Western region 1970s

[DY444]

14 minutes ago, caradoc said:

 

One of my colleagues in Glasgow Control, sadly no longer with us, took great delight in purloining foreign locos, usually Class 47s, for internal Scottish Region work; Other than complain, there wasn't really much the owning Region could do about it !

 

 

Of course the counterpoint to that, which the WR employed from time to time, was to send a Western up to New St, or, before Saltley signed them, a class 50.  Whilst not totally foolproof it more often than not ensured they got them back.

Edited October 7, 2020 by DY444

[br2975]

Just a few observations from my notes for 1969 / 1970 ( compiled from a variety of sources ) which may be pertinent ?

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20th. January, 1969  :- D1665 worked a Cardiff – Glazebrook freight via Edgeley Jcn. And Skelton Jcn.

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12th. March, 1969  :-   D7098  86A  derailed in the Bescot area whilst working tanks to Soho Pool.

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15th. April, 1969:- D1111(52A) worked the 00:33 Danygraig – Willesden Freightliner.

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29th. June 1969 (Sunday) :-  D103, D138, D149 & D154 arrived Old Oak Common with special freights from Severn Tunnel Jcn. for  the Southern Region.   All four locos returned light to Severn Tunnel Jcn.

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 6th. July, 1969 (Sunday) :- D79, D102 & D103 arrived Old Oak Common with special freights from Severn Tunnel Jcn. for  the Southern Region, also D119 & D154  arrived at Acton with a special freights from Severn Tunnel Jcn. for  the Southern Region; and  D36, D84 & D112 arrived at Didcot with special freights from Severn Tunnel Jcn. for  Temple Mills, which were worked forward by Eastern Region Cl.47s.

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Commencing 5th. October, 1969:- A Crewe (D05) Cl.47 runs to Oakdale Colliery, and Jersey Marine to work coal trains for Carlisle.

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30th. January, 1970 :- D7099 arrived at Temple Mills (ER) with a Morris Cowley – Felixstowe train of cars. D1588 (86A) worked the 17:30 Liverpol Street – Yarmouth to Norwich. Booked return working being 7V06 Norwich – Stoke Gifford.

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12th. February, 1970:- D1593 (86A) worked the 17:30 Liverpol Street – Yarmouth to Norwich. Booked return working being 7V06 Norwich – Stke Gifford.

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19th. February, 1970:- D1933 (82A) works the 4V61 23:25 Harwich Parkeston Quay – Swansea (Danygraig) Freightliner.

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9th. March, 1970:- D1604 (87A) stabled on Stratford, 30A,  depot.

1753 (82A) works the 4V61 23:25 Harwich Parkeston Quay – Swansea (Danygraig) Freightliner

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10th. March, 1970 :- D7067 (86A) worked a Margam – Adswood Sidings special van train throughout. Returning from  Adswood 20:40 L/E to Hereford.

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23rd. April, 1970:-   D6805 worked the 02:45 Severn Tunnel Jcn. – Temple Mills,  and                      D6915 worked the 07:05 Severn Tunnel Jcn. – Temple Mills, but, as Old Oak Common men had no knowledge of Cl.37s  D6915 returned from Acton on the 14:10 Acton – Radyr.

24th. April, 1970:- D6915 worked the 02:45 Severn Tunnel Jcn. – Temple Mills, being worked forward  from Didcot by Stratford men off the previous night’s 20:20 Norwich – Bristol freight.

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1st. May, 1970, Friday:- D1655 (87A) worked the 17:30 Liverpol Street – Yarmouth to Norwich. Booked return working being 7V06 Norwich – Stke Gifford.                                                                   This was the last day WR locos were allocated to this diagram

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Brian R

 

 

 

 

Edited October 7, 2020 by br2975

[keefer]

Just remembered, certainly in the '70s that WR excursions to the Kent Coast tended to work right through with the same loco. (LMR trains via the electric lines tended to change to SR traction in the London area)

Quite common for freight to the SR too.

 

Edited October 8, 2020 by keefer

[DY444]

38 minutes ago, keefer said:

Just remembered, certainly in the '70s that WR excursions to the Kent Coast tended to work right through with the same loco. (LMR trains via the electric lines tended to change to SR traction in the London area)

Quite common for freight to the SR too.

 

 

Some excursions, SAGAs etc to Kent and Sussex were routed via the MML.  These usually changed to/from a 33 at Brent for the SR part of the journey too and were often Class 45s on the MML.

 

In more general terms I think we tend to forget now how sought after class 47s were in some parts of the country in the early 1970s.  The ScR wanted them to replace Class 40s on its longer distance internal services and had to use pairs of Type 2s on the sleepers because it couldn't get them.  The ER had to use Class 46s and 40s on a few ECML trains because it couldn't get enough.  The LMR had to use Class 40s in North Wales for similar reasons.  The Trans-Pennines were largely Class 40s because that's all that could be provided etc etc.  

Edited October 8, 2020 by DY444

[pheaton]

16 hours ago, DY444 said:

 

Of course the counterpoint to that, which the WR employed from time to time, was to send a Western up to New St, or, before Saltley signed them, a class 50.  Whilst not totally foolproof it more often than not ensured they got them back.

Not to mention artificially restricting 47s to 75mph...or hacksawing through the ETH on 31s  I seem to recall CE 33s were the same....they had their ETH permanently disabled so they couldn't be borrowed for passenger duties.... Its covered quite a bit in the book 50 years of class 47s...where intercity 47s were ending up on ballast duties and what process they had to go through to recover costs..

[TravisM]

I remember doing a adex from Weston-super-Mare  to Edinburgh in the mid 70’s and we had a BR based Class 47 throughout for the trip up and a HA Class 47, again throughout on the return journey.

[The Johnster]

47s were, in the early 70s, signed for traction knowledge by almost every depot and booking on point in the country except parts of the Southern, and were thus easily manned for 'borrow' work, and could thus be seen all over the network irrespective of where they were from.  They were the default at Canton on excursion work, especially mystex, because they were easy to provide traincrew relief for.  On a mystex, the crews were not informed of the train's destination in order to help preserve the surprise until the last crew relief, by which time the destination was obvious to anyone with the least knowledge of railway geography.  

 

The scene is one of the Cardiff Valleys early one morning in the 70s, all stations to Newport with a mystex, 47 and 10 mk1s, 'B' stock with B1 bogies 75mph rated.  The guard, a much slimmer and younger Johnster with long hair, is walking through the train looking for girls to chat up later.  'Where we goyin', then, guard'?  'Dunno'.  'Ask the driver next time we stop then'.  'Ok, but he doesn't know either'.  'WHAT!!?'; come off it, 'ee's the driver, how do 'ee know where to steer the train then'? 

'He doesn't' (note how I've kept things a bit vague here), 'he just makes it go'.  'Ewer 'aving us on, butty boyo, we're not daft' (well, you are a bit, aren't you, you think drivers steer trains and you think I'm telling you where we're going, which I wouldn't even if I knew which I don't.  All I know, and all the driver knows, is that we are working the train to Hereford/Gloucester/Swindon/Westbury/Taunton and getting relieved there, then we're coming home on the cushions).  

 

I liked working mystex, they had a lovely atmosphere to them with everybody involved out for a fun day, and if you worked the return leg they'd all be asleep with happy faces.  It was a very long day out, the train usually leaving Treherbert or Rhymni (there was no run around at Merthyr in those days) at about 05.30 and getting back around midnight.  The punters were used to it and well equipped with sarnies, Thermos, and beer.  They knew the game perfectly well of course, the above was just banter.  Destinations could be anywhere, mostly seaside resorts in summer and city destinations the rest of the year, and often catered to the enthusiast element as well. so that a destination at, say, Portsmouth, would include the option of a tour around Eastleigh works.  There were pretty long haul trips, one I recall went to Whitby (option of NYMR).  Office staff worked overtime as stewards, including I believe Mike Stationmaster of this parish, smartly dressed with British Rail ties; the Valleys girls 'ad 'em for breakfast!  They were the only people on the train who knew where it was 'goying', and were sworn to secrecty, meaning that they hid in the van as much. as possible to avoid the interrogations...

 

Always a 47, same loco out and back.

[brushman47544]

22 hours ago, DY444 said:

 

Of course the counterpoint to that, which the WR employed from time to time, was to send a Western up to New St, or, before Saltley signed them, a class 50.  Whilst not totally foolproof it more often than not ensured they got them back.

 

That trick was deployed pretty widely on workings to areas known to be short of Type 4 motive power - send out something that had to be sent back.

[jonny777]

In the late 1960s, the practice of changing locos at Bristol began to be dispensed with on summer Saturdays and August Bank holiday due to the aforementioned shortage of locomotives. 

 

I remember my own disgust on my first afternoon spotting at Dawlish (10th August 1968), while on holiday with my parents, when D14 turned up on a passenger train.  My thought was 'I have come all this way, and what do I see but a locomotive I had seen a couple of weeks earlier at Nottingham'. 

 

D14 appeared the following Saturday (17/8/68), along with D70. However those paled into less significance when D1979 passed on a holiday service. My locoshed book indicated that this was a Knottingley loco at the time, which might have explained the jumping up and down of a few young locals on the sea wall. 

[The Stationmaster]

43 minutes ago, The Johnster said:

47s were, in the early 70s, signed for traction knowledge by almost every depot and booking on point in the country except parts of the Southern, and were thus easily manned for 'borrow' work, and could thus be seen all over the network irrespective of where they were from.  They were the default at Canton on excursion work, especially mystex, because they were easy to provide traincrew relief for.  On a mystex, the crews were not informed of the train's destination in order to help preserve the surprise until the last crew relief, by which time the destination was obvious to anyone with the least knowledge of railway geography.  

 

The scene is one of the Cardiff Valleys early one morning in the 70s, all stations to Newport with a mystex, 47 and 10 mk1s, 'B' stock with B1 bogies 75mph rated.  The guard, a much slimmer and younger Johnster with long hair, is walking through the train looking for girls to chat up later.  'Where we goyin', then, guard'?  'Dunno'.  'Ask the driver next time we stop then'.  'Ok, but he doesn't know either'.  'WHAT!!?'; come off it, 'ee's the driver, how do 'ee know where to steer the train then'? 

'He doesn't' (note how I've kept things a bit vague here), 'he just makes it go'.  'Ewer 'aving us on, butty boyo, we're not daft' (well, you are a bit, aren't you, you think drivers steer trains and you think I'm telling you where we're going, which I wouldn't even if I knew which I don't.  All I know, and all the driver knows, is that we are working the train to Hereford/Gloucester/Swindon/Westbury/Taunton and getting relieved there, then we're coming home on the cushions).  

 

I liked working mystex, they had a lovely atmosphere to them with everybody involved out for a fun day, and if you worked the return leg they'd all be asleep with happy faces.  It was a very long day out, the train usually leaving Treherbert or Rhymni (there was no run around at Merthyr in those days) at about 05.30 and getting back around midnight.  The punters were used to it and well equipped with sarnies, Thermos, and beer.  They knew the game perfectly well of course, the above was just banter.  Destinations could be anywhere, mostly seaside resorts in summer and city destinations the rest of the year, and often catered to the enthusiast element as well. so that a destination at, say, Portsmouth, would include the option of a tour around Eastleigh works.  There were pretty long haul trips, one I recall went to Whitby (option of NYMR).  Office staff worked overtime as stewards, including I believe Mike Stationmaster of this parish, smartly dressed with British Rail ties; the Valleys girls 'ad 'em for breakfast!  They were the only people on the train who knew where it was 'goying', and were sworn to secrecty, meaning that they hid in the van as much. as possible to avoid the interrogations...

 

Always a 47, same loco out and back.

You forgot to mention what some of the 'lady' passengers were seemingly very happily prepared to offer in exchange for learning the destination   And there was normally one person, the Courier to give them their official title,  on the train leaving Cardiff, if not earlier, who knew exactly where it was going and very importantly, what time the return working would be leaving from that mystery destination.

 

Incidentally the ladies of middling age were undoubtedly the worst but to anyone familiar with Canton's female Carriage Cleaners they were totally harmless,  mere pussy cats to keep amused and entertained (in the nicest possible manner).  There were incidentally quite a number of chaps who when asked to volunteer to cover a Courier job disappeared out of Marland House so fast they almost left scorch marks in their tracks round the corner to The Great Western - it wasn't necessarily a popular job (especially if they found out the train was going to take them to Bristol Zoo).

[Rivercider]

32 minutes ago, brushman47544 said:

 

That trick was deployed pretty widely on workings to areas known to be short of Type 4 motive power - send out something that had to be sent back.

I have mentioned this before on other threads, but I remember one particular special freight working in the late 1970s.

Kingsland Road Yard in Bristol had an unusually large amount of Southern traffic on hand. I think a batch of 10 or more VVVs (vanfits) from ICI Severnside to Chichester, and possibly also import coal from Avonmouth Docks for southern destinations. The Bristol Area Freight Assistant tried for a couple of nights to get a special to Eastleigh to clear them, but was denied because the only power available was either a 31 or 47. On the third night the train ran with a class 50 because Southern men did not sign them at that time so they knew it would come back.

 

cheers 

[johnw1]

I was very fortunate in the late 1960's and early 70's that I had a friend who worked in the control office in Nottingham. He was always able to get the train timing details and therefore the destination for the East Midlands Mystex's a few days beforehand and I could then decide if it had sufficient rail interest to warrant pocket money expenditure. I did play the game and did not let on to the rest of the train passengers I knew where we were going. 

[br2975]

The BR (WR) Cardiff Division poached the 'Mystery Excursion' from the neighbouring 'Bristol Division, and refined the idea to such an extent that several would be run from locations across South Wales, all converging on some unsuspecting seaside resort (in summer) or major city (in winter).

.

Usually, such excursions could start from :-

(i) Burry Port, picking up at Llanelli

(ii) Swansea picking up at Port Talbot, Neath and Bridgend

(iii) Bridgend, picking up at Cardiff and Newport

(iv) Cardiff, picking up at  Newport

(v) Treherbert picking up at stations to Cardiff

(vi) Rhymney, picking up at stations to Cardiff.

(vii) Aberdare, picking up at stations to Cardiff......but this was in later years, but still long before passenger services resumed in the Cynon Valley.

As 'Johnster' mentioned previously, with the run round taken out at Merthyr, it was not considered as a starting point.

I don't recall any Mystexes originating from Barry, but that's not to say they didn't

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However, the ever shrewd occupants of Marland House were not averse to running an additional DMU connecting service between Merthyr & Pontypridd, allowing punters from the head of the Taff Vale to connect into, and later return from the Treherbert excursions.

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Those excursions starting from Rhymney would use the 'Big Hill' from Aber Junction down to Walnut Tree Jct at Taffs Well in order to join the Taff Vale main line towards Cardiff.

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Having gained the TV 'main line' the excursions emanating from both Treherbert and Rhymney would then turn right at Radyr Junction and thread their way past Radyr Yard and use the PH&D (Penarth Harbour & Dock) line, now the 'City Line' in order for the trains to join the SWML at Cardiff West and negate any need to run round / reverse at Cardiff General.

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Destinations over the years included :- Plymouth, Dawlish, Teignmouth, Portsmouth, Eastbourne, Brighton, Margate, Ramsgate, Southend-on-Sea, Norwich, Birmingham, Sheffield, Leicester, Manchester, Liverpool, Llandudno.......... etc

There never seemed to be enough coaching stock available to fulfil the full programme on many occasions, especially when, in the early 70s, such trains ran midweek, as well as on Saturdays and Sundays.

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The Weekly Notices would make interesting reading, with ECS workings from say Malago Vale to Burry Port or Swansea High Street for a Saturday excursion, then ECS back to Canton for cleaning, then a Sunday excursion, before returning ECS back to Bristol early Monday morning.

.

To us Cardiff based spotters, it was a all a game;

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We never booked on an excursion that picked up as follows:-

Newport, Cardiff, Bridgend

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We'd clamour for ones that picked up as follows:-

Cardiff, Newport, Pontypool Road

or 

Cardiff, Newport, Severn Tunnel Jct and Lydney.

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Invariably, the motive power was a Canton Cl.47, for ease of diagramming purposes.

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If your train turned up behind a 'Western' there would be a great gnashing of teeth - as the only upside may be Paddington, but the destinations with a 'thousand' were more likely to be Dawlish, Teignmouth or Plymouth.

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'Mystery Excursions' were not the only such beasts organised by the staff at Marland House.

e.g.

"Monkey Specials" had run for years from locations in South Wales to Clifton Down,for Bristol Zoo.

"Edex" or Educational Excursions would run from even more unusual locations in South Wales (Pantyffynnon springs to mind) taking school parties to Slough for Windsor Castle, or Kensington Olympia for the Science Museum, Portsmouth Harbour for HMS Victory and Cradley Heath  for ???? ( I know, but who else does ?).

"Holiday Preview" specials - which got me my first visit to the Isle of Wight, as the ferry fare was included.

"Illuminations Specials" to, where else ?, but Blackpool.

'Footexes'

'Rugexes'

The WR 'London Division' ran successful "Pied Piper" specials to various locations, usually employing ten car Pressed Steel DMU sets.

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There were many other extras which operated locally in the early 70s

Workingmen's Clubs occasonally chartered a DMU from somewhere 'up the valleys' to Barry Island, or an existing service maybe strengthened with an additional set.

Workings extended, or extras run to Barry Pier for the P&A Campbell sailings.

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I may be showing my age by remembering, and experiencing  these workings, but there are many members of RMweb who left the erecting shop too late to have had such glorious times; which, sadly, with today's "privatised railway" I doubt such trains would be impossible to operate, in the numbers we experienced..

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I've always said, "If I ever met the chap who introduced the Mystery Excursion to the Western Reigion, I stand him a pint !" that's the least I could do.

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Brian R

 

Edited October 9, 2020 by br2975

[The Johnster]

On 08/10/2020 at 15:31, The Stationmaster said:

You forgot to mention what some of the 'lady' passengers were seemingly very happily prepared to offer in exchange for learning the destination   And there was normally one person, the Courier to give them their official title,  on the train leaving Cardiff, if not earlier, who knew exactly where it was going and very importantly, what time the return working would be leaving from that mystery destination.

 

Incidentally the ladies of middling age were undoubtedly the worst but to anyone familiar with Canton's female Carriage Cleaners they were totally harmless,  mere pussy cats to keep amused and entertained (in the nicest possible manner).  There were incidentally quite a number of chaps who when asked to volunteer to cover a Courier job disappeared out of Marland House so fast they almost left scorch marks in their tracks round the corner to The Great Western - it wasn't necessarily a popular job (especially if they found out the train was going to take them to Bristol Zoo).

Like I said, 'ad you for breakfast...  Smartly dressed well groomed office juniors, you had 'em drooling I'm sure, Mike.  

 

Canton female carriage cleaners were the hardest working bunch of women I've ever encountered, and were pretty scary.  If one was walking along a path in the opposite direction you stood aside if you had any instinct for self preservation.  There was a type, small, wiry, and aggressive.  The only thing they were scared of was the shed cats, and frankly, if I'd been a Tyrannosaurus with an attitude problem, I'd have still been scared of a Canton shed cat.  On the payroll as ratcatchers, the carriage cleaning foreman had a budget for food and vetinary for them.  Again, there was a type.  It was a big muscly type with a small head and face, often with chunks of fur and the odd eye or ear missing, it's heart set on thuggery and it's mind set on larceny, preferably with extreme violence.  If they couldn't see a rat to kill and eat, then they left you in no doubt that you were a perfectly acceptable alternative

[The Johnster]

There were also the occasional railtours that would include several Valleys lines.  I worked one of these on a warm summer Saturday once in about 1973 or 4, organised by Worcester Locomotive Society IIRC and consisting of a 3-car 117 or 118 set.  I relieved a Worcester guard at Cardiff Central, and picked up a pilot guard at Radyr, as we were going to be going off grid a bit!  The van had been converted to a bar and bookshop.  

 

We ran via the Radyr Quarry line and the initial foray was Penderyn, the only time I ever went there by rail.  On the way back we stabled for an hour or so at Mountain Ash, still a scene of a good bit of steam action, so the entire trainload decamped onto the NCB system.  One of the organising chappies mentioned that the toilets had run out of water, so I went up to the signal box to phone Control to arrange for water to be provided at Pontypridd, where we were to reverse before the next part of the adventure, Maerdy.  

 

The next piece of action was pure slapstick, as a couple of porters attacked the toilet tank hatches on the centre trailer at Ponty with a stepladder on wheels and buckets; there was apparently no hose available.  Me and the Radyr pilot joined in the bucket chain and everybody ended up soaked, to the considerable amusement of everyone that didn't...  it was a warm day and to be honest I was glad of the cooling down!

 

Maerdy was another first and only for me, and the set struggled a bit on the bank.  This meant that people came out of their house to see what the strange noise was; I think we were the first dmu up there since the branch closed a decade earlier, though there had been a few 37 hauled railtours.  By the time we came back, whole streets were out to see the strange beast, and shouted enquiries as to the re-opening...  

 

We dropped the Radyr men (my driver had a route pilot as well) and were relieved at Cardiff Central.  A full day out of fun and games; I had enjoyed myself hugely and the Radyr chaps entered into the general spirit of the outing as well.  And this was a Saturday Rest Day on overtime, double rate pay.  Sometimes it was a shame to take the money, but I never gave any of it back...

[Halvarras]

Being a huge fan of Hymeks (no change there) I had to get a seat on the Swansong tour of 22/9/73, which I boarded at Reading. This put me on the Western Region's railtour mailing list and I subsequently took up invites to travel on:

3/11/73 - the last trains up what was left of the Lambourne Valley branch from Newbury, as far as Welford Park ISTR (Class 118/117/118 DMU)

4/5/74 - London Outer Circle Tour (Class 118 + 101 trailer/117/117 DMU, noted 47401 (ex-D1500) on Willesden depot!?)

27/9/75 - Paddington (from Reading again) to what were then known as the Torbay Steam Railway & Dart Valley Railway (powered by 50033.......this was a bitter disappointment, a Western had been anticipated and we thought our luck was in when D1022 hove into view at Reading but that was on 1M11 to Brum...... nooooooo!!....... but at least the '50' completed the day successfully; steam-hauled on the preserved lines of course, the train length pretty much overwhelmed Buckfastleigh but forward planning had pannier 1638 held at Staverton for the return working to Totnes)

22/5/76 - Paddington to Paignton excursion which I boarded at Newbury and alighted at Teignmouth for my one and only ever walk along the sea wall as far as Langstone Rock, where I noted my first flush-fronted Peak real-world 46016 followed by my last-required Class 50 50034 - result!! (Powered by 31416 + 31419, two of OC's "finest" given a day out on the English Riviera, very nice! A pity the weather was overcast and Westerns a bit thin on the ground that day though.....)

 

Back OT, sort of, anybody interested in a list of known Eastern Region Class 45/46/47s which somehow managed to make it over the Tamar and all the way through to Penzance in 1970?

[The Stationmaster]

One thing the London Division did was to use the 'Inter City' DMUs on some Mystex workings although I don't think they ever went off the Region.  I did the Minehead branch on one because although it was a Mystex I happened to know where it was going andI'd never done the Minehead branch so on it I went - and they were comfy sets to travel on.

 

Brian's (br2975) list didn't include Crankexes and they were normally run for railway societies and normally went to out of the way places where passenger trains didn't normally venture or had long ceased to venture using a variety of motive power ranging from loco hauled right down to DMUs.  They were normally great fun but could be a bit of nuisance at times - there was one to Cranmore in the mid 1970s and someone on the DMO Bristol rang me to agree the arrangements and when he told me the load I replied that it was one coach too long.  

 

There then ensued a debate as to whether or not it was too long and I was told very firmly that he had checked the line diagrams and there was definitely room for it to runround.  On the day we found out just how good he wasn't at understanding line diagrams and it took us more than 40 minutes to runround the thing because as soon as it was clear at one end it was foul at the other and we had to start again.  Fortunately I had a very experienced Chargeman as one of the two doing the shunting and in the end he applied an old trick of pulling the vacuum pipe off the dummy at the rear end of the train to stop it in just the right place to allow the 1000 to squeeze past while two of us at the other end made sure it didn't go too far at that end - the loco got past the other end with no more than about 3 inches clearance and no more than a foot at our end.  The following Monday included what might best be described as an 'interesting' 'phone conversation with the self-appointed 'expert' in Bristol followed by a letter fro me imposing a length limit on loco hauled passenger stock working to and running round at Cranmore.

[caradoc]

I never travelled on a 1970s Mystex (probably couldn't justify spending my pocket money on a trip to somewhere that might, or more likely would not, be a worthwhile spotting location), but the Holiday Preview trains were good. We did one to Blackpool, immediately on arrival at Blackpool North, then in the throes of reconstruction, rather than head for the fleshpots we took the first train back to Preston !

[owentherail]

20 hours ago, br2975 said:

The BR (WR) Cardiff Division poached the 'Mystery Excursion' from the neighbouring 'Bristol Division, and refined the idea to such an extent that several would be run from locations across South Wales, all converging on some unsuspecting seaside resort (in summer) or major city (in winter).

.

Usually, such excursions could start from :-

(i) Burry Port, picking up at Llanelli

(ii) Swansea picking up at Port Talbot, Neath and Bridgend

(iii) Bridgend, picking up at Cardiff and Newport

(iv) Cardiff, picking up at  Newport

(v) Treherbert picking up at stations to Cardiff

(vi) Rhymney, picking up at stations to Cardiff.

(vii) Aberdare, picking up at stations to Cardiff......but this was in later years, but still long before passenger services resumed in the Cynon Valley.

As 'Johnster' mentioned previously, with the run round taken out at Merthyr, it was not considered as a starting point.

I don't recall any Mystexes originating from Barry, but that's not to say they didn't

.

However, the ever shrewd occupants of Marland House were not averse to running an additional DMU connecting service between Merthyr & Pontypridd, allowing punters from the head of the Taff Vale to connect into, and later return from the Treherbert excursions.

.

Those excursions starting from Rhymney would use the 'Big Hill' from Aber Junction down to Walnut Tree Jct at Taffs Well in order to join the Taff Vale main line towards Cardiff.

.

Having gained the TV 'main line' the excursions emanating from both Treherbert and Rhymney would then turn right at Radyr Junction and thread their way past Radyr Yard and use the PH&D (Penarth Harbour & Dock) line, now the 'City Line' in order for the trains to join the SWML at Cardiff West and negate any need to run round / reverse at Cardiff General.

.

Destinations over the years included :- Plymouth, Dawlish, Teignmouth, Portsmouth, Eastbourne, Brighton, Margate, Ramsgate, Southend-on-Sea, Norwich, Birmingham, Sheffield, Leicester, Manchester, Liverpool, Llandudno.......... etc

There never seemed to be enough coaching stock available to fulfil the full programme on many occasions, especially when, in the early 70s, such trains ran midweek, as well as on Saturdays and Sundays.

.

The Weekly Notices would make interesting reading, with ECS workings from say Malago Vale to Burry Port or Swansea High Street for a Saturday excursion, then ECS back to Canton for cleaning, then a Sunday excursion, before returning ECS back to Bristol early Monday morning.

.

To us Cardiff based spotters, it was a all a game;

.

We never booked on an excursion that picked up as follows:-

Newport, Cardiff, Bridgend

.

We'd clamour for ones that picked up as follows:-

Cardiff, Newport, Pontypool Road

or 

Cardiff, Newport, Severn Tunnel Jct and Lydney.

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Invariably, the motive power was a Canton Cl.47, for ease of diagramming purposes.

.

If your train turned up behind a 'Western' there would be a great gnashing of teeth - as the only upside may be Paddington, but the destinations with a 'thousand' were more likely to be Dawlish, Teignmouth or Plymouth.

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'Mystery Excursions' were not the only such beasts organised by the staff at Marland House.

e.g.

"Monkey Specials" had run for years from locations in South Wales to Clifton Down,for Bristol Zoo.

"Edex" or Educational Excursions would run from even more unusual locations in South Wales (Pantyffynnon springs to mind) taking school parties to Slough for Windsor Castle, or Kensington Olympia for the Science Museum, Portsmouth Harbour for HMS Victory and Cradley Heath  for ???? ( I know, but who else does ?).

"Holiday Preview" specials - which got me my first visit to the Isle of Wight, as the ferry fare was included.

"Illuminations Specials" to, where else ?, but Blackpool.

'Footexes'

'Rugexes'

The WR 'London Division' ran successful "Pied Piper" specials to various locations, usually employing ten car Pressed Steel DMU sets.

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There were many other extras which operated locally in the early 70s

Workingmen's Clubs occasonally chartered a DMU from somewhere 'up the valleys' to Barry Island, or an existing service maybe strengthened with an additional set.

Workings extended, or extras run to Barry Pier for the P&A Campbell sailings.

.

I may be showing my age by remembering, and experiencing  these workings, but there are many members of RMweb who left the erecting shop too late to have had such glorious times; which, sadly, with today's "privatised railway" I doubt such trains would be impossible to operate, in the numbers we experienced..

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I've always said, "If I ever met the chap who introduced the Mystery Excursion to the Western Reigion, I stand him a pint !" that's the least I could do.

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Brian R

 

The only thing that was any interest in cradley heath was the speedway

 

[Halvarras]

9 hours ago, Neil Phillips said:

.....first flush-fronted Peak real-world 46016.....

 

It certainly was in the "real-world" but it was also "ex-works", which is what I wrote. Sorry, it was well past my bed-time (yawn) and didn't notice........

[Fat Controller]

Cradley Heath? Dudley Zoo? or Merry Hill Shopping Centre.

[Dave47549]

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Edited October 4, 2021 by Dave47549
Removed pointless guff

[MJI]

Never done a mystery but done a few Merry Makers, been to Portsmouth (and IoW) 47, Heart of Wales 37, S&C twice 47s, I enjoyed them.

[Rugd1022]

On 06/10/2020 at 19:15, stovepipe said:

The motive power reports in the railway monthlies from the early 1970s are full of sightings of 47s etc from far flung depots, well out of region, which don't seem remarkable at all to those familiar with late 70's/early 80s scene, but does show that the regional boundaries were breaking down more generally by then, particularly with block freight services - which had started the trend for long out and back services in the middle 1960s.

 

Similarly Westerns were quite often sighted at the southern end of the MML and WCML in the same period on presumably cross-London freights, and later I can remember seeing several 33s and even a 73 on the GWML between Old Oak and Reading in the later 1970s.

 

Spot on observations there Stovepipe. Those old traffic reports often made a point of reporting the off region jaunts of the named WR 47s in particular, more so in the pre-Tops era up to late '73 and into early '74.

 

Reports of Hydraulics getting onto the southern half of the MML stood out, as did anything Hydraulic venturing up into Shropshire or Cheshire after about 1969. Even Hymeks turning up at New Street was newsworthy in those days and indeed when two of the remaining fleet were spotted at Banbury on Padd - Brum jobs in the same week in 1973 it was quite an occasion. The odd Western or Warship would be spotted at Rugby or Bletchley on the diverted Stoke - BZ clayliner too, usually with a Bescot driver conducting the WR men. For a while Westerns worked a stone train to Wolverton and would go up to Northampton to run round before heading back south to their home turf.

[The Johnster]

Back in my spotting days, any cheap method of accessing the northwest of England was to be pounced on, and 1966/7/8 saw us taking advantages of Grand National excursions to Aintree.  These would feature a Canton 47 as far as Edge Hill, where an Edge Hill loco would attach to the rear for the convoluted tunnels and curved cuttings to Aintree.  In '67 we had a tender first Black 5, 25s the other two years.  We had a choice of abandoning ship at Edge Hill or using Aintree as staging post to change at Ormskirk forPreston, and thus Carnforth, Lostock Hall, and Rose Grove.  We were unlucky with the Ormskirk-Preston section, only getting a Black 5 once and she wasn't up to the job.

 

The 'sporting gentlemen' who were our travelling companions on the excursion were bemused/confused  somewhat by all this, but tolerant and an unending supply of beer and sandwiches.