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The original electrification scheme saw wires erected from Liverpool Lime St to Crewe and Manchester Piccadilly to Crewe, in the early 1960s. The next phase was from Crewe to Stafford, eventually the wires reached all the way to London Euston. By the mid 1960s trains to Liverpool and Manchester were electrically hauled throughout. Trains to Blackpool, Barrow, Windermere, Carlisle and Glasgow changed to diesel power at Crewe. Full electrification to Glasgow started in 1974. The route from Carstairs to Edinburgh was electrified in the late 1980s. Trains from Liverpool Lime St and Manchester Victoria combined/split at Preston and Carstairs, where Edinburgh portions were attached and detached., until it too was electrified. Through electric working between Liverpool and Manchester to Preston began after completion of the wires between Edge Hill and Springs Branch, WIgan and Manchester via Bolton and Chorley to Euxton Junction in the mid 2010s. The line from Preston to Blackpool North was electrified about the same time allowing through Blackpool - Euston services.

Fire, Krokus

Johnny was, Stiff Little Fingers

Wild on the run, Tobruk

Solid rock, Dire Straits

Light in the black, Rainbow

Wheat = wit? That barley makes sense

Running with the devil, Van Halen

Ain`t talking `bout love, Van Halen

We used to call Manchester Piccadilly " Snooker Junction ". You needed a red before you get a colour.

Demon`s are a girl`s best friend, Powerwolf

Jump, Van Halen

Fade away and radiate, Blondie

Strange town, The Jam

July morning, Uriah Heep

California dreaming, The Mums and Dads

Don`t egg him on too much, he`ll think he has free range to post more.

Shadow play, Rory Gallagher

Light in the black, Rainbow

How far Jerusalem, Magnum

Where was Old Zealand?

No no no no, yes, I noticed

We sometimes played on the car park. Only at night of course, not during the day when it was busy, we`re not daft. Occasionally, during bad weather, we played in the locker room. This was stopped adter several fluorescent tubes were broken. A case of bad play stopped light.

The Johnster is right. Officially shunter were supposed to use a brake stick to pin down and release hand brakes. In yards were there was a more than one shunter one would have a shunting pole to uncouple the wagons the other had a brake stick to catch the wagons. But the reality was that a shunter working alone with just a driver, would use a pole for both jobs. It was dangerous, but we've all done it. One advantage of using a pole when catching wagons was the ability to couple them as they came to you and use the other end to apply the brake too.

The sharp pointy iron stick, is called a shunting pole. Used by shunters to couple/uncouple wagons. A metal curl at one end allowed the shunter, or guard, to pick up the coupling and lift it over the hook of the adjacent wagon, without having to go in between, thus speeding up the process. If the pole was placed under the coupling of attached vehicles, it could be used as a lever to lift the coupling off the hook. When turned round, the wooden end was used to pin down or release handbrakes.