The ‘Bashers’

[Mag_seven]

So I'll just throw this into the mix:

Is doing railtours 'proper' bashing? Something fixed for specific traction for the pleasure of enthusiasts?

Or do you need to have had something on a service train to be able to say that you've had it 'properly'?

So, a 66 on the front of the Inverness sleeper, yes. A 66 on a Nedex no?

It has to be a proper service train in my book (or a day excursion targeted at "normals").

 

[yorksrob]

A Mk 1 on BR1 bogies being dragged at 100mph by an AL5 was anything but a comfortable experience.

I was once hanging on to the table being flung about by the hunting, when a loud crash behind me announced the roller towel machine had been flung off the wall. Thankfully, no-one was in the bog at the time.

That sounds like great fun !

Also, be thankful for a roller-towel machine, not those stupid hand driers that don't work.

 

[CW2]

So I'll just throw this into the mix:

Is doing railtours 'proper' bashing? Something fixed for specific traction for the pleasure of enthusiasts?

Or do you need to have had something on a service train to be able to say that you've had it 'properly'?

So, a 66 on the front of the Inverness sleeper, yes. A 66 on a Nedex no?

It all counts, but some things are more rateable than others, e.g having a favourite class of loco over new track because of emergency engineering work is more rateable than doing the same track with the same class of loco on a railtour along with 500 other people.

 

[Crewe Exile]

So I'll just throw this into the mix:

Is doing railtours 'proper' bashing? Something fixed for specific traction for the pleasure of enthusiasts?

Or do you need to have had something on a service train to be able to say that you've had it 'properly'?

So, a 66 on the front of the Inverness sleeper, yes. A 66 on a Nedex no?

This point used to get discussed at length back in the day when I was still bashing. One of the enjoyable parts of bashing was the ‘chase’ (albeit I wouldn’t be one of those that would drop everything and head off 200 miles for something) and grabbing unexpected haulages here and there.
My particular bug bear were the ‘staged’ events that occurred in the early 90s - such as the Midland Main Line day, North Wales Coast day and the Settle and Carlisle loco pilots. It all seemed very processed- just not the same as bagging a big pair of 20s on a Skeggy or an Eastern Region 40 straying on to the North Wales Coast.

 

[UP13]

A Mk 1 on BR1 bogies being dragged at 100mph by an AL5 was anything but a comfortable experience.

I was once hanging on to the table being flung about by the hunting, when a loud crash behind me announced the roller towel machine had been flung off the wall. Thankfully, no-one was in the bog at the time.

I was hauled by 86249 'Les Ross' from York to Kings Cross on the return leg of a rail tour hauled by 60009 'Union of South Africa'. Apart from the electric heating being vastly superior to the steam heating, it was definitely more comfortable when steam hauled. I can still remember the violent shaking as we raced along at 100mph.

 

[NorthWestRover]

Railtours clearly count as in you've had the haulage. But is it an achievement? Hardly.

 

[SuspectUsual]

When I was 10 to 14 approx I lived in Coventry and had an annual whole county bus and rail travelcard to get to and from school on the bus. My parents saw the relatively small extra cost to include the trains as a cheap way of providing me with entertainment I think.

Pretty much every weekend I’d spend at least one day out and about, but it meant anything interesting (ie not a unit) being limited to the Wolves - Cov line, plus a trip to Bescot and Duddeston to see what was around Bescot and Saltley. One summer I was on crutches and I can remember that hill back up to Duddeston being horrible

Summer Saturdays and New Street would be packed with bashers passing through, taking exciting haulage like 45s to exotic places like Cheltenham and Derby

 

[Whistler40145]

I was on the train in the YouTube video about Bashers, it was the Tiberius Kirk, 2x37 from Northampton to FortWilliam and Oban and back again, was a mega 2 day tour, was brilliant trip, though very long and unfortunately had Tonsilitis while on the trip, but didnt let it stop me, I knew a lot of the characters back then on that trip, I was Basher at the time, and can say sometimes it get rather too rowdy, and after while it got too much, so would just move somewhere different on trains where quieter, could take it for short periods and wouldn’t follow the crowd to local pubs, do my own thing, the behaviour was down to heavy drinking and getting totally hammered, which was not my thing at all, and i didnt drink back then and dont now either,

i would flail arms out of windows which looking back not best thing, but never damaged anything, and not join in the most rowdy behaviour, or any vandalism etc, my main bashing was the end of the 37’s on the north Wales coast regional railways services, and railtours, I think some of the bashers took things way too far and dont condone any of it, but it was just the hardcore element, and of course now there isn’t anything really to bash anymore, so its. Dead breed now., I do look back on those days with fondness and definitely miss the interest back then, was a fun and good time in life.

It was a rather adventurous railtour, 37023 failing between Fort William and Crianlarich, then 37114 requiring special permission to work solo to Oban and return, the thrash climbing out of Oban was immense, load 16 and 37114 nearly boiling over with high water temperature

During this time, 37116 was en-route light engine from Motherwell TMD and both worked back to Rugby including obliterating Glasgow Central Low Level with lots of clag and thrash

 

[UP13]

But is it an achievement?

If you want to be pedantic, is catching any train an achievement?

 

[furnessvale]

If you want to be pedantic, is catching any train an achievement?

It is at Reddish South or Denton.

 

[NorthWestRover]

If you want to be pedantic, is catching any train an achievement?

In this context, getting a 40 on The Bangor in 1982, even if that was a relatively frequent occurrence, beats getting 40 145 on the Settle & Carlisle last summer or, even more so, if the CFPS ran a Christmas Cracker tour from Man Vic to Bangor next year with a 40 "guaranteed". Being in the right place at the right time for a 40 on an unusual diagram in 1982 beats a railtour where it was "guaranteed" motive power.

It's an achievement in that you had to make a particular move to get the train with the potential need to re-assess rather than just turning up.

 

[UP13]

How did the hardcore bashers manage to balance achieving serious mileage and having a job to pay for it all?

I'd say doing tens of thousands of miles on non-work related trips and having a full time career (and having kids) probably is an achievement.

 

[NorthWestRover]

They worked on the railway and weren't married lol.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Yeah, I guess Man Vic would have had the crossover when Peaks were doing the TP services. Forgot about that. I still think of Peaks doing MML and Cross Country in and out of Brum.

Correct. Those Wayfarer tickets were great value and I used to do Man Vic to Stalybridge and back all day long on a Saturday for the Peaks with the odd Generator (47401-47420) thrown in.

 

[NorthWestRover]

Not so exciting on the Wayfarers now, but I'm slowly clearing Northern 150/1s, the 185s, move onto the 195s next. Etc etc etc. I'm 55 in February, so will be able to get the Northern 55 Explorer ticket if I fancy a change from Manchester for some Northern units.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Not so exciting on the Wayfarers now, but I'm slowly clearing Northern 150/1s, the 185s, move onto the 195s next. Etc etc etc. I'm 55 in February, so will be able to get the Northern 55 Explorer ticket if I fancy a change from Manchester for some Northern units.

Don't forget the Class 68s.

 

[NorthWestRover]

It depends what the 68s are working when we're back. Lancashire Day Ranger and/or Pennine Day Ranger best for those. Not sure I'd bother with Vic to Stalybridge moves.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

It depends what the 68s are working when we're back. Lancashire Day Ranger and/or Pennine Day Ranger best for those. Not sure I'd bother with Vic to Stalybridge moves.

Agreed my first one when I was back in the UK pre COVID was Liverpool Lime Street to Man Vic

 

[hst43102]

I've just read the whole thread (totally worth the read!) and I still have absolutely no idea what "bashers" are/were. Could someone with more experience give me a quick definition?

 

[CW2]

Basher: somebody who "bashes" i.e. travels behind specific classes of loco. Bashing is more than just going back and for over the same bit of track, it involves some degree of planning, ingenuity, luck, and occasional inside knowledge - oh, and a bit of charm too! "Track Bashers" are people who aim to cover every inch of track in a given region / country / continent, regardless of the traction. Kettle Bashers are steam loco enthusiasts. There are no prizes or awards for bashing, just a bit of kudos.

 

[hst43102]

Basher: somebody who "bashes" i.e. travels behind specific classes of loco. Bashing is more than just going back and for over the same bit of track, it involves some degree of planning, ingenuity, luck, and occasional inside knowledge - oh, and a bit of charm too! "Track Bashers" are people who aim to cover every inch of track in a given region / country / continent, regardless of the traction. Kettle Bashers are steam loco enthusiasts. There are no prizes or awards for bashing, just a bit of kudos.

Thanks a lot!

 

[GRALISTAIR]

And shed bashers are those that have been round every single shed and loco works in the UK - which I had done prior to 1980.

 

[NorthWestRover]

Did you get round Crewe Diesel?

 

[lancastria]

Are Bashers the same as Gricers?

 

[Cowley]

Are Bashers the same as Gricers?

Not really. I’d say that gricers was more of a steam thing in a way.
Bashers were more of a new generation of rail enthusiasts to my mind.

 

[Gloster]

I always thought that gricers were the more determined sort of trainspotter/number collector. Those who would travel long distances to see the one loco of a class/subclass/allocation that had eluded them. See it, tick it, sorted.

 

[SuspectUsual]

I always thought that gricers were the more determined sort of trainspotter/number collector. Those who would travel long distances to see the one loco of a class/subclass/allocation that had eluded them. See it, tick it, sorted.

Weekends in Scotland hunting down shunters

 

[alistairlees]

I always thought that gricers were the more determined sort of trainspotter/number collector. Those who would travel long distances to see the one loco of a class/subclass/allocation that had eluded them. See it, tick it, sorted.

These were the people who had been on Holyhead breakwater.

 

[Ashley Hill]

These were the people who had been on Holyhead breakwater.

Those 01s had to be ticked off too!

 

[6Gman]

There were certain short moves that seemed to be particularly popular - there were always a number that went between Birmingham New Street and International. Man Vic to Stalybridge, Sheffield to Chesterfield and Cardiff to Newport spring to mind as well. There are obviously loads of others - but those in particular seemed to attract a crowd.

Can I mention Moor Street-Snow Hill to tick off 172s?



(And my only definite journey behind a Hymek was Newport-Cardiff)

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 31 Jan 2021 ==

They worked on the railway and weren't married lol.

I wonder why?