The Class 33 started their five and a half year association with the Crewe to Cardiff line on the 16th of January of 1981 when 33031 arrived at Crewe Diesel Depot for crew training. The class were due to relieve the handful of Crewe based steam heat class 25s - that had worked the line since it went loco-hauled in 1978 - at the start of the new timetable on June 1st 1981.
Class 33s were not a common sight at Crewe prior to 1981, and possibly the previous one had been 33002 which worked a Liverpool - Poole train some three years earlier in February 1978.
Many 'Cromptons' appeared at Crewe on crew training along with 33031, the next three being 33020 on 28/1, 33012 on 14/2 and Hither Green based 33037 on 24/2; a short while later 33105 made an appearance.
Although on June 1st the class were booked on all loco-hauled trains on the line, it wasn't until the second week of June that the class 25s were eventually faded out. However, the 'Rats' weren't finished yet, they played an important part in replacing and rescuing failures right up to the end of Class 33 monopoly in September 1986.
For the first four years between June 81 and May 85 the class were restricted to the confines of the Crewe - Cardiff line, and rarely ventured north of Crewe; the only deviation being the 33 that stayed at Crewe overnight was employed on 3K00 - a parcels train from Manchester - from Crewe to Stoke.
In May 1984 1M70, the 0740 Cardiff-Crewe, became the 0745 Cardiff-Manchester with the 33 booked to be replaced by an electric (often a Class 81/85) at Crewe. However, on isolated occasions when electric power was not available the 33 did go through to Manchester.
Some other notable 33 workings were: 1st October 1984 when 1V07 the 1939 Crewe-Cardiff couldn't get onto the Cardiff line due to a points failure and was diverted via Stafford and Wolves to Shrewsbury. On the 10th February 1985 33045 supposedly dragged 1M10, an overnight west coast sleeper, Preston-Stafford and on the 24th 33058 worked another overnight train, 1G00 Crewe-Stafford. 16th August 1985 saw 33050 work a Reading to Crewe relief (1Z20) throughout.
It was the May 1985 timetable that marked a change for Class 33s in the North West. 1M70 was booked a Crompton throughout to Manchester and started at 0750 from Swansea; the first being 33043 on 13th May. The diagram also returned to Manchester in the evening but the 33 was removed at Crewe for overnight servicing and the run to Stoke on 3K00.
In 1985 the most surprising change was the booked 33 into North Wales: instead of 1M68 the 0550 Cardiff-Crewe returning straight back to Cardiff it formed - after a three hour wait - 1D27 the 1115 Crewe-Bangor and 1V06 1417 Bangor-Cardiff return. The first Crompton to Bangor should have been 33057, but it developed a fuel leak whilst working 1M68 and was removed at Crewe. The honor actually befell 33019 the next day.
On summer Saturdays the Manchester diagram was booked 2 x Class 33 because of increased loading, but due to run-round difficulties at Manchester (two class 33s were too long to get onto the run round loop) the first half of the diagram was always a 47. However, the latter part: 1M73 the 1815 Cardiff-Manchester, did manage to produce a few pairs (as the engine was diagrammed to be replaced at Crewe for an electric); the first being 33018 and 33043 on June 1st.
June 85 saw the start of the Crewe Modernisation Programme (2 June - 22 July 85) which meant that no trains could call at Crewe, and were diverted via the independent freight lines. The engine off 1M73 on a Saturday night was diagramed to go light from Crewe to Manchester around Sunday dinner time and work 1V13 the 1500 Manchester-Cardiff. 33018 and 33043 worked the train as booked, via the independent lines, but were removed at Hereford due to a fuel leak on one of the locos. Other pairs to appear were 33046 and 33014 on 16th June, 33003 and 33038 on 27th July, 33008 and 33030 on the 15th of September. On some occasions, even though the train was load 11, a single class 33 did work it. 33046 worked 1V13 on its own, June 16th, due to the failure of 33014; others were 33023, 33050 and 33014. During the winter the train was normal load and was invariably a Class 33.
As Crewe was closed alternative arrangements had to be made and produced some interesting diagrams. 1M68 was terminated at Nantwich, ran ECS to Stafford via Basford Hall sidings, then formed 1D27 the 1045 Stafford-Bangor service, running via the Crewe independent lines. The return leg, 1V06, had no need to go via Crewe - as it didn't stop anywhere between Chester and Shrewsbury, except Crewe - so the engine was run round at Chester and the train went via Wrexham to Shrewsbury running in the path of a DMU stopping service. Also employed as a DMU replacement was the engine and stock off 1M84 the 1200 Cardiff-Crewe, now terminating at Nantwich. The return diagram wasn't until 2048 so the train would go ECS to Crewe Gresty Lane sidings, where it would be serviced, then return to Nantwich to form 1J33 the 1640 Nantwich-Shrewsbury and 2K33 the 1745 Shrewsbury-Nantwich all stations stopper.
After Crewe Modernisation normality returned and the class returned to the usual diagrams. However 1M84 sometimes formed a 1515 Crewe-Llandudno Jct. / Llandudno control relief during the summer months.
At the turn of the new year Class 33s on the line reached an all time low. In March / April 1986 the Manchester and 1M84 diagrams (during the week) were booked class 47s for driver training - which left only the Bangor diagram working.
In stark contrast the new May 1986 timetable brought about the most dramatic change; not only bringing the three diagrams back but all three were to go north of Crewe. 1D27 was extended to Holyhead and sensibly 1M84 was extend through to Llandudno, returning with 1K34 the 1740 to Crewe before working the usual 1V11 2048 Crewe-Cardiff.
On the first day, May 12th, 1D27 produced 33201 (ironically the last run of this train was a 'slim' as well: 33207); not the first 33 to Holyhead as 1D27 had once or twice formed a relief from Bangor to Holyhead during 1985. 33201 failed on the way back from Holyhead at Crewe due to a coolant leak - a problem that had stopped 33201 earlier in the month - and due to another Class 33 failure the Llandudno diagram was also a 47. The first booked Crompton into Llandudno was 33004 the next day.
On summer Saturdays the Manchester and Llandudno turns had extra loadings and produced nothing but 47s, but the other new train, 1M66 the 1725 Cardiff-Crewe, that was always a 47 during the week produced a Class 33 Saturdays only.
The class had never worked so much
in the North West, but it was only to be for a mere six months as the 'Cromptons'
ceased working to Crewe on September 28th 1986. The last six months
are documented as such :-
The author welcomes comments / alterations.direct at pscott@genie.co.uk
NORTH WEST - CARDIFF
SX SX SX SUNDAY
1V02 1V07 1V09 1K34 1V11 1V11 1V15
HOLYHEAD
14:08
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LLANDUDNO
. . 17:40
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MANCHESTER
13:45 . . . .
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CREWE
06:20 14:33 16:48 19:21 20:48
13:40 18:58
------------------------------------------------------------------------
SHREWSBURY 07:07 15:11 17:26
21:26
14:24 19:42
HEREFORD 08:37
16:17 18:34
22:34
15:40 20:52
NEWPORT
09:29 17:09 19:24
23:26
16:32 21:44
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CARDIFF
09:47 17:26 19:45
23:44
16:50 22:01
CLASS 33 HAULED TRAINS 12 MAY - 28 SEPT 86
CARDIFF - NORTH WEST
SX SX
SO SX
SUNDAY
1M68 1D27 1M70 1M84 1M66
1M73 1M84 1M86
SWANSEA 07:50 14:35
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CARDIFF 06:12 09:00 12:00 17:25 18:15 14:05 15:43
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEWPORT
06:27
09:15 12:15 17:40 18:30
14:20 15:58
HEREFORD 07:24
10:09 13:09 18:40 19:25
15:20 16:55
SHREWSBURY 08:27
11:12 14:07 19:43 20:18
16:33 18:06
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CREWE
09:12 11:16 11:52 14:52 20:32 21:00
17:18 18:54
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MANCHESTER
. . 12:42 . .
(21:52)
19:35
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LLANDUDNO
. . 16:41
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOLYHEAD
13:36