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Football Specials


Nogbad the Bad

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I saw this being mentioned on another thread, and got me thinking.

When was the last time City chartered a 'Football Special' train for a League game?

The 4th division promotion clash at York in March '84 - 1-1, Tom Ritchie the scorer iirc. - is the last one I can remember offhand.

Maybe because it was such a memorable day or it was just the last one I went on - anybody remember any later ones? :dunno:

 

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2 hours ago, Never to the dark side said:

My memory was Leyton Orien when the train broke down,and beryl said  she would never organise another football special

Remember one Orient game - early to mid 80's - when a number of City fans appeared on the track around the ground at h/t ( seemed to have been led in through the players tunnel, or gates close to it iirc.) and were taken round the pitch by stewards to the end where the other City fans were already congregated. Not troublemakers being relocated or anything like that, just very late arrivals. More like a coach load than a train load though.

2 hours ago, Barry Sheene said:

The second freight R*ver  final £10 return.

Thinking more of trains organised by the club for League games.

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3 hours ago, Nogbad the Bad said:

I saw this being mentioned on another thread, and got me thinking.

When was the last time City chartered a 'Football Special' train for a League game?

The 4th division promotion clash at York in March '84 - 1-1, Tom Ritchie the scorer iirc. - is the last one I can remember offhand.

Maybe because it was such a memorable day or it was just the last one I went on - anybody remember any later ones? :dunno:

 

Wasn't that Trevor Morgan on his debut... Great trip as a teenager.. Went to orient in the snow (wasn't there some Swindon there) and Gills (wasn't there some Millwall there :laugh:) 

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1 hour ago, harrys said:

I remember a one way special back to Bristol from Brum in ‘90, the “Dunkirk special” in ‘78/‘79 to Stoke and a trip to Gillingham in the mid ‘80s when Bobby Hutchinson scored a couple

 

1 hour ago, harrys said:

I remember a one way special back to Bristol from Brum in ‘90, the “Dunkirk special” in ‘78/‘79 to Stoke and a trip to Gillingham in the mid ‘80s when Bobby Hutchinson scored a couple

Yep, was on all those

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5 hours ago, Nogbad the Bad said:

I saw this being mentioned on another thread, and got me thinking.

When was the last time City chartered a 'Football Special' train for a League game?

The 4th division promotion clash at York in March '84 - 1-1, Tom Ritchie the scorer iirc. - is the last one I can remember offhand.

Maybe because it was such a memorable day or it was just the last one I went on - anybody remember any later ones? :dunno:

 

Yep - me and @oldmixonred were on that one. Fond memories.

 

York1.jpg

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I can only remember being on a couple.
Palace night match. I think this was the one where someone had jumped in front of a train earlier and we were delayed. 
Carlisle in the cup about 1980 ? 
I remember York 1-0 game when Ralph Milne scored the winner , sure that was a train. Coach load turned up very late after a break down and jumped the train on the way back. Passed your ticket on once you had been checked so someone else could show it, bet they wondered how it was so busy.

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2 hours ago, Red Derek said:

Plymouth around same time, got to Plymouth station after kick off. Police said to many from Bristol already in the ground. Refused to let us off the train. Waited on platform till final whistle then straight back to Bristol!

I went to Plymouth by train in the 60s and actually arrived in plenty of time to see the match. British Rail must have been more reliable then. 

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6 hours ago, Nogbad the Bad said:

I saw this being mentioned on another thread, and got me thinking.

When was the last time City chartered a 'Football Special' train for a League game?

The 4th division promotion clash at York in March '84 - 1-1, Tom Ritchie the scorer iirc. - is the last one I can remember offhand.

Maybe because it was such a memorable day or it was just the last one I went on - anybody remember any later ones? :dunno:

 

It was , i'm reliably informed , a ' blinding jolly boys day out ' !.....pity the last thing i remember is bumping into a mate of mine that i hadn't seen since working with him in Australia and laughing about the fact we'd probably both end up getting stopped from traveling when the old 'sheepskins' were searched ☹️....we got through the 'thin blue line ' ok and frivolity ensued  ( you could smoke on trains then....though probably NOT this particular concoction ? )....next thing i know we're back in a boozer up Clifton way heading to a party that carried on all night and the next day !.....and they say 'Youth is wasted on the young'......

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I was on the York City special. Good day out.

One of the worst was to Sunderland 1963. Steam train at 23.00 on Friday night from Parson Street called at all other stations to Filton. Freezing weather, snow all over the country, condensation dripping on us all the way.

Locomotive broke down at back of St. Andrews, Brum City ground, and it took two hours to get a replacement.

Arrived Sunderland at 10.30 Saturday morning. Horrible dump of a town, only place to get a decent lunch was best hotel in town.

Pitch at Roker was frozen solid. They were top of Div Two and we were mid table Div Three. We got thumped 6-1 and the journey home was as bad as the one up. Got to Bristol around 4.00am. 

What we all do to support this club of ours. Don't anyone ever tell me I'm not a good supporter. One promotion every ten years and a relegation somewhere in between. COYREDS!

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1 hour ago, RED@BS14 said:

Gillingham 1985, a week after Millwall at home. Rumours they were going to turn up but never showed 

I remember the train going under the massive stand at Stamford Bridge, also remember what a dump Gillingham was, good result though

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I was on the Orient one that broke down somewhere in the middle of Wiltshire. Christ it was ******* cold!

IIRC the trip to Gills was free for anyone who was on the Orient train. We won 3-1 I think and it snowed throughout the game - we were on that big open bank behind the goal getting pelted by bricks and bottles being chucked in from the road along the back - mind you, the ******* ran like their arses were on fire when the gates were opened `unofficially` about five minutes before FT! We were expecting Millwall to turn up as another poster said but they never did.

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3 hours ago, BS4 on Tour... said:

He was - with a classy beard way before the drippy hipsters thought they were cool...

Designer stubble I think we called it back then!!!

He was a really decent centre half. 

 

Some  great memories on both sides, Hay and MacPhail our two in their side. Remember Keith Walwyn being decent, John Byrne was good but always got loads of stick for his hair-do!

Ricky Sbragia is Man United U23 manager these days...... let me put that another way, he’s caretaker manager of Man United this time next week! 

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17 hours ago, Red Derek said:

Plymouth around same time, got to Plymouth station after kick off. Police said to many from Bristol already in the ground. Refused to let us off the train. Waited on platform till final whistle then straight back to Bristol!

I was on that train. Didn’t it break down and arrive late? It then stopped just short of the station, I know as I and many others jumped off, bloody hell it was a long way down! We then ran along the tracks and scrambled up onto the platform where the Police wouldn’t let us out of the station. Word somehow ( before the days of mobile phones remember) got back to the ground that the Special had been delayed and the City fans tried to get the KO delayed, probably started to riot and of course then there was no way they would let us off the train into the match. 

The lines had to be shut as it had City fans running on the tracks, delayed every train ( oops sorry). As we couldn’t go out of the station our only choice was to get back on the train, had to get back up that long drop and with the help of my then boyfriend, now husband, and a few lads I managed it! 

We then returned back to Bristol and I think the club said ‘never again’. The next season(?) we went by CATS, got all the way to the big roundabout just outside Plymouth when we were turned back due to waterlogged pitch! The match was then rearranged towards the end of the season, a night match where we got stuffed (?) and saw Plymouth clinch promotion , or at least celebrate being promoted. We were locked in and had to witness their party. 

I think Plymouth and I are jinxed, not been back there for football since!

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33 minutes ago, RedM said:

I was on that train. Didn’t it break down and arrive late? It then stopped just short of the station, I know as I and many others jumped off, bloody hell it was a long way down! We then ran along the tracks and scrambled up onto the platform where the Police wouldn’t let us out of the station. Word somehow ( before the days of mobile phones remember) got back to the ground that the Special had been delayed and the City fans tried to get the KO delayed, probably started to riot and of course then there was no way they would let us off the train into the match. 

The lines had to be shut as it had City fans running on the tracks, delayed every train ( oops sorry). As we couldn’t go out of the station our only choice was to get back on the train, had to get back up that long drop and with the help of my then boyfriend, now husband, and a few lads I managed it! 

We then returned back to Bristol and I think the club said ‘never again’. The next season(?) we went by CATS, got all the way to the big roundabout just outside Plymouth when we were turned back due to waterlogged pitch! The match was then rearranged towards the end of the season, a night match where we got stuffed (?) and saw Plymouth clinch promotion , or at least celebrate being promoted. We were locked in and had to witness their party. 

I think Plymouth and I are jinxed, not been back there for football since!

You were part of the ‘great escape’ and ran with the few ,    too M ?

:thumbsup:

Respect Sister

:clap:

:laughcont:

 

Managed to evade the helicopter and Police Dogs ...... nearly

Made it to the ground and  we got in just in time to see us concede. !!!!  ((Curle OG ?)

I had to remove an Alsatians incisior from my posterior post game 

Happy Days 

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39 minutes ago, RedM said:

. The next season(?) we went by CATS, got all the way to the big roundabout just outside Plymouth when we were turned back due to waterlogged pitch! The match was then rearranged towards the end of the season, a night match where we got stuffed (?) and saw Plymouth clinch promotion , or at least celebrate being promoted. We were locked in and had to witness their party. 

I think Plymouth and I are jinxed, not been back there for football since!

That was a Bank Holiday Monday IIRC

Turned down a lot of money to work and as you say - Game was only called off late when we were already in Plymouth 

Pahhhhhhh

Youre spot on about the rearranged game -

Tommy Tynan (Good player) tore us up

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