The BeerTrain

What can I say about 1990? It was Crap for Crompton's for a start. NO booked workings, I would like to say we were feeding on scraps but for many months there just weren't any! On 17th February I leapt from Carlisle to Eastleigh for some Eastleigh-Romsey-Southampton-Fareham shuttles, running due to Engineering work, only for 33110 to fail 1/4 of a mile outside Eastleigh station on the first train! The next few months didn't get any better, it was a pretty bleak Spring. With nothing happening on the 33 front I planned a week on a Priv All Line Rover, just to enjoy a bit of proper Bashing.            (# = Required Loco) Saturday 02/06/90 I was just ending my 6 months probationary period on BR, in the TEB at Paddington, I already had a permanent post waiting for me at Waterloo, as a CO3 Ballast Timings Clerk. My Rover started Sunday, I was intending to head North out of Euston tonight using the "valid from 2200 the previous day" rule which allowed you to start...

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...

Having moved north from London to Cheshire over a year before, I was somewhat out of position to get involved in the ongoing restoration of our loco 33111 at St.Leonards, Hastings. In the early days of owning the loco I would often spend my Saturdays, or even whole weekends, helping to restore the loco at St.Leonards Depot. After moving to Cheshire I then came up with the idea of forming a Railtour Company, through the 33/1 Preservation Group of which I was a founding member, to raise funds for the loco's restoration and have some good days out to boot! Thus 33111 Charters was born. Over a few brainstorming sessions in The Albion, Crewe, under the glare of Big Al, the Landlord, we came up with a plan. We needed to run a tour that at least made money, no good trying to raise funds for the Group then actually costing it money! To that end I decided that we would have to do something different if we wanted to get that result, something to entice the residents of the North West to book...

Where to begin? where can you begin when dealing with an all-time first for Class 33's and all the planning that goes into such a unique endeavour. I suppose at the beginning. I think it was a Tuesday night when five of us met for a beer in one of the pre-eminent Real Ale pubs of London at that time, the White Horse in Parsons Green. Myself (Poodle), Samways, Pinker, Kapur & Paul Smith. A few beers in, and the conversation drifted towards the end of the BR Special Trains Unit, which was winding down and would be handing over the reins to Watermans Railways shortly. Kapur, never one to keep the noise down after a few liveners, was outraged that the Steam fraternity were marking the occasion with a number of Steam Charters on the final weekend. I think he said there were 10 sets of stock and nine were already spoken for. Someone must do something Diesel hauled! "What can we do" I said, "We haven't even got any paper to write anything down". See that beerma...