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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 .
All done with a good old fashioned “platform ticket” :thumbup:
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 !Quote:
Originally Posted by SLUDGE FACTORY
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.
Newport away in the fa Cup when Nicky Platnauer scored was the worst one I have ever been onQuote:
Originally Posted by MOZZER2
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
Pompey were very smartly dressedQuote:
Originally Posted by Michael Morris
Alan Biley with a stupid spikey blond haircut up front
Nil Nil
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 :hehe:Quote:
Originally Posted by BLUETIT
I wouldn’t get on a train these days , even if it was free !!!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Heathblue
Thank the lord.Quote:
Originally Posted by BLUETIT
I remember (vaguely now) a steam train from Llanishen which came down from Rhymney with a City scarf round the funnel.
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by SLUDGE FACTORY
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).
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by SLUDGE FACTORY
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.
Attachment 5915
4dQuote:
Originally Posted by BLUETIT
Old money
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.
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
Quote:
Originally Posted by splott parker
So how do you get home these days then?
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!
Hitch hike of course :thumbup:Quote:
Originally Posted by Cardiff-Cal
I remember being marched to Eastville by the local coppers and dumped in the open end at about 1pm. It was raining.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rock_Flock_of_Five
That away supporters end at Rovers always seemed huge but seeing photo's now it really wasn't that big.
Quote:
Originally Posted by the other bob wilson
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by Majorblue
You might be thinking of the time when Bob Grogan was the owner.Quote:
Originally Posted by Majorblue
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.
You dodged a bulletQuote:
Originally Posted by wildbill
That special was evil
You may well be right as the only thing I am sure on is that it was a cardiff rather than Wales matter.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rock_Flock_of_Five
Then again I really am struggling to actually find anything to back up my memory.
Just like one flew over the cukoos nest.Quote:
Originally Posted by SLUDGE FACTORY
It was potty there all dayQuote:
Originally Posted by jeepster
You talking about the one in the early 80s in the old division 3 the nil nil?Quote:
Originally Posted by SLUDGE FACTORY
Don't remember the train being evil but the welcome along the streets to the ground from Pompey fans was - I remember thinking they all looked like proper men and not many from our escort made any attempts to say hallo
Specials to me were a young person thing and not special at all
Yes , nil nil , tick tockQuote:
Originally Posted by Nobody's Rep
The train I went on was huge
13 carriages
You must have been with the swots
That's not quite how I remember it pre-match.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nobody's Rep
I arrived on a service train packed with City fans. We weren't allowed to exit the station as the football special was arriving minutes later. The police then let us slowly leave the station, and kept us penned in while another service train came in some 15 minutes later, again it was fairly full of City fans.
I remember there were about 15 or so Pompey fans waiting across the road, they soon dispersed once they saw our numbers.
We were marched straight to the ground and not allowed in any pubs. The ground wasn't even open at the time we arrived. Someone spotted an entrance (perhaps a utility entrance) and hundreds of us found ourselves wandering around on the pitch!
No Pompey would have got near us with the numbers we had from the station to the ground.
Yes of course that was it - I had a choice of trains from central and chose the quiet one - pointless have any dialogue with you at allQuote:
Originally Posted by SLUDGE FACTORY
Agree there was a big away following but the post u was replying to said it was evil - that's not my recollection - yes the clock went etc but Millwall away that season was much worse and the home and away games against Swansea in the Welsh cup final stand out but not Pompey away that season for meQuote:
Originally Posted by Rock_Flock_of_Five
Even Hereford away was worse than Pompey away
I would say the “swots” are the ones on the special.Quote:
Originally Posted by SLUDGE FACTORY
Millwall away etc we were always on the normal service train as you could quietly go about unrestricted.
That's because your memory is letting you downQuote:
Originally Posted by Nobody's Rep
It's the biggest train support I have ever been on with city and the Portsmouth fans kept well clear
You are wrongQuote:
Originally Posted by Nobody's Rep
Well when we went to Millwall in the fa Cup the naughty boys went down on 0625 from Cardiff but came home with us on the specialQuote:
Originally Posted by TWGL1
Safety in numbers maybe
I'm not talking size of following - already said it was big but didn't think it was particularly evil as you put it and no my memory is not playing tricks - just have a different opinion to you as to the definition of evil.Quote:
Originally Posted by SLUDGE FACTORY
I was on the special and the Pompey fans were well out of the way when we walked throughQuote:
Originally Posted by Nobody's Rep
Maybe you were with a quiet carriage 🚃......some swots being the phrase
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