ScotRail
Training day
As 27 bashers, our spinning had pretty much come to a halt
after the end of the Circuit loco-hauleds, and we'd all resumed our normal
lives of families, liver abuse, football or genteel pastimes...
But, like many old fools before us, we were tempted out of retirement for just one more day of Type Two haulage in Scotland on Saturday 18 October 1986...
As 27 bashers, our spinning had pretty much come to a halt after the end of the Circuit loco-hauleds, and we'd all resumed our normal lives of families, liver abuse, football or genteel pastimes. But, like many old fools before us, we were tempted out of retirement for just one more day of Type Two haulage in Scotland.
ScotRail's marketeers had decided to have a Training day. For a mere fiver, you could travel anywhere in Scotland. By train. Fiendish. It was such an attractive offer, ScotRail were laying on loads of additionals and reliefs to cope.
The Berts, Adas and Tractor bashers chose to head for the scenic delights of Mallaig, Kyle and so on... but, as 27 fans, these moves were obviously particularly out of the question. Besides, after years of seeing only the lineside delights of Kirkcaldy, Kilmarnock and Kilwinning, there was no knowing how we'd cope with the wide open spaces that T-hauled trains traversed. We may have panicked...
So, of course, we were looking to get as much 27 mileage as humanly possible for our (and the engines') final fling. This meant a 5am start and, for myself and Keith, a basher from Ayr I'd put up on a sofabed in my flat, a walk to Queen Street in the drizzle to view whatever was timetabled or reliefed out of Queen Street.
We were a bit too desperate, as it proved, for we didn't get a 27 out of Queen Street until 0903, having endured a three hour fester in Casey Jones and flagged countless 37s (37011 on the 1Z40 0625 to Aberdeen; 37004 on the 0645 1Z71 to Fort William; 37260 on the 1Z41 0733 to Aberdeen and whatever was working the service train to Fort Bill.)
Fortunately, salvation came our way when 27056 turned up to work the 1Z59 0903 Queen Street to Waverley, which was to later form the 1Z60 1255 hoolex from Waverley to Hamilton West; and return on the 1Z61 1710 Hamilton West to Haymarket. It was a bit of a wither to endure what would pretty much be a tottering day out on commuting lines (despite rare track, rare curve) when we would rather have seen a Type Two on the sharp end of an Aberdeen express, but we had to make the move anyway. We thought it was the right one...
After a day of festering at Queen Street, Waverley and Hamilton, we finally returned with 27056 to Edinburgh, where we learned 27008 was going from Waverley with the 1Z52 1836 relief... to Aberdeen! So we were going to have another run over the Circuit at least, even though for myself, Keith and another West Coast basher, Albert, it meant we would have to bail at Dundee for the last service train back to Glasgow.
27008 put up a storming performance on load 6 of Mk1s, and we were pretty withered at having to get off at Dundee from what was probably going to be the last 27 to the Granite City. But nowhere near as withered as we were five minutes after the train pulled out northbound when we learned that the stock we'd got off was forming another hastily-arranged relief from Aberdeen back to Glasgow, with 27054 at the sharp end. So, we could have had 008 to Aberdeen for 054 back home to Glasgow in a guaranteed move. If only they'd invented text messaging and mobiles smaller than a briefcase ten years earlier...
Flapping about being bowled for mileage and sheer riot value, we came up with a cunning plan. We confirmed with the station supervisor at Dundee that the southbound relief would stop at Montrose, and, getting the nod, we leapt north on a Duff.
Getting off at Montrose, we asked again. Even though the station bloke obviously wasn't the sharpest knife in the box, we believed him when he told us that, yes, the relief would stop.
You know what's coming.
After another fester, with the night closing in and a cold wind sweeping the station from the Montrose basin, the signal cleared for the Glasgow train. Sauntering unhurriedly to the platform edge where we estimated the front coach would be, bags slung over our shoulders, we waited nonchalantly for the 27 to roll in. Perhaps it might even be steaming...?
It absolutely stormed through. We started to realise this as the 27 barrelled round the curve of the platform through the station, and in my rising panic, I remember waving my arms frantically for it to stop. However, the crew proved callously indifferent to unplanned request stops: the secondman actually shook his head at me like a taxi-driver who has summed you up as having had too much to drink than is good either for you or the floor of his taxi. And that was that. There were about three people on that train, and I swear to you that even today their faces are engrained on my memory.
I must admit, I have rarely, if ever, been so finished. Once upon a time, I was present on a pair of much-sought after 20s that were working from Carstairs to Waverley, and some neds had spent about 4 hours on Haymarket to rake them in... of course, they stormed through. How we all laughed, as they say... I certainly wasn't laughing now. It was some ludicrous figure like a 14-hour fester for the next train to Queen Street, and between three of us, we had about enough dosh for a couple of deep-fried Mars Bars... and that was it.
The station bloke wasn't going to be a great deal of help either. His immediate suggestion was that he should be getting himself off home now, and perhaps the police station had three spare cells for the night.
The actual way we eventually got back to Glasgow is a long and needlessly complex tale, which to cut a long story short, basically involved weeping violins, threats, emotional blackmail of the most despicable sort, and us phoning Control directly from the station bert's office.
So, after some three hours of this sort of thing, we managed to wangle a free taxi from BR. Not the only one that night, as the hordes at Queen Street from delayed West Highland trains besieged the supervisor's office. However, even the driver of our cab required the meter going past 99 pounds and 99 pence all time, so I think we had the best riot. It's a pity that Keith wasn't going back to Ayr that night, but then again, what size would the tip have had to have been?
To add insult to injury, I learned the next day that my 'beast' 27025 had been touring about the Highland Main line with a DMU.
It may just be sheer coincidence, but ScotRail never did have another Training day.
What was out on the
additionals:
37011 1Z40 0625 Glasgow Queen Street to Aberdeen.
37004 1Z71 0645 Glasgow Queen Street to Fort William.
37260 1Z41 0755 Glasgow Queen Street to Aberdeen.
47640 1Z44 0805 Inverness to Perth.
27056 1Z59 0905 Glasgow Queen Street to Edinburgh Waverley.
37012 1Z42 0910 Perth to Inverness.
37407 1Z71 1000 Glasgow Queen Street to Fort William.
37011 1Z55 1015 Aberdeen to Edinburgh Waverley.
47640 1Z44 1100 Perth to Inverness, via Aberdeen.
27025 1Z07 1116 Perth to Inverness, dragging a 101.
37260 1Z56 1120 Aberdeen to Meadowbank.
27056 1Z60 1255 Edinburgh Waverley to Hamilton West.
37011 1Z16 1350 Edinburgh Waverley to Aberdeen. 1Z16 was the forward working
of the 1S16 0800 London Kings Cross to Aberdeen which had expired near
Newcastle and been taken forward to Edinburgh with 37183+31232.
27003 1Z77 1550 Glasgow Queen Street to Falkirk Grahamston.
47711 1Z48 1615 Edinburgh Waverley to Aberdeen.
47199 1Z49 1710 Meadowbank to Aberdeen.
27003 1Z78 1700 Falkirk Grahamston to Glasgow Queen Street.
27056 1Z61 1710 Hamilton West to Haymarket.
37407 1Z71 1825 Fort William to Glasgow Queen Street.
47430 1Zxx 1820 Inverness to Glasgow Queen Street.
27055 was on the stock of the 1Z43 1833 Glasgow Queen Street to Dundee,
steaming away, but the train was caped.
37011 1Z57 Aberdeen to Edinburgh Waverley.
27008 1Z52 1836 Edinburgh Waverley to Aberdeen.
27025 1Z16 1920 Inverness to Bishopbriggs.
47199 1Z58 2100 Aberdeen to Edinburgh Waverley.
27054 1Z52 2200 Aberdeen to Glasgow Queen Street.