 Salop Line
>wartling wrote:
> When did the first lot of sprinters start working this route?
Excuse my ignorance, but what is the 'Salop Line'?
I have memories of two family holidays early in the Sprinter era.
We were based near Aberystwyth for the first in - I think - 1987. Dad and I
walked over the cliffs from Aber to Borth (I managed to smash our Thermos
flask - usually I just lost OS maps to the wind), and we got the train back,
which was definitely a new and exciting 150. Later in the week, we went up
to Barmouth and back, again on 150s. However, after fish and chips at
Machynlleth on the return, we had a 37 and Mk IIs for the last leg, on the
down London I presume. Real excitement!
I believe the year after, we were based near Church Stretton. This was a
time of transition on the Marches, with some diagrams 37 & stock, and others
handed over to 155s in the short period before they became doggy boxes.
However, the Heart of Wales was still conventional DMUs (108s? I think I
have a pic somewhere), and we took a trip all the way to Swansea and back,
after discovering that it was *cheaper* to go to Swansea than the shorter
distance to Llanelli.
Then in late 1991, I went to an Aber Uni open day. My strong recollection is
that the rolling stock beyond Shrewsbury was a 158, which must also have
been newish at the time. Did that return trip in a day from Hornchurch -
probably the earliest hour I had ever risen, at the time - but not, alas,
subsequently.
Chris
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