Freedom of Scotland July 1984

02.07.1984-15/7/1984 ==== Freedom of Scotland =====


Dreadful!!!! The most, desperate moves ever on a "freedom" fortnight's ticket. Hardly anything sensible in terms of using my £36.99 or what ever an under 16' "freedom" cost then!

No up and down to Oban and out to Thurso. No catching a 37 maybe over the Inverness Perth route for the line and mileage. No doing the complete move round the NE on the mail train to Elgin. No taking an NB all the way to Ft Bill.

Nope. Crazy covering with NO getting hold of TOPS reports unless someone had one already. That was the game: no TOPS, you "viewed" trains.

Not only was 1984 the scene for the last English Civil War, but it was a scorcher of a summer with daily temperatures around 25 and places like Carstairs being open ovens!

Gateshead, motherwell, eastfield and thornaby class 37s were totally wildly itinerant and started producing on the drop of a hat courtesay of Iain McGregor and Arthur Scargill. I scrub my eyes to believe what produced and often where! Glasgow -Edinburgh 37s????? 47/7s must have been having a bad week, because 37s were out on mark 1s and IIs on the route. Duffs became rare on stranrærs!!!!

07:38:00	Glasgow C	Paisley	311
07:57:00	Paisley	Glasgow Central	47010

( this was to cover the aforeblogget 0700 ayr- glasgow which could produce. It went ECS the night before to avoid vandalism in glasgow and to pick up some cheese in SCR management who lived in Ayrshire)

09:00:00	Glasgow QS	Haymarket	47703
09:XX	Haymarket	Carstairs	47702
		Carlise	86235
12:05:00	Carlisle	Carstairs South	81015
		Glasgow Central	47378
15:30:00	Glasgow QS	Edinburgh Waverley	47705
16:30:00	Edinburgh Waverley	Glasgow QS	47705
18:20:00	Glasgow QS	Arrochar	37043
19:45:00	Arrochar	Glasgow QS	37175
21:28:00	Glasgow C Low Level	Motherwell	303
22:11:00	Motherwell	Mossend	86234
		Perth	37026
00:49:00	Perth	Inverness	47460

The very large duff three was nothing to us, and it probably was the one we turned down on the portions we went out to cover.

37026 : the first time IIRc I struck a v12 on the famoius 1S81 (which I think I did for the first time in 82 , in an older jotter that is lost!) 37026 was thrashed like blazed all the way giving a very satisfying 80-90mph run where poss and maybe the ton. With track running above 55mph syphons could put in some impressive runs.

03.07.1984

06:xx	Inverness	lairg	37035
08:xx	Lairg	Inverness	37183
10:35:00	Inverness	Aberdeen	47210
1300	Aberdeen	Dundee	IC 125
14:28:00	Dundee	Edinburgh Waverley	47011
16:10:00	Edinburgh Waverley	Carstairs	37154
18:15:00	Carstairs	Glasgow Central	86xxx

A fairly desperate group of moves on probably my third freedom-of-scotland. I think this was maybe the day 37183 was running with the flat container wagon to Wick and Thurso, another syphon oddity I have piccies of.

37154 was ML IIRC, and had dropped on something else we had missed, so had to be done. We either got the gen, or just went the quickest way back to cover the portions. An english duff basher showed me his blade he carried for protection on terra caledonia, whcih I was somewhat shocked about. THen again he was a duff basher....


04.07.1984

11:20:00	Glasgow C	Carstairs	87022
13:06:00	Carstairs	Glasgow Central	85022
13:56:00	Glasgow C Low Level	Helensburgh Central	303-314
15:20:00	Helensburgh Upper	Glasgow QS	37188

Decisions, decisions. Another day where you cover everything and nothing produces. A run to Oban on 188 would have been preferable. The only train not covered was the Stranraær from Kilmarnock, which produced 40s and 37s this summer.

I covered the "portions" with a view to the 12xx and the 1303 and any later locos hanging around. Then the 13:45 carlisle maybe, certainly the incoming 14:39, then sod it, a trip out for chips and a walk up that hill, Sinclair Street in Helensburgh to get to the WHL station there from the central "blue commuter" line.



05.07.1984

09:50:00	Glasgow C	Carlise	86259
	Carlisle	Beattock	85020
	(failure)	Glasgow Central	86008
	Glasgow C	Milngavie	303
	Milngavie	Qs LL	303

I believe we got on, erm, the wrong train, meaning to cover something at carstairs but ending whizzing past both a motorail with a 40 on it plus the station itself.

The second of several "roarer" failures we experienced in 84-85, showing why they really had to come to an end in the next couple of years. The 86 was took orff a frieght , and IIRC the preceeding freight had been a pair of, no doubt enourmous, 37s. We would have gotten the 86 regardless probably!

06.07.1984

09:50:00	Glasgow QS	Dumbarton Central	37111
10:33:00	Dumbarton	Glasgow QS	37033
11:35:00	Glasgow C	Paisley	47123
11:48:00	Paisley	Glasgow Central	303/311
12:20:00	Glasgow QS	Dumbarton Central	37188
14:04:00	Dumbarton	Glasgow C Low Level	303-314
14:56:00	Glasgow C Low Level	Milngavie	303
15:20:00	Milngavie	Glasgow QS Low Level	303
15:59:00	Glasgow QS low level	Helensburgh Central	303-314
20:50:00	Helensburgh Upper	Glasgow QS	37014

I think I fell asleep and ended up in Milngavie or did a slumber move on the local, comfy old 303s. Must have been tired and somewhat disappointed that nothing produced.
'
07.07.1984

10:20:00	Helensburgh Upper	Glasgow QS	37191
10:44:00	Glasgow C	Kilmarnock	DMU
13:33:00	Kilmarnock	Ayr	37209
15:05:00	Ayr (ex stran)	Glasgow Central	47515
17:30:00	Glasgow C	Kilmarnock	37209
18:37:00	Kilmarnock	Glasgow Central	37156
20:00:00	Glasgow QS	Falkirk High	47708
20:27:00	Falkirk (high?)	Glasgow QS	37184

A fairly enourmous day out : 156 and 209 in the bag and both pretty huge. Also, what the heck was happening on the edinburgh line? 37184 today. On a very vague recollection, I seem to remember being in a mark I compo on an ordinary edinbra train which should have been a "shove duff"


08.07.1984

15:05:00	Glasgow C	Stranraer	37209
18:35:00	Stranraer	Glasgow Central	37209

209, thornaby or the like, out on the route, must have come north light loco or replacing a failed sulzer heap: Decided I was on a freedom and would do some miles and routes: Told the driver it was a good loco, and he put the handle up all the way up the banks and over to Girvan. Excellent thrash.

Probably missed some stuff, but byu now 47/3s were two a penny and being put on portions and failures: two roarers down in the heat of that summer already!

09.07.1984

10:33:00	Helensburgh Upper	Arrochar	37022
			37190
11:15:00	Arrochar	Glasgow QS	37188
13:45:00	Glasgow C	Kilmarnock	47123
14:30:00	Kilmarnock	Glasgow Central	37073
15:30:00	Glasgow QS	Haymarket	47701
16:45 app	Haymarket	Edinburgh Waverley	47528
16:55:00	Edinburgh Waverley	Haymarket	47488
17:03:00	Haymarket	Glasgow QS	47704
18:20:00	Glasgow QS	Helensburgh Upper	37051
19:24:00	Helensbugh Central	Glasgow C Low Level	303-314
20:15:00	Glasgow C	Paisley	37056

A quick bail at Helensburgh upper to return by courtesay of 303s and 314s to Central to get 37056 on the late stranrær. Another syphon in the book thank you!

This train may have needed to have steaming locos, must check if 056 was bloiered at this point.

10.07.1984

11:35:00	Glasgow C	Paisley	37125
12xx	Paisley	Glasgow Central	DMU
13:45:00	Glasgow C	Kilmarnock	47338
14:30:00	Kilmarnock	Glasgow Central	27024
16:30:00	Glasgow QS	Haymarket	47712
17XX	Haymarket	Edinburgh Waverley	DMU
18:00:00	Edinburgh Waverley	Glasgow QS	47708
19:35:00	Glasgow C	Johnstone	DMU
20:XX	Johnstone	Paisley	DMU
20:39:00	Paisley	Glasgow Central	37125

Another 37/1 NB large monster on the Strannie, top and tailing an otherwise pish day.

Should have taken it too, but what the heck it is ten miles or so to Paisley and there were plenty other syphons lurking. No others to play with today though on the portions or I presume the Carlisles.



11.07.1984

11:20:00	Glasgow C	Carstairs	87002
13:03:00	Carstairs	Edinburgh Waverley	37020
14:00:00	Edinburgh Waverley	Glasgow QS	47705
14:59:00	Glasgow QS low level	Helensburgh Central	303
15:54:00	Helensbugh Central	Glasgow QS Low Level	303
17:00:00	Glasgow QS	Edinburgh Waverley	47705
18:00:00	Edinburgh Waverley	Glasgow QS	47705

Messing about, I just deleted a unit move to H'boro for chips or Ice cream and some doss.

Anyhows, 37 020, probably gateshead, underlined to make a nice tight cluster of lines in my book from a simple "viewing" of the usual 1303 portion, after a comfortable breakfast.


12.07.1984

10:20:00	Helensburgh Upper	Glasgow QS	37184
11:00:00	Glasgow QS	Edinburgh Waverley	37059
12:30:00	Edinburgh Waverley	Glasgow QS	47707
13:45:00	Glasgow C	Kilmarnock	47274
14:30:00	Kilmarnock	Glasgow Central	47006
16:50:00	Glasgow QS	Dumbarton Central	37027
17:33:00	Dumbarton	Glasgow QS	37188
18:35:00	Glasgow C	Ayr	DMU
20:03:00	Ayr	Glasgow Central	37139

What was this 11:00 edinburgh with 37059 all about???? The shove duffs must have been struggling in the heat because this was the second substitution. I have no recollection of any Glasgow to Edinburgh runs behind a 37 other than 296, but do recall sitting on mark I compos and a mark II on what should have been a "shove duff" ( 47/7)


13.07.1984 to 14.07.1984

10:20:00	Helensburgh Upper	Glasgow QS	37037
11:20:00	Glasgow C	Carstairs	87016
13:03:00	Carstairs	Edinburgh Waverley	37079
14:30:00	Edinburgh Waverley	Glasgow QS	47706
15:45:00	Glasgow C	Barrhead	47009
16.xx	Barrhead	Glasgow Central	DMU
17:00:00	Glasgow QS	Falkirk High	37124
17:28:00	Falkirk High	Glasgow QS	477xx
18:00:00	Glasgow C	Irvine	37138
20:08:00	irvine	Glasgow Central	DMU
21:28:00	Glasgow C Low Level	Motherwell	303
22:12:00	Motherwell	Mossend	86248
		Perth	37079
01:11:00	Perth	Pitlochry	47552
02:xx	Pitlochry	Glasgow QS	47467
07:05:00	Glasgow QS	Edinburgh Waverley	37045
08:30:00	Edinburgh Waverley	Falkirk High	47703
09:23:00	Falrkirk High	Glasgow QS	477xx
11:20:00	Glasgow C	Carstairs	86243
13:03:00	Carstairs	Glasgow Central	85029
15:45:00	Glasgow C	Auchinleck	27029
17:23:00	Auchinleck	Kilmarnock	37101
18:47:00	Kilmarnock	Glasgow Central	47206

The over night move: you more or less had to stay awake but I got some doss on the way up north of perth and probably on the famous 1S81 which produced the same syphon we had had on a portion earlier. I guess it ran light loco Carstairs to mossend or maybe rescued something ending up at mossend.
'

The 0705 was probably a glasgow Scarborough or Skeggie summer addex, and I could not usually get in early enough to cover it : it did have a return at night, as per 37172 etc last year but this was a big bag and I just don't remember a bloody thing.

Also, once again a 37 /|1 out on the bloody edinburgh service, this time a nice 124 run! I think we bailed off at Falkirk High to cover 124s appearance only to see another 47/7 appear out of the tunnel. Remember the bail!

And scrub your eyes and look twice, 138 now producing on the strannie, not 139. Hells bells! Fantasy underlining

37101 adding to a good score card from 36 hours solid bashing.



15.07.1984 Blow Up day for Freedom

15:05:00	Glasgow C	Irvine	37074
16:03:00	irvine	Glasgow Central	DMU
17:22:00	Glasgow QS	Helensburgh Upper	37184

A fairly no nonsense day: slept in til all ours, unit into central to cover the various carlisles and hey presto, another required 37/0 this time on the stranae.

Fairy god mother would be out at midnight bowling me out for more moves: "Blow up day" for my freedom of Scotland.

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A strange, desperate move collection, but like I said before, this was how bashing was back in 1984: getting lines in the book and covering everything that could produce.

I regret not covering more possible 40 drops in 1983 and 84: the Euston stranrær was still non coffin and the portions at both Carstairs and Mossend. Also 40s dropped out of Newcastle occoaisonally to Edinbra. Interesting to compare notes but......

I will have to get onto that 1984 internet bashing simulator!