Page last Updated :  02-03-08 Saturday 4th July 1987         by 'UD' Too late in the day we find out that 20175+20124 have worked a Burton-on-Trent - Skegness relief!  There is a return working though, but we don't have any times for that!  We decide to take the 1E72 1039 New Street - Yarmouth with 47320 to Leicester, then make our way to Nottingham only then do we find we have quite a fester.  Returning to the station close to time we find that the train is now some two hours late.  20124 as failed en-route.  Eventually the twenties arrive and sure enough, 124 is leading, but dead. We take the train and it’s a stagger to Derby.  While stopped on the curve we see a blue livery Class 37 pass in front of us.  Will this loco work forward to Burton we wondered? Once in Derby the train is immediately caped, but 37097 backs onto the 6 coach Mk1 rake anyway.  It's then announced that this will form an additional to Crewe.  This is to help clear the crowds from the Crewe works open day.  Needless to say we join the train! 37097 makes an exceptionally rare passenger appearance for the class over the route to Crewe calling all shacks.  After a run round at Crewe an all stations return run to Derby is made departing at 1800.  Back at Derby I cross platforms to take some photos.  As the camera is being packed away, I become aware of a crowd gathering around the station supervisor's office!  It seams that as we arrived, a Nottingham unit had departed and there wasn't another service for some time.  A deputation had been formed to request that the service be extended to Nottingham.  By now the crowd had grown quite large.  "So you're all passengers for Nottingham?" the supervisor asks.  "Yes!"  As if as one we all reply.  And the service was extended.  Someone commented that this had become a 'DIY rail tour' and that at Nottingham we should all descend upon the supervisor once more and all claim to be passengers for Derby…  Unfortunately, though it was tried, there was not really much of a case this time and 37097 returned to Derby ECS.  We went home by Sprinter ;-( Saturday 4th July 1987         by Andy Cooke ...  the day 097 worked Derby - Crewe and back.  We drove from Brum to Norwich that morning as 37104 was doing the portion for the Yarmouth - Liv Street that 37054 had done the previous week (before doing the Yarmouth-Newcastle).  Got to Norwich for a unit to Yarmouth where 104, a big 37 by any standards, was waiting on some raspberry ripple aircons.  This was done to Norwich where Sudbury was viewed and it was ascertained there was an EH duff for the Newcastle.  After visiting the greasy spoon outside the station we decided to head off for the second run of the Grantham - Skeg with 37153.  As Sudbury needed 20124 we agreed to drop him off en route. Traffic was quite bad and in the end we dropped him at a roundabout on the A17 about 7 miles from Boston.  As we drove off Sudbury was last viewed waving wads of cash at unsuspecting customers and imploring them to take him to Boston immediately. And then when he got there his 20 was dead! 37153 was duly caned in on the second run and then we headed back towards Brum. For some now forgotten reason (check the gen?) we decided to call in at Derby Station and lo and behold as we walked in 37097 was viewed being detached from a rake of stock.  We immediately joined the throng demanding a train to Notts and so it came to be. Hellfire - What a fall on!  We sprinted back to Derby and headed for the pub. Sunday 5th July 1987         by 'UD' This weekend the Stafford - Wolverhampton line was closed with diversions via Shrewsbury or Cannock and all day drags were booked between New Street and Nuneaton. Sadly not much was expected to work.  The only service expected to be anything other than a 47/4 was the 1A52 13:52 Holyhead - Euston, booked 37079, already having been quoted as of late Saturday PM. When we got to Wolverhampton that morning off a substitute coach vice 1O03 I photographed 37079 dragging 87007 on the 5A08 ECS off Oxley, into Wolverhampton which was to form the 1000 to Euston, so this looked promising. The whole day then turned into one great big fill-in move while we waited for 37079 to work 1A52... which it did in the end.

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