Getting Warm April -May1984: 37 296 "Ginormous" on the 17:15 Edinbuirgh

28.04.1984

09:06:00 Home Arrochar 37014
09:45:00 Arrochar Glasgow QS 37033
11:35:00 Glasgow C Kilwinning 47049
12:57:00 Kilwinning Glasgow Central DMU
13:50:00 Glasgow Central Stewarton 26037
14:38:00 Stewarton Glasgow Central DMU
16:50:00 Glasgow QS Dumbarton C 37039
17:56:00 Dumbarton Home 314


A fairly thankless day, a DMU out on the carlise-dumfries-glas, and with the lines in the book being 033 and the duff. Went home in disgust at fairly rancid WHL action. Already though, 014 is becoming my mileage beast.

05.05.1984

12:24:00 Hime Dumbarton Central 314216
12:51:00 Dumbarton Crianlarich 37037
14:10:00 Crianlarich Glasgow QS 37014
16:50:00 Glasgow QS Dumbarton C 37043
17:56:00 Dumbarton Helensburgh C 314
19:06:00 Helensburgh U Ardlui 37014
20:01:00 Ardui Home 37012 ETHEL2

Another day at the office: more miles on 014. 012 was a regyular outer on the Ft Bill with Ethel: think ED took some pride at keeping it going or maybe they just detuned it to keep it running longer : not as bad as 025 it was just a bit dull.



14.05.1984

09:06:00 Home Arrochar 37108
09:45:00 Arrochar Helensburgh U 37026
10:33:00 Helensburgh U Arrochar 37043
11:15:00 Arrochar Helensburgh 37191
12:24:00 Helensbugh Central Dumbarton Central 303
12:51:00 Dumbarton Crianlarich 37051
14:10:00 Crianlarich Glasgow QS 37108
16:50:00 Glasgow QS Dumbarton Cen 37191
17:33:00 Dumbarton Glasgow QS 27005 paired to 27020
18:20:00 Glasgow QS Ardlui 37108
19:59:00 Ardui Home 37014

Guess ethel was on the 14.

Still a stupid timetable with waits at the now abandoned helensburgh upper. Deadly dull, and I think the sweety shop may have shut at that time. The bail there was probably a chip move or just to stretch the legs rather than plodding down to dumbarton on the syphon. Sacrilidge if you think about it!

051 was a good mover but 108 was still sick with it's class 40 turbo on one bank of pistons.


16.05.1984

15:20:00 Home Glasgow QS 37192
17:15:00 Glasgow QS Edinburgh Wav 37296
18:30:00 Edinburgh Wav Glasgow QS 47706
19:22:00 Glasgow QS LL Home 303-314

HAH ! This one we all wagged our little tails over. 37 296, llangore or Cardiff allocated in 1970s BR blue with matching time wharp black glass head code blank. It was very lively on the 17:15, which was I think Inverness stock rotated over to run from Edinburgh and giving an extra express for commuyters. 296 was a beast up the tunnels and a whole pile of line striking sulzer bashers were on board. And they called us neds, they were Traitors on a Tractor!

It struggled past the bings at croy but gave a good thrash out of Falkirk, where I was gripped. Paid an excess with a pretend slept over croy or the last transcard stop.

This huge welsh NB was the first symptom of a certain Mr Arthur Scargill as it had nowt to do in the way of coal trains by then. Unfortunetly for us, it's route to ED was by no means random: it had already been reallocated or penciled for it, due to it being earmarked for "37/4"ing. At least it was big on that train in that number and livery, as Perth Man put it, "so big they had to jack up the ceiling of the tunnel at Queen Street"

With nothing worth doing apart from a bus move to Garelochhead or maybe Tarbert (old road though on L.Lomond.) retired that night early, was a shcool night anyway. I was tired enough to get on the wrong units for a farcical backwards and forwards missing trains rather than waiting!

God knows how I managed seven As in o grades

Anyhows, 37 296 earmarked or errant, this was a taste of things to come in the summer of the english civil war and the basher's heaven