125_driver Posted November 28, 2020 Share Posted November 28, 2020 I have acquired an intercity swallow motorail GUV vehicle, and am trying to ascertain exactly what services it would have been used on. I think by Time the beige swallow livery came around the days of dedicated motorail trains with cars on flat wagons had past so I'm wondering would it have been attached to daytime trains? Sleeper trains? Can anyone give any possible examples, especially WR related of types of services these coaches may have been used on in the intercity swallow time frame (late 80s until privatisation) Many thanks Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Not Captain Kernow Posted November 28, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 28, 2020 Paddington to Penzance Night Riviera was the only WR usage by this time, generally just a single GUV as well. Not WR, but they were also used on the Scottish overnights, image below shows them being shunted at Euston after working in overnight. 5 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EddieK Posted December 4, 2020 Share Posted December 4, 2020 See also the current topic on West Coast DVTs elsewhere on this part of the forum. There are links to pictures of the Euston - Inverness daytime train with GUVs for Motorail use. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
black and decker boy Posted December 5, 2020 Share Posted December 5, 2020 Mainly used on the WCML in the early to mid 90s. There were special loading wagons created and based, IIRC, at Crewe and Carlisle (plus maybe another?) and working London-Crewe-Carlisle-Glasgow-Aberdeen & Inverness & Fort William. I used to go to Carlisle regularly whilst @ Uni so will see what pics I have. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim.snowdon Posted December 5, 2020 Share Posted December 5, 2020 1 hour ago, black and decker boy said: Mainly used on the WCML in the early to mid 90s. There were special loading wagons created and based, IIRC, at Crewe and Carlisle (plus maybe another?) and working London-Crewe-Carlisle-Glasgow-Aberdeen & Inverness & Fort William. I used to go to Carlisle regularly whilst @ Uni so will see what pics I have. They were also used on daytime London (Euston) - Edinburgh (Waverley) services around this time. Jim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrel Posted December 5, 2020 Share Posted December 5, 2020 They were used on the sleeper services to and from Scotland including the fort William service. They were also used on WCML services saw them being unloaded at Glasgow Central and Carlisle. There was a special wagon which allowed them to be sideloaded. Often thought one of those wagons would make an interesting model. A good photo can be found here. https://www.departmentals.com/departmental/96453 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisH-UK Posted December 5, 2020 Share Posted December 5, 2020 3 hours ago, darrel said: They were used on the sleeper services to and from Scotland including the fort William service. They were also used on WCML services saw them being unloaded at Glasgow Central and Carlisle. There was a special wagon which allowed them to be sideloaded. Often thought one of those wagons would make an interesting model. A good photo can be found here. https://www.departmentals.com/departmental/96453 Before the sideloading wagons were used there were dedicated permanent ramps at the loading points. During the era of swallow livery these were at Euston, Carlisle, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Inverness, Fort William. There was also a service from Bristol to Edinburgh but I don't remember where they were loaded at Bristol. I believe there was a facility in Plymouth or Penzance but I can't find a timetable for 1988 or 1989 to confirm. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Crepello Posted December 5, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 5, 2020 I've just stumbled on this topic and it's prompted me to ask about the blue/grey GUV with the Inter-City Motorail legend. My layout covers up to the end of 1981 (guess why), so would this model be suitable? Thanks in anticipation. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigP Posted December 5, 2020 Share Posted December 5, 2020 (edited) -- Edited February 1, 2021 by bigP Deleted 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium keefer Posted December 5, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 5, 2020 I think the one at Edinburgh was similar to that, in one of the East-facing bays (platform 3 or 4?) 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold scottystitch Posted December 5, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 5, 2020 (edited) That is right (although I couldn't confirm the platform numbers...). The platforms were recently extended (by a sizeable length) to accommodate terminating Azumas and 91/Mk4 sets. Edited December 5, 2020 by scottystitch 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
w124bob Posted December 5, 2020 Share Posted December 5, 2020 I had several trips between Preston and Crewe via Bolton, Victoria and Stockport with diverted weekend trains in the late 80's and early 90's, well remember the odd looking formation of the motorail train. Cl 47 DVT plus coaches Cl90 and the GUVs, interestingly there was no driver on the DVT, so you just hoped the Preston driver had gone back and dropped the pan as you rounded the corner at Euxton! Think I woke a few residents up as we climbed Platting bank, fun times! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
montyburns56 Posted December 5, 2020 Share Posted December 5, 2020 2 hours ago, Crepello said: I've just stumbled on this topic and it's prompted me to ask about the blue/grey GUV with the Inter-City Motorail legend. My layout covers up to the end of 1981 (guess why), so would this model be suitable? Thanks in anticipation. Don't quote me on this, but I think that the blue grey Motorail livery was a bit later in the 80s as they were in plain blue in earlier days. 1983 1984 1981 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium keefer Posted December 5, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 5, 2020 Note how some retained sprung buffers/screw couplings whereas others gained retractable buffers/rubbing plates/buckeyes. I thought only the latter were NXX but the photos show both. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium keefer Posted December 5, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 5, 2020 3 hours ago, keefer said: I think the one at Edinburgh was similar to that, in one of the East-facing bays (platform 3 or 4?) 3 hours ago, scottystitch said: That is right (although I couldn't confirm the platform numbers...). The platforms were recently extended (by a sizeable length) to accommodate terminating Azumas and 91/Mk4 sets. Found a picture on RAILSCOT: https://www.railscot.co.uk/img/27/437/ Note the caption was written in anticipation of the remodelling/lengthening mentioned by scottystitch Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Crepello Posted December 6, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 6, 2020 15 hours ago, montyburns56 said: Don't quote me on this, but I think that the blue grey Motorail livery was a bit later in the 80s as they were in plain blue in earlier days. 1983 1984 1981 That was my gut feeling. Thanks Monty. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
montyburns56 Posted December 7, 2020 Share Posted December 7, 2020 On 06/12/2020 at 11:02, Crepello said: That was my gut feeling. Thanks Monty. It's actually remarkably difficult to find pictures of them in blue and grey on the internet, so it does make me wonder just how many of them made it into that livery. in fact I could only find one on Paul Bartlett's site and this one on Twitter. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GordonC Posted December 7, 2020 Share Posted December 7, 2020 On 05/12/2020 at 17:15, keefer said: I think the one at Edinburgh was similar to that, in one of the East-facing bays (platform 3 or 4?) Platforms 8 and 9 it used to be. There were hardly any platforms at the east end at one point with only Platform 1 (as the through platform on the north side), Platform 7 where terminating trains from Kings Cross could arrive in, 8 and 9 where the motorail ramps were and then Platform 10 as the through platform on the south side of the main island. The rest were all filled in at that time. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bomag Posted December 7, 2020 Share Posted December 7, 2020 A none exhaustive list of B/G Motorail GUVs from P5 books. 93337, 93349, 93495, 93656 (NJV?), 93685? Once they got renumbered the livery data is a bit suspect. 96100, 96101 96103, 96104, 96110, 96111, 96130, 96131, 96133, 96134, 96136-152, 96154, 96155, 96157-96161, 96170-96172, 96175, 96176, 96185-96188, 96190-96194 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisH-UK Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 I remember quite distinctly that 96100 was in plain blue in the early 90s so as you say that's suspect, similarly I remember 96176 being in B/G and I just found a photo in the 1988 Ian Allan ABC of 96175 in B/G (photo was from 1987) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Evil Bus Driver Posted December 13, 2020 Share Posted December 13, 2020 When I visited Germany I had to catch a train out of Hamburg to reach Itzehoe. I was fascinated by the ramps on two of the platforms at Altona station and the fact that the cars to go on the Motorail (Autozug) train were just driven across the passenger concourse. They just put up rope barriers around them. Of course they were driven at breakneck speed... Linky: Vehicle ramps at Hamburg Altona station 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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