...and a ride on the S&C
Carlisle & Leeds
6 August 1986
Here are a few photos taken on a day out just over
20 years ago at the time of writing. The intention of
that trip was simple - a ride over the Settle and
Carlisle railway, with a work colleague and my son,
then a young child. The weather started poor - a
true S&C day, some might say...
Despite Carlisle's rain, there were one or two items of
significance. One was the arrival of the rake of brand-new class
318 units, on test from Glasgow. Another was our discovery of
the re-opening to normal passenger services of many of the local
stations on the S&C, closed in May 1970. And 20 years ago, there
was still quite a mixture of motive power - electric class 81s, for
example - we had been hauled from Wolverhampton by no 010 of
that class.
Geoff’s Rail Diaries
There are no photos of our trip from Carlisle to Leeds -
we just sat back and enjoyed our run through the rain-
soaked countryside.
Leeds was still all-diesel in 1986 - and the only
relatively modern traction was the HST set that crept
in from the south. The Peaks were still in service, likewise a
variety of "heritage" (i.e. worn-out) multiple units, including the
class 110 set arriving from Manchester, still in use on its
originally-intended route. The "cross-country" 120 set was
reduced to use for parcels carriage, its time in passenger service
spent.
So there it is - not a day for photographic masterpieces - but
what a change there's been in the railway scene in the
intervening period.
