Unusual Diesel traction on the old Midland

[buxton4472]

Did the Brush 'Falcon' or 'Lion' ever come up the Midland? I remember waiting expectantly for one of them some time in the early 60's as it was rumoured to be working 1N70 Bristol - Newcastle but when it turned up it was a class 46!

Thinking about it, as Falcon did not arrive in Bristol until 1965, the rumoured working on the Midland line from Bristol that did not materialise must therefore have been by "Lion" because I remember the Peak which appeared on the Newcastle train was D149 - the first Class 46 I had seen which must have been 1962. "Lion" was at 84A around that time but does anybody know whether it actually visited Bristol? The 'gen' that "Lion" would be working that train came from a reputable source - Charfield's station-master!

Looking through the "Derby Sulzer" web pages I came across the following item for the year 1961 (and I apologise if this sighting has already been discussed in this forum) :

A football match between Dartford & Bristol on November 25th saw two eleven coach specials run.... the first ran with D5009 & 6523 throughout, making the journey via Clapham Jcn, Salisbury, Westbury and Bath.

... which begs the question - were these the first of each of these two classes to get to Bristol?

[trafalgar45682]

Here is a photo of Lion at Gloucester Eastgate

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bristolste ... hotostream

[buxton4472]

Here is a photo of Lion at Gloucester Eastgate

...in which it looks to be heading north from Eastgate, so it may have travelled the Bristol - Gloucester line. It is showing 3Z.. in the headcode panel (although this may not necessarily have been a true description of the train!) and hauling old WR stock. Nice one!