your most memorable train journey?

XPTE · Post by **XPTE** » Thu Feb 27, 2003 7:57 am

What has been your most memorable train journey of your life? Whether it be an amazing scenic journey on an overseas railway, an eventful journey here in the UK, whatever.

Mine has to be a journey from Blackpool North to Bristol Temple Meads back way back in October 1987 when I was a kid. Not totally sure what loco it was, but I'm pretty sure it was a Class 47. The service was the 2nd part of a special train excurison from Bristol-Blackpool. The train departed Blackpool North at 11pm and eventually arrived back into Bristol Temple Meads at 7:30am, some 8 and a half hours later! It was a very cold October night back then(unlike nowadays) and the heating on the train wasn't working so we were all shivvering in our coats! It was also the weekend of engineering works, so the train was often stopping at several places for durations of about 10 mins each. We were stopped at one place somewhere in the midlands for over half hour! Not sure what exact route it took, but I remember it calling at Liverpool Lime Street and Birmingham New Street enroute. Oh what a journey that was!

duffbasher · Post by **duffbasher** » Thu Feb 27, 2003 11:14 am

Nice thread.

Way back when (about 1985?) I went with the Class 58 Group, who were mostly from the Swindon area, on a day trip arround the Glasgow and Edinburgh depots.

At the time I was living in Dover, so I set off to Charing Cross on a Southern rattler then hopped accross London on the tube to catch an HST out of Paddington... after meeting up with most of the party at Swindon we carried on to Bristol TM. There we got on a sleeper to Glasgow Central.

It was excellent. We left Bristol TM behind a Duff (always good news for me). I recall somewhere along the way to Birmingham NS we were banked by a pair of 37`s (I will never forget the feeling of dread amoungst the lot of us when we knew what it was at the back pushing, and that once it had done its job it would just slip away.. but that we didnt know the numbers!!).

Once we got to Birmingham the train had a sparky loco (electric) put on the front and the night then passed quite slowly.... why do sleepers stop in places like Carlise for 45mins without moving!!

The final twist in the tail, was when we got just over the Scottish boarder there was engineering work (or something) and we had to divert off the WCML and out from under the wires. Therefore we ended up double headed - sort of - with a dead sparkey being pulled by yet another duff, all the way into Glasgow. I do not recall the number of the duff, but I know it caused great excitement at the time as it was a Haymarket example

The trip home (dead on my feet by then) was a quick blast down the ECML on a boring 125!!

Paul

basildd · Post by **basildd** » Thu Feb 27, 2003 2:24 pm

I think it has to be London Victoria to Inverness with 33109 and 33116 throughout! As a hardened 'Crompton Basher' Scotland seemed like the Holy Grail where 33's were concerned and for years I had dreamed of being able to do it. I went to Aberdeen with a pair of 33's after that but it wasn't the same... Further afield I'd say it was Innsbruck (Austria) to London on the Orient Express.....

duffbasher · Post by **duffbasher** » Thu Feb 27, 2003 2:51 pm

A pair of 33s up north, that had to have been good.

I think everybodies first run on a `real` high speed train (such as a TGV) has to live quite a while in the memory...

My first ride on the TGV was from Paris Charles De Gaul airport to Calais.. the rails north of Paris are as straight as a die, and it just kept getting faster and faster! Fantastic!!

Paul

basildd · Post by **basildd** » Thu Feb 27, 2003 3:09 pm

When I was working on a job Exchange from Eurostar with the TGV Control in Montparnasse I was sent on a trip to Bordeaux and returned back in the cab on the train to Paris - reached a top speed of 201mph but it didn't seem like it - the effect of the clouds was wierd though!

basildd · Post by **basildd** » Thu Feb 27, 2003 3:12 pm

duffbasher wrote:A pair of 33s up north, that had to have been good.

Paul

Click the image to zoom in

Fodda · Post by **Fodda** » Thu Feb 27, 2003 4:24 pm

Well, I think I've posted this before, but it has to be coming back from Darmstadt in Germany via Cologne to Rotterdam. All the way up the Rhine valley in glorious May sunshine and a compartment all to ourselves.. Fantastic. Unfortunately we then had to do Hull to Sunderland via York and Newcastle. Standing room only all the way on all three trains, and it cost more than the whole Darmstadt to Rotterdamn trip. Spoiled the whole journey.

Also, a slow train along the Algarve coast in June. About 15 mph behind something like an Alco switcher. Just lean out the window and grab an orange off a tree as you pass. Excellent.

duffbasher · Post by **duffbasher** » Thu Feb 27, 2003 6:03 pm

Cab ride in a TGV,,, now that would be something!

I spent a holiday a few years back in a little village (forgotten the name of it now) just south of Koblenz on the banks of the Rhein. The amount of traffic on the lines on both sides of the river was amazing.

Going from one end of the scale to the other, I`ve got another memorable journey now I think of it.... if the TGV is as fast as it gets (with no real signs of effort) I went to Turkey last summer, and had the `pleasure` of a ride on a Mavitrein (blue train) from Istanbul to some place about 20miles up the coast..... it had to be the worst ramshackle EMU in the world. If it got above 15miles an hour I would be shocked, and the noise it made between stations (while going flat out) was beyond belief! There was no way that conversation inside the train was possible.

Trains, eh? I`ve missed all this!

Paul

simont · Post by **simont** » Thu Feb 27, 2003 6:25 pm

Koblenz to Frankfurt, then back up to Dortmund in an ICE last year. Great scenery, and a fantastic train. Sadly ICE's don't seem to be running down the Rhine valley anymore.

Dwhite · Post by **Dwhite** » Thu Feb 27, 2003 6:28 pm

Any time I've done the WHL. Even in a sprinter.

Also, done the settle and carlisle drags a few times recently. Great scenery, and duffs as well! Will be remembered for a while.

Hymek · Post by **Hymek** » Thu Feb 27, 2003 7:38 pm

Either

A Cab Ride in an 08 between Bewdley and Kidderminster
A Cab Ride in a 220 Between Arley And Kidderminster
A Ride behind 4472 at the SVR
Or thrasing down from arley to kidderminster behind 37906 and 37 175

GregoCh · Post by **GregoCh** » Thu Feb 27, 2003 9:06 pm

Not a very long journey and not really that special but I always will remember it (as does my father).

We were coming back from the motorshow at Brum to Burton on Trent in the early to mid 80's about 8:00pm ish (ie dark). Service was a Peak and a rake of MK1's. How the train stayed on the tracks I will never know as we were bounced around from pillar to post - a very lively 50mins!!!

BobLatimer · Post by **BobLatimer** » Thu Feb 27, 2003 9:17 pm

A two day, two night journey from Montreal, Quebec to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on Canadian National in 1964 after emigrating from England. No idea what the motive power was, probably anywhere between two and four F7's, depending on the terrain, and the coaches were probably stainless steel Budds. At the age I was at the time, that was one long boring trip.

Second most memorable was Regina, Saskatchewan to Vancouver B.C. in the winter of 1984 on Via Rail. Probably similar motive power and coaches to the 1964 trip! However, that trip was nice and relaxing (funny how age changes "long and boring" to "nice and relaxing") and the scenery in the mountains before night fell was spectacular.

stevesherratt · Post by **stevesherratt** » Thu Feb 27, 2003 9:33 pm

Back around 1972 when on a run about ticket i used to go down to Solihull to catch a Western or even sometimes a Hymek back to Birmingham New St , sounded fantastic going up the hill inside the tunnel .

any of you guys do this ?

there was always a few of us

steve in ozz

duffbasher · Post by **duffbasher** » Thu Feb 27, 2003 9:55 pm

stevesherratt wrote:Back around 1972 when on a run about ticket i used to go down to Solihull to catch a Western or even sometimes a Hymek back to Birmingham New St , sounded fantastic going up the hill inside the tunnel .

any of you guys do this ?

there was always a few of us

steve in ozz

No (I`m too young..) but I would pay a fair sum of money to do it now!

Tunnels eh? best bit about bashing

The sounds, the smell of the diesel.... (has anybody perfected that smell for MTS yet?!)