The Bristol Railway Archive

I wonder if some of you knowledgeable guys out there can help me.
I am looking for information about motorail and sleeper services to/from Bristol (NOT Paddington to Penzance).

What I would like to know is the times of such services; whether they departed to/arrived from multi-destinations and what was the make-up of the trains. I am not interested in the motive power.

I believe at one time there was a train which departed from TM about 21:00 / 22:00 which claimed to be the only train jointly owned by every section of BR, eg Sleeper, motorail, parcels etc.

Also were the motorail vehicles used on these services the converted BG or GUV enclosed vans, car-flats or double-deck car transporters and how were they marshalled at TM.

Any information would be very helpful. Thankyou.

I can just remember Carflats being loaded at TM on a Friday evening. The Motorail dock was near Platform 2 and the cars used to drive onto the platform through an arch with a big arched Motorail sign over it. Three cars to a wagon, if I recall, all loaded from end on.

I saw it Friday nights because that was the evening my Father would take me with him to deliver his racing pigeons to TM for shipping by rail to the start point for the Saturday race.

We used to go to Stapleton Road to ship the birds before it was de-staffed, then TM took over, then the railways gave up on pigeons so they went by road after that

on the 8/12/1984 i worked the 21-00hrs Bristol to Glasgow sleepers and was diverted via Severn tunnel jct to Gloucester and on to Birmingham
i never got to Birmingham the loco number47524 caught fire in the Wadborough crossing area.the rest is a long story.
The return sleeper was a Bath rd turn dep New street at 07-00 hrs arrive Tmds at 08-30?

oldchapie wrote: i never got to Birmingham the loco number47524 caught fire in the Wadborough crossing area.the rest is a long story.

Well you may as well tell it - things are a bit quiet around here again at the moment

oldchapie wrote:The return sleeper was a Bath rd turn dep New street at 07-00 hrs arrive Tmds at 08-30?

I remember being on the M32 on my way into work and seeing the sleeper approaching Stapleton Road station on a regular basis. So yes, about 0830. In those days I didn't commute by train so I never got to see the sleeper arrive into Temple Meads. Just before the service stopped I would hear the northbound service pass through Yate at 2352, seemed to be on time most nights.

The sevice from TM in the early 90's (19) started from Plymouth to Glasgow and had motorrail vans attached at TM. Ithink they went on the front of the train behind the loco and on return working were again behind the loco. I dont know the exact formation think it may have only been 4 sleeping coaches Mk2 coaching stock. With 4 mk2 passenger coaching stock plus 2 motorrail vans I dont think any came up from Plymouth on the train.It was off TM about 23:00 and arrived back the next day at 06:00


There was a mix up once with 3 or 4 cars eneding up at Bristol instead of their original destination, I was asked/summoned to B&E house to take one of the cars back to London. A nice shiney BMW I think it was a 525 ! were they around in the 90's? Took said car to Euston and parked it in the motorrail car park and left the keys with the clerk there. As I was leaving a Gentleman of west indian origin asked me if I had brought the car up here I said yes and was given a ú10 tip .

I remember the train, 21.24 ex Btm to Glasgow/Edinburgh. Motor rail vans not car flats used in the last few years. The service from Bristol to Scotland finished March/April 94 if memory serves me correct. My wife and I travelled it in last few wks, not as good as 10 years earlier, with 2x class 37 bankers pushing ex Bromsgove!