Starlight Specials

A fascinating look at the special Starlight Express overnight train service between London and Glasgow/Edinburgh

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In the 1950s and 1960s these cheap return excursion trains ran overnight between London and both Glasgow and Edinburgh, departing on Friday evenings and then returning on Saturday evenings a week or a fortnight later. The main purpose of these nocturnal trains was to compete with the Anglo-Scottish services being offered by the private coach companies in the 1950s and 1960s. Not only were they successful in doing this, they also generated long-distance and profitable traffic for British Railways.

Dave Peel looks at this lesser-known aspect of Britain’s railway history, a popular service that spanned ten years of service at the twilight of steam. He examines their rise and their fall, their successes and failures.