Some Anglia Dragging.           by Sudbury

Dragging was not nearly as common in Anglia as other parts of the country.  I seem to remember than the GE main line
electrification between Shenfield and Colchester was set up so that it was possible to isolate one line whilst the other was
still 'live' with single line working in force. Most lines elsewhere required both lines on a two-track section to be isolated
and that is probably the reason why dragging in Anglia was less common.

The 6.25/25Kv conversion work I think started on the evening of Friday 5th September 1980 as I can remember doing a
spotting trip to London that evening (I had just started part-time work so I had some money for a change!). I can recall
coming back on the 2150 Liv Street - Clacton which was loco-hauled Mk.1s with I think a Cl.37 or 31 on the front instead
of the normal Cl.309 unit. A special timetable operated with not only the Clacton semi-fasts but also I think the Colchester
- Liv Street stopping trains being loco hauled.  I used to have a special timetable leaflet for the work which gave the other
dates as well but somewhere in my various house moves I've lost it  There were also two or three other weekends in
September / October 1980 when the GE inner suburban network was converted from 6.25 KV to 25 KV when for both Saturday
and Sunday no EMU's could operate from Liverpool Street at all.

Until about 1982 there were regular weekends when the power was off on Sundays in the winter between Colchester
and Clacton and on those days the Liverpool Street - Clacton EMU diagrams were loco-hauled throughout with MkI
stock and 31's or 37's as locos.

I well remember the workings you list for Feb, 1986 (16/2/86) . The dragging was Liv Street - Ilford in one direction, Romford - Liv Street in
the other.  This was definitely a one off and took place as part of the work connected with the building of the Docklands Light Railway
branch to Stratford.

My moves on the drags that day were:
37057 1530 Liv St - Ipswich to Stratford
31105 1320 Clacton - Liv St from Stratford
37055 1600 Liv St - Clacton to Ilford then forward as EMU to Romford for
31311 1410 Clacton - Liv Street to Liv Street
47277 1700 Liv Street - Clacton to Ilford and forward as EMU to Romford for
37055 1540 Clacton - Liv Street to Liv Street.

On that date there was also 'Hitchin' dragging as well.  I had 31132 on the 1306 Kings Cross - Royston from Welwyn Garden City
to Knebworth.  There were normally two engines out on these 'Hitchin' drags but I can't recall what the other one was.

I once fell on a one-off drag from Colchester to Ipswich as well:-
22/4/86 - 2030 Liv Street Norwich was 86255 dragged by 31224 from Colchester to Ipswich.

I can remember sometime in the summer of 1985 or 1986 getting a gen call that 37003 was going to work a similar drag from
Colchester to Ipswich one  evening. I think it did work, probably on the 1930 or 2030 ex Liv Street, but I didn't have enough
warning to get to it!. No real idea of the date but it must have been close to the summer as it was still light when I got
the call in mid-evening.

In late October 1987 there was a bank slip on the down side just north of the river Stour bridge at Manningtree on the GE main line.
The last few late evening down trains were dragged from Colchester to Ipswich over a period of about two weeks each weeknight
whilst repairs were carried out. 37216 / 37219 / 31264+268 were regular performers during this time. I can give the following definite
workings from the three times that I covered this dragging :

Tue 27/10/87 - 2330 Liv Street - Norwich - 86208 with 37219 as drag engine Colchester - Ipswich in the early hours of
Wednesday morning.

Wed 29/10/87 - 2330 Liv Street - Norwich - 86252 with 37216 as drag engine Colchester - Ipswich in the early hours of
Thursday morning.

Monday 2/11/87 - 2030 Liv Street - Norwich - 86223 with 31264+31268 as drag engines Colchester - Ipswich. Then did a fast van
back to Manningtree for 2230 Liv Street - Norwich - 86233 with 37040 as drag engine Colchester - Ipswich - hellfire as it loomed
out of the Stour Valley fog at Manningtree about an hour late for the hardy souls such as me who were waiting there. Even
better to score my second to last 31(223) the next afternoon dragging the 1458 Weymouth - Cardiff DMU as far as Bristol TM!.
See below for more details of these drags...

The 'North London Line' boat train drag was a timetabled working caused by the introduction of a Harwich - Glasgow
(Harwich - Birmingham on Sundays) via the NLL before 25KV electrification was completed over this route. I think it only
ran in the 1987/88 timetable or it may have been that after that it became a through electric. I have no record of ever doing the
weekday train and can't remember it ever producing anything interesting.

However I covered the Sunday train four times as follows :
22/11/87 - 1818 Brum - Harwich - 86258 dragged by 47634 from Willesden 58 signal via Camden Jn to Stratford.  I think I was
just doing the train to see what it got.
17/1/88 - 1330 Harwich - Brum - 86206 dragged by 37893 (BIG at the time) from Channelsea Jn - Camden Road.  This was a total
fall-on and I baled at Watford Jn to make some gen calls so that people could get in position for the return.
21/2/88 - 1818 Brum - Harwich - 86246 dragged by 31226 from Willesden 58 signal via Camden Jn to Stratford.  Had the gen in
advance on this one.
10/4/88 - 1818 Brum - Harwich - 86227 dragged by 37128 from Willesden 58 signal via Camden Jn to Stratford.  Again, had the
gen and leapt.
.
Also there was a batch of dragging over several weekends in the autumn of  1988 between Liv Street and Shenfield.  I did the
following (all Sundays):
.
11/9/88
47256 1010 Liv St - Norwich to Shenfield
47256 0900 Norwich - Liv St ex Shenfield
31414 1210 Liv St - Norwich to Shenfield
31414 1100 Norwich - Liv St ex Shenfield
47256 1410 Liv St - Norwich to Shenfield, forward with 86236 to Chelmsford
47096 1400 Norwich - Liv Street ex Shenfield (had had 86214 from Chelmsford)
47256 1710 Liv St - Norwich to Shenfield
47256 1600 Norwich - Liv St ex Shenfield.
The xx30 departures from Liv Street were all retimed to xx10 on this day.
.
18/9/88
37010 2330 Liv St - Norwich to Shenfield
This was known about from about 1500 - it came off an ECS working to do a one-off drag and the same sequence of working
had happened the previous week with a different loco.  Lucky for me as I only needed about ten 37's at this time and this was
one of them!  Getting back was a bit of a nightmare though, EMU from Shenfield to Romford, bus to Stratford, tube to Liverpool
Street, night bus to Paddington for the 0130 Pad - Reading bubble car with its usual quota of ticketless drunks getting gripped /
hossed by the BTP at Paddington before the inevitable late start then home in Reading for a few hours doss and up at 0600 to
go to work!
.
02/10/88
37357 2010 Liv St - Norwich to Shenfield (2030 retimed)
37357 1900 Norwich - Liv St ex Shenfield.
.
30/10/88 - On my way to visit my dad in hospital in Bury St Edmunds I find the dragging is still ongoing, I think it might even
have been allowed for in the winter timetable of 1988.
47433 1430 Liv St - Norwich to Shenfield, 86223 forward to at least Ipswich
31442 2030 Norwich - Liv St ex Shenfield, had been 86214 from at least Ipswich.

... this article intends to provide a little more detail on the events of October/November 1987 with diesel haulage between Ipswich and Colchester.  The gen is limited to the trains which I did.

The trains to be dragged were, on the Up: the 20.25 Norwich to Liverpool Street, the TPO service and the 23.45 Ipswich to Liverpool Street (Class 309), and on the Down the 20.30, 21.30, 22.30 and 23.30 Liverpool Street to Norwich services.  The first evening was 26th October with 37216 working the 20.25 x Norwich – the driver forgetting to isolate the DSD in the 86, with 216 attempting to move a train with the brakes on – very loud!  The same loco was then had back on the 21.30 x London.

The following night the pattern emerged with loco on 20.25 x Norwich coming straight back, and the other 37 doing the 22.30 x London – this led to what was to be the standard move for the Ipswich 37 bashers – engine 1 to Colchester, fast walk to the Norfolk public house, 4 to 5 pints of GK Abbot, not so fast walk back to the station for engine 2 home!

27/10    37216 20.25 Norwich to Liv St,
             37219 22.30 Liv St to Norwich
28/10    37216 20.25 Norwich to Liv St
              37029 22.30 Liv St to Norwich
29/10    47447 20.25 Norwich to Liv St – through Duff – bowled!
              37216 22.30 Liv St to Norwich
30/10    37204 20.25 Norwich to Liv St
             37204 21.30 Liv St to Norwich
03/11    37219 20.25 Norwich to Liv St
             37216 22.30 Liv St to Norwich
04/11    37216 20.25 Norwich to Liv St
             37216 21.30 Liv St to Norwich

Also during this period was a “brucie bonus” when on the afternoon of the 28/10, 37304+079 were called upon to rescue the 13.00 Norwich to Liverpool St after the can expired at Stowmarket – 15 years on and the situation is still the same, with exception of the rescue motive power!  It must also be noted that whilst on 37029 (28/10/87) that same night, one of the most memorable on train tannoy announcements ever was made by the Senior Conductor (known as “The Milkman”).  We were at Manningtree awaiting clear of a freightliner from the Single Line and the announcement went like this – “I would like to apologise to all passengers for the delay here at Manningtree.  Due to engineering work there is only one line open ahead of us, and trains are using it in either direction.  The BR Rule Book states that two trains are not allowed to go towards each other, on the same bit of line at the same time!"

All my Harwich boat drags over the North London.  Notables with ***

12 September 87
47648 with 86249 1145 Glasgow / 1140 Edinburgh - Harwich, the usual Willesden - Stratford

24 October (A Network Day)
47518 with 86261 0750 Harwich - Glasgow / Edinburgh, the usual Channelsea - Camden Road

*** 8 November (Sunday)
47579 1330 Harwich - Birmingham from Harwich with 86402 dead in train.
Diverted via South Tottenham, Gospel Oak, City Goods.  86402 failed to start, 86430 forward from Willesden.

*** 28 November
47501 with 86206, 0750 Harwich - Glasgow / Edinburgh, the drag extended to Willesden FLT after the train fouled the DC 3rd rail
(for inspection and remove loco out of the way).
47574 through from Willesden to Harwich with 86261 dead in train. 1145 Glasgow / 1140 Edinburgh - Harwich

13 February '88
47466 with 86209 0750 Harwich - Glasgow / Edinburgh the usual Channelsea - Camden Road, used the AC electrified line.

27 February
47533  with 86245 1145 Glasgow / 1140 Edinburgh - Harwich, the usual Willesden - Stratford

5 March
86101 1145 Glasgow / 1140 Edinburgh - Harwich, but diverted to Euston due to drag loco driver on strike.

*** 2 April 88
47364 with 86260 0750 Harwich - Glasgow / Edinburgh, Channelsea Jn - Camden Road over DC lines
47602 with 86229 1145 Glasgow / 1140 Edinburgh - Harwich, the usual Willesden - Stratford over DC lines

*** 16 April 88
Train diverted via Liverpool Street.  86419 to Willesden, 47508 to Liverpool Street, 47436 to Harwich

The train did indeed run for only one year May 1987 - May 1988.  Loco was a spare for the Cross Country 'Brighton - WCML' services
off Old Oak, hence the generally 'boring' result.

My first, and last, through electric was the final run on 14 May (86232)
 
 
 

Does this trigger any more memories of Anglia dragging?