One I do Remember : 40 118 over Settle-Carlisle 5th January 1985

January 1985. Forties are due to be gone by the summer. 37/4s are on the way, and also there are rumours of units after them. Steaming days, a charming anachronism by 1972 let alone the 1980s, were numbered as ETH stock would take over. Already the WHL had many dual heat stock including a couple of Mrk IIs.

So how do we start 1985 then?

Transcard up the west highland line?

Nope, family rail card, with "Rupert" at the helm of ticketing to York for me, Reidy, dobbie, carlisle and possible Tunes to make the 6 people split IIRC.

I called up the train crew office at Carlisle and the loco rostered for the week was a bloody 47/0 or/ 4, but the gen was it would be steam with 16 wheels. Right enough, after an electric duff, an 86, we were treated to 16 wheels and 16 pipes of glory both ways, with top notch steam heat.

Despite the short day, it being almost dark on arrival at Leeds, the sun was out at Carlisle making it crisp with a warm expectation of the boiler on the 40. Suprisingly for a saturday, the southbound 10:40 Carlisle - Leeds has maybe only one coach of four or five filled with enthusiasts.

Phot's taken, nose a little overexposed in the winter sun with the Fujica at f1.7, we were off. A quite lively run was made south over, with a larger gang of neds and tweed jacket pseuds coming on at Skipton. There it took off like a well healed thirty seven in the snow flurries and got well underway for a drab arrival at Leeds.

For some reason we shot up to York, probably because Leeds in 1985 was a rough place. York by 1985 was losing any appeal, being wagon, duff, ped and on ly the odd 40 left. After you have seen 55002 static once, and miss its roar, then you can't be bothered again. We didn't have time for the museum. Back on another wagon / 1 and off . This time of course, the whole nation of 40 bashers are out because you could really count the saturdays left for forty bashing on one hand by then.

Once crowd coming on at Skipton with a monster carry out attracted Brian Reids Scorn and I ruined some poor sods recording. We got a compo, being on nice and early, which was coach two: near enough for thrash at any bridge or tunnel to be fantastic.

The 40 really lifted her skirts and ran that saturday evening and showed what EE could deliver.
A big crowd at Carlisle, probably buggered for anything but an overnight back to Yorkshire via Manchester. And it was over. I think this was my second last 40.

As a last touch of nostalgia we got a roarer up the line, which I think limped into Carstairs to be replaced by a leccie duff. ( this was the third or more roarer failure over Beattock northwards, we had since 1982)

We knew it was a big day then, and we put it behind us with pride and nostalgia.

09:10:00	Glasgow C	Carlise	86217
10:40:00	Carlisle	Leeds	40118
14:00:00	Leeds	York	45124
14:53:00	York	Leeds	45116
15:55:00	Leeds	Carlise	40118
20:50:00	Carlisle	Carstairs	81002
		Glasgow C	86233

By this time we were all maybe starting to meet girls of all things, and take up other hobbies apart from fondling. We didn't like the idea much of 37/4s and with the forties going, then we kind of knew that this day was our last classic steam heat day of 5 years of a misspent youth.

However, 1985 prove to be another classic year and maybe the biggest turn out year for members of the thrashier d6700 class!

This was my last year bashing and I am glad I put a stop to it to go off to healthier pursuits. If I had a time machine, then I would do more bashing.....

Misspent Youth??

I have had the conversation on the electic interweb that really we were mis-spending out youths being bashers. I mean I could have been an athelete or used the training to go into the Marines, being late in the fitness stakes peaking at 21! I could have taken up an instrument to match my vocal talent. Well, even a band member of suede was a 50 basher in the 80s/early 90s alledegly!

Link to http://newimages.fotopic.net/?iid=ylb9y7&outx=910&quality=70

A typical bunch of early to mid 1980s bashers : note the tweed sports jackets, as usually donned by "top men" from deltics , 40s, 46s and whizzos. Stylish...Suave.

What appealled about bashing to me was not just the "thrash" but as for most bashers, it was the game and the cameradery.

It is certainly an unhealty past time phsiologically: Long time sitting, junk food, too much coffee and cola. Ales midweek for the older lads if something produced. But what is there to gain?

Well of course there is entertainment value : I mean 1982-1985 was a great chess board, a "mouse trap" game of moves and shadowy "'gen' " about what was dropping. It was hilarious often: I mean like "all change at Glen Douglas" for example....dreadfiul


It wa all an absoltuely dreadful-flap.


But apart from being a real life equivalent to playstation, what benefits came from bashing?

Firstly independence: or rather the movement away from the womb into a much wider, much more fre, losse family to decide to follow: usually the "moves" would have a gathering of some neds you would know and a top man or two, so you could just turn up: in fact often you hoped to get a move other "men" missed and come in with a line in the book, especially in 1984 and 85 in the days of the huge NBs and the swansong of the 40s.

Travel is fun and refreshing when you are a teenager. I teaches you in fact that the vast majority of people in the UK are actually nice or at least not dangerous. I went places I would not want to go today without any trouble. In fact I think we never had any real trouble with "chavs" or anything, even the Oban Drunks were tame.

I learnt a lot about logistics and thinking that way about connections and "if shit happen
s" back up plkans: changing course quickly to correct mistakes, which is a good thing in life and business. Also to communicate, discuss, propose, debate etc.

A few bashers were into cycling and walkign, combining it with "viewing" and "photting", tunring up with bikes or boots on occasion. Gricing...all stemmed from a basher-spotter hillwalk near Glossop.

For me I came from a tory area and bashing helped me see beyond my own nose ( although most of my mates since 1980 were wo'kin' class come to think of it) and become both egalitarian and able to see the value of public services, and the hard labour and love employees had for "T' Railway". So socio politically it widened my horizons too.


I look back and regret I did not do more physical exercise when I was an early to mid teenage basher: my ideal jobs when I reached twenty were either Royal Marine or tour-de-france rider (grand tour pro), neither of which I was built enough for from the important early teen spring board in body development. Other things I could have done were playing rugger in the class team but they were all too dull for me in the team anyway.

Sod it, basher I was, and after all, life is all about a mis-spent youth and growing old disgracefully....

This day in history: Bashing 27th Oct1984

27.10.1984	Trannie restricted area maybe
09:06:00	Home	Arrochar	37102
09:45:00	Arrochar	Helensburgh Upper	37033
10:33:00	Helensburgh Upper	Garelochhead	37175
11:15:00	Garelochhead	Dumbarton Central	37111
13:06:00	Dumbarton	Crianlarich	37026
14:01:00	Crianlarich	Glasgow QS	37102
16:50:00	Glasgow QS	Dumbarton Central	37111
17:33:00	Dumbarton	Glasgow QS	37191
18:20:00	Glasgow QS	Ardlui	37192
20:01:00	Ardlui	Home	37011
	This was just another day in history, I have missed out a whole"Freedom" and some other days, which we can come back to. But since this is the day..... Only thing of note was 37102 which I do no think stayed long at eastfield. Boilered from somewhere. This was a full day on the WHL with only a couple of hundred miles covered. Just think that 50 bashers, and even 40 men could do at least twice this! But lets face it Garelochead to Crianlarich is the best stretch of railway in the united kingdom!!!!!!!!!		ETHEL 1

Grey Spring in 1984: 40s and Mr C Gibb

Looking back in fact I did a lot less bashing in early 84 than I expected, but bagged one quite big NB 40 and a rare trip to dundee in 84 with a 40.

I must have an earlier bashing/spotting book because I met a certain Mr. Christopher Gibb behind 37014 / ETHEL on a night when Peter Walker made up time and I rode this one of my beasts to Dumbarton for a late night home.

Here was the rest of march after bagging , neigh, blagging 40 155

10.03.1984
09:06:00 Home Arrochar 37011
09:45:00 Arrochar Helensburgh Upper 37178
10:33:00 Helensburgh Upper Arrochar 37083
11:15:00 Arrochar Helensburgh Upper 37184
12:24:00 Helensbugh Central Dumbarton Central 314212
12:51:00 Dumbarton Crianlarich 37037
14:10:00 Crianlarich Helensburgh Upper 37011
16:45:00 Helensbugh Central Dumbarton Central 303
17:33:00 Dumbarton Glasgow QS 37175
18:20:00 Glasgow QS Arrochar 37011
19:45:00 Arrochar Home 37037 paired to 37012

Not such an uneventful day out as it seems: 178 was fairly rare on passengers for some reason, it was boilered, and 184 was really an IS loco.

175 was spitting flames by that time and performed clagg and burn on that run. 37012 was probably failing but both locos were in working order blue starred up. Worth missing ETHEL for the pair doubel mileage.


17.03.1984 Mystex

07:24:00 Helensbugh Central Glasgow C Low Level 303-314
09:00:00 Glasgow C Crewe 86220
12:30:00 Crewe Shrewsbury 47412
12:53:00 Shrewsbury Crewe 33060
16:06:00 Crewe Shrewsbury 33060
18:10:00 Shrewsbury Crewe 47412
19:10:00 Crewe Glasgow Central 85034
22:59:00 Glasgow QS low level Helensburgh Central 303

First haulage by those lovely little shreddies: well, what else is there to say up until 12:53 that day: a gennie duff, noooo big deal in 84. I was well impressed with the speed the shreddies could do south of crew and smooth acceleration. Another fine type 3: which SCR were sadly deprived of!

Good chippy by the river in Shrewsbury: most flooded chippy in the UK thereafter I beleive. Best chips I have EVER had!

Roarer for a long, long train back: roaring was good though on the WCML as their days were numbered. IIRC there was a detonator over beatock and we went to Charlie Browns on Queen Street for samosa and chips. Brilliant waste of time.


31.03.1984 Green Ticket with Chris Gibb

09:06:00 Home Arrochar 37192
09:45:00 Arrochar Glasgow QS 37022
11:30:00 Glasgow QS Edinburgh Waverley 47703
12:26:00 Edinburgh Wav Haymarket 47476
12:44:00 Haymarket Edinburgh Waverley 47274
13:17:00 Edinburgh Wav Dundee 40024
15:21:00 Dundee Edinburgh Waverley 40024
17:00:00 Edinburgh Waverley Glasgow QS 47710
18:20:00 Glasgow QS Home 37192

On a rather usual transcard day, "Cocoa the clown" as the poor bloke was called, a nice bloke who didn't hate insects, declared "sixteen wheels on edinburgh" and also with some frikkin crystal ball that the next type five freighter would be two stroke!

Chris Gibb is out for the day and "withered" at the thought of a 40. A scottish region "green" cheapy family ticket is on for the day, so we acquire one and head off for the "dundee circuit". Right enough, 40 024 had done one tour and back and was awaiting us, steaming.

Good thrash out the tunnel but after the bridge junction it really was fairly pedestrian with the 40 ambling along both ways for some reason.

Back home on the erstwhile 37 192.

14.04.1984 Mystex 1Z10

07:24:00 Helensbugh Central Glasgow C Low Level 303-314
09:00:00 Glasgow C Warrington 86322
12:30:00 Warrington Llandudno 45132
14:52:00 Llandudno Llandudno Jnct DMU
16:26:00 Llandudno Jnct Llandudno DMU
17:20:00 Llandudno Warrington 45132
19:04:00 Warrington Glasgow Central 86322

Mr Gibb and baglet in tow: this time he was withered to see a nose and three windows at Warrington curves only for it to reveal itself as an ETH Wagon. I think he probably had tried to fix it, but no roarer and a dumn sister in laws sister baglet made for a wry tour.

1H84

When you got a little up the ranks or experience as a basher, you needed to get a little platform 5 publication called "1H8x" with a nice photo of a train carrying that head code with the coincidental year, from 10 years before. ( which seemed like ancient egypt to us).

Trains still carried a "head code" on paper and in the TOPS computer system. In order to use the printed reports from the latter, which sometimes got in the grubby hands of bashers, you needed the codes as TOPS works on an abbreviated system using these as UIDs if you like. Also it makes you sound more professional talking about 1S45 instead of " the 1010 from Kings Cross to Edinburgh".

So come the Orwellian year, the book was IH84 and IIRC the cover was a centre box 40 displaying the actual code.

Some trains which had been standard type 2 or class 40/45-o suddenly became open to booking of whatever loco was around. It is also alleged that some depots began hoarding itinerant class 47s and 37s as reliable metal to haul trains when ever required. I don't know if there is any truth in this or their motivation to reduce labour stress by taking more time to fix failed locos or to keep head counts up. Maybe it was because sheds like Immingham and Cardiff did not have the space for locos and were please to send them off on their holidays in the summer of 84.

In any case, bashers had a quandry: more trains than ever could drop, while booked 40 diagrams were basically vanished. Also you could be a ned and take those god awful 31.4s (aka ETHELS by non ped bashers now) to join moves together and remain loco hauled. By volume in fact, 31, 33 and 47 probably wee way out in the lead of passenger bookings in the list of 1H84 but also the least interesting locos for the bashing population profile: I never met a shreddie or ped' basher and 47 bashers were looked upon as vermin to be waterbombed and derived at any opportunity.

There was a happy band of peak bashers, but they kept themselves to themselves, being very class loyal and having every opportunity to do so still in 1984. Deltic men had moved to 40s, for want of 50s where they lived and deltic men were the "top men" in our considerations.

Anyway, the quandry was WHAT trains to cover: some top men considered TOPS print outs as cheating, but like the internet for students, everyone was at it in 1984 in order to get the most for their all liners, freedoms or ticked employee boxes.

Anything with a suitable RA could turn up on any train that was not coffin (Air Condition) rolling stock. This had a down side; the numerous 47/4s and the newer converted 6s could equally turn up out of crew or carlisle to thwart a well covered move. Or they cascaded out unwanted and unpopular boilered duffs. I mean people rant on the internet about boilered duffs and I was on one of the last Edinburgh to newcastle steamers with NO other bashers but us and we just did it out of boredom and the need for some "therms" on a chilly night on an October holidays "freedom".

The chaos insued and in the next blogs you can read about how I got to grips with it