BR ownership, followed by the handover of 40122 to the NRM.
43162 + 43154 1748 York – Newcastle
43197 + 43099 1914 Newcastle – Edinburgh via Norwood, Carlisle
47664 2304 Edinburgh – Carstairs
47471 2359 Carstairs – Carlisle

Thursday 16/04/92
I had been in hospital for some minor surgery, and had just been released. That's when I got the phone call telling me that 56001 was working the 1757 Paddington – Westbury that night. I tottered gingerly up to Reading station to have it as far as Theale:
56001 1819 Reading – Theale
DMU Theale – Reading
Of note, 56023 also worked the 1422 Dover – Liverpool, which followed 56001 along the GWML from Acton. So if I had been at work in Paddington as normal, I could have scored two 56s that day. I never did catch up with 56023.

 

[Magdalia]

Saturday 15th April 1989

Day out in London...awful, awful day 170 miles north.

I was on the Pathfinder "Border Fellsman" railtour to Carlisle. Pictures of that train, especially the photostop at Ribblehead, will always be a reminder of what happened that day.

You'll never walk alone.

 

[xotGD]

What?....I don't believe it! Double disappointment! Which was the worst of the two?

Well I knew in advance that I'd be stuck with a unit back from Paddington. I suppose I also half-knew in advance that the Toon would lose to the Gooners.

 

[Harvester]

Sunday 16th April 1978

A special to Swindon organised by Birmingham Railway Museum, with 7029 Clun Castle advertised to do the Birmingham to Didcot legs. For reasons long forgotten 7029 didn’t start from New Street, as we were hauled out to Saltley by 40083, and 7029 coupled on there.

40083 08:55 Birmingham NS-Saltley
7029 Saltley-Didcot (via Tyseley-Leamington-Banbury-Oxford)
47108 Didcot-Swindon

Then a tour of Swindon Works and scrapyard. It was over a year since the final Western withdrawals, but 14 were still to be seen there in various stages of scrapping. We then returned to Didcot, with an extended stop to visit the GWS depot, and also to change locos.

47108 Swindon-Didcot
7029 Didcot-Dorridge
40083 Dorridge-Birmingham NS

 

[43096]

Sunday 16th April 1978

A special to Swindon organised by Birmingham Railway Museum, with 7029 Clun Castle advertised to do the Birmingham to Didcot legs. For reasons long forgotten 7029 didn’t start from New Street, as we were hauled out to Saltley by 40083, and 7029 coupled on there.

Perhaps even back then BR were concerned about kettle clag in the underground hellhole that is New Street?

 

[NorthWestRover]

Friday 16th April 1982

40025 WBQ to Bangor, 1D34 07.45 Man Vic to Bangor
40025 Bangor to Rhyl, 1J30 11.03 Bangor to Man Vic

Then a gap in my records. I must have bailed on the basis of some dodgy gen. And later on no 025 on The Bangor

25235 WBQ to Chester, 1D21 15.45 Man Vic to Bangor
85022 WBQ to Crewe
37176 Crewe to Whitchurch, 1V13 19.28 Crewe to Cardiff
33065 Whitchurch to Crewe

Varied day

Saturday 16th April 1983

87001 WBQ to Oxenholme, 1S39 07.35 Plymouth to Glasgow

A week walking in the Lakes

 

[D6130]

THURSDAY 16th APRIL 1981:

Off to my grandmother's on Teesside for the Easter long weekend:

303 048/031 Hyndland-Glasgow QS LL (08 05 Balloch Central-Springburn)
47 704 11 00 Glasgow QS HL-Edinburgh via Falkirk High (Consist: SC12026/12018/12023/12051/11009/9710 Load 6 AB/EH)

The plan was to catch the 12 00 Kings Cross HST to Darlington but wait.....what's this? I knew that there was a booked 11 55 relief to the Cross but, according to the Special Traffic Notice, it was booked for a Duff. However the sounds coming from the London end of the motley collection of elderly Mark 1s standing in Platform 20 were rather more encouraging! Haymarket had turned out their pet Deltic*....and turned it out in pristine condition, so it had to be done. It mattered not to me that we were inevitably looped at Drem to let the HST overtake:

55 010 Edinburgh-Darlington (11 55 relief to Kings Cross. Consist: M80890/80952/E9254/4634/25160/15856/25143/25485/25014/35347 Load 10 VB/SH)
E50256/56091/50165/56219 16 15 Darlington-Saltburn
E50248/59104/59220/50139 18 15 Saltburn-Thornaby (to Darlington)

*-OK, it was probably allocated to York at that stage....but it was still Haymarket's pet and always would be till the day it was scrapped.


SATURDAY 16th APRIL 1983:

Returning to Glasgow after just over a week in Ireland:

132+131 Bray-Dublin Connolly (07 45 from Rosslare Harbour)
112 11 00 Dublin Connolly-Belfast Central
Bus: Belfast Central-Belfast York Road
73/723/703 13 40 Belfast York Road-Larne Harbour
"Galloway Princess" 15 30 Larne Harbour-Stranraer Harbour
Car: Stranraer-Glasgow

Call me a traitor, but I randomly encountered some friends from Glasgow on the ferry who were resturning from a motoring holiday in Ireland and kindly offered me a lift. The 18 35 train had a very common steam heat Haymarket Duff on the front and I was home indoors in Hyndland more than an hour earlier than if I had caught the train....a graphic illustration of the kind of competition that lines like Stranraer are up against.

 

[Harvester]

However the sounds coming from the London end of the motley collection of elderly Mark 1s standing in Platform 20 were rather more encouraging! Haymarket had turned out their pet Deltic*....and turned it out in pristine condition, so it had to be done. It mattered not to me that we were inevitably looped at Drem to let the HST overtake:

*-OK, it was probably allocated to York at that stage....but it was still Haymarket's pet and always would be till the day it was scrapped.

I always thought number 13 was their pet, or was that just the enthusiast’s favourite!!

One thing I remember about D9010/55010 was that it ran nameless for three or four years from new, and then with only one nameplate in its last year or two in service when allocated to York.

 

[xotGD]

16th April 1989

My regular Sunday move...

50025 Slough - Paddington 1F35
50035 Paddington - Slough 1F42

16th April 2022

Today I had a day out on the KWVR.

37075 was out, and I did it up, down, up and a little bit down (to be explained in a moment)

Two kettles in action - Black Five 45212 and Ivatt 41241

The loco swap from Syphon to Ivatt involved the Ivatt dropping on the front outside Haworth depot and the pair running from their to Oxenhope and back, where the 37 was removed and retired to the shed. So a diesel plus steam double header, first with the Ivatt leading, and then with the Syphon leading.

The Black Five is fresh from winter overhaul and is running for a few days prior to heading to Scotland for Jacobite duties.

A very enjoyable day, and as I'm a member my Day Rover was only £10. And I get 10% off from the buffet car. So the more you drink, the more you save.

 

[CW2]

Tuesday 17/04/79
40024 1127 York – Leeds
47432 1207 Leeds – York
47128 1311 York – Birmingham New Street (relief)
47063 1705 Birmingham New Street – Reading (relief)

Thursday 17/04/80
I was now on my 11th consecutive overnight, and had been to the pub prior to joining the 0027 Manchester – Euston. The plan was to do that to Stockport for 40068 to York. I poured myself into a seat at Piccadilly, closed my eyes … and woke up at Euston without ever having been aware of the train moving!
85005 0027 Manchester Piccadilly – Euston via Stoke, Stafford
Oh dear, time for plan B:
55016 0550 Kings Cross – York
A quick trip home for a shower and change of clothes, then a rather big working was beckoning me. The 0950 Edinburgh – Plymouth was scheduled for a loco change at York, and was the train which was occasionally used to return ex-works class 50s from Doncaster Works to Laira depot. Today's offering is:
50046 1329 York – Birmingham New Street via Cudworth, Rotherham, Sheffield, Derby.
87011 1648 Birmingham New Street – Euston
I had some admin to deal with in London, so I spent a few hours on that before returning to Euston for my 12th consecutive overnight …

Saturday 17/04/82
The Class 40 Preservation Society was running a "The Fenman" charter from York to Liverpool Street and return. I was working that morning, so couldn't do the outward journey, but was able to negotiate a trip on the return.
40084 1735 Liverpool Street – York via Cambridge, Peterborough, Wakefield Kirkgate, Wakefield Westgate, Viaduct, Leeds.

Sunday 17/04/88
87026 0143 Carlisle – Crewe
Then home for a few hours doss, and out again that afternoon for a long distance 37 run:
37426 1340 Crewe – Swansea via Cardiff
37426 1828 Swansea – Crewe via Cardiff

Saturday 17/04/93
There was some manner of steam performance taking place in East Anglia:
43155 + 43004 1056 Reading – Paddington
43111 + 43117 1335 Kings Cross – Peterborough
158 842 Peterborough – Stansted Airport
322 482 Stansted Airport – Bishops Stortford
70000 1726 Bishops Stortford – Ely
71000 1847 Ely – Bishops Stortford
317 324 Bishops Stortford – Liverpool Street
43029 + 43196 2100 Paddington – Reading

 

[Harvester]

Tuesday 17th April 1990

47475 12:23 Newcastle-Darlington (Newcastle-Liverpool)
47422 13:56 Darlington-Newcastle (Liverpool-Newcastle)

 

[NorthWestRover]

Saturday 17th April 1982

87006 Crewe to Preston
87030 Preston to Crewe
33065 Crewe to Shrewsbury
33020 Shrewsbury to Crewe
87022 Crewe to WBQ

Thursday 17th April 1986

Another trip to Dorridge for the hoover on the evening Paddington to Wolves...

HST Wolves to Birmingham NS, 16.46 Manchester to Plymouth
DMU Birmingham MS to Dorridge, 18.55 Birmingham to Leamington Spa
Oh...(again!)
47513 Dorridge to Wolves, 1M61 17.40 Paddington to Wolves

 

[D6130]

Nothing from me today, I'm afraid. Normal service resumes tomorrow!

 

[xotGD]

Before today, a few images from yesterday.

Syphon:

 

[xotGD]

Ivatt:

 

[xotGD]

Black Five:

 

[D6130]

Very nice images. No doubt you also sank a pint or two in the buffet car?

 

[xotGD]

Very nice images. No doubt you also sank a pint or two in the buffet car?

Thank you - and as I said, the more you drink the more you save. Recouping the entire cost of annual membership in savings on ale would be quite an achievement!

Having now checked, I have nothing to report for 17th April. So instead, a couple of images from an earlier trip to the KWVR back in January...

 

[D6130]

Great! You must have a pretty good camera!