1980-04-19-0822-Edinburgh-Central-47146
Tyne-Tay Express, 19 April 1980
On 19 April 1980, I rode the Tyne-Tay Express excursion from Newcastle, England to Dundee, Scotland and back. The portion of our trip between Newcastle and Carlisle had ex-LMS Black 4 4767 George Stephenson, as power. The remainder of the trip was behind electrics and diesels.
4767 was unusual among hundreds of Stanier Black 5 in that it had Stephenson valve gear instead of the usual Walschaerts.
The trip started across the north of England from Newcastle to Carlisle, paralleling Hadrian's Wall behind 4767. After that, we switched to more modern power for the trip north to Scotland.
Here is my journal entry for the day: I remember riding the trip and having steam and the Deltic for part of the run, but I had no memory of how I got to Newcastle in time for departure that morning and had totally forgotten the route the excursion took after Carlisle
19 April – Saturday – Newcastle Central
After arrival back in Haworth yesterday [I was staying at the Worth Valley Railway in Haworth, West Yorkshire], I took a very refreshing shower, followed by a trip to the Laundromat. After getting the clothes clean, a mildly frantic search for Phil Kilburn [a friend who had information about the excursion] began. Eventually he found me as I was talking to machinist Art Stone in Haworth Shed. The Tyne-Tay excursion leaves Newcastle Central at 0850….hmm…check the timetable, no way to get from Haworth to Newcastle in the morning. Instead, I worked out a plan to take the last Keighley- Leeds train, then the last Leeds-Sheffield train to Sheffield, where I caught the Bristol-Newcastle parcels train to Newcastle, sleeping as best I could along the way. [ I had a railpass so all train travel was already paid for.]
After arriving in Newcastle, I slept a couple of hours in the waiting room, then went for breakfast in the station buffet. Was writing this when 4767 showed up.
[Until I read this, I had completely forgotten how I got to Newcastle for this excursion. I remembered the excursion, but not the trip to catch the excursion.]
On the Tyne-Tay Express
Out of Newcastle, 4767 has the train well in hand after some slipping at the start. 43 minutes late out of Haltwhistle due to slow orders and having to meet a Cravens DMU. The track is supposed to be double, but is single in places due to track work.
Carlisle 1122-1131. Electric 86229 takes us out of Carlisle. 87021 came thru on an up [southbound] train as we waited. We were due out at 1052. The 86 soon has us making up lost time. Into Carstairs we have a signal check trying to get into the yard for an engine change.
Carstairs 1253-1313. At Carstairs 40152 was put on and we reversed. Not messing around at Edinburgh, where 55011, The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, is put on, reversing again. Out at 1402. Leaving Edinburgh, the Deltic put out a fog bank as we accelerated. Stopped at Markingh to see 60009’s kit. [A4 4-6-2 60009, Union of South Africa, was originally scheduled to put the excursion for the portion of the trip on which we had Deltic 55011, but was still being overhauled.]
At Dundee, we made up for our lost time by cutting the time of the stop and loped part of the way back to Edinburgh, where 47146 was put on. The 47 was smoky on the run back to Carstairs, where 86011 was put on to lead us over Beattock Summit after a 3 minute late departure from Carstairs. Got into Carlisle on time and out behind 4767. 4767 gave a good performance and good stack bark on the grade out of Carlisle, then kept good speed on the relatively level or descending route into Newcastle, yet we didn’t get in until about 2230 instead of the 2207 scheduled.
Newcastle Central
The 2318 train to London has arrived behind a 45 or 46 [diesels that were externally identical, but had different electrical equipment…the only way to tell them apart was by their number], will get number tomorrow at Kings Cross. Am in the Mk I coach at the end (before the Newcastle sleepers and brake were added.)
--------end of journal entry---------
And now, having read that, I'm still not quite sure where all the excursion went! I know we went from Newcastle across northern England to Carlisle, where we turned north and crossed into Scotland. At Carstairs, we switched from the electrified West Coast Main Line (London Euston to Glasgow) to the non-electrified line to Edinburgh and the from Edinburgh continued north to Markinich and Dundee, before turning south again.
I remember that we crossed the Tay Bridge because of the talk about the first Tay Bridge that fell in a storm a few months after opening, taking a train with it. There were no survivors.
But I'm not sure, exactly of the route we took in Scotland north of Edinburgh. Oh, well, it was a great day out, with a steam engine, a Deltic and a Class 40, as well as the 86 and 47, and seeing 60009, which these days is alive and well and running in the UK.
1980-04-19-0822-Edinburgh-Central-47146
Tyne-Tay Express, 19 April 1980
On 19 April 1980, I rode the Tyne-Tay Express excursion from Newcastle, England to Dundee, Scotland and back. The portion of our trip between Newcastle and Carlisle had ex-LMS Black 4 4767 George Stephenson, as power. The remainder of the trip was behind electrics and diesels.
4767 was unusual among hundreds of Stanier Black 5 in that it had Stephenson valve gear instead of the usual Walschaerts.
The trip started across the north of England from Newcastle to Carlisle, paralleling Hadrian's Wall behind 4767. After that, we switched to more modern power for the trip north to Scotland.
Here is my journal entry for the day: I remember riding the trip and having steam and the Deltic for part of the run, but I had no memory of how I got to Newcastle in time for departure that morning and had totally forgotten the route the excursion took after Carlisle
19 April – Saturday – Newcastle Central
After arrival back in Haworth yesterday [I was staying at the Worth Valley Railway in Haworth, West Yorkshire], I took a very refreshing shower, followed by a trip to the Laundromat. After getting the clothes clean, a mildly frantic search for Phil Kilburn [a friend who had information about the excursion] began. Eventually he found me as I was talking to machinist Art Stone in Haworth Shed. The Tyne-Tay excursion leaves Newcastle Central at 0850….hmm…check the timetable, no way to get from Haworth to Newcastle in the morning. Instead, I worked out a plan to take the last Keighley- Leeds train, then the last Leeds-Sheffield train to Sheffield, where I caught the Bristol-Newcastle parcels train to Newcastle, sleeping as best I could along the way. [ I had a railpass so all train travel was already paid for.]
After arriving in Newcastle, I slept a couple of hours in the waiting room, then went for breakfast in the station buffet. Was writing this when 4767 showed up.
[Until I read this, I had completely forgotten how I got to Newcastle for this excursion. I remembered the excursion, but not the trip to catch the excursion.]
On the Tyne-Tay Express
Out of Newcastle, 4767 has the train well in hand after some slipping at the start. 43 minutes late out of Haltwhistle due to slow orders and having to meet a Cravens DMU. The track is supposed to be double, but is single in places due to track work.
Carlisle 1122-1131. Electric 86229 takes us out of Carlisle. 87021 came thru on an up [southbound] train as we waited. We were due out at 1052. The 86 soon has us making up lost time. Into Carstairs we have a signal check trying to get into the yard for an engine change.
Carstairs 1253-1313. At Carstairs 40152 was put on and we reversed. Not messing around at Edinburgh, where 55011, The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, is put on, reversing again. Out at 1402. Leaving Edinburgh, the Deltic put out a fog bank as we accelerated. Stopped at Markingh to see 60009’s kit. [A4 4-6-2 60009, Union of South Africa, was originally scheduled to put the excursion for the portion of the trip on which we had Deltic 55011, but was still being overhauled.]
At Dundee, we made up for our lost time by cutting the time of the stop and loped part of the way back to Edinburgh, where 47146 was put on. The 47 was smoky on the run back to Carstairs, where 86011 was put on to lead us over Beattock Summit after a 3 minute late departure from Carstairs. Got into Carlisle on time and out behind 4767. 4767 gave a good performance and good stack bark on the grade out of Carlisle, then kept good speed on the relatively level or descending route into Newcastle, yet we didn’t get in until about 2230 instead of the 2207 scheduled.
Newcastle Central
The 2318 train to London has arrived behind a 45 or 46 [diesels that were externally identical, but had different electrical equipment…the only way to tell them apart was by their number], will get number tomorrow at Kings Cross. Am in the Mk I coach at the end (before the Newcastle sleepers and brake were added.)
--------end of journal entry---------
And now, having read that, I'm still not quite sure where all the excursion went! I know we went from Newcastle across northern England to Carlisle, where we turned north and crossed into Scotland. At Carstairs, we switched from the electrified West Coast Main Line (London Euston to Glasgow) to the non-electrified line to Edinburgh and the from Edinburgh continued north to Markinich and Dundee, before turning south again.
I remember that we crossed the Tay Bridge because of the talk about the first Tay Bridge that fell in a storm a few months after opening, taking a train with it. There were no survivors.
But I'm not sure, exactly of the route we took in Scotland north of Edinburgh. Oh, well, it was a great day out, with a steam engine, a Deltic and a Class 40, as well as the 86 and 47, and seeing 60009, which these days is alive and well and running in the UK.