Aberdonian (passenger train)
{{Short description|United Kingdom passenger train}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
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{{Infobox rail service
| box_width = 25em
| name = Aberdonian
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| image = Welwyn Garden City Clearing the wreckage of the Up 'Aberdonian' after its collision with a local train geograph-2317810-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg
| image_size = 300px
| caption = The wreckage of the Up Aberdonian on 8 January 1957.
| type = Passenger train
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| first = 1 January 1927
| last = 1971
| successor = Night Aberdonian
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| start = London Kings Cross
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| end = Aberdeen
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| frequency = Daily
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| line_used = East Coast Main Line
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The Aberdonian was a named passenger train operating in the United Kingdom.{{cite book |last=Allen |first=Cecil J. |date=1967 |title=Titled Trains of Great Britain |url= |location= |publisher=Ian Allan Ltd. |page=11 |isbn= |author-link= }}
History
On 1 January 1927 the London and North Eastern Railway decided to officially adopt the name Aberdonian for its sleeping car express between King's Cross and Aberdeen.{{cite news |author= |title=Trains' Names |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002035/19270101/087/0004 |newspaper=Morecambe Guardian |location=England |date=1 January 1927 |access-date=16 December 2017 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription }} It was timed to depart King's Cross at 7:40{{nbsp}}pm with a journey time to Aberdeen of a little over 11 hours, originally being hauled by Class C11 locomotives.
By 1939 the train was departing King's Cross at 7:30{{nbsp}}pm. A restaurant car was provided as far as York. At Edinburgh, sections of train were disconnected to form services to Fort William and Mallaig, and Perth and Inverness. The Aberdeen section of the train called at Dundee, Arbroath, Montrose and Stonehaven, arriving in Aberdeen at 7:30{{nbsp}}am, a journey time of exactly 12 hours. The return journey left Aberdeen at 7:35{{nbsp}}pm, and arrived in King's Cross 11 hours 50 minutes later, with journey times shortened by streamlined P2 and A4 engines.
The Aberdonian continued during the Second World War with extended journey times and afterwards Peppercorn A1 locomotives, but noticeable improvements were only achieved with the introduction of Deltic locomotives, which reduced the journey time to 11 hours 10 minutes.
On 7 January 1957 the Aberdonian ran into the back of a local train one mile south of Welwyn Garden City railway station. The accident killed 3 people and injured 26.{{cite news |author= |title=3 dead, 26 injured when Aberdonian Express hit local train |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001480/19570108/055/0003 |newspaper=Londonderry Sentinel |location=Northern Ireland |date=8 January 1957 |access-date=16 December 2017 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription }}
On 7 May 1969, six people died and 46 were injured in one of the accidents at Morpeth when the Aberdonian hauled by Deltic locomotive No. 9011 The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers entered a {{convert|40|mph|km/h}} speed restriction at {{convert|82|mph|km/h}}.{{cite book |last=Hoole |first=Ken |authorlink=Ken Hoole |title=Trains in Trouble: Vol. 4 |year=1983 |publisher=Atlantic Books |location=Truro |isbn=0-906899-07-9 |pages=13–14 }} All eleven coaches were derailed.{{cite news |author= |title=Express Driver's Mind Wandered |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002135/19690521/368/0021 |newspaper=Birmingham Daily Post |location=England |date=21 May 1969 |access-date=16 December 2017 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription }}
In 1971, British Rail withdrew the name Aberdonian from the early evening departure from King's Cross, then timed at 7:55{{nbsp}}pm. The name Night Aberdonian was then used on the 10.15 King's Cross to Aberdeen sleeper service.{{cite news |author= |title=Big Boost for Sleeper Services |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000445/19710426/063/0005 |newspaper=Aberdeen Evening Express |location=Scotland |date=26 April 1971 |access-date=16 December 2017 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription }} This also crashed at Morpeth, in 1984.
Similarly-Named Locomotive
File:Peterborough railway geograph-2261350-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg
One of the Peppercorn A1-class 4-6-2 locomotives often assigned to The Aberdonian was No. 60158, which was itself named "Aberdonian" in 1951.{{Cite web |date=2024-02-27 |title=No. 60158 Aberdonian {{!}} Original A1s {{!}} Tornado {{!}} Educational Resources {{!}} A1 Locomotives |url=https://www.a1steam.com/educational-resources/tornado/original-a1s/no-60158-aberdonian |access-date=2024-10-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240227225614/https://www.a1steam.com/educational-resources/tornado/original-a1s/no-60158-aberdonian |archive-date=27 February 2024 }} The locomotive was built in November of 1949, and spent much of its service life working trains out of "Top Shed," the engine house at King's Cross, or working out of Grantham. Despite sharing its name with the train, however, the 60158 was assigned to a wide variety of trains, including goods trains, troop trains, and other named trains like the Morning Talisman and the Flying Scotsman. The 60158 was withdrawn from service in 1964 after 15 years of service.
External links
- [http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/eventsummary.php?eventID=1421 Link to details of the 1957 Aberdonian accident at The Railways Archive]
- [http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/DoE_Morpeth1969.pdf Official report into the 1969 Aberdonian accident at The Railways Archive]