"bashers" C4 documentary, 2000, north wales coast cl 37 action

[plarailfan]

The comment in the film about class 52 "Westerns" made me smile.

I think it's highly likely they would have been fanatically chasing those around if they had been born ten years earlier !

The surviving, somewhat mollycoddled Westerns in preservation today, don't sound rough with a hearty thrash, as I remember them in the final months of 1975 ! 

[Nearholmer]

Mention of 'Westerns' reminds me of the several hundred (I may exaggerate very slightly) farewell tours, "Western Sun Slightly Past its Zenith"; "Western Sun About One Degree Lower"; "Western Sun Now Getting Near the Tops of Tall Trees". ......... "Western, Oh for Goodness Sake! Why don't they just get ahead and put blasted things out of our misery???" etc.

 

I didn't go on any, but I saw one when I was changing trains somewhere, and actually observed people stroking the loco as it buffered-up to the train.

 

Another of those little moments, like meeting the Bashers, when it dawned on me that some people had an almost disturbingly unusual relationship with 'modern traction'.

 

K

[caradoc]

I must admit to discreetly touching EM1 26020 whenever I visit the NRM, just to reconnect with this beautiful loco and to commemorate the Woodhead route. Do I need professional help ?

[chrisf]

I must admit to discreetly touching EM1 26020 whenever I visit the NRM, just to reconnect with this beautiful loco and to commemorate the Woodhead route. Do I need professional help ?

 

No, you seem to be able to do it unaided.

 

Chris

[big jim]

what i like about the bashers program, apart from seeing work collegues on there, is how things have gone full circle, 15 years down the line and 37s have had a passenger service renassance with the likes of the cumbrian coast and gt yarmouth loco hauled services as well as railtour use with wcr and drs, of course there is also the resurgence in freight workings with the likes of colas and ROG

 

how many 'bashers' in that show would have thought that all these years down the line they could still get mainline class 37 haulage

[Hroth]

First time I've seen that. Kudos to C4 for bothering to make a film about one of Britain's little sub-cultures in the first place. Ok these guys were pretty extreme, and the real hardcore who have stuck at it when most just haven't. But I reckon for many people who took part back in the 80s, it was as much about the trains as it was about being independant and self-sufficient - often for the first time, having some adventures with your mates, and making new ones, having a few beers and probably getting in a few scrapes along the way, lots of banter about sport, music, clothes, as well as all the moves and stories of previous adventures - some of which were even true.

Real rite-of-passage stuff. Sounds like the plot of a Man Booker prizewinning novel!

 

But if its about extreme Class 37 lunatics enthusiasts, why is 55019 Royal Highland Fusilier being waved away at 1:14, unless the EE nose fooled the film maker?

 

I remember seeing 2 coach trains hauled by EWS 37s (prototype for the typical Hornby train set!) crossing the Northgate bridge at Chester on their way to North Wales. Never noticed people leaning from the windows, waving and shouting though!

[bigP]

--

[37081LochLong]

I'm mighty glad I did all my West Highland Class 37 travels before this sort of thing started.

 

I travelled the Highlands when the 37's were taking over from the 26's and witnessed bellowing on most trips.

 

I must admit I thought it must be the thing to do (I was young) so I tried it... I've never felt so embarrassed in my entire life and never did it again definitely not something I understood

[Nearholmer]

Dear Caradoc

 

Firstly, thank you for having the courage to share your question with the readers of "Jackie".

 

The main thing to think about is that the words "discreetly touching" might mean something different to you and to the locomotive. Are you, for instance, touching above or below the sole-bar? And, do you sense that the locomotive is comfortable with your touches, or might it feel that they are unwelcome attention?

 

And, before going any further with touching, you should to talk with the locomotive, get to know it better. Perhaps you could ask it whether it would like to come to a coffee bar with you. Then you can find out whether you really have things in common: you might find that you are both big fans of Bay City Rollers or David Cassidy!

 

Just remember that everyone finds forming their first deep relationship with a collection of mechanical and electrical engineering components a challenging and exciting time, and everyone, eventually, finds a way to happiness. It is unlikely that you need professional help, and talking about how you feel towards the locomotive with your Mum or Dad, or perhaps your favourite Uncle or Aunt would probably be a better idea.

 

Cathy and Claire

[plarailfan]

In the "Bashers" film, I thought that was a gem, when the chap was driving his car AND filming the grey livery class 37 !

No doubt this basher was having a Eureka moment, until the traffic police spotted him and pulled him over for speeding.....

I would hazard a guess, that part had been specially arranged, to make the programme more entertaining !  

[30801]

I thought this was a spoof documentary.

Now you're telling me these people are real?

 

Help.

[Dunsignalling]

Q: How many bashers does it take to change a light bulb? 

 

A: Ten, one to actually change it and the rest to rant about how the new one is absolute cr*p compared to what it replaced.

 

John

[Nearholmer]

Mon Cher Monsieur Caradoc

 

It is necessaire that you reject totalement l'advice profere pas Mlle Cathy et Mlle Claire. Elles sont tres belles filles, me elles n'avez pas l'dee faintest on la sujet de psychologie. L'advice typical Brittanque "keep it in the family" cest une rue certain a disastre.

 

En France we respect seulement les systems scientifique. We also 'ave beaucoup des "Froteurs de Traction", but dans l'hopital SNCF en La Tour de Carol, haut dans les Pyrenees, are 'aving a Clinique Special devotee a le traitement of this malade terrible.

 

Les Froteurs sont exposee, 2 ou 3 heurs, de l'air de Nuit (-12 centigrade, approximent), et delugee avec buckets de l'eau tres froid, simultaniusement regardez des grand photos tres realistique de types numereux de traction (BB65000, CC71000 etc).

 

Le rate de recoveree est 99%, et le 1% sont deportee a Grand Bretanique, et pursue la vie excentrique de "Bashers".

 

Our facilitees are always a votre service,

 

Prof. Emile Excrements-Taureaux MD CFIL VFIL CIWL Croix de Hot-Buns (et Bar Tabac)

[big jim]

In the "Bashers" film, I thought that was a gem, when the chap was driving his car AND filming the grey livery class 37 !

No doubt this basher was having a Eureka moment, until the traffic police spotted him and pulled him over for speeding.....

I would hazard a guess, that part had been specially arranged, to make the programme more entertaining !

The bit that made me cringe after that segment was the way he spoke to the landlord in the pub afterwards, not only did he come across as strange to start with he then sounded like one of the 'real ale tw*ts' out of Viz

[Trevellan]

I travelled the Highlands when the 37's were taking over from the 26's and witnessed bellowing on most trips.

 

 

The only bellowing I witnessed in Scotland was the class 27 hauling the Inverness portion of a sleeper I was travelling in. Beats an alarm clock any day!

[CloggyDog]

A strange & baffling world which I cannot comprehend. Was anyone ever injured "flailing"?

 

I recall a 50 tour on the GE (early-90s) where some LogNed lost a couple of fingers to the front of an 86-hauled express coming the other way...

 

 

I spent quite a lot of my teenage years 'on the bash' in the 1980s, sometimes for days on end during the school holidays, dossing on overnights or buffets to get into a 'position of strength' for particular workings. Much of the time on a train was spent stood by an open window, savouring the thrash. Flailing was usually reserved for a spirited station departure, or if photographers or other bashers were about.

 

There was a widespread sharing of 'gen' about what was out, what had burst (failed) and we were constantly referring to the 'bible' - the All Britain Timetable and the diagram books to work out the optimum sequence of trains to net new locos for haulage or maximise hauled mileage. A reasonable facsimile can be found in the 'RailRover' PC game: http://www.railrover.co.uk/index.php

 

 

All this was pre-internet/mobile phones, so none of this Realtimetrains app stuff - we had to talk to each other!

 

A carefully planned move could be 'withered' by a loco failure, cancellation, late running (a move might demand a risky dead-time or even 'minus' connection) or even overdossing and failing to wake up for the stop. On the plus side, a loco or bog unit failure might bring about a bonus haulage, though often you had to be in the right place at the right time for these.

 

As with football (other team sports are available) there was a similar following for the various loco classes, with much banter/debate/abuse between the fans of different types on their merits. There were the wider EE vs Sulzer rivalries, then the individual classes. Certain groups did acquire a reputation for their behaviour, but that was largly biased by ones' own preferences. Bashing could be very sociable too, you regularly saw the same faces doing the same thing and, whenever there was some time to kill between moves, a pub move for some ale was often involved. Bashers also had their own language - there used to be a really good 'Bashers Dictionary' online somewhere... but I can't find it. Withered!

 

 

I was primarily a Chopper/Bomb (20) fan, but also 'did' Peds (31s), Peaks (45s), Logs (50s) and Grids (56). Sadly, I'd just missed out on 40s. So my weekends (and often weekday evenings) were spent going to Skegness, Derby, Nottingham, Sheffield, Norwich, Exeter and Oxford, trying to avoid the grip so my ticket would be valid for slightly more trips than BR may have intended...    

 

Railtours would add variety into the mix, though to some purist bashers, railtours didn't count as they were often 'fixed' in terms of what hauled them!

 

My interest in the scene waned in the early-90,s once the interesting classes had all been withdrawn... 'plastic' carts (units) were no fun. I'd already found Ireland offered a similar experience with small, thrashy locos, hauling short rakes with the bonus of steam heat and so I spent some holidays there while Holland and Germany also still had plenty of loco haulage, so did the same there.

 

If nothing else, bashing gave me the opportunity to see the UK (and other countries) from top to bottom and coast to coast, and I'm still friends with some of the bashers I met up with 35 years ago travelling behind Choppers, Peds, Peaks, Logs and Grids.

[37081LochLong]

Cloggydog, that brings back a lot of memories, I loved my time going for haulage and studying the all britain timetable was a must to work out a back up plan if the first one fell through due to a failure and like you say talking to others was a must to keep yourself informed of what was about so you could change plans to try and get something better. I'd have never gone to the Scottish Highlands and fell in love with the place if it hadn't been for going for 26 & 37 haulage.

I just didn't understand the Flailing/bellowing out of the window bit

[luckymucklebackit]

My best experience of bashing was one that came without even trying, I had to go from Glasgow to Oxford to attend a course run by British Steel (my then employer).  I quick check of the timetable revealed a Sunday service direct from Glasgow Central to London Paddington, calling conveniently at Oxford.  The train left Glasgow haled by a class 47, as it went via Kilmarnock, at Carlisle the 47 came off and was replaced by the more usual class 87, but at Preston there was a lot of "basher" activity, the reason being that a class 40 backed onto the train to take us via Manchester to Crewe (via the Styal Loop).  The 40 was removed at Crewe and the 87 took us on to Birmingham New Street where a class 50 was rostered for the final part of the journey.  Four locos, many miles of "required" routes, and the company paid for it!!

 

Jim

[brushman47544]

I'll admit to being a basher in my youth, although I generally kept clear of the front coach and my bottom firmly on my seat. For me it was about enjoying travelling by train and seeking out loco hauled trains in the process. Wasn't "being withered" something about being in the wrong place and missing haulage by a loco you needed?

 

As for "flailing" there have been plenty of occasions when enthousiasts have been badly injured by being hit by lineside structures and there was even a case of someone being beheaded when leaning out (filming?) of a Mk1 coach window on a charter. IIRC that was the incident that resulted in window bars being fitted to Mk1 charter stock.

[big jim]

The beheading was on the north wales coast in 1991 iirc, behind flying scotsman, the guy was facing backwards out of the window videoing where he had been and came into contact with (again iirc) penmaenbach tunnel

 

My earliest memory of bashing (purely by accident) was back in the 80s, i would have been about 9 or 10,, i went to stay with my grandad in prestatyn and he let me go off on the train on my own (for the first time ever) i was going to go to rhyl and back but ended up going to llandudno jn instead, the fare was about £1.40 return, i waited for the train back and when it eventually came i to view from conway tubular bridge it was 3790X and a 47 both ex works from crewe, all i remember was getting on and the front coach was full of bashers about 10 to a compartment

 

I spent most of that summer on prestatyn station!

[Rivercider]

I had not seen the programme before and found it interesting.

 

I think there is a spectrum of railway interest, simply enjoying observing trains at one end, to taking numbers, and then bashing right at the other extreme.

In the early 1970s I took numbers with school mates, and from the mid 1970s made a note of any loco that I was hauled by, but never kept a log or mileage records.

From 1980 my railway outings were mostly solo trips and were more planned around taking photographs although I still took notes of other locos I had seen or been hauled by, I stopped around 1986.

 

I can see the clear parallels with other pastimes and was interested in the mention of supporting rugby or football teams.

There is a clear sense of belonging to a group, and having shared group memories, myths and legends.

Spending time and money trying to gain haulage by a particular loco is like following your local team for every match including to the other end of the country if needs be,

both may well involve pub visits, and often disappointment, but afterwards there are many stories to tell. 

 

cheers

[ben racey]

I'll admit to being a basher in my youth, although I generally kept clear of the front coach and my bottom firmly on my seat. For me it was about enjoying travelling by train and seeking out loco hauled trains in the process. Wasn't "being withered" something about being in the wrong place and missing haulage by a loco you needed?

 

As for "flailing" there have been plenty of occasions when enthousiasts have been badly injured by being hit by lineside structures and there was even a case of someone being beheaded when leaning out (filming?) of a Mk1 coach window on a charter. IIRC that was the incident that resulted in window bars being fitted to Mk1 charter stock.

To be fair then, that chap(rip) can't have been a basher.... You'd never find a basher on a steam tour, and certainly not behind flying Scotsman!

[jjb1970]

Hoss, my lords, the thrash value was outrageous!! My word that show was a trip down memory lane, I spent a good part of my youth doing North West rovers and such like, bashing peaks between Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge, splendid stuff. There was a whole bashing sub-culture, much of it cringe inducing and embarrassing (I'll admit I found some of the characters way over the top and more than a bit bonkers) but I really find it sad that it just died out. I never saw the attraction of flailing and even as a youth figured out that it wasn't the safest past time (even at that young age my interest in risk assessment was there......) but I had a mate who was obsessed by it. Happy days!

['CHARD]

Serious Bashing puts me in mind of the deliberately naff but endearing 'Serious Jockin' slot on Fridays' Steve Wright Show!

 

I was never a serious basher, although I count among my best friends several Class 37 main men.  Now these were guys who hated and loathed 'bent' 37s, i.e. those renumbered into the 37/4 and upward subclasses.  'New engine neds' or insects, were reviled. Welsh Class 37 followers were treated with racist contempt, for their undesirable proclivities.

 

The key was to amass insane mileages with ones 'machine.' Usually Scottish boilers or ex-Eastern NB beasts.  I personally liked the social mentality, the awesome scenic lines on a Freedom, and the sounds of unrestrained Type 3 thrash.  Although I was known for sneaking out of school to capture O19 and E63 in my lunch break.  A Peak or EH duff for a 50 back, at least that was the plan.

 

And yes, I still have my moves books and mileages somewhere!!!

[jjb1970]

I always remember one day at Stalybridge, there was a rumour that a duff had failed on one of the Liverpool bound trans-pennine trains and that it was being dragged by a rat. After some careful scientific reasoning the consensus was that since the train was losing time it must be a duff on the front as a rat would be making time. I was scratching my head trying to figure out how it has been decided that a locomotive with far less power would be expected to seriously out perform a duff. Bashing was like Doctor Who, great fun as long as you didn't let logical thought get in the way!