Of course, at one time you could get the Overnight Sleeper from Manchester, or Liverpool, not having to vacate your berth until between 0700-0730 at Euston.
I'm not that old! By the way, when did the Manchester-Euston sleeper trains finally get binned off? Mid 1980s? Early 1990s at the very latest?
I have a feeling that they ended at the end of the 1980s ? But then I had left Euston in 1979. (Yes, I am that old, good old nostalgia and history!) At that time the first daytime service from Manchester was 1A10 the 0700, which was booked into Euston at 0934.
Also Leeds and Newcastle/Darlington via the coast at Kings Cross. Both of these finished in 1983. They survived the Deltic era but were done by HSTs.
Yes, remember them well. 1979-81 I was working at Finsbury Park station, and on nights at this time of the year, I would often get some air before things got going at 0515, sit on one of the platform benches outside the office, and watch the southbound services passing through.
Not back then they wouldn't! The City of London prior to "Big Bang" (the Financial Services Act 1986) was a very leisurely and gentlemanly affair. They would definitely not have started at 8.30 am, how uncivilised. 9-10 am would have been for dealing with the post. Think of Reggie dictating letters at Sunshine Desserts.
The Bristol, Birmingham and Manchester Blue Pullmans do seem to follow a similar model. Does anyone know when the Blue Pullman trains were ordered?
The Birmingham Pullman only joined the main line at Old Oak having come via High Wycombe. Possibly it ran on the relief line from Old Oak?
Fairly sure this was some time in the late 1950s, maybe c. 1957. They weren't operational for all that long!
I'm looking at the winter 1961 timetable on Timetable World. It has the Frome train arriving at 11.6 am closely followed by the 11.15 am arrival which has 6.30 am Plymouth and 7 am Paignton portions.
December 1956.
For the purposes of this discussion, whether it is before or after September 1958, when the Kings Cross Master Cutler started, is key.
It did. As the schedule above shows, coming in absolutely parallel with the Bristol Pullman - the drivers I think used to look around for one other at Old Oak and contrive this. There were several photos in magazines at the time of this being done.
In May '61, the first daytime arrival from the West was the 0715 Ply/ 0740 Paignton. Due at Padd 1210.
From memory, so I could be wrong, I recall that Manchester brought in a "saver" ticket for £9 return with some restrictions. In 1980 the first up train was 1A10 as you say, but by 1983 (I have the timetable, this is not from memory) 1A02 06:20 Manchester-Euston was the first train, 09:06 arrival in Euston, and I think the new "saver" ticket could be used on this early train. At the time it was thought that 06:20 was so ridiculously early that no serious "businessman or businesswoman" would deign to get up that early, so it was OK for cheap tickets.
There is another route from Exeter to London which was popular...
Should perhaps have been so specified in the thread title / opening post.
I'm 100% sure you are correct, but I'm surprised I've never noticed those!
That is interesting. So the 6-coach Pullman, with 2,000HP power cars in total, overtook the 7P-hauled Class 1 at Derby, and ran non-stop to St Pancras. The regular class 1 then followed, stopped at least at Leicester (any other stops?) and arrived just 24 minutes later. Almost certainly a 9- or 10 carriage train - so something like 340 - 380 tons trailing load - and lost just 24 minutes on the Pullman timings.
Early 1990s - I'd have said around 1991/92? I travelled on it in September 1991, so it was still running then.
