Thursday 28th July 1983
45111 1307 Paddington-Liverpool LS (from Reading to Oxford)
Quite a rarity out of Paddington.
Friday 28/07/78
43070+43090 0952 York – Darlington
37035 1055 Darlington – Newcastle
46039 1214 Newcastle – Edinburgh
27111 + 27106 1430 Edinburgh – Glasgow Queen Street
27102 + 27209 1830 Glasgow Queen Street – Edinburgh
DMU Edinburgh – Inverkeithing
40085 2205 Edinburgh – Newcastle
(29/07/78)
47460 0112 Newcastle – York
A mainly trainspotting trip to Scotland for the day, although I still managed to pick up some decent haulage en route. The trip to Inverkeithing in the evening was to go over the Forth Bridge in a DMU so I could see out of the front window.
Thursday 28/07/83
I took a morning off work to do the Scarborough Spa Express:
34092 0835 York – Scarborough via Harrogate, Leeds, York
DMU 1257 Scarborough – York – this was booked to be a class 31, but obviously they were short again.
Out again in the evening:
31404 1713 York – Malton
31406 1804 Malton – York
34092 1858 York – York via Leeds, Harrogate
Saturday 28/07/84
Having done a Carlisle overnight (not for the first or indeed last time) I would have hoped for something a bit more interesting on the Bristol – Glasgow / Edinburgh overnight:
86207 0316 Carlisle – Carstairs
… but I couldn’t complain about the engine on the portion to Edinburgh …
26010 0427 Carstairs – Edinburgh
I headed up to Dundee for more doss, and to cover the Dundee – Blackpool …
47411 0518 Edinburgh – Dundee
47199 0649 Dundee – Kinghorn
The 0628 Dundee – Edinburgh failed in Kinghorn station platform with 27049, so 47199 was cautioned onto the rear to assist it forward. Whilst they were coupling up, required 37104 stormed through on the ECS of the 0945 Dundee – Kings Cross, so I decided to alight at Kinghorn (where the Dundee – Blackpool was NOT booked to call) and head north to intercept it.
27010 0746 Kinghorn – Dundee, making the dead connection into:
37104 0945 Dundee – Edinburgh
47710 1130 Edinburgh – Glasgow Queen Street
27101 1345 Glasgow Central – Carlisle via Dumfries
47145 1646 Carlisle – Kilmarnock
Bus Kilmarnock – Ayr
37152 2003 Ayr – Glasgow Central (required)
At Glasgow Central I got the gen that 26025 and 26026 were allocated forward from Carlisle to Stranraer on a relief from Euston. It had to be done!
86259 2210 Glasgow Central – Carlisle
(Sunday 29/07/84)
The pair of 26s for the relief Carlisle spluttered into Carlisle station, but only 26026 was running. It seemed 26025 had shut down since leaving Kingmoor depot. After some attempts to batter them in the station, they returned to Kingmoor, to be replaced by the rather unlovely 47228. I needed 47228: I still do!
85008 0319 Carlisle – Glasgow Central via Cathcart Circle.
Sunday 28/07/85
The Manchester – Gatwick overnight on a Saturday night was a wondrous train. It offered an infinite variety of routes and traction, varying from week to week according to the vagaries of the engineering works.
81010 0029 Stafford – Birmingham New Street via Wolverhampton, Bescot, Aston
86101 0137 Birmingham New Street – Bletchley via Northampton
47616 (+86101 dead) 0256 Bletchley – Mitre Bridge Jn
33201 0400 Mitre Bridge Jn – Gatwick Airport via Clapham Jn, Balham, Crystal Palace, Norwood Jn
Then a spell on the Gatwicks:
73127 0635 G – V
73110 0715 V – G
73102 0750 G – V
73122 0850 V – G and 0920 G – V
73138 1000 V – G
That’s quite enough of that thank you. Time to head north once more:
47479 1052 Gatwick Airport – Reading, via Clapham Jn, Kensington Olympia, North Pole Jn, Old Oak Common East Jn
On a Sunday at this time the Reading – Basingstoke service ran through to Portsmouth Harbour, booked to be worked by a 33/1+4TC:
33108 1300 Reading – Basingstoke
33115 1329 Basingstoke – Reading
On arrival at Reading I saw 58016 parked in the middle road between platforms 8 and 9, where the inter-regional 47s usually sat awaiting their turn to work back north. Curious…
I saw somebody I knew, who said it had just arrived on a passenger train from Birmingham, and as far as he knew it was waiting to work back north. Wow!
58016 1522 Reading – Birmingham New Street via Coventry (1322 Poole – Newcastle)
That was my longest – and best – run with a 58.
81010 1818 Birmingham New Street – Euston via Northampton
87018 2240 Euston – Crewe via Northampton
Tuesday 28/07/87
I had to deliver some paperwork to an address in Helsby, so naturally I took the train:
47521 1158 Crewe – Chester
150 252 + 150 103 1323 Chester – Helsby (1120 Holyhead – Hull)
DMU Helsby – Chester via Hooton
150 233 + 150 253 1452 Chester – Crewe (1343 Llandudno – Crewe)
Can you imagine travelling all the way from Holyhead to Hull in a 150 in the height of summer? Not for me, thanks.
Friday 28/07/89
I was working in London, whilst my family remained in the family home in Crewe, whilst we tried to sort out a new house in Reading. This was my eldest son’s third birthday, so I was fortunate to find a decent loco to take me straight home for the holiday weekend:
87001 1430 Euston – Crewe