Some recollections of night trains in the 1970;s-1980's
First one was a London - Deal train that I caught on one of the Ian Allan Network south East days. It was rammed to the cantrail! Cl 73, a half brake (I think) and a few vans. Think it went from Charing Cross - I walked from Euston to the Southern Region station it went from.
Earlier, me and 2 mates decided to go climbing in Snowdonia. No-one had a car - we were 18 - so it was the trains. One of us worked so we had to leave on a friday evening.
There was a leeds-Crewe night train then. Think it started at York. So we went to get that. It was the only through train that did Stockport-Stalybridge. That dumped us at crewe in the small hours.
in one of the north facing bays there was a train portion including a compartment coach. this was the Holyhead train. So we got on with our gear amd my mates tried to sleep. Me, I went to watch the railway.
The other portion came in, and reversed to couple up. That was when a bloke had to go down between the vehicles and connect up the brake pipe and RCH jumpers. I have seen the shunter lift the buckeye to convert the coach from screw coupling to buckeye. Maybe it was there.
Thrash along North Wales to Bangor, then walk to the clock to get the early morning bus to Nant Peris. I wonder what the guard though about 3 blokes in a compartment in sleeping bags. The small one in the luggage rack!
Climbing on the big cliffs in N Wales was a big step up from Almscliffe and Cow and Calf. We did Spiral Stairs. You start on a ledge with no view downwards. you traverse to the left and suddenly there is a 200' drop beneath your feet.
First one was a London - Deal train that I caught on one of the Ian Allan Network south East days. It was rammed to the cantrail! Cl 73, a half brake (I think) and a few vans. Think it went from Charing Cross - I walked from Euston to the Southern Region station it went from.
Earlier, me and 2 mates decided to go climbing in Snowdonia. No-one had a car - we were 18 - so it was the trains. One of us worked so we had to leave on a friday evening.
There was a leeds-Crewe night train then. Think it started at York. So we went to get that. It was the only through train that did Stockport-Stalybridge. That dumped us at crewe in the small hours.
in one of the north facing bays there was a train portion including a compartment coach. this was the Holyhead train. So we got on with our gear amd my mates tried to sleep. Me, I went to watch the railway.
The other portion came in, and reversed to couple up. That was when a bloke had to go down between the vehicles and connect up the brake pipe and RCH jumpers. I have seen the shunter lift the buckeye to convert the coach from screw coupling to buckeye. Maybe it was there.
Thrash along North Wales to Bangor, then walk to the clock to get the early morning bus to Nant Peris. I wonder what the guard though about 3 blokes in a compartment in sleeping bags. The small one in the luggage rack!
Climbing on the big cliffs in N Wales was a big step up from Almscliffe and Cow and Calf. We did Spiral Stairs. You start on a ledge with no view downwards. you traverse to the left and suddenly there is a 200' drop beneath your feet.