Sleepers at Manchester?

[Bevan Price]

Looking through more timetables, the Bristol / Glasgow/Edinburgh sleeper services started from the May 1973 timetable, running via Birmingham; the Bristol/Newcastle sleepers ceased at the same time.

 

[Jack2015]

Some confusion here I think. The York-Shrewsbury and return were worked by three separate locos in each direction. A diesel, typically whatever was available, worked from York to Stockport and waited there to work the balancing service. Any electric could be used between Stockport and Crewe with the two trains normally crossing on that stretch so two different locos. The Crewe-Shrewsbury leg would be another diesel which would then work Shrewsbury-Wolverhampton legs of Euston services later in the day. The opposite principle covered the northbound working. The loco "exchange" between the York-Shrewsbury and the Euston-Piccadilly sleeper would have been an electric unless of course the OHLE was switched off for maintenance.

However such diesel haulage of the sleepers would have been more likely on Saturday night/Sunday morning workings when the TPOs didn't run. I did once use the Euston-Lime Street sleeper on a Saturday night to find on arrival at Lime Street a 47 on the front and the train in reverse formation. I found out later in the day that the train had been diesel hauled from Crewe via Chester with a shunt around the triangle at the latter point.

I'm currently tracking a service which arrived at Lime Street in the mid 80's middle of the night. I caught 45001 from Crewe to Lime Street but never knew what service this was. Your post above may have answered it.

 

[Shaw S Hunter]

I'm currently tracking a service which arrived at Lime Street in the mid 80's middle of the night. I caught 45001 from Crewe to Lime Street but never knew what service this was. Your post above may have answered it.

It might depend on your definition of "middle of the night". Monday to Saturday mornings arrival time would have been pre-0500 though potentially quite a lot later on Sunday mornings. Outside of high summer such an early arrival could certainly seem like night-time even though most rail staff would probably debate that one!

 

[Jack2015]

It might depend on your definition of "middle of the night". Monday to Saturday mornings arrival time would have been pre-0500 though potentially quite a lot later on Sunday mornings. Outside of high summer such an early arrival could certainly seem like night-time even though most rail staff would probably debate that one!

I think it was around 2am at Crewe and remember waking up at Lime Street around 3.30am would those timing seem familiar? can't recall what day of the week it was though

 

[alistairlees]

I think it was around 2am at Crewe and remember waking up at Lime Street around 3.30am would those timing seem familiar? can't recall what day of the week it was though

This would be (in the May 85 timetable) the 23.50 Euston to Manchester P / Liverpool LS sleeper, which also conveyed seated accommodation. It split at Stafford. Departed Crewe at 02.50 and arrived Liverpool LS at 03.34, with no intermediate stops in between. Similar timings in other years in the early 80s I should imagine,

 

[Jack2015]

This would be (in the May 85 timetable) the 23.50 Euston to Manchester P / Liverpool LS sleeper, which also conveyed seated accommodation. It split at Stafford. Departed Crewe at 02.50 and arrived Liverpool LS at 03.34, with no intermediate stops in between. Similar timings in other years in the early 80s I should imagine,

Thanks for confirming.. was a this a 47 booked working on the Staff-LLS leg? It was the only ever 45 working I managed to get off Crewe through the 80's so was curious if this was a booked peak diagram.

 

[alistairlees]

Thanks for confirming.. was a this a 47 booked working on the Staff-LLS leg? It was the only ever 45 working I managed to get off Crewe through the 80's so was curious if this was a booked peak diagram.

I don't know what it was booked for. Probably an 86 normally, and a 47/4 if diverted / power off. A 45 would be very rare, a 45/0 exceedingly so (especially if on Mk3 sleeper stock).

 

[Bevan Price]

Thanks for confirming.. was a this a 47 booked working on the Staff-LLS leg? It was the only ever 45 working I managed to get off Crewe through the 80's so was curious if this was a booked peak diagram.

It would be a loco off the Trans Pennine services into Liverpool on the saturday evening. They were also used occasionally on sunday WCML trains out of Lime Street if there was engineering work. (I once had 45124 on such a service).

 

[Andrew1395]

The down Liverpool sleeper had a regular Liverpool MP customer who joined at Rugby.