Does anyone recall travelling on these in the early to mid 1970’s. From recollection there was a such trips to Runcorn (FA Trophy) and to possibly to Bridgend for an FA Cup/Trophy tie. Any further details of these trips would be welcome
3 Likes
There was one to Altrincham for the (first) FA Trophy game in 1982.
Memorable, amongst other things, for getting back to Wycombe about 5 hours late.
2 Likes
Slightly not what you were asking, but as a young boy,one summer around 1970ish, we took a train from Wycombe to Bournemouth for a day trip without changing trains!
I’d love to know what the route actually was, but at that time some trains went to Paddington from Wycombe as well as Marylebone.
I went on the special train on the Infamous Goole Town trip in 1978, and the Altrincham Semi final in 1982.
I remember the players coming back on the Goole train after the defeat.
And to Blyth Spartans - 1979?
1 Like
From memory…
Runcorn 76/77
Bridgend, Goole 77/78
Blyth 78/79 (players did a tour of the train on the journey home, got all their autographs bar Howard Kennedy)
Altrincham 81/82
York 85/86
Twizz, If I remember correctly the northern part of the High Wycombe to Maidenhead closed sometime in the early 1970’s. Could the route have been via Maidenhead, Reading, Basingstoke, Southampton to Bournemouth? It would though likely to have been a day excursion special or chartered train rather than a scheduled one, I would have thought.
(I tried to the reply to this post but a message “post cannot be empty” and it wouldn’t post.
It would definitely have been a special charter rather than a scheduled service that’s for sure.
I hadn’t realised the Wycombe to Bourne End connection only closed in May 1970, so it’s possible the journey was in 1969 and took the route you suggested.
Sounds familiar, bookertease. The trips to Runcorn and Bridgend also seemed to take ages- but that didn’t matter much to me and my fellow teenage travellers, who thought it them great adventures. The narrative spin was that our train had always to give way to those on the regular timetable. I’m fairly sure that we just got into the Runcorn game with a few minutes to spare before kick-off.
The trip to Blyth must have taken ages. What time would the train have to leave Wycombe that day?
I went to the Goole game by car- and we’d only just opened the boot to get our scarves out before we were subject to a low level attack from a couple of teenage Goole ‘hard nuts’. Separately, also remember the players travelling back on the supporter train. As an impressionable teenager I was delighted (and a bit shocked) to see Bodger standing in the corridor chatting and having a smoke with a few of the fans.
Good stuff, NewburyWanderer- did you go on all of them? If so, that would be some collection.
Slightly surreal day all round. We were met at Altrincham station by the police and marched to the ground - no chance of stopping for anything to drink or eat. Straight after the game marched back to the station - again with no chance of anything to eat or drink.
Delayed for an hour or two behind a broken down train somewhere near Birmingham. Then stuck between Banbury and Bicester due to signalling problems on the single line. Set back onto the main line after an age and then diverted via Oxford, Reading and Greenford. I think we got back into Wycombe about 0200.
(I then had to cycle through the night to somewhere near Winchester for a 50 mile time trial that started just after 0800 - having had nothing to eat or drink since breakfast on the Saturday. Not one of my better times….)
1 Like
I’m not sure whether it was due to crowd trouble at Kidderminster in the quarter final, but the police made the Alty Special a dry train in 82. This wasn’t rigidly enforced, and there was an awful lot of Fishtails, Parkers and Cromby Coats for a mild April day, in which the deep pockets were fully utilised. I remember one over ambitious Wanderers fans tried to smuggle in a couple of barrels of the Watney’s Party Sevens. The Police deemed this a step to far, and the elderly gentlemen had to put them in the old storage lockers at the station.
2 Likes
Places like Goole, Runcorn and Blyth were extraordinarily hostile places to visit in those days. Me and my mates had the sense not to wear colours, but the local youths could smell a southerner a mile off!
4 Likes
Its was the Lime in your Lager, was the scent that the Northern Oiks could smell.
4 Likes
@bookertease I was trying to remember the other day which Gasroomer had once posted about having cycled to and from a game at Cheltenham (maybe to/from East Anglia). Was it you?
Re. Altrincham trip. I seem to remember that our train had the royal engine. When we reached Oxford all the anoraks jumped off and rushed to take pictures!
Yep that was me. Them were the days…
(Not there and back in a day for that one I should add)
1 Like