GabrielC Posted April 20, 2021 Share Posted April 20, 2021 The Midland Blue Pullman train was in service between the years of 1960 to May 1973 when British Rail withdrew the service. The Blue Pullman was an luxury train service aimed at the business traveller the ticket price included three course meals served by silver service waiters. The coaches were fitted out to an high standard with reclining seats and tables with lamps on them very much in the same vain as it's Southern regions counterpart the ' Brighton Bell'. The trains were painted in Nanking blue with an white strip in the middle window section on the front of each power car was the Pullman Company crest in gold. However by early 1970s this was changed to grey and blue with yellow ends which ruined their appearance. The trains ran from Paddington Station some went though Monsdale in Derbyshire sadly the enterprise was not an success all sets were removed from service by May 1973 none of the trains were saved also asbestos issues were an concern. Did anyone on here was lucky enough to travel on the Blue Pullman? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runningman Posted April 20, 2021 Share Posted April 20, 2021 Didn't ever travel on that train, but as a young and keen trainspotter, once saw it travel through Hassop Station, that would have possibly been in 1960. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GabrielC Posted April 21, 2021 Author Share Posted April 21, 2021 12 hours ago, Runningman said: Didn't ever travel on that train, but as a young and keen trainspotter, once saw it travel through Hassop Station, that would have possibly been in 1960. I would have liked to have seen it myself or better still travelled on it. Perhaps all is not lost one set of the HST class 125 has been repainted in the Midland Pullman scheme the plan is for leisure dining experience will be interesting to see if it takes off or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Bynnol Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 Paddington Blue Pullmans went to South West and South Wales and ran until 1973. St Pancras was the departure point for the Manchester trains along the midland mainline to Nottingham or through Monsal Dale to Manchester. They were underpowered (90mph max) and could not compete with trains on the new electric Euston -Manchester route and withdrawn in about 1966 but continued to run as "excursions", "specials" and "football specials"in this area including Sheffield Midland in 1969. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemmy117 Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 As has been said above the Midland Pullman train ran from St. Pancras to Mnachester via Matlock. As the line closed the Midland units were soon transferred to join the others on the Paddington to South Wales service. I'm not aware they were ever used on the line into Sheffield, and can find no evidence they were ever used on football specials! They were not a great success, although they did introduce some novel ideas, double glazing, Venetian blinds and air conditioning to name a few. Their Achilles heel were the bogies, they were not a good design and were notoriously rough riders. There was one service each day from Manchester to London and back, and between these journeys the set ran a St. Pancras to Nottingham return, so they didn't get much use, and consequently were very expensive to operate. They did prove the concept though, which paved the way for the HST. Nigel L Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Bynnol Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 (edited) Some examples of ehere Paddington Blue Pullmans were used: Preston v Tottenham in 1966 Liverpool v Tottenham in1971 West Brom v Leicester at Hillsborough 1969 Various trips to Hull, Leeds, Carmarthen etc. Edited April 21, 2021 by Annie Bynnol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemmy117 Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 That's the great thing about this site you learn something every time, never knew they worked football specials! Nigel L Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runningman Posted April 25, 2021 Share Posted April 25, 2021 The answer to this question might be obvious, but I will ask it anyway ! Did the Pullman have a scheduled stop between Derby and Manchester ? Another question. What was the maximum speed limit on route and on which section was that ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillsbro Posted April 25, 2021 Share Posted April 25, 2021 57 minutes ago, Runningman said: ... Did the Pullman have a scheduled stop between Derby and Manchester ? The Wikipedia article indicates that it called at Cheadle Heath station, the only stop en route. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midland_Pullman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemmy117 Posted April 26, 2021 Share Posted April 26, 2021 Not sure of the line speed, but the Blue Pullman only had a top speed of 90mph, and being rough riders I bet they didn't do that for long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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