Note to the reader: Thank you for joining me on my journey to share my father's journey! New posts to the blog here appear at the top of the main page, pushing the previous posts down below. Please be sure to check out the earlier posts and work your way up to the top.
On a Train Headed South
The troops of the 129th boarded trains in Glasgow and headed south. My assumption is that they departed from Glasgow Central Station.
Based on my assumption, in order to replicate the route as closely as possible, I purchased tickets to travel southbound by rail from Glasgow Central Station, however, the realities of the British Rail labor agreements and the schedule of British bank holidays thwarted my efforts in part. Upon arrival at Glasgow Central, I was notified that, since it is a banking holiday, the first leg of my rail journey would be over asphalt in a motor coach. One hour 45 minutes later I disembarked from the bus in Carlisle, England, for an approximate quarter-mile walk dragging my suitcase and carry-on bag over flagstones no two of which beside each other were canted at the same pitch.
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| Carlisle town center, near the train station. |
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| The platform and my train at Carlisle. |
The motor coach ride, though departing a bit late, may have actually been quicker than the train for the fact that it didn’t have to make any stops along the way. After waiting a little more than an hour, I boarded the train service that IS operating today and continued southward, changing trains in Preston, to Birmingham New Street Station where I was picked up by my good friend Mark Walford. It is here where there is a planned departure from my attempt at an accurate replication of Dad’s route because, years ago when I mentioned to Mark my desire to someday make this journey, he told me to let him know because he hoped to accompany me for part of it. So, after one night in Sheldon, Birmingham, Mark will be my chauffeur and guide for the rest of my UK portion of this journey!
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