• Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!

1988 Glasgow Central Double Headed Hoovers

Status
Not open for further replies.

JLUK144

Member
Joined
8 Sep 2017
Messages
89
Location
Glasgow
Was watching a DVD of Central Station between the late 80s and late 00s. One of the first clips was of 50009 and 50036 hauling a long rake of Mk1 coaches coming into Glasgow Central on Saturday the 14th Of May 1988. The service departed from Birmingham New Street at 0830 and had the headcode of 1Z46. It also had the headboard The Hoover Dambuster. I noticed that there were large crowds waiting on the other platforms watching the train come in.

What was the significance of this service and the headboard?
 
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

Mag_seven

Forum Staff
Staff Member
Global Moderator
Joined
1 Sep 2014
Messages
9,994
Location
here to eternity
Was watching a DVD of Central Station between the late 80s and late 00s. One of the first clips was of 50009 and 50036 hauling a long rake of Mk1 coaches coming into Glasgow Central on Saturday the 14th Of May 1988. The service departed from Birmingham New Street at 0830 and had the headcode of 1Z46. It also had the headboard The Hoover Dambuster. I noticed that there were large crowds waiting on the other platforms watching the train come in.

What was the significance of this service and the headboard?

I remember it well as I was one of those watching it come in!

I think it was the first visit of a pair of Class 50s to Glasgow Central since they ceased working Anglo-Scottish services into the station in 1974 when the WCML was electrified from Weaver Jn to Glasgow.
 

GusB

Established Member
Associate Staff
Buses & Coaches
Joined
9 Jul 2016
Messages
6,546
Location
Elginshire
Google has returned a flickr photo of said train: https://www.flickr.com/photos/goremirebob/17001850880

Amusingly, the caption reads
50009 and 50036 catch the evening sunlight as they round the reverse curves at Enterkinefoot on the Glasgow and South Western route with Victoria Travel's 'Hoover Dambuster' tour, en route Glasgow-Birmingham, 14th May 1988. Fujichrome 50. The 'Victoria Travel' headboard looks decidedly out of gauge. I've digitally removed the limbs of a couple of plonkers waving their arms out of the train - I love doing that! It was one of those rare Scottish days without a cloud visible all day. I don't know why the sky is purple but I don't dislike it! Maybe I used a grad, can't recall.

Would the date have been connected with Operation Chastise, the operation carried out by 617 Squadron some 45 years prior, on the 17th May 1943?
 

JLUK144

Member
Joined
8 Sep 2017
Messages
89
Location
Glasgow
I remember it well as I was one of those watching it come in!
It must have been quite an experience!

I think it was the first visit of a pair of Class 50s to Glasgow Central since they ceased working Anglo-Scottish services into the station in 1974 when the WCML was electrified from Weaver Jn to Glasgow.
I did think it might have been to do with that but I wasn’t entirely convinced.
 

Cowley

Forum Staff
Staff Member
Global Moderator
Joined
15 Apr 2016
Messages
15,688
Location
Devon

Cowley

Forum Staff
Staff Member
Global Moderator
Joined
15 Apr 2016
Messages
15,688
Location
Devon
It was - I've scanned in some blurry pictures I took of the event in the days when digital quality wasn't even thought of:

View attachment 67508 View attachment 67509 View attachment 67510
Two locos that would be among the main ones you’d see if you stepped onto platform 1 at Exeter st David’s in 1988, ticking over on a Waterloo train and making everyone’s eyes water from the fumes... Interesting to see them so far from home.
They’d gained quite a following by then and were being used on more and more railtours.
Look at all the old cars!
 

Ash Bridge

Established Member
Joined
17 Mar 2014
Messages
4,043
Location
Stockport
Two locos that would be among the main ones you’d see if you stepped onto platform 1 at Exeter st David’s in 1988, ticking over on a Waterloo train and making everyone’s eyes water from the fumes... Interesting to see them so far from home.
They’d gained quite a following by then and were being used on more and more railtours.
Look at all the old cars!

Excuse me Mr Cowley....what do you mean by so far from home! Don't forget they were ours up here for a good few years before you got them (second hand and thrashed to death) down there (end of rant) :D;)
 

D1537

Member
Joined
11 Jul 2019
Messages
517
Amusingly, the caption reads
"50009 and 50036 catch the evening sunlight as they round the reverse curves at Enterkinefoot on the Glasgow and South Western route with Victoria Travel's 'Hoover Dambuster' tour, en route Glasgow-Birmingham, 14th May 1988. Fujichrome 50. The 'Victoria Travel' headboard looks decidedly out of gauge. I've digitally removed the limbs of a couple of plonkers waving their arms out of the train - I love doing that! It was one of those rare Scottish days without a cloud visible all day. I don't know why the sky is purple but I don't dislike it! Maybe I used a grad, can't recall."

Photographers who digitally manipulate their photos because they don't like something in it are ... just a bit weird, in my opinion. That's what was happening, you documented it. Good grief.
 

GusB

Established Member
Associate Staff
Buses & Coaches
Joined
9 Jul 2016
Messages
6,546
Location
Elginshire
Photographers who digitally manipulate their photos because they don't like something in it are ... just a bit weird, in my opinion. That's what was happening, you documented it. Good grief.
I would be inclined to agree with you - a photo is a record of the moment. I found the caption amusing for a few reasons: a) window-hanging and flailing always generates quite a bit of discussion on this forum; b) the fact that someone actually went so far as to digitally amputate those hanging out of the windows, and; c) the digital manipulation of the photograph makes it look as if the remaining bits of those window-hangers have been added to the photograph, rather than removed. :)

Let us not drift off-topic, though.
 

Cowley

Forum Staff
Staff Member
Global Moderator
Joined
15 Apr 2016
Messages
15,688
Location
Devon
Excuse me Mr Cowley....what do you mean by so far from home! Don't forget they were ours up here for a good few years before you got them (second hand and thrashed to death) down there (end of rant) :D;)
Ah that’s true. I probably deserved a roasting for that one. :lol:
 

randyrippley

Established Member
Joined
21 Feb 2016
Messages
5,082
Was watching a DVD of Central Station between the late 80s and late 00s. One of the first clips was of 50009 and 50036 hauling a long rake of Mk1 coaches coming into Glasgow Central on Saturday the 14th Of May 1988. The service departed from Birmingham New Street at 0830 and had the headcode of 1Z46. It also had the headboard The Hoover Dambuster. I noticed that there were large crowds waiting on the other platforms watching the train come in.

What was the significance of this service and the headboard?

Has no-one heard of the Hoover Dam?
 

randyrippley

Established Member
Joined
21 Feb 2016
Messages
5,082
Very droll.
but the tour name was a play on words.......
class 50 = Hoovers (you did know that didn't you?)
Hoover Dam
The anniversary of Operation Chastise was two days later

someone put it all together and came up with a stupid name
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top