Football specials & Mystery Trains.

[22A]

In the early 70's BR operated football specials to City away games, (dunno about Rovers).
Swindon in Sept / Oct 71 was fitted in amongst regular services. Then about a month later City were away to Charlton and fans were taken all the way to Charlton station.
I've studied the rail atlas and am still not sure of the route taken between West and South East London.
These excursions are not listed on Six Bells Junction.

Neither are the Mystery Trains operated from temple Meads in the late 60's. I travelled on four of those, usually a Sunday afternoon. Three went to towns in Kent and the last one went to Clacton. Although young at the time, my friends and I tried timing the train which was hauled by a Bath Road class 47, (Brush Type 4 back then). We were convinced that at several points we hit 100mph.

Any other memories of these types of excursion?

[Andy Kirkham]

I very much mourn the demise of mystery excursions and other excursions. Imagine being able to fit in a ride on the Talyllyn or Vale of Rheidol as a Sunday day trip! The fare was just over £1 in the early 1970s

I too reached Clacton by this means, travelling via North London, passing the intriguing Junction Road Junction and spotting three Class 15 type 1s at Stratford only months before their demise.

If you were a member of the Branch Line Society, the newsletter would reveal the destinations of forthcoming Mysteries.

Other destinations I reached by Mystery Train were Brighton, Llandudno and Southport.

Also in 1971 and 1972 there was a programme of half day excursions by 9-car DMU, usually on a circular route, at a cost of 60p.
Bristol - Castle Cary - Yeovil Pen Mill - yeovil Junction - Exeter - Bristol
Bristol - Newport - Hereford (Stop to visit Bulmer's Railway centre) - Worcester - Bristol
Bristol - Didcot - Oxford - Worcester - Bristol
Bristol - Cheltenham - Honeybourne - Stratford-on-Avon and return

[Andy Kirkham]

P.S. When I was living in Scotland in the early 1980's, my parents were able to visit me in Edinburgh by a day excursion from Bristol!