We
pulled up in Carlisle’s Citadel station a few minutes later.
I expect that given the diversion the train had been retimed accordingly
but I can’t remember and it made no difference – the most important thing
being we had got there and back with a 40. As we arrived two engines were stood
middle road – a class 81 to go forward to Euston on our train and another
class 40 adding more whistling beneath the overall roof to that of 40065, 40016.
Walking to the front of our train 40065 had already been uncoupled along
with the two parcel vans that had been next to the sleeping cars.
To our left, unseen as we had arrived as I was too far down the train in
one of the south bays was two coaches and a further couple of parcel vans.
40065 ran forward and then backed the vehicles off our train onto the
stock in the bay.
It paused a while for the same shunter who had coupled the electric onto
the Euston to do the honours in coupling up the additional coaches to the train
in the bay before and uncoupling 40065 which like an unsung - but more than
appreciated by myself - hero of the day was off back to the depot.
It had been a memorable, nearly 24 hours in the company of a Hellfire
engine, providing me with an experience that would stay with me for the rest of
my life.
Having
got to Carlisle I had planned to go forward on the Stranraer to Crewe to cover
the diesel drags, which I thought this particular weekend, was between Crewe and
Stafford.
However, the stock over in the Newcastle bay, and that 40016 was the only
candidate around to work it intrigued me.
To prove this further having made the decision not to take the Euston a
short while after it had departed ‘Campania backed onto the stock.
Consulting the departure board produced even more confusion and it was
the driver of 40016 who solved the conundrum.
The train was the 02.23 Carlisle-Newcastle, a connection onto the East
Coast not only off the Stranraer boat train but previous overnight services
heading south from Scotland.
Advertised in the Public timetable but not on any of the station
departure boards and presumably loco hauled because of the vans it conveyed. In
a brisk Cumbria drawl the driver also informed me it returned from Newcastle at
04.36. But see the guard if I wanted to travel – it would be up to him.
I had no idea of even the existence of these workings at the time, though
I must confess that later on during my 40 bashing adventures I and a few more of
the Hardcore few made use of it a few times.
The
Guard arrived a few minutes later by which time 40016 was blowing steam
everywhere but apparently through the train.
The gentleman concerned appeared to be perhaps worse the wear for
Guinness earlier the evening and on the condition I didn’t disturb him he
would be pleased of the company.
As if to justify its purpose further we were even joined by a
suitcase-laden family off the Boat train trying to get to Darlington.
40016
headed away over the top of the Pennines in great style.
Through woolly white snow laden countryside we whistled into the night
passing the ghostly stations of Haltwhistle, Hexham and Wylam arriving in
desperately deserted Newcastle at about an hour and quarter later.
Station staff set to sort out the parcel traffic and after a cup of tea
from the all night buffet I rejoined the stock for an equally as whizworthy
return to Carlisle with the same load but the vans having been emptied. I was
the only passenger aboard the train. Since our returning south the weather had
warmed enough for it to start snowing again and we crossed the heights of the
King Edward Bridge over the river Tyne in a raging blizzard. One side the train
being buffeted and dashed with hail and snow so fearsome you couldn’t put your
head out while on the it was totally sheltered. I don’t think the engine was
in the best of health but it didn’t really matter and once sorted out the
boiler was certainly sufficient to roast both the Guard and me.
What
followed on my return to Carlisle could best be described as a lowpoint of the
weekend and real come back to earth with a thump.
There was no alternative but a very cold three-hour fester in Semi-arctic
conditions on an open platform.
Not even the staff canteen by the Cumbrian Coast bay was open and the
main waiting room nearby was closed for redecoration. There wasn’t even a set
of stock or a DMU stood out either that I could secrete myself onto.
A brave venture out onto the windswept and inhospitable streets so early
on a Sunday produced only nearby newsagent’s open.
It seemed a very long and cold wait until the next southbound departure
at 09.15 for Crewe.
A train I had noticed several times in the passenger timetable and
thought who on earth would use that.
A set of six very poorly patronised, suspect mark ones which looked as
though they were straight off the scrapline at Wolverton with a class 86/0 at
the front.
Engineering was well in progress on the WCML and I think we went wrong
line all the way from Penrith to Carnforth.
Worthy of note was that about we passed three or four class 40’s on
engineering trains and in the loops at Grayrigg and Tebay standby engines were
present in case of assistance being required.
At least one of the ‘assisting’ engines was a pair of 25’s. At
least it was an attractive (and warm) journey in Christmas Card snow and
sunshine conditions though by the time we left Lancaster it had turned grey and
miserable again.
At
Preston we ran into (the then) Platform 4.
Ladywell stabling point had a few engines stood out – mainly EH 47’s.
Despite it being such a nice day earlier it was deteriorating rapidly and
there were very few people (and even fewer trains) about.
Confusingly having come to a stand in the platform our electric dropped
its pantograph.
Luckily I spotted a couple of fellow bashers from Birmingham stood nearby
and called them over. To say they were a bit surprised to see me would be an
understatement. Meanwhile a gleaming, ex works centre headcode class 40 stood a
short distance away was running onto our train.
40174 in almost new condition, the paint so fresh you could smell it.
From the two companions who joined me on the train I discovered that as well as
engineering south of Crewe there was also a blockage at Warrington so everything
since the early hours had been diverted via Manchester.
I was told a couple of 40’s had been used on the overnights but the
main interest to them was they had had a shatteringly rock hard 47/3 (47361?)
north from Crewe and this was their way back.
So,
now with 40174 in charge and with the 86 and its train we set off through Wigan
and round through Manchester Victoria.
I have to say it was a delight to listen to 40174.
The start from under the roof at Preston was explosive, the climb and
acceleration up Boars Head bank superb and the noise taking the dead electric
and train up Miles Platting bank really sweet - just right and how a 40 in best
of health should be. After the raucous (yet most impressive) racket of 40065 and
the perhaps wet warbling of 40016 the gutsy roar of 174 was music to my ears.
To pass the time during the less interesting parts of this trip I regaled
in the stories of my trophy overnight activities to the two whom had joined me
at Preston and they were suitably impressed.
For
reasons I’ll not go into I got off at Crewe, even though 40174 was going on to
Stafford.
The two lads who were with me had got wind that the 09.25
Manchester-Birmingham this morning had been another suitably rare NB class 47
that sent them (and a few more who had joined them) into raptures as they could
pick it up on the 13.05 return.
From their same list of gen only one 40 (40136) had been on a drag - all
the rest were 47’s.
As 40174 rocketed away South I was beginning to plan my next moves to get
me in a position of strength.
If all else failed there were a couple of Sunday loco hauled diagrams I
knew were a good bet for a 40.
There was always the 18.00 Manchester Newcastle and the 16.00
Leeds-Edinburgh as a last resort and quite frankly Gateshead and Lime Street
were always short of locos for Pennine diagrams on a Sunday evening, so I could
always cover them.
In the meantime though with diesels dragging round Crewe it would
probably be as worthwhile just hanging round a bit particularly as the only
engines visible on the depot were a couple of class 40’s.
And
as it was I didn’t have to hang around for long.
One of the lads getting on 40174 had said there had been a disc headcode
40 lurking round a set of stock down at Gresty Lane since mid morning looking as
though it was going to do something.
It looked most likely to be the engine for the 13.45 Control Relief
Crewe-Holyhead running as a connection out of the retimed Euston-Liverpool and
the Birmingham-Glasgow & Edinburgh.
Yet another of those trains that just came out of the blue, announced
nowhere and the only warning it was running being a chalked notice by the ticket
barrier up on the bridge.
No sooner had I walked over to the North Wales platforms over on the far
side when 40010 steamed in with about 6/7 mark 1’s and backed into the bay.
If
anyone ever questioned the purpose of relief trains this one would certainly
have proved the point of their existence.
I had settled comfortably in the front coach when, about a half-hour
later, the first of the connections (the Liverpool) arrived running about thirty
minutes late. Unpredictably it was 40136 dragging the Electric and train.
Just about everyone got off and got on to go to Holyhead and notably
40136 was unhooked and the electric went forward on its own.
Our train was pretty full before the Glasgow arrived about twenty minutes
later (again being dragged but by a 47) when even more got off than from the
Liverpool and joined our train including at least one basher who had headed
south on 40174.
By the time we left Crewe it was standing room only down all the
corridors, four per side in the compartments and the vestibules wedged out.
Uncomfortably full to say the least.
I
had no idea where we were booked to stop and no announcements were made before
our departure. We only called at Chester and Llandudno Junction and at both
stations I think we took the staff by surprise, as they certainly weren’t
expecting us and were almost embarrassed by our arrival. I’m sure no one got
off and anyone wishing to join would have had a job getting on so squashed were
we and any chance of properly enjoying the run was non existent as the train was
so full.
The small load was well within the capabilities of 40010 which went very
well indeed and once clear of the restrictions at Saltney Junction ran along the
North Wales Coastline in the low 80’s for miles.
I don’t remember a crew change and think it was the same set of men
throughout.
We shot through the tunnels either side of Bangor and once on Anglesey
the countryside flashed by.
We arrived at a very cold, windswept, wet Holyhead soon after in a shower
of sleet and snow.
In
case no one may remember Holyhead in the mid 1970’s a lot of work was being
done on the station, building the new terminal and knocking down the remains of
the old hotel, booking office etc. standing to the east end.
Passengers were directed by a maze of planked, scaffolding walkways and
tunnels round to the ferries from the platforms.
The whole area was like a badly organised building site with piles of
bricks, rubble and machinery everywhere.
The embarkation area was packed solid with people.
The weather had delayed the incoming ferry badly and the knock on was
that the outward ferry was very late indeed. I had no option having left the
train than to be swept with the masses.
There was a bottleneck of trains and stock in the limited number of
platforms available.
The connecting boat trains and their engines (all 47’s) which should
have left ages before but were delayed pending the arrival of the ferry were
stood out either by the shed of in the yard. No sooner had we left the train
than the stock was drawn out by a 08, 40010 went off light to the shed.
A few minutes later another train (presumably the Euston we were running
as a relief to) arrived and disgorged even more passengers into the crowds still
waiting. I didn’t care to be part of this chaos and left the disorder behind
opting to walk into the town to get something to eat.
If
my arrival in Stranraer 15 hours before was bleak Holyhead made it look like a
five star resort. At least in Stranraer I could have taken refuge in a bar and
spun out a pint of bitter for two hours to sit in the warmth and dry if I had to
– Holyhead on a shockingly dismal, wet Sunday afternoon was having none of it.
In rain so heavy it ran upwards from your socks and a wind that was
strong enough to drive it through your trousers anyhow I braved a walk into the
town to find nowhere open at all.
Down dripping, sodden, back streets and on grey saturated footpaths I
wandered and everywhere was shut. After 15 minutes of the equivalent of having a
swim with your clothes on I was so fed up I would have done anything to have got
dry.
I was even contemplating declaring myself a catholic so I could at least
shelter in a church hall-the only building in the whole town that had lights on
to find that it, too was closed.
I
squelched back to the station.
The ferry had arrived adding the weight of passengers who were getting
off to the masses waiting to get on and the whole scene was like a refugee
evacuation.
There was no sign of any extra trains being laid on to clear the backlog
so I decided to walk the other way, out of the town and down to the shed where
at least I could find out if 40010 was likely to do anything.
I
have always had a soft spot for Holyhead MPD dating back from my first visit as
a spotter many years previous when the response to my tentative request ‘Can I
go round the Shed please, Mister’ led to a guided tour by the foreman.
He even went to the trouble of listing the engines that were due to
arrive (should I need them for spotting).
So I have always had a warm feeling for the place.
Anything warm today would be welcome.
I
arrived at the shed to find it strangely deserted of people but well occupied by
locos. 40010, still running and parked up and the 47 off the Euston taking fuel
but inside there were another three or four 40’s present, a couple of 47’s
and an assortment of type 2’s all shut down.
As the shed wasn’t visible as I had passed earlier I wasn’t aware
there were so many engines on hand. In the foreman’s office, sat around a
roaring fire there were a couple of footplate staff and what looked like a
fitter.
The office smelled of burning coal and pipe smoke and was very cosy
looking.
Then again, the mood I was in anything with a roof and protected from the
wind and rain would have looked cosy. The natives were friendly not only to my
request as to what 40010 was going to be doing but also took pity on me to the
extent of offering the chance of a warm and I was invited in for a sit down and
a cup of tea.
Though they didn’t know yet what was happening they said they would
find out for me.
As
the circulation returned to my limbs one of the blokes in the office rang
Control to see what plans were in hand for 40010.
Upshot of the conversation was that the stock and loco would definitely
be returning as the 20.25 Holyhead-Crewe relief this evening, a set of men to
work the train would be arriving passenger later on tonight.
Furthermore (if I were interested) it would also form the 00.53
Crewe-Holyhead relief in the early hours. There was certainly no objection to my
hanging about the shed for a while and keeping warm.
There was even the offer from one of them that should I still be about
round tea time they could include me in the food order from a local café where
the shed staff got their meals from.
News of 40010 working back so late wasn’t welcomed too well.
I had work the next day and it would be a dangerously tight connection
onto the last EMU for Manchester for an all night bus back to Bolton followed by
a walk home. But having come this far, what the hell.
It had to be done.
So
for the next four hours I just festered.
As the only entertainment in the office was a radio playing the BBC Welsh
Language channel after I dried out I had a walk round the shed a few times –
well, probably a lot of times as its not that big and had a nose round the
engines.
I had my tea with the staff.
It dried up a few hours later so I had a walk into town to see if it
looked any better when it wasn’t raining and it didn’t.
I returned to the station about half seven and 40010 and its stock was in
the platform, the notice was up that it was the 20.25 relief to Crewe with a
connection to Euston.
All the invitations were there but come 20.25 when we left I was the only
passenger on board and had the train pretty much to myself all the way.
I think a couple of people joined at Bangor and perhaps Llandudno
Junction and but by Rhyl it was just me on my own again.
40010 steamed superbly ran brilliantly and the train was warm. I
arrived back in Crewe in time for the last EMU to Manchester, caught my all
night bus to Bolton, wearily walked home and got in about 02.00 to be up at
07.30 to get to work. Over a 1000 EE type 4 miles under my belt the better off,
though I felt I had to fight for every yard. And, interestingly enough who
should I bump into the next morning as I left for work but former CFPS Committee
member Dave Holden who was on his way to school, passing where I lived.
I
stank for days from the fumes from the boilers of 40010, 40016 and 40065.
My hair was matted from the unburned oil in the exhaust of 40065. My face
was filthy from the hours of window hanging.
My cheeks stung from the hit of rain, snow and sleet.
My eyes were sunken trough lack of sleep. My body ached because of the
hours of cold and wet.
It had been a good weekend for 40 bashing.