Rail travel was a pain even then

Frustration among passengers about the running of the railways appears to have been as much an issue in January, 1969, as it is today.

In a letter to the Observer headed `wrong rail information,’ Donald Davidson, Lennox Avenue, Stirling, told how his daughter phoned the railway inquiry office to confirm a previous inquiry about trains from Stirling to Chesterfield.

She was assured the 8.23am Stirling-Glasgow service would get her there in time to catch the 9.35am from Glasgow Central to Chesterfield.

However, on arriving at Stirling Station on January 2, 1969, she was told there was no train to Glasgow Queen Street until 8.47am, allowing just 10 minutes for her to get to Glasgow Central for the Chesterfield service. She had with her a child of two and a half and a suitcase.

A helpful inspector telephoned Glasgow to see if it would be possible to hold the 9.35am service for five minutes to allow his daughter to get across Glasgow, but the request was refused.

“Under the circumstances my wife and I travelled to Glasgow with our daughter,” said Mr Davidson.

“The train did not arrive until 9.30am and after a taxi run we got to Central Station within seconds of departure time.

“Even then my daughter caught the train because my wife and she ran to the platform while I paid the taxi. Had she been on her own she would not have managed.”

Mr Davidson added: “This is not the first time we have had wrong information from this office both about cost of journeys and train times.

“It seems to me no information is better than wrong information. A present a chalked board with alterations to normal timetables would give us more confidence. Otherwise we may have to give up travelling by train.”