Frozen Water Stop

1E40, the 19:25 Aberdeen to King's Cross sleeper was only booked to stop at York for 2 minutes but despite running 20 minutes late, there was still time to top up 55 013's water tanks before it set off for London at 02:55 on 12 December 1981.

Note the paraffin heater on the platform, necessary to stop the water supply from freezing. Daytime temperatures in mid-December 1981 were well below freezing and they dropped even lower overnight. The following night saw some of the lowest temperatures on record with much of the UK experiencing -18C and -25C being recorded in Shropshire.

By 3 o'clock in the morning most of the overnights had gone through and there was nothing to do but find somewhere to shiver until dawn.