1989-1991 Intercity Cross Country services in the West Midlands

Pete the Elaner · January 3, 2019

& the odd stand-in loco.

I caught a XC from Oxford to Reading around this period expecting a 47 on the front. 31464 showed up instead.

adb968008 · January 3, 2019

This thread sent me down memory lane..

Here’s some souvenirs of some cross country workings ..

Note the DFDS one, I assume this went via Denton ?

Edited May 9, 2021 by adb968008

TheSignalEngineer · January 3, 2019

This thread sent me down memory lane..

Here’s some souvenirs of some cross country workings ..

Note the DFDS one, I assume this went via Denton ?

Not on that train but I went that way on a diverted Glasgow - Bristol Sleeper. It was diesel hauled from Preston via Bolton, Manchester Victoria and Stockport. Given a clear road through Victoria for an absolutely magnificent thrash up to Phillips Park at about 4am on a Sunday morning with 16 Mk1s including 7 sleepers.

jamespetts · January 6, 2019

If it is of any assistance, I have put together a Flickr gallery (for research for one of my own layouts, which will be set in 1989 on the route of some of these cross-country workings): see here.

Do not forget that there were also cross-country sleeper services via Birmingham at the time: see here for a Flickr gallery of some of these.

Finally, there were a number of Paddington to Birmingham/Wolverhampton via Oxford trains hauled mainly by class 50s until 1990: see here for my gallery.

(Lest there be any confusion, a Flickr gallery is a collection of others' photographs on Flickr - these are not my pictures).

Compound2632 · January 6, 2019

If it is of any assistance, I have put together a Flickr gallery (for research for one of my own layouts, which will be set in 1989 on the route of some of these cross-country workings): see here.

Yes, quite a few examples of the Mk1 BG / Mk2d/e/f? FO / Mk1 RUB (or RMB?) / several x Mk2d/e/f? TSO formation.

What surprises me is the number of trains including non-air-conditioned Mk2s - I don't remember those at all on Cross-Country journeys between Oxford, BNS and points north c. 1985-1992. I do recall them on a Leeds-Carlisle (I got off at Garsdale) c. 1987 - TSO. That train was 31-hauled, I think - only four or five coaches. My last experience of compartment carriages - non-air-conditioned Mk2 SK I think - was between Cambridge and Leicester (or Nottingham?) c. 1988.

barrow · January 6, 2019

This thread sent me down memory lane..

Here’s some souvenirs of some cross country workings ..

Note the DFDS one, I assume this went via Denton ?

The one time I caught it it went Phillips Park - Ashburys. Think that was the normal route

MJI · January 6, 2019

A few 2D BFKs in those pictures.

sub39h · January 6, 2019

If it is of any assistance, I have put together a Flickr gallery (for research for one of my own layouts, which will be set in 1989 on the route of some of these cross-country workings): see here.

Do not forget that there were also cross-country sleeper services via Birmingham at the time: see here for a Flickr gallery of some of these.

Finally, there were a number of Paddington to Birmingham/Wolverhampton via Oxford trains hauled mainly by class 50s until 1990: see here for my gallery.

(Lest there be any confusion, a Flickr gallery is a collection of others' photographs on Flickr - these are not my pictures).

Wow that’s incredibly helpful. Thanks very much!

Mozzblack5 · February 25

Hi, sorry very late to the party on this topic. I only just discovered this thread.

I was 12-14 years old living by the North Cotswold line at the time of 1989-1991. There used to be diverted Oxford to Birmingham IC XC services on a summer Sunday going via Oxford-Worcester-B’ham from 9am to about 3pm, then the line would revert back to normal workings. NCL no service until 3pm that day. This went on for years until the intro of voyagers i think 2001 was the last year.

Handy if you want a minimum layout track wise single/double and IC expresses. You could even mix some IC/NSE expresses together - NCL services also mostly loco hauled on Sunday i think there may have been 1 WR HST/DMU with some WR NSE/IC rakes.

XC/IC - 47’s/HST (7 coach) from 1991. Mostly 47/8’s with the odd 47/4.
NCL - IC/NSE 47’s/HST (8 rake), NSE 50’s 1989-90. Central 150/155 DMU mixed in.
XC rakes i remember.

31/4 - Mk1’s BSK/TSO x4/5. B/G livery Poole-Birmingham 1989-90.
47 - BG/FO/RB/TSO x5/6. Man or Liverpool - Poole 1989-90.

47 - BFK/RB/TSO x4/5 or FO/RB/TSO x4/5/BSO. Services 1989-91.
47 - BG/BFK/TSO x3/RB/TSO x3/BFK - Sussex scot. 1989-1990. NB only

47 - BG/BFK/TSO x4/RB/TSO x4/BFK - Dorset scot 1989-1990. NB only

47 - BG/12xx RFB/TSOx5/6 from 1991 on. RFB/TSO x4/5 /BSO from 1993.

HST - ex ER from 1991 x7 coach.

47’s - Mk1 BG/RB’s with Mk2D-E air cons. RB’s were subbed by an RMB on the shorter rakes. and also the odd Mk2C BFK/BSO and blue/grey coach. Mk2F BSO not appearing until after 1991. some RB’s/RMB kept until second batch of x11 Mk2F’s RFB rebuilt. Occasional B/G livery coach 1989-91.

NCL services from 3pm.

local 150/155 dmu.

NSE 47/50 - NWRX NSE x7-9 Mk1-2A.

IC 47 - IWRX x7-8 Mk2D-E/with 1x TSOT or Mk1 RMB in the mix.

HST - WR x8 coach.

Still hell of alot of variety for a Sunday on a mostly single rural line.
I think there were x7 XC services in the morning and the NCL was mostly round trips of x1 dmu x1 HST 2x loco hauled of what i can recall but it varied as the years went on.
My strangest recollection was on a late spring early 90’s on a Saturday a Grand National racing day when we had a few XC loco hauled’s diverted together with 2x 156 dmu working - weird that day! Must of been an incident somewhere.

Sorry for long post.