The Troop Train

For part of the year the railway ran a train on Fridays only from Portsmouth which wended its way via Oxford and Royal Leamington Spa to Coventry and thence to Birmingham and Leeds. The train was a boon to me as it stopped at Chesterfield.  No worries about connections. 

The train was packed always as far as Birmingham with soldiers and sailors on leave.  Vast quantities of alcohol were consumed..... and the smell, it was a travelling brewery.

The major disadvantage was the inability of the train to keep to the timetable.  Announcements at Coventry relating to the late running of the train were as rare as a virgin in a brothel. One knew the train was late when a Birmingham to Oxford train set off down the single line to Leamington Spa without waiting for the ex-Portsmouth train to arrive.

One evening I was astounded when an announcement was made. My train was running 61 minutes late. Cue for a visit to the Rocket public house, but on my way I called at the station manager's office to congratulate him on the precision of the information - not an hour late but 61 minutes late, followed by the mild suggestion that it was to be hoped the railway would get its finger out to ensure precision in keeping this particular train to its timetable.