26 Heaven 26/06/92 to 28/06/92 " Which way to the Phoenix, Poodle Mon?"
From my early years Bashing Crompton's on the Pompey's I had made a number of good friends, many of whom still remain as such today. Indeed most are now part of the 33/1 Preservation Group, which me & Peckham jointly called the first meeting of in 1988, to see if there was enough interest to take up the reigns from the BRCW group which had recently started to go the wrong way.
Several people, not living in the South-East, came down to bash every school holiday or end of college term. One of these was Andrew Dzikowskyj, from Edinburgh, who was more normally known as TZ - as most couldn't pronounce his name!
He had long told me that he would form a 6LDA (or Class 26) Preservation Group. The 6LDA Group was formed by TZ in 1991 with the aim of preserving a Class 26. I was one of the 1st shareholders in the group, if only amounting to TWO shares after a cancelled 26 tour I had booked on, the money refunded from which I put into the new group. I couldn't really invest more at the time as our own 33/1 Preservation Group was taking all my time & money!
TZ had tried (& failed) to get Scotrail to agree to use 26's on high-profile services to both advertise the excitement of travelling behind members of the class and persuade the travelling public / Bashers to invest in his new group.
He then rang me in early June 1992 to tell me he HAD got through to someone & had provisionally arranged for a pair of 26's to deputise for the booked class 47 on a diagram Perth - Edinburgh - Inverness - Edinburgh - Perth on 27 June. Could it happen?
It was looking good & TZ later confirmed the proposed arrangements with an invite to stay at his parents house in Leith, Edinburgh.
Friday 26/06/92
It seemed a LONG day at work this Friday, with the prospect of a potentially top weekend ahead. I got through it, however, time to make my way to the Cross for my train to Edinburgh.
91024 Kings Cross - Edinburgh 1700 Kings Cross - Edinburgh 393m 12ch
I could say this was a good run but I would be under-exaggerating it! After 3hours & 50minutes we were sat at a Signal next to Craigentinny Depot waiting for a platform at the Waverley. Surely we would break the magic 4 hour journey time? No such luck, arrival into the station was after 4hours & 1minute!
My excitement was a bit dimmed by this but I was soon back on an even keel, TZ was on the platform waiting for me. "Get on the Internal & check the Loco Allocations for tomorrow!" was the cry.
He didn't want to do it as he was not BR staff. I rang Scotrail Glasgow Control (where I once had an Interview for a post!) from an internal phone on the platform & asked the Allocations for tomorrow. "26004 & 26026" was the Scottish reply, me being a firm Sassenach.
TZ was dancing on the platform after this news I can tell you!
A long walk down towards Leith to his parents house (no Trams in those days) to drop my bag off, a fine payback in his local just a few doors down, where one of my all-time fav beers Orkney Dark Island 4.8% was available. A couple of pints in here before a taxi took us to a couple of back-street boozers the other side of the Waverley in town.
I mentioned to TZ the VERY early start we would have in the morning for a fast-car to Perth but "Hoots Mon lets Drink!" was the reply. I was never shy in that department! Our final port of call, with no warning from TZ, was a Tractor Bashers pub!
Now I am never short of a barbed or sarcastic comment (or two) where any followers of English Electric loco's are concerned - by this point I was Well-Oiled! About a dozen or so sad EE Bashers present, I feel sure I had upset them all by the time our taxi arrived to take us back to TZ's. "Crompton Boys we are here" at full Drunken volume always a firm favourite.
We got back to the house about 3am (Scottish licensing laws being far more liberal than our own) but needed to arise before 5am! Never fear, said TZ, I will set THREE alarms.
Saturday 27/06/92
So of course I awoke, in the dark, I had a feeling I had heard some banging. That will be the fast-car driver rapping on the door outside after we had slept through all 3 alarms then....
He had been trying to raise us for about 20 minutes so after finally working out how to unlock the front door to let him know we were coming, back upstairs to get TZ dressed! He wasn't with it - then again neither was I!
The pressure was on to make Perth for the first leg of the days class 26 haulage, the 0645 to Edinburgh.
100mph was a common feature of the very fast-car journey, I was hanging on for dear life as I felt rather delicate. I made it to the station car-park at Perth where I dashed to the nearest litter-bin which was the recipient of some of the beer (& perhaps food?) that I consumed last night.
The Wee Beastie's performed well to Edinburgh, this was just an appetiser for the main event.
26004) Perth - Edinburgh (via Stirling) 69m 40ch
26026)
Here-in lay the next problem, a Summer Saturday in late June meaning the next service the 26's were booked to work, the 1130 Edinburgh to Inverness, was Priv-Barred (no reduced rate tickets or free passes valid for BR Staff Card Holders).
There was a gathering of about 100 plus Cranks for this, many of whom I knew - & quite a lot of them BR staff too. "Will Staff tickets be ok on this I was asked" - not officially, no. "Why don't you go over & ask those 3 TTI's who are lurking about?" They were in full Gripper uniform so it didn't look good.
"Excuse me, my good man, are Priv tickets ok on this?" I asked. "We don't know we've all left our excess fare ticket books at home!" came the reply. I called out "On you get Lads!"
Fearing a debacle I had previously reserved a seat on the train.
I don't know who ended up with that seat as I spent the whole journey in the front coach.
26026) Edinburgh - Inverness (via Ladybank) 1130 Edinburgh - Inverness 175m 00ch
26004)
A fantastic run, the pair stormed up Schlod - the sort of run that dreams are made of. Well chuffed we hot-footed it to the Phoenix, as it's name suggests the only decent Real Ale pub in Inverness for many a year. I'm sure beers were drunk, story's were told & retold and general banter was the order of the day. Even I had picked up enough to enjoy the session too!
26004) Inverness - Edinburgh (via Ladybank) 1627 Inverness - Edinburgh 175m 00ch
26026)
The return run was of course enjoyable, the 26's strutting their stuff over a route on which they had previously been synonymous for at least 20 years.
26026) Edinburgh - Perth (via Stirling) 2122 Edinburgh - Perth 69m 40ch
26004)
So a very early start and a fairly late finish, back in the car to TZ's folks place in Leith.
Sunday 28/06/92
91030 Edinburgh - York 1000 Edinburgh - Kings Cross 204m 52ch
I was meeting Pogo for a lunchtime session in York, I seem to remember he took me to some of York's lesser known & harder to find Hostelries.
91024 York - Doncaster 32m 43ch
91011 Doncaster - Kings Cross 155m 77ch
A fantastic weekend trip, I was back in Scotland for pairs of 26's on the Sunday only additional services from Edinburgh to Oban, once in July & once in August. To round it all off nicely TZ again arranged a class 26 "fix" on the 1130 ex Edinburgh & 1627 ex Inverness on 12/09/92, including triple-headed 26's Perth to Aviemore and vice versa involving no less than 4 different locos - all this on normal service trains!
Sadly in September 2020 Andy (TZ) passed away, he had been struggling against a drug addiction for many years but was said to be in fairly good health and good spirits (Covid situation aside), just a week before he was found dead in his home, aged just 55. Rest in Peace mate.
Comments
Post a Comment