Motorail Services Trivia

[pitdiver]

At the height of Motorail services what was the longest service in Great Britain and the longest service in continental Europe

 

[najaB]

In the UK surely it would have to be the London-Inverness services?

 

[AlterEgo]

Wasn’t there a Plymouth or St Austell to Inverness Motorail service too?

 

[Gloster]

There was a Brockenhurst-Stirling, which combined with a portion from somewhere else, possibly Dover. There was also a Stirling-Newton Abbot.

 

[WesternLancer]

continental wise IIRC there were services beyond France - so whilst the Calais to south of France (Nice?) would have been a long one wasn't there one to Italy at one time or am I mis remembering.

Good page here detailing the BR UK network from early 60s onwards and it's various developments over the years - includes a nice bit of home movie 3mins long too (esp good if you like Westerns!)

Cars on Trains: The Wonders of Motorail

How we let the train take the strain – by carrying us and our cars at the same time If we put our minds to it, we can let the train take the strain even more. Not only passengers from A to B,…

mancunian1001.wordpress.com

 

[30907]

On mainland Europe, I doubt if anything was longer than the current Villach-Edirne (Turkey) route, certainly for journey time (at least 33h)
Hamburg-Narbonne is a couple of hundred km further though (by road), and I'm fairly sure that combination was offered in the early 2000s wneh I used DB Autozug from southern France.

In the UK, the only Inverness service I recall was to York, with Stirling being the main terminal for non-London routes as already mentioned.

 

[Magdalia]

In the UK, the only Inverness service I recall was to York, with Stirling being the main terminal for non-London routes as already mentioned.

In 1980 there was a Kensington Olympia to Inverness motorail.

 

[Dr Hoo]

There were Motorail vans on the Euston to Inverness sleeper when I used it in 1985.

 

[30907]

There were Motorail vans on the Euston to Inverness sleeper when I used it in 1985.

Should have remembered!

And they were a good 100miles further than either of the Stirling routes mentioned.

 

[32475]

I’ve got a rather wonderful brochure from 1964 entitled British Railways Car Carrying Services which must have been published just before the Motorail branding and even the BR double arrow symbol. I attach photos of a few pages of which one shows the routes……

 

[WesternLancer]

I’ve got a rather wonderful brochure from 1964 entitled British Railways Car Carrying Services which must have been published just before the Motorail branding and even the BR double arrow symbol. I attach photos of a few pages of which one shows the routes……
View attachment 121046View attachment 121047View attachment 121048

very nice to see those extracts!

 

[peri]

Just glancing in the opposite direction, wasn't there a day service from Stirling to Inverness?
Or was it Fort William? A long time ago we travelled from York to Inverness in seated compartments,
didn't sleep a wink but still better than the A9 at the time.

 

[Taunton]

Just glancing in the opposite direction, wasn't there a day service from Stirling to Inverness?

Yes, it ran in the late 1970s, supposedly to relieve the A9 road which was under (partial) reconstruction. One a day, northbound late morning, southbound late afternoon, attached to a Glasgow-Inverness passenger service. Recall taking it as a passenger southbound in a September 1977 afternoon, just two cars and a number of empty carflats, which I think was pretty much the norm.

The shortest service of all was of course Pilning to Severn Tunnel Junction.

 

[Bertone]

There was a Brockenhurst-Stirling, which combined with a portion from somewhere else, possibly Dover. There was also a Stirling-Newton Abbot.

I traveled on the Stirling- Newton Abbot service in 1972.
I recall having an evening meal on board the train at Stirling before departure and next morning breakfast somewhere en route around the outskirts of Birmingham.
Nice experience.

 

[hexagon789]

I’ve got a rather wonderful brochure from 1964 entitled British Railways Car Carrying Services which must have been published just before the Motorail branding and even the BR double arrow symbol. I attach photos of a few pages of which one shows the routes……
View attachment 121046View attachment 121047il

That's a lovely booklet, I have a Motorail leaflet from I think the early 70s, but not as detailed as this.

Just glancing in the opposite direction, wasn't there a day service from Stirling to Inverness?

As Taunton alludes to, the morning (0910 by the late-70s) Glasgow-Inverness had motorail vehicles conveyed from Stirling, I think until 1980.

Certainly, in the period just before the 47/7s took up service on the E&G shuttles, this was one of the workings the first 3 conversions often appeared on.

 

[Gloster]

I traveled on the Stirling- Newton Abbot service in 1972.
I recall having an evening meal on board the train at Stirling before departure and next morning breakfast somewhere en route around the outskirts of Birmingham.
Nice experience.

By 1980 it ran via the North & West, rather than Birmingham. Presumably it changed to and from electric haulage at Crewe.

Either you had an early breakfast or the train was running late: I reckon that it should have passed Birmingham around 05.30.

 

[Snow1964]

There was a Brockenhurst-Stirling, which combined with a portion from somewhere else, possibly Dover. There was also a Stirling-Newton Abbot.

I think the service from Brockenhurst was the last train to use sleeper carriages on the Southern Region

Photo is the set propelled to the unloading dock (which was a third rail electrified siding next to the Lymington platform loop). The 4 carriages used to go to Bournemouth for servicing, the wagons staying in the dock.

Motorail Brockenhurst 8-6-80

The Stirling to Brockenhurst Motorail stock is being propelled back into the unloading dock where the cars are driven off. This photo was published in Castleman's Corkscrew Vol 2 as a black and white photo. 8th June 1980. CS068

www.flickr.com

I think at one time might have been a motorail train to Fishguard, but not sure where it ran to. (EDIT it was Kensington Olympia)

And bit of nostalgia

 

[Bertone]

By 1980 it ran via the North & West, rather than Birmingham. Presumably it changed to and from electric haulage at Crewe.

Either you had an early breakfast or the train was running late: I reckon that it should have passed Birmingham around 05.30.

Must have been running late, we definitely didn’t get up at that time!

 

[ANDREW_D_WEBB]

I think the service from Brockenhurst was the last train to use sleeper carriages on the Southern Region

During the late 80s there was a standard sleeper from Bournemouth using Mark 3 stock. Don’t know when the Brockenhurst Motorail finished

 

[Bald Rick]

I think the service from Brockenhurst was the last train to use sleeper carriages on the Southern Region

Apart from the short lived Poole - Scotland sleeper, which finished in 1992 IIRC

 

[Gloster]

I think at one time might have been a motorail train to Fishguard, but not sure where it ran to. (EDIT it was Kensington Olympia)

It ran in summer from 1965 to 1980, with a few extra trains in high season up to 1982. (Source disused-stations website.)

During the late 80s there was a standard sleeper from Bournemouth using Mark 3 stock. Don’t know when the Brockenhurst Motorail finished

It looks as though it ended in 1980 or, less likely, 1981.
.

 

[Magdalia]

Don’t know when the Brockenhurst Motorail finished

1981. Brockenhurst was a portion of a train to/from Dover.

 

[daodao]

In the UK, the only Inverness service I recall was to York, with Stirling being the main terminal for non-London routes as already mentioned.

In 1972, I recall travelling from Newton-le-Willows to Inverness by a Motorail service, in a sleeper carriage.

 

[Taunton]

Quick! A glass of water for our Health & Safety Manager, who has just fainted ...

 

[BrianW]

I traveled on the Stirling- Newton Abbot service in 1972.
I recall having an evening meal on board the train at Stirling before departure and next morning breakfast somewhere en route around the outskirts of Birmingham.
Nice experience.

In 1972, I recall travelling from Newton-le-Willows to Inverness by a Motorail service, in a sleeper carriage.

Inverness via Stirling to Ely/ Dover/ Brockenhurst/ Bristol/ Newton Abbot- a kind of Multiple Coast Unexpress with multiple 'portions'?

https://twitter.com/nickbowes1975/status/1444021262330761223

 

[Cheshire Scot]

Yes, it ran in the late 1970s, supposedly to relieve the A9 road which was under (partial) reconstruction. One a day, northbound late morning, southbound late afternoon, attached to a Glasgow-Inverness passenger service. Recall taking it as a passenger southbound in a September 1977 afternoon, just two cars and a number of empty carflats, which I think was pretty much the norm.

Initially Stirling to Inverness was introduced as Stirling (and Perth) to inverness and return Motorail service with limited second class accommodation (one BSO for non motorail passengers (39 seats)). Fairly soon (next timetable change?) it transformed into a morning Glasgow to Inverness and early afternoon (14.xx) Inverness to Glasgow additionals filling gaps in the regular timetable and conveying carflats from/to Stirling

 

[32475]

Here’s an extract from the South East London &Kent timetable 5/80 - 5-81 showing the summary of routes on the Motorail Network


And this from the Scottish Region timetable for summer 1968.
Newton Abbot was obviously quiet a Motorail hub back then

 

[Rescars]

I’ve got a rather wonderful brochure from 1964 entitled British Railways Car Carrying Services which must have been published just before the Motorail branding and even the BR double arrow symbol. I attach photos of a few pages of which one shows the routes……
View attachment 121046View attachment 121047View attachment 121048

Wonderful extracts! IIRC Motorail services were still known as Car-Carriers within Travellers-Fare (who provided the restaurant car services) in the very late 1970s.

 

[30907]

Inverness via Stirling to Ely/ Dover/ Brockenhurst/ Bristol/ Newton Abbot- a kind of Multiple Coast Unexpress with multiple 'portions'?

Two separate Anglo-Scottish trains from Stirling. Ely had completely passed me by, was it detached from an East Coast service at Peterborough?

 

[pitdiver]

What about the service to Fort William.Where did that run from and from when until when