The BeerTrain

The Portsmouth to Cardiff services were due to finish in May 1988, I and many of the Crompton roadshow were spending an increasing number of days out "on the Bash", sometimes using Leave & sometimes just going Sick from work! With so many booked turns to cover and mileage to accumulate, very little time was spent eating or drinking - no breakfast, food on the go during the day from chippy's and then little or no time for Beer! Saturday 31st October Unfortunately the brickworks where I worked had started working on Saturday mornings due to demand, as the only person trained on my Brick stacking machine this meant I could no longer leap on Friday evening for the 2252 Waterloo - Weymouth (booked a 33) but could only make the 1410 Waterloo - Salisbury on Saturday afternoon. EMU  Sittingbourne - London Victoria 44m 40ch 33108 Waterloo - Salisbury 1L09 1410 Waterloo - Salisbury 83m 43ch 33064 Salisbury - Fareham 1O43 1415 Cardiff - Portsmouth Hbr 38m 43ch 33048 Fareham - Ba...

It was with great sadness and shock that I heard, on Sunday 9th May 2021, of the untimely death of John "Zuzzy Hell" Sandham. He was running for a train at Cardiff Central station, Unit bashing, when he sadly had a heart attack & Died - doing what he loved most, Trains. John with only ONE bag shocker! Stockport 10/04/82. Photo used with courtesy of fgrsimon Though known to most of the UK's Bashing fraternity from at least the early 80's, if not before, I only got to know John from early 1987 when we were both solidly bashing Crompton's on the Southern. As one of those few who were regularly out daily, like myself, we would often share a Compo on the overnight moves. Woking Tea party If we were on the 2238 Weymouth to Waterloo we would nip to John's house for a quick cup of tea before going back to the station for the 0245 ex Waterloo to Portsmouth & Southsea. Similarly if we did the 2345 out to Woking we would have a few cuppa's and relax at his ho...

A planned Easter trip to meet up with Tim Reiner & friends in Spain to cover Easter week additionals which brought out a host of the very loud 333's every year. I had never been but they knew what they were doing! These were the days of Boarding Cards - Boarding Card for the cross-channel boat, boarding Card for the overnight to Spain out of Paris Austerlitz...…. I had boarding cards for both & a couchette reservation out of Austerlitz. Having the experience of losing 3 days on a previous Easter trip due to not making the cross-channel boat (a fatality involving my service just before it arrived at Sittingbourne where I was waiting on the platform) & having to wait until the boarding card period was over before I could travel, I had a bit of insurance this time having got FIP coupons for France/Lux & Austria just in case I got bowled somewhere. That somewhere turned out to be just outside the French portal of the Channel Tunnel! Easter Sunday 16/04/95 3216) W...