Southernman46 Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 We've all done it - slept too long, too sozzled, just inattentive........... Today, due a combination of a too sharp train crew (trying to regain some lost time) and me not getting off quick enough, I achieved some rare passenger mileage from Bedwyn station into Bedwyn reversing siding and back...... What's your story...............? The late running was due to being looped at Newbury in a Class 1 passenger train (before the platform) whilst an empty stone train (that we had already overtaken in a loop) was put past us via the platform at Newbury and we then preceded to catch up again - quite the worst piece of regulation I've witnessed for a while............ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 96701 Posted June 7, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 7, 2012 Bolton bus depot after a trip from Manchester on a late bus. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold chris p bacon Posted June 7, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 7, 2012 15/6 years old on a Midland region railrover in 1978, should of got off at Carlisle to catch an up service for some sleep but we nodded off, came to and looked out the window and saw a yard that we didn't recognise, as the guard walked past we asked him where it was "Kingmoor" came the reply, where does this stop next "Perth" he said .......B****r we said ! It was terrible....... we got looked after by the TTi's in Perth when we arrived and got sent back on a Motorail service in a first class compartment at no cost, back through motherwell yard this time in daylight, and left the train in Carlisle. So went on a Midland rover and came back with a load of scottish stuff in my book! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Kazmierczak Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 Once ended up in Aberystwyth when I wanted to go to Pwllheli. Was travelling on the overnight train from York but obviously my mispronunciation of Machynlleth rather foxed the guard when I asked him to wake me there and I awoke at Borth. More recently I had trouble on the same line. I wanted to get off at Dovey Junction but the coach doors wouldn't release when I pressed them, so end up at Machynlleth instead. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsforever Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 In the seventies a group of us were going to Bristol model railway show,waited at Reading train arrived, board announced Bristol.Got on enjoying trip when someone said thats a long tunnel weve just been through,next thing Newport station us and a lot of angry passengers waited on platform.We then got on a Cardif to Weymouth excursion and got off at Bristol chatted up some lovely Welsh girls on the way!!! enjoyed our diversion. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penlan Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 Woking, should have been Winchester.... Ok, the details, in the 60's I travelled by bus from Winchester where I lived to Southampton for either social reasons or to play in a band. When we finished too late for a bus back, the we caught the mail train from Soton Central, which went to Soton Docks and finally made it's way up to Waterloo. It was some time before it got to Winchester, the heating was invariably on, the evenings embibing was taking it's toll and sleep descended long before Eastleigh. I seemed to wake up in time for Woking, off the train in the early hours, something like 2.30 - 3.00am and sit on a bench on the platform till around 5am to catch a train back to Winchester.... change and into work. Both the up and down trains seemed to have more parcel carriages than passenger ones. I did it often enough for the Station night porter at Woking to know me. A once only occasion Glasgow, should have been Edinburgh. Again in the early 60's just before Christmas, late train at a time when there were trains that split the coaches for different destinations. Told I was in the right coach for Edinburgh (going onto Arbroath - Family home), settled down, dark outside, raining anyway, so mucky windows and restricted vision. Surprised to find myself in Glasgow Central at about midnight.......... Everywhere closed, no food, cold, and no train for some time to get me back on course.... Oh yes, happy nights!!!!!!!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted June 7, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 7, 2012 After an over-running meeting in London I needed to get back to the office in Swindon before going home to Reading. Bit of a b*gger having to pass within a mile of my front door but these things happen and there it was. But in my rush to get onto a train at Paddington I didn't look at the departure indicator very closely and didn't realise my error until we approached Swindon at a pace which clearly indicated that either we weren't going to stop or there was going to be a significant derailment - the train remained upright and I alighted at the next stop, Bristol Parkway; so in all my keenness I never did get back to the office and went home to Reading for a late dinner instead. That one was my fault but there was one good one which wasn't when someone forgot to tell me that a meeting venue had been changed at short notice and I went to York as originally planned - but at least I got to Crewe in time for the lunch: who said meetings are a waste of time? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southernman46 Posted June 7, 2012 Author Share Posted June 7, 2012 2nd one from me In the early days of the "Gatwick Express" - for a period the non-stop service stopped at East Croydon (some sort of customer testing??) anyway working at EC and coming from Victoria I availed myself of this opportunity for 73 haul/pushage............until the Monday morning when they stopped doing it...........one unsheduled visit to Gatwick.......... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Natalie Graham Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 At Abergele and Pensarn aged about 6 or 7 and going on holiday with the family including my brother-in-law who had his leg in plaster following a motorbike accident and who had never been on a train before :shock: Tow elderly women had stacked their luggage in the vestibule in readiness for getting off who knows where further down the line blocking the route to the door. By the time they had made room for us to get through and my brother-in-law had worked out there was no handle on the inside of the door and you had to open the window and open it from the outside, then negotiated his way to the platform with a broken leg and crutches and my Dad had followed him the gaurd had decided there was no-one getting off and without going out far enough to see the whole train round the outside of the curved platform whistled for the off and away the train went with me half way out of the open door. My dad ran alongside the train and managed to slam the door shut, then aparently went to the station booking office and told them what happened as very apologetic and concerned staff were waiting for us, and the guard, at Colwyn Bay and got us a taxi back to Abergele. Not very far past the intended destination but something of a scary experience for a small child. Another one was not past the destination but a very convoluted way of gettng us there that took us to some very unusual places. The train from Sheffield to Plymouth was diverted due to a derailment an New Street. We were the first train to be affected and our journey saw us trecking some little used rail byways, single goods only lines which were normally closed on Saturdays meaning the signal boxes were not manned. At every crossing the train had to stop while the guard opened the gates, then closed them again after the train had gone through before he climbed back on board. we had several of those before we started encountering manned boxes as the railway had called out staff to work them. All the time our guard was going up and down the complaining loudly about the Great Western and saying that sort of thing would never happen on the London and North Eastern. This was in the early seventies. I guess old loyalties die hard. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Natalie Graham Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 A once only occasion Glasgow, should have been Edinburgh. Ah the split at Carstairs Junction. It nearly caught me out once as well. I happened to see a railwayman walk past the carriage with a red lamp and realised the train was being split. I ran out and asked him and found I was in the Edinburgh bit when I was heading for Glasgow. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 Rapperswil, Switzerland. And that was accidentally on purpose..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penlan Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 Re. Penlan's trip to Glasgow - Ah the split at Carstairs Junction. It nearly caught me out once as well. I happened to see a railwayman walk past the carriage with a red lamp and realised the train was being split. I ran out and asked him and found I was in the Edinburgh bit when I was heading for Glasgow. I think your right, Carstairs Junct., but with it being dark outside, raining, and hands on a pair of legs in nylons (not tights in those days ) I may not have been giving the train's location or activities my full attention - we eventually married BTW.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Kazmierczak Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 On an excursion from Derby to Plymouth via Leicester, on the return due to the line being closed around Long Eaton we were sent via Castle Donington and then up the little-used line through Chellaston to Derby. My one and only time along that route - it was closed shortly afterwards. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
talisman56 Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 In the late 70s there were a few people in the office who knocked off at the same time and caught the same train South from LB towards Brighton - the Friday night after payday we would have a drink and meal and catch the 23:59 ex Victoria-Brighton/Hastings (split at Haywards Heath) - going by the previous "On the hour, In the hour" services it should have left at midnight, and the WTT said that, but they couldn't make up their minds whether they should represent midnight as 24:00 or 00:00 in the Public Timetable, so 23:59 it was... The last three of us were supposed to leave the train at HH and in the days of 60' to CWR replacement the last remaining sectional track was on the Ouse Viaduct - very convenient for waking one up if you dozed off on the way home! The one occasion we did miss the stop we ended up at Brighton and were able to catch one of the overnighters back to our correct station. When we started this tradition, the train was 3x 4CIG, or CIG/BIG/CIG with the Buffet closed off, and the rear eight were split off at HH for Brighton, we travelled in the front car of the last unit as it was the right spot for falling going down the exit stairs at the station. Things were all very well until we missed a couple of months due to summer holidays, etc. First time back, turned up at Victoria, got into the usual carriage and set off. Unbeknown to us, during that period, CWR had been laid on the Ouse Viaduct and they'd switched the split around and now the first 8 cars went to Brighton - as we found out when we were woken by the night carriage cleaners in the sidings at Ore when our train reached the end of the line and berthed for the night! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Ian Smeeton Posted June 8, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 8, 2012 Done the Great Bedwyn reversing siding after a boozy lunch in Newbury as per the OP. Supposed to get off at Kintbury, failed. Carstairs was another affter an all night journey up to London from Glasgow for a job interview (at Kintbury), then the Starlight Express back to Glasgow the following night. All reserved seats, and checked carefully with the clerk at Euston "yes, Coach G is in the Glasgow portion of the train" and woke up leaving Carstairs in the Edinburgh direction. 6.30a.m. on Waverley station with nothing open til 8.00 on a Sunday morning and the first train back to Glasgow not til after 10 was no fun. Freezing in ealy April, I can tell you. the best of it was gaving a stand up argument with the TTI who wanted to charge me for the extra journey from Carstairs to Edinburgh even though my seat reservation card definitely said I was in the right seat. Not Happy!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdseyecircus Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 Not me, but i remember being on a train to Hull which was pulling in to Goole. When the guy who was asleep in our compartment suddenly woke up and asked if we were in Sheffield yet! Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Richard_A Posted June 8, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 8, 2012 catching train back to huddersfield from manchester after been to see some mates I fell asleep just before huddersfield(due to it been red hot and i had supped a few pints) and woke up in newcastle, explained what happened and was allowed to get next train back for a reduced fare only to fall asleep on that train and missed hudderfield again and woke up in manchester. took me around 5 hours to travel a 30-40 minute train journey another time I was travelling to swansea to visit my mum and i needed to get of the train i was on a bristol parkway. I remembered been in new street staion felt drowsy then the next thing i saw was the approach to exeter station. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Lamb Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 Going from London to Southampton late on a Saturday night. Nodded off. Woke up to find the train stopped in Salisbury station. Sudden panic. I decide to get off the train before I finish up in Exeter. When I got out I found that the train was actually going to Southampton. Just a weekend engineering diversion. Bernard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquireBev Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 catching train back to huddersfield from manchester after been to see some mates I fell asleep just before huddersfield(due to it been red hot and i had supped a few pints) and woke up in newcastle, explained what happened and was allowed to get next train back for a reduced fare only to fall asleep on that train and missed hudderfield again and woke up in manchester. took me around 5 hours to travel a 30-40 minute train journey Oh dear oh dear. I had a Manchester-Huddersfield story too, but yours takes the cake. In my case, I was coming back from Birmingham and only had about 2 minutes to change trains at Manchester Piccadilly, so I dashed over the Platform 13 and straight into the TPE train waiting there. Turns out it wasn't the train I wanted, but a service to Manchester Airport running late. Happily the conductor let me travel back to Piccadilly for free, but then I had to run across Manchester to Victoria and get the slow train back to Huddersfield. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torn-on-the-platform Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 Aiming for Oval station from Victoria, via Vauxhaul, ending up in Paddington. Rather than change tube at Vauxhal we thought we'd get the bus which would take us closer (in theory) to our friend's house in Camberwell. We didn't notice we'd got on the bus going the wrong way until the bus terminated (the three of us hadn't seen each other for a long time and had a lot to talk about!) despite passing Victoria station and Hyde Park. Pretty embarrassing really, but great value from my travelcard! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
s182ggu Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 OK - here's one!! Mid '60s, 15 / 16 year old returning to Hull from Scout Camp in the Yorkshire Dales, planning to take train from Darlington to York, change and then on to Hull via Market Weighton & Beverley - 90 - 100 miles, maybe 3 hours max? Arrived at Darlington, wearing Scout uniform, (rucksack, beret, woggle and all - OK!!!) and at the top of the ramp to the island platform enquired of porter if the next train was for York. " Aye Lad, next train on Platform x, 11.00 for York" came the reply. Train came in so I got on it, as you would! The train slowed to approach York, I got up, straightened the beret, tightened the woggle (OK! - I know!!) and pulled on the rucksack and headed for the door, only to enjoy a run through the southbound centre road - no platform, no stop!! Ah! Problem! Use initiative - find Guard. So I tramped the length of the train to find the Guard and enquired as to whether the train stopped at Selby - "No, Lad". What about Doncaster - "No Lad". "OK, so where does this train stop?" I politely asked. "Kings Cross only" came the reply. I explained the predicament and the Guard told me that they had been running about 10 mins down at Darlington and porter had either not been aware or had decided not to let on!! Anyway, Kings Cross it was then where the Guard took me to the next platform and handed me over to the Guard of a northbound who placed me in an empty 1st Class compartment next to the van and off I went back to the Selby, where I had the first opportunity to phone home let worried parents know why I was several hours late. Eventually got into Hull around 7pm - after 8 hour journey of 450 miles! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 Going passenger from the bays at Manchester Victoria to Dean Lane to pick up a set from Newton Heath for further work. Heart sank when the train took the left hand line at Thorpes Bridge jct., fortunately not first stop Rochdale. Mad dash down the line from Moston station to arrive at Newton Heath spitting feathers, perhaps thats why the foreman called me a silly pheasent plucker or words to that effect ! when I arrived. He had already had the set prepared so no delay off the shed. Happy days, most of the time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
br2975 Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 Once upon a time a teenage 'know-all' from Cardiff boarded a Mystery Trip on Sunday 22nd August, 1971 that dropped him off at Teignmouth. . Not much to see there, so he decided to make for Newton Abbott and bunk the shed. . Next down train was for Paignton - so he hopped on, only to pass slowly thro Newton Abbott and Torre, before coming to a stand at Torquay. . Not a big problem, but it taught me to be a little more observant in future. . I did eventually get to Newton Abbott, and entered through the doorway in the wall and used a slow moving "Relentless" (the REAL one, D839)as cover, to avoid the foreman's office. The depot and 'works' were packed, being a summer Sunday ..... including 93,107, 130, 132, 157, 158 807, 814, 818, 822, 839, 842, 851, 853, 855 1027, 1648, 1662, 1737, 1840, 1905, 1917, 3808, 4022, 4167 6337 Brian R Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted June 8, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 8, 2012 Not one I was on but definitely a bit unusual. A 'Nightstar' half-set was undergoing various test in mainland Europe and alas an SNCF Shunter got himself a little confused. When the loco arrived in a yard near Lille to take the train forward to Germany the train was nowhere to be found - it transpired that the Shunter on the previous turn had attached it to an SNCB loco which had duly taken the train to Belgium. There was apparently then some frantic to-ing & fro-ing among various control offices as Lille control tried to find out where the train had gone while in the meanwhile the SNCB control in Brussels was trying to find out why it had arrived in Belgium - eventually the two managed to talk to each other directly instead of via Eurostar control in London and the train was duly returned to Lille and sent on to Germany as had originally been the plan. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
APOLLO Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 Oh! Mister Porter, what shall I do? I want to go to Birmingham And they're taking me on to Crewe, Send me back to London as quickly as you can, Oh! Mister Porter, what a silly girl I am! Brit15 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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