Peter Mugridge
Veteran Member
Plymouth. It was the 1S19 (21:00 from Plymouth?)
It was usually a 47/4 in the late 1980s to Birmingham New Street, and then an 86 to Glasgow with the Carstairs to Edinburgh portion being another 47/4.
It was usually banked up Lickey Incline by the resident 37 bankers as it quite often loaded up to 16 coaches.
I certainly remember that service, did it in 1987. If my memory is correct the sleeping cars used to get shunted onto both ends at Bristol as the service was actually a Plymouth (or was it Penzance?)- Glasgow/Edinburgh service.
I used it several times between Parkway and Temple Meads in the mid 1980s and it was invariably a 45 - at least on the southbound; this image is approaching Temple Meads at 08.45 on 5th October 1985, ignore 45 114 on the right... look on the left and it's 45 103 hauling the Sleeper, you can clearly see two Sleeper carriages and in front of that are three Mk2 pressure ventilated vehicles and a gangwayed brake van right behind the locomotive. Which also shows that the Sleepers, again at least on the southbound, were not on the end.