6th September 1979

British Rail
Cumbrian Coast Express

Locos Used at least 40138 & steam : 4472 'Flying Scotsman' & 5690 'Leander'
Stock Used 12 Mk 1's

Route :

Loco Route
40138? Blackpool North - Preston
40138 Preston - Lancaster - Carnforth
4472 Carnforth - Arnside - Grange-over-Sands - Plumpton Jn - Ulverston - Dalton Jn - Park South Jn - Askham - Foxfield - Millom - Bootle - Ravenglass - Seascale - Sellafield
5690 Sellafield - (reverse of outward route) - Carnforth
40138 Carnforth - Lancaster - Preston
40138? Preston - Blackpool North

Notes :
(1) Brian Basterfield comments: My third 1979 Cumbrian Coast Express outing had problems with the connecting services. Birmingham to Crewe was fine, but the 10.09am Crewe to Preston, a through service from Euston, was delayed. So BR put on a 9.59am Crewe to Preston additional service, in the form of a 4 car Craven DMU. So all was well. This time, 4472 Flying Scotsman worked north from Carnforth, with once again, 5690 Leander working the return. As always 4472 made a lot of noise, but achieved very little, with a poor climb from Plumpton Junction up to Lindal summit. Single line working was in operation between Askham and Foxfield, which meant a 19 minute late arrival at Ravenglas. Once again I opted for the Ravenglass and Eskdale line (River Esk and Northern Rock) rather than sampling the delights of Sellafield. On the return, Leander was once again heavily checked at Park South and Dalton Junctions, resulting in a 5 minute late arrival at Carnforth. Service train haulage from Birmingham to Preston and return included Electrics 86204, 87015, 86216, plus the Craven DMU.

Source : Brian Basterfield

 Timings (Advertised & Actual)
(from Brian Basterfield & Alan Taylor)

Location Advertised Actual   Advertised Actual
Blackpool North 10.20d ?   20.10a ?
Preston ??.??a ~ 11.10d ??.?? ~ 11.12   19.29a ~ ??.??d 19.37 ~ ??.??
Garstang ? 11/25   ? 19/25
Lancaster ??.??a ~ 11.40d 11.41 ~ 11.42   19.03a ~ ??.??d 19.07 ~ 19.08
Morecambe South Jn ? 11/46   ? 19/03
Carnforth ??L??a ~ 12L05d 11.56 ~ 12.06   18L35a ~ ??.??d 18.40 ~ 18.55
Arnside ? 12/16   ? 18/30
Grange over Sands (30min stop) 12.22 ~ 12.49   ? 18/25
Plumpton Jn ? 13/02   ? 18/12
Dalton Jn ? 13/15   ? 17.52 ~ 17.57
Park South Jn ? 13.19 ~ 13.20   ? 17/47
Askham ? 13.25 ~ 13.45   ? 17/41
Foxfield ? 13/56   ? 17/33
Millom ? 14/04   ? 17/27
Bootle ? 14/15   ? 17/17
Ravenglass 14.04a ~ ??.??d 14.23 ~ ??.??   ??.??a ~ 17.08d ??.?? ~ 17.08
Seascale 14.22a ~ ??.??d ?   ??.??a ~ 16.53d ?
Sellafield 14L31a ?   16L45d ?


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