Sleeper trains on SWD of Southern Region 1970s

[slilley]

I have just acquired a picture of 33023 entering Poole in the late 1970s with a train of MK1 sleeper stock.

 

Can anyone shed any light on this as I am unaware of any regular sleeper services on the Southern Region at the time, other than of course the Night Ferry which clearly this is not. I am guessing it is some sort of special working .

 

Regards

 

Simon

[bike2steam]

I think there were 2 for a short while, a Motorail Sleeper from Brockenhurst to Edinburgh/Glasgow, and an ordinary sleeper from Poole to Edinburgh/Glasgow, or they might have been extended to Inverness, it's few years ago.

[Oldddudders]

I think there were 2 for a short while, a Motorail Sleeper from Brockenhurst to Edinburgh/Glasgow, and an ordinary sleeper from Poole to Edinburgh/Glasgow, or they might have been extended to Inverness, it's few years ago.

Not to mention Newhaven - Stirling.

[4630]

The Motorail sleeper was Brockenhurst to Stirling and ran for a few years starting, IIRC, during the mid-1970s.   I can't recall if it made it into the 1980s.

 

The service ran during the summer months only as a FO evening departure from Stirling, with a SO morning arrival in Brockenhurst.

 

The return was a SO evening departure from Brockenhurst with a SuO morning arrival in Stirling.

 

The motorail flats stayed at Brockenhurst during Saturday for unloading/loading whilst the sleepers went to Bournemouth Carriage Sidings for servicing. 

 

 

 

The timings and headcodes for the workings in the 1977/78 Working Timetable (WTT) are as follows;

 

1O23      Dep. Stirling 20.20 (Friday) - Arr. Brockenhurst 06.30 (Saturday)

 

5B81      ECS Dep. Brockenhurst 0750 (Saturday) - Arr. Bournemouth Carriage Sidings 08.53 (via Poole for the train engine to run round) 

 

5M63      ECS Dep. Bournemouth Carriage Sidings 18.25 Saturday (via Poole for the train engine to run round) - Arr. Brockenhurst 19.25 

 

1M63      Dep. Brockenhurst 20.35 (Saturday) - Arr. Stirling time not shown in the BR(S) WTT (Sunday)    1M63

 

I'd theorise that the photo is one of the ECS workings, either 5B81 or 5M63.

 

I hope the above is of help/interest. 

Edited December 23, 2017 by 4630