September - Intercity Railway Society

Ramblings of a Rail Enthusiast
by David Spencer – 1964 Part 2
April: All Fools Day was on a Wednesday but I planned another big endangered lines trip starting on
the previous day when I travelled to Crewe behind D238 and on to Carlisle with D332. Now on the 1 st
from there I took the Dumfries line D31 where I changed on to the Kirkcudbright train with 80023, the
same engine returning me to Castle Douglas where I waited for the following train from Dumfries. This
was an interesting train with carriages to both Kirkcudbright and Stranraer and hauled by 80119 and
80052. I was able to photograph the former as it left with the branch train before hurrying back to
catch the Stranraer portion which then stopped at the unadvertised Loch Skerrow to allow 44945 to
pass. At the terminus I visited the shed getting several photos of old Caledonian stock before getting a
DMU to Ayr. Normally I took missing a night’s sleep as normal, but this day I really cursed it. Like the
far north line the majority of small stations had been closed and I managed to get the front seat in the
unit with a perfect view of the line but with the heat of the engine and sun through the glass I could not
stay awake and missed much of it. By the time I did the line again a lot of the old infrastructure had
gone forever.
Hughes Crab 2-6-0 42917 Ayr, 1 April 1964 (w/d 08/66)
Ayr shed was duly visited and many photos
taken but not before a railbus trip to
Dalmellington and back. I then continued by
DMU to Killwinning and changing into another
unit for Largs and from there to Glasgow.
Crossing to Buchanan Street I had V2 60916 to
Stirling.
railbus Dalmellington, 1 April 1964
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