At the final whistle it was handshakes all round. On the park and off it too as we passed some West Ham fans on the way out. We could not hang about for long. We had a train to catch. The return journey would be different from the one coming down.
We were to leave from Kings Cross and head to Edinburgh from where we would get a connection to Glasgow. We did manage a very quick pint and I grabbed a Kit Kat from a vending machine just in case I got peckish on the way north. The train left right on time and we tried to relax as best we could for what we hoped would be a smooth homeward journey.
However, those hopes were soon dashed. About 15 minutes after the train pulled out of Kings Cross it came to a sudden halt. No explanation as we stayed motionless for about half an hour. We slowly took off and then stuttered to a halt. This carried on for about another half hour or so before we started to crawl along for a spell before at last getting speed up again. We were all weary and uncomfortable.
Unlike the train down this one was a corridor train which had compartments consisting of 2 long bench seats facing each other so there was no room to sprawl out. I went for a walk along the train but every compartment was the same apart from the 1st class compartments which were mostly empty. However, I was warned off that area by a very zealous conductor.
I returned to my own compartment and tried to settle down for the night. It was impossible though to get any sleep. At one point I even climbed up onto the luggage rack to see if I could lie down there! When the train got to Newcastle myself and one of the other lads decided to try our luck in first class.
We reckoned that as the next stop was Edinburgh we would at least be in Scotland if we got thrown off! There was no sign of the conductor when we got to the first-class section so we grabbed an empty compartment, pulled down the blinds and spread ourselves out across the seats.
At last, some sleep, and the next thing I knew, the train had come to a halt at Waverley Station. In case there was a conductor looking to see our first-class tickets we quickly got off the train and onto the platform. I now realised I had left my coat, with my wallet in the pocket, back in the original compartment.
I hurried back along the platform to try and find my original compartment before someone noticed my coat and took out. However, I had only gone a few yards when I got a shout from our group leader. He had my coat and gave me it to me with a telling off to be more careful!
The Straw House made me laugh, I was once offered an upright hoover before a match for a £5er which the guy brought out of a long trench coat like it was contraband….good deal you may think….but I was 16 years old and not really in the market for a vacuum cleaner. 🙂
Some brilliant memories there, Mike. Thanks for sharing.
Hail Hail.