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Merrymakers

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mrcheek

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OK, so who remembers these?

For those of you who dont know, these were excursions/holiday specials, usually run on sundays in summer. You would get a 47 with a rake of Mk1s, which would stop at a series of local stations (in my case, everything between Taunton and Bristol Parkway), and then proceed on to some far flung seaside location.

They had pre-booked seats (so they were generally sold out), and at bargain prices. One train out, one train back, leaving about 7 o'clock in the morning, getting home close to midnight.

These were my first introduction to rail travel in the late 70s and early 80s. Went from Weston-super-Mare to Aberystwyth, Llandudno, York, Scarborough, Southport, Margate, Brighton and Bridlington. I believe a couple of these may even have been advertised as "mystery tours", with destination not announced until you were almost there! (always a fun guessing game for all the family).

In the early 80s, they stopped doing them, just as my father and I were about to embark on a trip to Edinburgh (which is one of the reasons why when I do an ALR, I always try to do Weston-super-Mare to Edinburgh and back in a day).

Most of the travellers were families, but there were a few others, even a few bashers and spotters. And they were always great fun. As a child I would get car sick. But never train sick. So I loved train travel then, and I guess thats why I still love it today.

Anybody else ever go on these?
 
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Bedpan

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Yes, I can remember going on at least five (altered from two, the memories are flooding back as I write), a mystery tour which went to Cheddar Gorge (with a fleet of coaches from Bath) and also at least two to Paignton. Then there was one to Hoveton & Wroxham with a trip on the broads and also I remember a coach tour in the lake district although where we transferred from train to coach I haven't a clue, do remember that we drove through Cockermouth though.

One of the Paignton trips was from Ealing Broadway £7 return if I remember correctly, but most started from Woking or Clapham Junction and picked up at a number of local stations along the route. I must have gone on more than the above four as I got to know the two people who were there as train managers/couriers or whatever else their correct title was. I remember one being routed from Wimbledon - Clapham Junction via East Putney, hauled by a 33.
 
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Mvann

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We went on three of them from Kettering when I was young. One was to Margate, the second was to littlehampton and the third was to Rhyl. I'm sure one of those trips was behind a peak.
 

theblackwatch

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Did a fair few of these with the family when I was younger. Earliest was 47431 from Harrogate to Brighton in 1977 which we used as a way of visiting some family friends who ived in Lancing (I think) at the time. Also remember doing trips to Perth and Bournemouth/Poole on merrymakers.
 

AJP62

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This brings back memories of the trips from Carlisle in my youth in mid/late 70s. Always electric hauled south on WCML, usually 81 or 85, on a 10/11 rake of corridor 2nds but mainly on Saturdays. Picked up at Penrith, Oxenholme and Lancaster but not always Preston which gave an unusual non-stop run through the station.

Destinations I remember - off at Crewe for Nottingham and Cardiff/Barry Island, off at Nuneaton for Cambridge (think these were all 47 hauled from WCML), off at Brum New St for Bristol/Weston-Super-Mare (real treat as Western hauled) and Oxford (47 I think) and Wembley for Brighton (pair 33s) and Southend (47). Most of these were the Mystery Tours mentioned above so always a surprise though Nottingham wasn't quite as exciting as some!

Great, cheap way to see some different stuff. Always had to carry the full timetable so a trip could be done from the destination.

On one trip we missed the Penrith stop going south so pulled up and reversed back - WCML southbound very quiet first thing in the morning so no problem.

The Brigtion trip was a real eye opener - loads of EMUs bombing around the place then punks with safety pins in various places when we got there. Very different to Carlisle!

Often did trips to York too - down S&C with a 40 normally. Always a good day there and often about 6 - 10 other trips in so stuff from all over the place. Used to be a big board in the foyer listing return trips and their platforms just to try to get things moving smoothly at teatime.
 

Greenback

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Loads ran from Swansea. I remember going on Mystery Trips to Hastings and the Isle of Wight as a child and young teenager.

My parents and grandparents were also very keen on the special offer that ran in the 1970's where you could buy a ticket that allowed you to make three consecutive day trips to places all over the region, such as Dawlish, Weston Super Mare, Tenby and even London. We went on a few of those, my grandfather only ever wanted to go to London though!
 

Aictos

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Would be nice if they returned though, I'm sure any charter company could take on the odd Merrymaker.
 

blackfive460

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I particularly remember the ones ran from West Yorkshire on Sundays using the stock that would be used on the weekday Cornishman. The set had two BFKs which the regulars soon discovered were almost never booked!
They started off as mystery tours and the regulars could usually guess from the pick-up points and the amount of time we were told we'd have at the destination where we were going but I do remember us all getting it wrong on one occasion.
This particular train's final pick-up (if my memory serves) was Wakefield Westgate and after that we headed off through Doncaster and straight down the ECML. Everything was looking fine - until we got to Grantham.
Well, 6 hours in Skegness when you are expecting a trip to London is, not to put too fine a point on it, more than a little disappointing...
 

Toots

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You have to remember Ajax this was a time when there was hundreds and hundreds of carriages and engines on the network so the idea was to use all the spare stock for these Merrymakers at weekend.If you looked in the paper there would be a huge list of them and you would get a little pink pasteboard ticket,I went to London a few times,really cheap too!.On the class 40's if the train pulled into a station you would be enveloped in steam from the boilers,like everything I didn't really appreciate these things at the time,but I don't think you will ever get that type of excursion back simply because the present system wouldn't cater for it......
 

9K43

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Been from Sheffield to Portsmouth for Navy Day, and Llandudno from Mirfield.
cheap as chips but a great day out 1977 ish.
 

Old Timer

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The Merrymakers started in the London Division of the old London Midland Region of BR in the early 1970s.

There were about three sets of stock that sat around all weekend, these being the two Northampton Class 1 loco-hauled sets and the St Pancras - Bedford Class 1 loco-hauled set.

Coming off the London Division, especially off the Midland, they used to regularly take 45s to a whole variety of places where they rarely ventured.

Such was their success, that other Regions followed in due course.

Some of the best were the St Pancras to Edinburgh/Glasgows which went down overnight Friday and came back up on the Saturday night giving you broadly from 0700 to about 2200 in each of the Scottish cities.

I remember that a lot of the Glasgow lads would wait for us to arrive, then offer to take us around if we included them in the group at the depots. In those days the Scottish Region depots would be happy to let "Londoners" look around the depot but would not let the locals, thus we visited a whole variety of depots using local Scots lads knowledge, they they kept schtum whilst everyone went around.

Happy days oh happy days, although two nights without much sleep in a MK 1 could end up slightly trying. :)
 

Bill EWS

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I worked a number including to Margate, Brighton and Hastings. Great days out where we would have a good few hoyurs at the resorts and with the wife and familyt travelling on board we all enjoyed the outings. They were long days for the crews as we would see the whole turn out from booking on around 5.30 in the morning and often not getting home until around 10pm as we had to prep and dispose of the loco and coaches at each end of the shift.

They were great for train crew too as we would have pilotmen over many routes that we had never been over, or in my case just having been living in England a short while, some places I had never heard of. Trainspotters too had a field day as Western Region locos would venture into foreign climes. I remember for the Margait and Hasting runs we had a Hymack loco for the entire day. On the Brighton run we had a class 47.

For the Hastings outing we prepared the loco at Didcot and went light engine to Oxford for the start. We then went via Old Oak Common and North Pole Jcts, around south London and can't quite remember how we did it but ran southwards to Haywords Heath and down through Lewes and then along the coast to Hastings. I really enjoyed seeing the very nice countryside and small towns and villages. Great days indeed.
 

Saxonia

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Aah - just seeing this one sends me delving back into the mists of time. Alongside the merrymakers, does anyone recall the rambler's specials, evening excursions, mystery excursions, Golden Rail & Saga specials ??
A few personal recollections here of some of these - I remember many such excursions arriving at Morecambe Prom in the 70's & 80's, which would bring a myriad of exotic motive power & dmu's to the resort (a class 44 was once noted !!!), & all available siding space would be taken up by rakes of coaching stock - of course, this was simply nowt compared to what was going on down the coast a bit at Blackpool, & Preston was an absolute mecca on Bank Holidays, when there would be an endless procession to/from the coast, alongside loco-hauled + strengthened ordinary services from the resort.
As for specifics, I recall one that ran for many weeks during high summer from Workington/Whitehaven to Morecambe Prom - this was a 10/11 coach rake, & was invariably entrusted to a single class 25, & there were regular forays to the resort from Nelson/Colne, which were worked by Cravens/Derby 108 units.
For myself, I can still quite vividly recall working a return SAGA special from Eastbourne to Workington, onwards from Carnforth - this was powered by 47593 "Galloway Princess", & stopped at all principal stations along the Coast Line. At Workington, the loco was nicked to work the Postal service to Huddersfield, & we were given 25058 for the ECS load of 10 Mk 1's.
 

Aictos

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Aah - just seeing this one sends me delving back into the mists of time. Alongside the merrymakers, does anyone recall the rambler's specials, evening excursions, mystery excursions, Golden Rail & Saga specials ??
A few personal recollections here of some of these - I remember many such excursions arriving at Morecambe Prom in the 70's & 80's, which would bring a myriad of exotic motive power & dmu's to the resort (a class 44 was once noted !!!), & all available siding space would be taken up by rakes of coaching stock - of course, this was simply nowt compared to what was going on down the coast a bit at Blackpool, & Preston was an absolute mecca on Bank Holidays, when there would be an endless procession to/from the coast, alongside loco-hauled + strengthened ordinary services from the resort.
As for specifics, I recall one that ran for many weeks during high summer from Workington/Whitehaven to Morecambe Prom - this was a 10/11 coach rake, & was invariably entrusted to a single class 25, & there were regular forays to the resort from Nelson/Colne, which were worked by Cravens/Derby 108 units.
For myself, I can still quite vividly recall working a return SAGA special from Eastbourne to Workington, onwards from Carnforth - this was powered by 47593 "Galloway Princess", & stopped at all principal stations along the Coast Line. At Workington, the loco was nicked to work the Postal service to Huddersfield, & we were given 25058 for the ECS load of 10 Mk 1's.

If it's one thing I do remember about Preston in the 80s and early 90s was the number of carriages in the sidings there while on the Leeds to Blackpool North services which although was always a Sprinter was comfortable.
 

Peter Mugridge

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I never went on one, but I do remember them running!

Now, if I may lob a grenade into the thread...

Merrymaker = very low cost ticket between two points valid only on a particular train at a particular time and only to and from the points stated on the ticket and if you missed it you were stuffed. Sounds familiar.....?!
 

Greenback

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Not really Peter. I'd say they were more like a modern day charter train than an Advance ticket!

They were really excursion trains; using the surplus stock allowed much cheaper fares than today!
 
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