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Thread: Football Special Trains , The Good Old Days

  1. #1

    Football Special Trains , The Good Old Days

    Whatever happened to them ?

    Was it the tory neo nazi privatisation of the railways ?

    Millwall , Pompey , Bristol , Exeter , Swansea

    Great times

    The next train at platform 1 , Bridgend will be the football excursion to Swansea . This is a train for football supporters only and will stop at Port Talbot Parkway , Neath and Swansea High Street Station .

    Thank you .

  2. #2

    Re: Football Special Trains , The Good Old Days

    All done with a good old fashioned “platform ticket”

  3. #3

    Re: Football Special Trains , The Good Old Days

    Quote Originally Posted by SLUDGE FACTORY View Post
    Whatever happened to them ?

    Was it the tory neo nazi privatisation of the railways ?

    Millwall , Pompey , Bristol , Exeter , Swansea

    Great times

    The next train at platform 1 , Bridgend will be the football excursion to Swansea . This is a train for football supporters only and will stop at Port Talbot Parkway , Neath and Swansea High Street Station .

    Thank you .
    Bristol rovers on the last day of the season on one of those must have been around 1983 and stoke city in the fa cup mid 80's some memories spring to mind !

  4. #4

    Re: Football Special Trains , The Good Old Days

    I used to get on the bob bank early when I was a kid (in the 70's) so i could go to the wall at the back and watch the away football specials come in to Ninian Park station. Proper trains with a locomotive and carriages.

  5. #5

    Re: Football Special Trains , The Good Old Days

    Quote Originally Posted by MOZZER2 View Post
    Bristol rovers on the last day of the season on one of those must have been around 1983 and stoke city in the fa cup mid 80's some memories spring to mind !
    Newport away in the fa Cup when Nicky Platnauer scored was the worst one I have ever been on

    The journey back was the trip from hell , most of the train was demolished by the time we got back to Cardiff Central

    I never understood that sort of idiotic vandalism

    They arrested the whole carriage in front of us

  6. #6

    Re: Football Special Trains , The Good Old Days

    Quote Originally Posted by Michael Morris View Post
    I used to get on the bob bank early when I was a kid (in the 70's) so i could go to the wall at the back and watch the away football specials come in to Ninian Park station. Proper trains with a locomotive and carriages.
    Pompey were very smartly dressed

    Alan Biley with a stupid spikey blond haircut up front

    Nil Nil

  7. #7
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    Re: Football Special Trains , The Good Old Days

    Quote Originally Posted by BLUETIT View Post
    All done with a good old fashioned “platform ticket”
    Talking about trains Tone, every fking day the lycra clad brigade causing chaos with their 2 wheel toys in the carriages, isn't there any escape from these loons

  8. #8

    Re: Football Special Trains , The Good Old Days

    Quote Originally Posted by Heathblue View Post
    Talking about trains Tone, every fking day the lycra clad brigade causing chaos with their 2 wheel toys in the carriages, isn't there any escape from these loons
    I wouldn’t get on a train these days , even if it was free !!!!!

  9. #9

    Re: Football Special Trains , The Good Old Days

    Quote Originally Posted by BLUETIT View Post
    I wouldn’t get on a train these days , even if it was free !!!!!
    Thank the lord.

  10. #10

    Re: Football Special Trains , The Good Old Days

    I remember (vaguely now) a steam train from Llanishen which came down from Rhymney with a City scarf round the funnel.

  11. #11

    Re: Football Special Trains , The Good Old Days

    Quote Originally Posted by SLUDGE FACTORY View Post
    Whatever happened to them ?

    Was it the tory neo nazi privatisation of the railways ?

    Millwall , Pompey , Bristol , Exeter , Swansea

    Great times

    The next train at platform 1 , Bridgend will be the football excursion to Swansea . This is a train for football supporters only and will stop at Port Talbot Parkway , Neath and Swansea High Street Station .

    Thank you .
    I was just thinking the same thing. I used to love going to games on the train. Playing cards, drinking beer and smoking fags. How times have changed. We usually went by car though, often stopping off somewhere in the midlands for a few beers and a curry. I used to have a map book with all the routes highlighted.

  12. #12

    Re: Football Special Trains , The Good Old Days

    One of the first away games my Dad took me to was Oxford in 1969 (what a trek it was to the ground from the station) tt must have been. It was the last time I can remember him going by train as he was upset at the fairly mild hooliganism on the journey home - I was to see a lot worse on one or two trains I caught to away games after that. That was the surprising thing, I assumed my father would say that was it as far as travelling to away games by train was concerned, but he didn't and, helped greatly by the fact that he could get me cheaper tickets as a British Rail employee, I went to plenty more games by train in the following years. However, once I passed my driving test in 1974, I preferred to drive to away games and I honestly can't remember the last time I travelled to an away game by train now - it must be more than forty years.

    I'm pretty sure that Jimmy Scoular and the team were on that train coming back from Oxford - train was the usual method by which teams travelled to away games back then. The first domestic game I can remember City flying to flying must have been Sunderland or Middlesbrough in 70/71 I think it was (quite a fuss was made in the local media I seem to recall, because it was such a "big time" thing to do).

  13. #13

    Re: Football Special Trains , The Good Old Days

    Quote Originally Posted by SLUDGE FACTORY View Post
    Pompey were very smartly dressed

    Alan Biley with a stupid spikey blond haircut up front

    Nil Nil
    Couldn't get a ticket for the Special to Portsmouth as it was sold out. We persuaded a taxi driver outside the station to take us there and back for £90. Split between four it was not much more expensive than the train and with door to door service We had a bit of a problem convincing the police trying to herd us back to the station after the game that we really did have a taxi waiting for us round the corner mind.

  14. #14

    Re: Football Special Trains , The Good Old Days

    Ah memories....always used to use the rain even when I could drive. The players always did then, and often mixed with supporters..
    This is John Charles and Gareth Williams on the way back from Huddersfield.

    1962_John Charles and Gareth Williams on train back from Huddersfield.jpg

  15. #15
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    Re: Football Special Trains , The Good Old Days

    Quote Originally Posted by BLUETIT View Post
    All done with a good old fashioned “platform ticket”
    4d

    Old money

  16. #16

    Re: Football Special Trains , The Good Old Days

    Catch the last no.30 on a Friday night to Tredegar Park, where the M4 began, Hitch hike to wherever we were playing, football special on the way home, no ticket check, police just piled you on.

  17. #17
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    Re: Football Special Trains , The Good Old Days

    I remember going to Blackpool with the boys from the Canton Cross.

    Played 3 card brag all the way there.

    We lost the match

    I won a fair bit of money. Pockets full of coins. Lots of jingling running back to the station

  18. #18

    Re: Football Special Trains , The Good Old Days

    Quote Originally Posted by splott parker View Post
    Catch the last no.30 on a Friday night to Tredegar Park, where the M4 began, Hitch hike to wherever we were playing, football special on the way home, no ticket check, police just piled you on.

    So how do you get home these days then?

  19. #19

    Re: Football Special Trains , The Good Old Days

    It was always a good way to 'cut your teeth' for an away game by going on a soccer special to Bristol Rovers' Eastville Stadium.
    I think I was 15 at the time.
    Arriving at the station near the ground (Stapleton?), the heavy clunking of those train doors and the constant barking of German shepherd dogs perilously close.

    It was a terrific buzz!

  20. #20

    Re: Football Special Trains , The Good Old Days

    Quote Originally Posted by Cardiff-Cal View Post
    So how do you get home these days then?
    Hitch hike of course

  21. #21

    Re: Football Special Trains , The Good Old Days

    Quote Originally Posted by Rock_Flock_of_Five View Post
    It was always a good way to 'cut your teeth' for an away game by going on a soccer special to Bristol Rovers' Eastville Stadium.
    I think I was 15 at the time.
    Arriving at the station near the ground (Stapleton?), the heavy clunking of those train doors and the constant barking of German shepherd dogs perilously close.

    It was a terrific buzz!
    I remember being marched to Eastville by the local coppers and dumped in the open end at about 1pm. It was raining.

  22. #22
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    Re: Football Special Trains , The Good Old Days

    That away supporters end at Rovers always seemed huge but seeing photo's now it really wasn't that big.

  23. #23
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    Re: Football Special Trains , The Good Old Days

    Quote Originally Posted by the other bob wilson View Post
    One of the first away games my Dad took me to was Oxford in 1969 (what a trek it was to the ground from the station) tt must have been. It was the last time I can remember him going by train as he was upset at the fairly mild hooliganism on the journey home - I was to see a lot worse on one or two trains I caught to away games after that. That was the surprising thing, I assumed my father would say that was it as far as travelling to away games by train was concerned, but he didn't and, helped greatly by the fact that he could get me cheaper tickets as a British Rail employee, I went to plenty more games by train in the following years. However, once I passed my driving test in 1974, I preferred to drive to away games and I honestly can't remember the last time I travelled to an away game by train now - it must be more than forty years.

    I'm pretty sure that Jimmy Scoular and the team were on that train coming back from Oxford - train was the usual method by which teams travelled to away games back then. The first domestic game I can remember City flying to flying must have been Sunderland or Middlesbrough in 70/71 I think it was (quite a fuss was made in the local media I seem to recall, because it was such a "big time" thing to do).

    From my addled memory wasn't the fuss about the plane due to it only having about 10 seats?

    Tony Clemos idea to promote Red Dragon travel rings a bell.

  24. #24

    Re: Football Special Trains , The Good Old Days

    Quote Originally Posted by Majorblue View Post
    From my addled memory wasn't the fuss about the plane due to it only having about 10 seats?

    Tony Clemos idea to promote Red Dragon travel rings a bell.
    I think that was for a Wales trip in the mid seventies Major.

  25. #25

    Re: Football Special Trains , The Good Old Days

    Quote Originally Posted by Majorblue View Post
    From my addled memory wasn't the fuss about the plane due to it only having about 10 seats?

    Tony Clemos idea to promote Red Dragon travel rings a bell.
    You might be thinking of the time when Bob Grogan was the owner.
    He had a company up Newcastle way called Kenton Utilities.
    The plane was registered to his company.
    'tobw' is talking about a few years earlier than that.

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