6th to 13th February 1991 "Snow in Kent"
By the time you read this we should hopefully be in the grip of reasonably temperate English weather, so in order to get in the spirit of it all, what I suggest is that you crack open a can of soup, put on a scarf, and sit in front of an open freezer door. CD's of dashing troika bells are, of course, an optional extra...
Wednesday 6th February 1991
When it snows anywhere in the world, life tends to carry on as normal. Even in the UK, the Scots regard it as the frozen equivalent of water off a duck's back, and the "Eee it's grim oop North" merchants carry on regardless. But when it snows south of Watford it's a....NATIONAL CRISIS!
Thus when the snow started falling on Wednesday, 6th February 1991, our splendid Third Rail network fell apart as can only be expected when the elements have the dashed awful cheek to mess about. It's just not on!
I was on a work course all week in the Hilton hotel in Basingstoke, and hearing news of the gradual collapse of rail services in the south, I had the awful feeling that Bas station was about as far as I'd be getting that day. With East Kent expecting fresh falls of heavy snow, I was getting a bit worried that Class 33's would be working passenger trains on my doorstep while I festered in what must amount to the Bashing equivalent of being sent to Coventry.
Friday 8th February 1991
The day dawned dull and very white, at 10:30 a Controller on our course rang the Control Office, who reported "Four trains all morning Basingstoke to Waterloo - only two platforms open at Waterloo!"
We were released at midday for a slow taxi to the Hauptbahnhof, where we fell straight onto a train for Waterloo. This made reasonable time to Clapham Jn, then took 40 minutes to get to Waterloo.
Trains to Gillingham were starting from London Bridge but after a 30 minute fester, when the train to London Bridge finally rolled into Waterloo East it had to be flagged. The reason? It was more wedged than if quadruple headed 37's had been on the front end of a Diesel Day train on the Settle & Carlisle. So the move was made by Tube to Victoria.
The first thing I heard when I got there was "Will passengers on the 16:03 to Ramsgate please note that due to a train just failed at Sole Street and a train blocking the Catford Loop line, this service will not depart until the train at Sole Street has been removed."
Cheers! I walked to a pub and had a pint, returning to Victoria after each pint to assess the situation.
The saga of the train at Sole Street was as follows: an eight-coach formation (4 CEP & 4 VEP) failed due to excessive snow on the third rail. Another 8 coach formation was attached from behind to push it, but this too became stuck. So a further 8 coaches were attached and not surprisingly failed. We now had a train of 24 coaches blocking the line! The train was eventually rescued by 56043 & 47206 (In Tandem) which pushed from behind until the whole caboodle was at Gillingham. It took 3 shunt moves at Rochester and an hour to be put away at Gillingham...
Meanwhile this was happening - 33033 rescues an 8 EPB formation at Dartford & hauls them to Charing Cross - Massive! Photo used with courtesy of Chris McKee.
While all this was happening, I was still at Victoria. I'd had to stop drinking some time before, as it was now 1915 and it was definitely a time to keep your wits about you! The situation improved enormously when 33042 rolled in on the front end of some CEP's with passengers and Cranks on board.
The usual familiarities were exchanged, various moves were made for fodder, gen etc whilst I flapped in case it wasn't going to work back out again. Little did I know then....The driver said he was going home to Gillingham by whatever route was available. The Shunter took 30 minutes to attach the loco to the CEPS, after eventually having to call for a sledgehammer because of all the snow and ice on the coupling gear of the unit. Then the driver announced: "This could be a bit of a railtour, lads..."
The meaning of this cryptic announcement soon became clear when the tannoy blasted "The train on platform two is for Gillingham calling at Bromley South and stations to Swanley, then will run via Paddock Wood & Strood to Gillingham" My Lords!
Everybody was totally withered by this unexpected info, but not for long, as they immediately announced that the line to Sole Street was now clear and the train would now call all shacks to Gillingham. Still, 33042 to Gillingham was not to be sneezed at!
We were off from Victoria at 20:11. The noise was deafening as we pulled out of the station and stormed down the line. At Bromley South, five very cold but jubilant Cranks joined the train. At Chatham, it was announced that the train was only going to Gillingham: but on arrival there, another driver climbed in the cab and we set off for Ramsgate.
33042 London Victoria - Sittingbourne 2011 Victoria - Ramsgate 44m 59ch
I bailed at Sittingbourne with three friends who had asked for zed-space at the pad. My mother, forewarned of the impending invasion, had set up extra beds. She was not best pleased, however, to find that my brother (Puppy) was one of the three desperadoes who had gritted their teeth and stayed on to Ramsgate. "In this weather - the boy's a bloody idiot!" After a bit of reassurance, she set off for bed muttering to herself while we ate our food from the nearby (hellfire at the time) Chippy .
The tale of the 3 heroes went thus: they stayed on for the Thrash through to Ramsgate with nary any regard of how to get back (my brother being railway staff would have got the others into the traincrew or fitters messroom if need arose) however on arrival at Ramsgate, whilst watching the efforts to get the loco detached from the CEP's, the driver called out "where are you going Lads?" they replied "nowhere" & he replied "well you've certainly got there! I'm going back light to Gillingham, where do you really want to go?" so they all piled in and got a cab ride on 33042 back to Sittingbourne!
Saturday 9th February 1991
The first I knew that these desperate characters hadn't frozen to death in the Ramsgate area was when I entered the front room at 5am, to stoke up the central heating system & tripped over one of them, dossed on the floor in the dark. I was not best pleased to hear of their good fortune!
We were all up early, though not very bright: one of our number needed to borrow some eye-drops as it's hard to stick your head out for the Thrash with all the sparks flying up off the 3rd rail pick-up shoes on the units...
Hopes were high when we set off to the station, but these were dashed when the first Up service to London arrived unassisted! We took it to Gillingham, where 3 Crompton's, two 56's and a 47 were sitting Standby in case they were needed. They were all ticking over, and everybody had bailed to see if they would work. After the stationary nature of much of the day before, I'd had enough of standing about, so went off to London alone. Nothing going down at Victoria so off to my office above Waterloo where Control told me that all Exeter trains were turning round at Basingstoke, and most trains around Sevenoaks & Tonbridge were having to be hauled.
After a few quick calls, I left Waterloo East on an Orpington train, which had smoke billowing from all it's pick-up shoes and several shoe fires on route (while locos just sat ticking over on Hither Green Shed!). Arriving at Orpington, the Gen produced that a boat train from Victoria to Dover Western Docks was in trouble at Chelsfield. 33051 with 8 parcels vans and 47625 on the rear end went by in that direction. Both locos were crewed and working. We later found out that they had pushed the boat train to Tonbridge, then 051 had run round and set off for Dover with it. Maybe I should have stayed on the same 8 VEP formation I had up from Sittingbourne, as it was the stock!
Anyway, 73126 rolled in going to Ashford, so we all piled on (there now being over 45 Cranks having converged at Orpington from all over the country) and travelled - slowly - to Tonbridge behind the failed train.
73126 waits at Petts Wood on the 1140 from Charing Cross to Ashford. (Photo courtesy of Jon Piesing)73126 Orpington - Tonbridge 1140 Charing Cross - Ashford 15m 57ch
We all jumped off here, because the Tonbridge to Hastings line is one of the most severely graded lines in the country, and we all expected to find engines on this route. As we had passed 3 or 4 73's on route, I gave up looking for Crompton's & route conducted Duffield to the pub - Uncle Tom's Cabin was as friendly as ever, the Greene King XX Mild & Felinfoel Double Dragon helped us to keep our spirits up.
On returning to the station, we found everyone else had vanished, and as 73136 (in departmental grey) was rolling in, we decided to take that to Ashford.
73136 Tonbridge - Ashford 26m 47ch
Very little was happening here, however, so we took a VEP to Canterbury, where there was even less going on! Still, there were still several public houses to be had, so the likes of Burton Bridge Porter, Mitchel's ESB and Goacher's Maidstone Old (yummy) had to suffice in lieu of 33's.
We then staggered across to the East station, where we chatted with the Supervisor for half an hour before our train arrived. On arrival at Faversham, our train terminated, and we had to cross to another platform for our London train. To our great astonishment, the inward working pulled in with 33063 on the interesting end!
There then followed another saga of the sledgehammer, which delayed us for an hour, eventually departing at 23:20. We decided not to risk going to London and went to my abode. Some other, more desperate types, went to Victoria with 063 and dossed the night there or at the airport!
33063 Faversham - Sittingbourne 2320 Faversham - Victoria 6m 78ch
"Sunday, the 10th of February, must rate as my best day since Crompton's finished on the Pompey's."
Sunday 10th February 1991
Sunday, the 10th of February, must rate as my best day since Crompton's finished on the Pompey's.
We'd had quite a few overnight guests at my folks house again, we all walked to the station, with the snow at least 3 inches thicker on the ground than the day before. We expected to have to fester at the station, which it turned out we did: for all of two minutes!
Both signals were green, and 33's appeared from both directions. 033 was going to London, while 002 was off light engine to Faversham to collect a train. So we jumped on 33033, which we took to Victoria, since we figured another engine would be dropping on the front to take us back to Faversham. Of course, we figured wrong, because they had decided to keep the locos attached to the London end of the units and push to Faversham as & when required to assist.
So we flagged 033 pushing out, and wandered off to London Bridge, since we had reports that several engines had worked out of there the previous evening. But no joy was to be had there, so it was a fast car back to Victoria, where we discovered that there were 5 locos working an hourly Victoria to Faversham service - all of them being Crompton's!
33002, 33023, 33033, 33042 & 33050. Thank You, as they say, very much!
So we took 33050, which did actually run round, on the 1103 Victoria to Faversham, which departed at 1200.
33033 Sittingbourne - London Victoria 0745 Faversham - Victoria 44m 59ch
33050 London Victoria - Faversham 1103 Victoria - Faversham 51m 77ch
A shuttle was running between Faversham & Dover Western Docks, again on a supposedly hourly basis, with 47457 and 33207 sharing the honours. As the Joe was the next one out, we flailed off to the pub across the road for a very decent Sunday Roast and exceptionally decent Spitfire Ale (it was better back then).
Then it was 33207 pushing to Dover W Docks, and since Canterbury East to Priory Jn was my last piece of required track for Diesel on that side of Kent, it was rather a Beast of a move. We returned on the 1600 Dover Western Docks to Faversham, with 33207 producing plenty of noise up front as it dragged the unit up what was by now a treacherous incline to Canterbury. 33050 forward on the 1756 Fav to Victoria as far as Sittingbourne, then back to Faversham with 33042 on the 1703 ex Victoria.
33207 Faversham - Dover Western Docks 1500 Faversham - Dover W Docks 26m 33ch
33207 Dover Western Docks - Faversham 1600 Dover W Docks - Faversham 26m 33ch
33050 Faversham - Sittingbourne 1756 Faversham - Victoria 6m 78ch
33042 Sittingbourne - Faversham 1703 Victoria - Faversham 6m 78ch
The plan was to have 33002 to London (as lowest mileage of the ones out), but the best laid plans and all that... 042 wandered off with the empties, 002 was waiting to shunt to the correct platform for the London departure. 33207 was well late back from Dover, so we dashed across the road for a pint, where we could watch developments. We saw 33002 pull out and waited for it to shunt back. Of course, it never did...
The tale of woe emerged later: 042 had been observed pulling out, on what was thought to be a siding bound train, as no announcements had been made. However, it had set off towards Dover. 002 had set off for London and to add insult to injury , there was no train from Dover for an hour or so, since 207 had been removed at the Docks for refuelling. The Editor of the 8LDA BRC&W Group magazine (where this article was 1st published) can tell you more, as he was one of the many people stuck at Dover for a fester as a result (Editors note: surprising how many people didn't know there was a fuelling point at Dover...)
Rather upset at this cruel blow from Fate, we waited for the next Up train, which 207 connected with. This had 33023 on the sharp end, and a roadshow now on board, so we took this to Victoria - Hellfire up Sole Street bank. We then had it out again on the 2156 ( a 12 car set!), the driver on the 33 was well in for the thrash value, opening up whenever the driver on the units sounded his horn. I bailed at Sittingbourne in the company of a New Forest fitter (Booger) who was well chuffed as it was his first move in the snow and 33023 was his machine!
33023 Faversham - London Victoria 1956 Faversham - Victoria 51m 77ch
33023 London Victoria - Sittingbourne 2203 Victoria - Faversham 44m 59ch
"Sitting on a Bagpipe in Kent, when we had come out for standards, did leave us a tad bemused..."
Monday 11th February 1991
Up rather before the Larks at 0520, to go and rake in the 0530 Faversham to Victoria. The South-Eastern had announced an hourly service, a mere Sixth of the normal SX Peak train frequency.
A big Xmas tree rolled in, 56056 to be precise, so suitably disappointed we took it to Chatham for the first down working. This gave us 30 minutes to rake in the slops - and slops they certainly were - before having 33002 (at last) on the 0630 ex-Faversham. Err, what about the 0530 ex-Victoria? Well, it was still at Victoria, due to there being a lack of available engines to work it.
Now when I say we got on, this rather blurs the fact that the units were totally wedged, it was only by dint that we were both Staff and could get in the rear cab of the rear unit with the Guard that we got on at all!
Several hundred normal's weren't so fortunate and got left behind. They probably spent the next hour writing to The Telegraph... from Disgusted of Platform 1.
We, meanwhile, were rather pointlessly stopping all shacks to Bromley South - pointless since no-one could get on: we must have left 400 behind at Swanley alone - and finally arrived at Victoria.
We waved the 0850 Victoria to Faversham as 002 was only ticking over on the rear, we then leapt to Bromley South in case anything else was heading for the London. Nowt doing so we settled for 33101, a real push/pull engine, in multi with 4 CEP 1501 on the 0920 Victoria-Maidstone-Ashford. Sitting on a Bagpipe in Kent, when we had come out for standards, did leave us a tad bemused though.
56056 Sittingbourne - Chatham 0530 Faversham - Victoria 10m 34ch
33002 Chatham - London Victoria 0630 Faversham - Victoria 34m 25ch
1558) London Victoria - Bromley South 0850 Victoria - Faversham 10m 71ch
1521)
33101) Bromley South - Ashford 0920 Victoria - Ashford 49m 26ch
1501)(In Multi)
On arrival at Ashford, we wandered off for a pint, I made a gen call to Control and found out, much to our disbelief, that the Exeter's had 33019, 33027 & 33047 (massive) at the controls. Mass panic then ensued, mainly due to 33047 being allocated to the 1315, and we couldn't get to it.
So 33101 was had back to Victoria on the 1145 ex-Ashford, we discovered 33047 hadn't worked, so 101 was had again on the 1420 to Ashford. Me and Mike Tyrer bailed at Otford for 33021 back in (also working Ashford services).
Bowled yet again though, since engines were being detached at Ashford! We thought that 021 was just late, and so festered for an hour, then returned on an EPB to Vic for the tube to Waterloo.
33101) Ashford - London Victoria 1145 Ashford - Victoria 59m 17ch
1501)(In Multi)
33101) London Victoria - Otford 1420 Victoria - Ashford 24m 07ch
1501)(In Multi)
5217 Otford - London Victoria 1345 Ashford - Victoria 24m 07ch
I got the gen and found out that 33030 was somehow on the 1734! This confused the issue somewhat, since 33047 was at Clapham Jn and still shown serviceable. (It was shown as N/LOP later on TOPS).
Then Waterloo muddied the waters still further by using the wrong set of stock for the 1705, which meant that 030 was trapped at the back of the 1734 Yeovil. That meant it now became the engine for the 1815 Exeter, despite TOPS showing it to be a 47!
33030 duly departed and we were off to Exeter, on a day that we expected to spend in Kent!
A Roadshow was the only way to describe the onboard events, people joining and bailing on route.
So by the time we reached Exeter, weary but jubilant, there were only eight of us left.
The class 50 diagram (how long will these excellent and sadly-doomed engines - sorry, that should read sad and excellently doomed engines - be with us for?) entailed the engine off the 1815 working the 2210 Exeter St.Davids to Newton Abbot. But in our wisdom, we knew that there was little chance of this happening, since 030 had only about 70 gallons of fuel left & there was a class 50 spare. However, the forward Driver confounded us all as he got in the loco and ran it round!
Several people present nearly collapsed, one who was going home to Plymouth couldn't take it all in and was doing a passable goldfish impersonation, and the BRC&W Group Chairman quite simply said "Never!"
So a trip along the sea-wall was on and despite the well-below freezing temperatures - and the ice flows in the estuary - a Bellow was in order along the wall! On arrival at Newton Abbot, a few phone calls were made, just to share the news of our good fortune, you understand, not to wither anyone...
33030 London Waterloo - Exeter St.Davids 1V19 1815 Watlerloo - Exeter St.D 172m 12ch
33030 Exeter St.Davids - Newton Abbot 2C59 2210 Exeter St.Davids - Newton Abbot 20m 14ch
52053 Newton Abbot - Exeter St.Davids xxxx Paignton - Exeter St.Davids 20m 14ch
Unfortunately, I had to go to work in the morning, so after a couple of hours getting my head down at a chums house, I returned to the station for the Up Midnight, which was 40 minutes late, but had the bonus of being all de-classified firsts behind 47831.
Tuesday 12th February 1991
47831 Exeter St.Davids - London Paddington 1A03 2215 Penzance - Paddington 193m 72ch
This morning at work, after explaining I couldn't attend yesterday, being unable to board any train at Sittingbourne due to the appalling hourly service, ( I actually rang in from an Internal phone someone had handily placed, in the new Men's toilets, under the Victoria Central concourse - where station announcements cannot be heard!), I was running around flapping in headless chicken mode, getting on everyone's nerves (which goes to show that some things never change) and receiving quite inordinate amounts of phone calls.
Normally when my office phone rang (I was a CO3 Ballast Timings Clerk on the SW division of BR at the time) the shout of "Gen Call!" would erupt from the rest of the office - I was getting far too many calls for that today! The only 33 out was 027, on the 0745 Bas - Exeter but it didn't come straight back from Exeter as the 1200 was a set of Coffins. When the phone rang with the news that the 1422 Exeter to Waterloo was 33027 & 33030, the words "there's a move on" materialised above my head and I was off!
So it was out to Bas on the Cons with 50030 (shades of Padd days?) for the pair back in.
50030 London Waterloo - Basingstoke 1V16 1615 Waterloo - Yeovil Jn 47m 61ch
33027) Basingstoke - London Waterloo 1O38 1422 Exeter St.Davids - Waterloo 47m 61ch
33030)
33027 and 33030 at Waterloo on the 1422 from Exeter. Photo courtesy of Jon Piesing.027 was working back on the 1915 Yeovil and 030 the 2040, so I took 027 to Bas for a pair Wessex Porker's back to Waterloo, then Tube to Victoria.
33027 London Waterloo - Basingstoke 1V21 1915 Waterloo - Yeovil Jn 47m 61ch
2403) Basingstoke - London Waterloo 47m 61ch
2409)
At Victoria I saw a 73 pushing an Ashford train out, but I knew that they had finished dragging the day before, so I assumed that it was a defective unit. Then 33020 rolled in on a 12 CEP formation!
I was, to say the least, completely nonplussed, especially when the shunter told me of blizzards in Kent with snow three inches above the running rail. The CEP's shunted to Platform 1 and the engine finally backed on. While all this was going on, 33048 (which had worked some trains through all this but everyone had missed) arrived from Ashford on an 8 EPB. I nearly got off, but on realising that both engines were needed for the year I might as well do the one that would get me home.
at the time) & tonight at London Victoria on the last Ashford service (so no way home)!
I stayed on 33020 which was working the 2250 Victoria to Ramsgate throughout. The Crompton driver told the driver on the units that he would "have a go" so 33020 stormed out of Victoria dragging the 12 CEP - no mean feat with that many motors to turn over! The noise and clag were outrageous!
Serious brake problems led to a 15 minute delay at Bromley South to rectify the fault, during which time 33053 arrived dragging an 8 CAP! Instantly headless, I managed to restrain myself and stay on 33020.
On arrival at Rochester curve, we were held on a Red and discovered the third rail was off from Rochester to Rainham! After an hours fester while 33002 and 73101 dragged dead units clear, we proceeded to Gillingham where 33002 was sitting at the down end of the Up platform, meanwhile 73101 was off wrong-line to Rainham to rescue a de-icing unit. Forward to Sittingbourne behind 33020 and rather late to bed...
Wednesday 13th February 1991
I did a quick turn-round with only a couple of hours sleep, I'd already missed one day at work this week, better get to the station early (I usually caught the 0605 departure) while also hoping 33020 might be hauling the first Up service - only to find the job was stopped on the Up!
After getting info from the station staff that services were basically suspended, due to heavy snowfalls north of Chatham, a unit arrived heading south in the path of the 0523 Victoria (it may have started from Gillingham), I thought my best chance of perhaps finding 33020 was to jump on that.
No sign of anything on the Up, nothing at Faversham being dragged towards Dover (the fresh snow had missed the area) so continued all the way to Ramsgate. Here I rather got my own back on those who desperately did 33042 to here at the beginning of this report - 33033 was sitting in a platform, it too was returning light engine to Gillingham & I was offered a lift back to Sittingbourne! Et tu, Brutus?
Units Sittingbourne - Ramsgate 0523 Victoria* - Ramsgate (*started at Gillingham?) 34m 42ch
33033 Ramsgate - Sittingbourne 0Z33 xxxx LE Ramsgate - Gillingham 34m 42ch
I just needed to ring work from the Traincrew booking on point (there was still a traincrew depot at Sittingbourne in those days) and get the Chargehand to verify to my Boss that I had reported for Duty but was unable to travel as the service was suspended, so I was entitled to a full days pay - home to Bed to catch up on some much needed Sleep!
Heady days indeed. BR had been much derided in the snow of 1987 for failing to employ locos to haul struggling services, leading to a long-term chronic unit shortage well after the snows had melted due to blown or burnt out traction motors & ripped off pick-up shoes. They were slightly better this time but the sights and smells of burning pick-up shoes & motors live long in the memory - locos were sat on standby at numerous locations while units really struggled. The pot-luck nature of these workings meant you could have little (like the Saturday) or a heck of a lot like Sunday & Monday.
Back in the "Real" world, just days later, the IRA unfortunately stepped up their London bombing campaign on the 18th February when bombs exploded at both Paddington & London Victoria stations. This marked the start of a near 4 year campaign of bombing in the Capital - I myself was sat only one signal outside the platform at London Bridge when the Bomb exploded there in Feb 1992.
It took me 60 minutes to get to London Bridge - and SEVEN hours to get back to Sittingbourne!
I cut my losses and took a job with Res (Rail Express Systems) that came with a paid relocation package to Crewe, fed up with never knowing if you could get to/from work & back home again on a daily basis.
Cheers Poodle (Richard Mann)
PS: with thanks to Richard Howat (editor of the 8LDA magazine) where this article was first published in Spring 1991. I have embellished the story with more detail, but some of the Flowery language injected into the story by Mr Howat reflects someone better educated than myself!
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