who remembers the football trrain specials from the 1970's?

[slartibartfast]

2 hours ago, harrys said:

Blackpool in our promotion year ‘76, lost 2-1 I have no idea why I remember that Rag Trade won the National that day and Man Utd beat Derby 2-0 in the FA cup semi final, it was also the day of the boat race and the Eurovision Song Contest!!! Probably because it was my first ever away match other than Eastville & Swindon

 The Dunkirk Special” to a stoke in the late ‘70s was lively, Gillingham in the mid ‘80s as well, Bobby Hutch’ scored for us in a 3-1 win

Cashley effectively cost us the title that day, got lobbed 30 yards out after a walkabout !

[cidered abroad]

10 hours ago, weepywall said:

I remember one to Leyton Orient in the FA Cup, train broke down, sure it took about 5 hours, it was snowing, some City fans got off the train and were on the tracks, think it was warmer outside and obviously we lost, they weren't the best way to travel.

1963 FA CUP away to Sunderland, top of Division 2 with us in mid Div 3.

Left Parson At late Friday evening, picked up through Bristol. Freezing cold weather and no heating on train, just loads of condensation.

Locomotive broke down at 2am behind a behind the goal stand at Birmingham City. About an hour an a half to get anothr loco.

Arrived in Sunderland around 10.30 Saturday morning. A real dump of a place. Game in doubt because pitch frozen solid but it went ahead. Peter Hooper scored our goal in a 6-1 walloping.

Train journey home as bad as the one going there. Back home about 4 am.

Don't anyone ever tell me I don't support my team.

[TV Tom]

1 hour ago, slartibartfast said:

Cashley effectively cost us the title that day, got lobbed 30 yards out after a walkabout !

I do remember that he made some sort of mistake didn’t realise it was a lob though, big fat John Burridge in goal for them and their fans singing “Harry Pott’s tangerine army”

Unbelievably 46 years ago and just 13 years of age 

[archie andrews]

38 minutes ago, cidered abroad said:

1963 FA CUP away to Sunderland, top of Division 2 with us in mid Div 3.

Left Parson At late Friday evening, picked up through Bristol. Freezing cold weather and no heating on train, just loads of condensation.

Locomotive broke down at 2am behind a behind the goal stand at Birmingham City. About an hour an a half to get anothr loco.

Arrived in Sunderland around 10.30 Saturday morning. A real dump of a place. Game in doubt because pitch frozen solid but it went ahead. Peter Hooper scored our goal in a 6-1 walloping.

Train journey home as bad as the one going there. Back home about 4 am.

Don't anyone ever tell me I don't support my team.

did you get your tickets from parson st though CA?

[Bristol Oil Services]

41 minutes ago, cidered abroad said:

1963 FA CUP away to Sunderland, top of Division 2 with us in mid Div 3.

Left Parson At late Friday evening, picked up through Bristol. Freezing cold weather and no heating on train, just loads of condensation.

Locomotive broke down at 2am behind a behind the goal stand at Birmingham City. About an hour an a half to get anothr loco.

Arrived in Sunderland around 10.30 Saturday morning. A real dump of a place. Game in doubt because pitch frozen solid but it went ahead. Peter Hooper scored our goal in a 6-1 walloping.

Train journey home as bad as the one going there. Back home about 4 am.

Don't anyone ever tell me I don't support my team.

You try telling the young people OTIB all that today, er, this evening, sir, and they won't believe  you (is it really true? )

[weepywall]

44 minutes ago, cidered abroad said:

1963 FA CUP away to Sunderland, top of Division 2 with us in mid Div 3.

Left Parson At late Friday evening, picked up through Bristol. Freezing cold weather and no heating on train, just loads of condensation.

Locomotive broke down at 2am behind a behind the goal stand at Birmingham City. About an hour an a half to get anothr loco.

Arrived in Sunderland around 10.30 Saturday morning. A real dump of a place. Game in doubt because pitch frozen solid but it went ahead. Peter Hooper scored our goal in a 6-1 walloping.

Train journey home as bad as the one going there. Back home about 4 am.

Don't anyone ever tell me I don't support my team.

Fair play, that's dedication, year before I was born, these days you can fly up there in less than an hour and I would never say you don't support your team

[East End Old Boy]

My first special train venture ended with an overnight stay in the BRI!

The game was away at Swindon in 1971, which we won (happy days for a 15 year old) and my problem was when we arrived back at Temple Meads, as the Gas were at home to Aston Villa on the same day and their fans were still at the station.

As we pulled into Temple Meads I was standing at the door and the shout went up “Let’s have em”, the carriage door was opened and I left (pushed off) the train whilst it was still moving - one badly broken arm followed! Remember going into surgery just as Match of the Day was going to start!

Edited April 24, 2022 by East End Old Boy

[slartibartfast]

2 hours ago, harrys said:

I do remember that he made some sort of mistake didn’t realise it was a lob though, big fat John Burridge in goal for them and their fans singing “Harry Pott’s tangerine army”

Unbelievably 46 years ago and just 13 years of age 

Jeez, I remember that chant, we thought they were singing..........."Harry Potts sucks tangerine lollys" !

[The Constant Rabbit]

I remember they weren't very sanitary.

Pee running down the corridor, fag smoke so thick you couldn't see the doors, windows missing and enough booze to float an ocean liner.

I doubt things would be the same nowadays.

 

I still maintain British rail ran them to get their old stock destroyed by football hooligans and claim them on insurance, rather than scrap them!

 

Great days, never to be seen again!

[RedRock]

Several notable, the first ever for me was Swindon ‘69 possibly, was on the first of two specials. I was on the early one and remember leaning against some gates into the ground that gave way and everyone piled in, only to be chased out by police dogs. Some of the chaps on second special ransacked Swindon’s Marks and Spencer’s for some bizarre reason. Millwall were there - who we had played the previous week - but we had the Town End to ourselves.

Wolves early 70’s was like Hospital train returning from The Somme on the way back.

Did a Cardiff one and some others as well. Good fun generally, especially arriving at the away destination. 

[TV Tom]

5 hours ago, slartibartfast said:

Jeez, I remember that chant, we thought they were singing..........."Harry Potts sucks tangerine lollys" !

Maybe they were and I’ve been wrong these last 46 years 

[southside]

6 hours ago, RedRock said:

Several notable, the first ever for me was Swindon ‘69 possibly, was on the first of two specials. I was on the early one and remember leaning against some gates into the ground that gave way and everyone piled in, only to be chased out by police dogs. Some of the chaps on second special ransacked Swindon’s Marks and Spencer’s for some bizarre reason. Millwall were there - who we had played the previous week - but we had the Town End to ourselves.

Wolves early 70’s was like Hospital train returning from The Somme on the way back.

Did a Cardiff one and some others as well. Good fun generally, especially arriving at the away destination. 

The gates thing at Swindon was in 72, the mad day at Wolves in the cup was the same season 

[cidered abroad]

10 hours ago, Bristol Oil Services said:

You try telling the young people OTIB all that today, er, this evening, sir, and they won't believe  you (is it really true? )

YES

[RedRock]

1 hour ago, southside said:

The gates thing at Swindon was in 72, the mad day at Wolves in the cup was the same season 

Good memory!

I must have been older than I thought - a problem that continues to the present day!

[City1970]

23 hours ago, 1960maaan said:

Only went on a couple. 
A very cold evening game at Crystal Palace . Train delayed as someone killed themselves by jumping in front of a train earlier. Put in the enclosure as the end was frozen, and we got battered, possibly 3-0.
After the game the head Officer was pulling rank and showing off. Made sure he was head of the escort, until he walked out of a tunnel into a hail of milk bottles. On the train they had the blinds pulled down due to worries about home fans, City fans were throwing a lot more out of the train than Palace threw at it. 

And

Carlisle 1981 FA Cup 1-1, locals turned up at the station still in a Punky Rupert the bear style. Police were vicious in their bit. Running some fans down the terrace backwards into a wall. Certainly slowed them down a bit.

Never saw a disco or anything other than boring old carriages .

I was also on the train to Palace in Jan 1979 and remember the train stopping due to a suicide. We did lose 3-0 and I think it was a FA Cup game.

[City oz]

13 minutes ago, City1970 said:

I was also on the train to Palace in Jan 1979 and remember the train stopping due to a suicide. We did lose 3-0 and I think it was a FA Cup game.

January the 4th FA Cup 0-3.

[Rich]

19 hours ago, harrys said:

Blackpool in our promotion year ‘76, lost 2-1 I have no idea why I remember that Rag Trade won the National that day and Man Utd beat Derby 2-0 in the FA cup semi final, it was also the day of the boat race and the Eurovision Song Contest!!! Probably because it was my first ever away match other than Eastville & Swindon

 The Dunkirk Special” to a stoke in the late ‘70s was lively, Gillingham in the mid ‘80s as well, Bobby Hutch’ scored for us in a 3-1 win

I also remember that special to Blackpool. I had to stop some young hooligans from setting light to the train.

[TV Tom]

1 hour ago, Rich said:

I also remember that special to Blackpool. I had to stop some young hooligans from setting light to the train.

To be fair to those young hooligans they had only just entered their teenage years and the excitement of being north of the M4 for the first time was all too much but what was the excuse for the long haired, cigar munching oik that lit the match?

[slartibartfast]

6 hours ago, City oz said:

January the 4th FA Cup 0-3.

Was that a night game, one of ours (Ritchie ?) got sent off ? If so, I was on that train .

[TV Tom]

3 minutes ago, slartibartfast said:

Was that a night game, one of ours (Ritchie ?) got sent off ? If so, I was on that train .

Didn’t we have three sent off that night?

[slartibartfast]

2 minutes ago, harrys said:

Didn’t we have three sent off that night?

Quite possibly, I know it was bloody cold, wasn't there piled up  snow on the perimeters ? 

[TV Tom]

20 minutes ago, slartibartfast said:

Quite possibly, I know it was bloody cold, wasn't there piled up  snow on the perimeters ? 

I went on the coach, it took us longer to get across London than it did to actually get to London, an awful night all round only beaten by the two times I went to Wrexham for night games in the late ‘70s

[Rich]

2 hours ago, harrys said:

To be fair to those young hooligans they had only just entered their teenage years and the excitement of being north of the M4 for the first time was all too much but what was the excuse for the long haired, cigar munching oik that lit the match?

He was both excited and traumatised having been allowed to go, as long as he looked after the young hooligans. 

[22A]

19 hours ago, East End Old Boy said:

My first special train venture ended with an overnight stay in the BRI!

The game was away at Swindon in 1971, which we won (happy days for a 15 year old)

I was a 16 year old on the same train. City had started that season well and won  1-0 at Swindon. Sorry folks; I misheard a score on the radio and shouted out to  a friend a little way off; "Norwich lost". The cry was taken up and swiftly became "We are top of the League". Sorry everyone there that day, I had heard a latest score and Norwich got a last minute equaliser to stay above us.

[Nongazeuse]

Went on the train to Arsenal for first match in Div One.  Unusual as we stopped at Ealing Broadway and then got a special tube train which went all the way to Arsenal without stopping.

On the way back we had to get normal tube trains which was a bit tasty having beaten the Gunners.

At Ealing I went out to the high street for supplies from an off-licence and had to fight my way through a bunch of Chelsea fans in the station concourse, clinging onto my cans.

Memorable day all round.

[RoystonFoote'snephew]

First one for me was away to Leeds in the FA Cup 9 March 68. John Galley was spotted in a compromising position with a woman on the return journey. 

[Rocking Red Cyril]

Hell did York, Carlisle and think some London games on specials. They where bloody bonkers . Great fun as a teenager. 

My few away game treats these day. I just travel on my own . But normally meet others on way . It's much quieter now. :laugh:

 

 

 

[southside]

13 hours ago, Nongazeuse said:

Went on the train to Arsenal for first match in Div One.  Unusual as we stopped at Ealing Broadway and then got a special tube train which went all the way to Arsenal without stopping.

On the way back we had to get normal tube trains which was a bit tasty having beaten the Gunners.

At Ealing I went out to the high street for supplies from an off-licence and had to fight my way through a bunch of Chelsea fans in the station concourse, clinging onto my cans.

Memorable day all round.

It was the same at West Ham that first season, a loudspeaker announcement at Upton Park during the game that Bristol City fans had to make their own way to Ealing Broadway after the match, Oh great!

[slartibartfast]

17 hours ago, harrys said:

I went on the coach, it took us longer to get across London than it did to actually get to London, an awful night all round only beaten by the two times I went to Wrexham for night games in the late ‘70s

There too, what a sad life I've led .     

[slartibartfast]

15 hours ago, Nongazeuse said:

Went on the train to Arsenal for first match in Div One.  Unusual as we stopped at Ealing Broadway and then got a special tube train which went all the way to Arsenal without stopping.

On the way back we had to get normal tube trains which was a bit tasty having beaten the Gunners.

At Ealing I went out to the high street for supplies from an off-licence and had to fight my way through a bunch of Chelsea fans in the station concourse, clinging onto my cans.

Memorable day all round.

We went back to Paddington , only to find a reception committee of Gooners (here to congratulate us, no doubt), then Chelsea turned up for Arsenal ! A bit lively to say the least, bottles everywhere. Welcome to Div One !