Promotion at Workington - 25 April 1964

[denzel]

When did the team stop travelling by train to the majority of away fixtures ? They certainly could not do it these days for numerous reasons.

Imagine doing that trip by road before the M5- I think only a bit of the M6 would have been built by then too. Would have taken ages

 

[Oldsmobile-88]

Imagine doing that trip by road before the M5- I think only a bit of the M6 would have been built by then too. Would have taken ages

Indeed...It was over 7 hrs to get to London in the early 1970s..I remember going with my uncle to Stamford Bridge in 1970/71 from Exmouth, started at 0430 got to Putney after 1200 ! In a Austin A35 too. He got pulled over for speeding(just a ticking off) on the way home

 

[Martin Weiler]

I didn't go either, but know where I was that day - at a classmates 9th birthday party in Exwick. We found out when the (0-0) result came through on, I think, tv once the game finished.

Very few fans would have travelled - going to away games was much more limited then. It was in the day before motorways. The journey to Workington would have taken for ever by car. Tellingly the players came back *on the train* to St Davids. Also on the train very difficult for fans to get to Workington,get to the game and then back home in a day. Even in the early 70s we sometimes went to away games by coach setting off the evening before and travelling through the night.

(hot gravel wasn't available either)

According to the Echo ‘hundreds’ travelled to Workington. A train for supporters left Exeter at 5.30pm the previous evening and a coach at 11.30pm.

The train had a stop at Preston where an enterprising fellow did great business selling rattles to the City fans.

The coach supporters arrived in Workington first and went to the station to greet the fans on the train.

Happy days!

 

[Andy Holloway]

Imagine doing that trip by road before the M5- I think only a bit of the M6 would have been built by then too. Would have taken ages

I think the "bit of the M6" was originally known as the Preston bye pass.

 

[Hants_red]

Cumbrian teams and promotion. Two years ago we beat Barrow to clinch promotion to League 1.

 

[Bridgy 81]

Cumbrian teams and promotion. Two years ago we beat Barrow to clinch promotion to League 1.

And our thrilling semi-final playoff win against the Cumbrians from Carlisle in 2017 which got us to touching distance from a promotion.
Shame about what came after though.

 

[Squeezebox]

The journey from here in South Cumbria to Workington is bad enough now!

 

[Andy_H]

When the team travelled to away matches by train goodness knows what time they arrived back in Exeter from a place like Workington.

If for example ECFC were playing Workington tomorrow and that the match finished on time it would have been about 6pm before they got to Workington station, then it would have been an hour up to Carlisle, change trains to catch one heading south towards Birmingham. Change in Birmingham to something going west to Plymouth or Paington. Looking to do that same journey tomorrow for example would take 18hrs 53mins and cost you £169! That translates to not arriving back in Exeter until 1349 on SUNDAY! No wonder teams travel by road or fly these days.

 

[cambmike]

I was 11 then and remember being worried previous seasons that we would be relegated or go bust like Accrington Stanley. It was great to watch City 63/64 and feel that there was a team on the rise. We were draw specialists, not scoring or conceding many goals.

 

[Colesman Ballz]

When the team travelled to away matches by train goodness knows what time they arrived back in Exeter from a place like Workington.

If for example ECFC were playing Workington tomorrow and that the match finished on time it would have been about 6pm before they got to Workington station, then it would have been an hour up to Carlisle, change trains to catch one heading south towards Birmingham. Change in Birmingham to something going west to Plymouth or Paington. Looking to do that same journey tomorrow for example would take 18hrs 53mins and cost you £169! That translates to not arriving back in Exeter until 1349 on SUNDAY! No wonder teams travel by road or fly these days.

So sixty years on and it still takes the same amount of time ! What happened to "progress" ?