Trains
Trains
When we were going home on leave or for the weekend, we either travelled through to Beverley and got the train to York or went on the special buses to York which connected with the train from London to Edinburgh/Glasgow. This train was continually packed and we seldom got a seat so travelled to Edinburgh either standing or sitting in the corridor. It was a very uncomfortable journey except on one occasion when we met someone who was going to Glasgow. He said to follow him and he would find us seats. So off we went and he led us into the first class carriage. We were not sure of this ploy but he assured us that it was OK so we got settled in. Inevitably along comes the ticket inspector who immediately knew we shouldn’t be there but politely asked to see our tickets and, when he saw they were third class, he asked us to leave the compartment. We protested that there were no seats anywhere but our protests fell on deaf ears. Then up speaks our friend from Glasgow. He assured the inspector that if he didn’t go away and leave us alone, he would punch his jaw. The inspector immediately withdrew, leaving us to wait for the police to come on further up the line but nobody ever came. I reckon the inspector decided he wasn’t getting paid enough to deal with this situation.

Coming back off leave, I would get the train to York and there get the last train to Beverley. This was in the mid 1950s and most of the carriages were old stock and the trains were drawn by steam engines. The carriages was usually freezing and the heat did not come through until we were halfway to Beverley. Then one night I got off the train and walked to the Hull platform and there was a brand new diesel train purring at the platform. The luxury of it, I sat down in a comfortable seat in a warm carriage. But the problem was, I was afraid I would fall asleep and end up in Hull.
Share by: