Chiltern class 168 to be named, as part of Marylebone’s 125th celebrations
On Friday 15th March, London Marylebone will come alive with not only the roar of a Rail Adventure HST, at the head of ‘The Master Cutler’ from Sheffield, but with the naming of a class 168 – all within a short time of each other.
The HST is expected to arrive in platform 2 at 10.53, with the naming ceremony – which will take part in a cordoned off section of platform 1 – at around 11.30. According to sources at Chiltern Railways, the class 168 will carry the name ‘Marylebone Station 125 years’. Once named, the class 168 will form the 13.27 to Aylesbury Parkway. The HST charter will depart London for its return to Sheffield at 15.21.
The 125th celebrations present the perfect opportunity to update the best selling book ‘A Funny Thing Happened on the Train to London’ https://www.chimewhistle.co.uk/shop/p/a-funny-thing-happened-on-the-train-to-london which has received rave reviews from readers – including “I never knew that the railway could be so saucy – certainly not a book for maiden aunts!” and, from a member of rail staff, “Thanks for highlighting some of the shocking things we have to contend wth on a daily basis. Our HR and PR departments would never allow us to speak publicly about such things.” The book also details the history of every major London station, in a lively and engaging manner. No ‘dry’ history lessons here! In addition, there are approximately 300 creative colour pictures.
Marylebone station was once thought of as a place where one could find solitude, Canon Roger Lloyd recalling how his father had advised a penitent, who had complained that there was no where in London for quiet meditation “Have you tried Marylebone, my son? ” Quite what the clergyman would have made of the film ‘Carry on Girls’, that was filmed there in 1973, is open to conjecture! Another clergyman – Father Ronald Cox – once described the station as the only London terminus where one could hear bird song.
2024 is also the 40th anniversary since closure notices first appeared at the station. Had this proposal succeeded, the route out of Marylebone would now be a high-speed busway. Talking of high-speed, engineers working for HS2 caused numerous trains to pass signals at danger when they attempted to divert the signalling power supply, but then discovered that the alternative supply was faulty – causing all signals in the South Ruislip area to revert to red. According to a confidential report, this caused delays to 61 trains, resulting in 731 delay minutes.
Anyway, if you want to read about more shocks and sauce, a link to the book (which is book one in the trilogy of ‘A Funny Ting Happened on the train’ series is here: https://www.chimewhistle.co.uk/shop/p/a-funny-thing-happened-on-the-train-to-london Very few unreserved copies remaining.