The Southport Model Railway Society’s sleeper trip is a tradition that stretches back to 1995, when three of the Society’s most expendable members were commissioned to investigate the phenomenon of overnight international rail travel. We had previously undertaken the occasional day trip, but this was a world first for the Society. The move was precipitated by Scotrail’s proposal to cut three of their sleeper routes, which caused an outcry amongst the Highland lairds. Eventually closure was averted by combining them into one train as far as Edinburgh. Clearly there was a need for SMRS to investigate and establish the true facts about why such closures were so unpopular amongst the Scottish gentry.

The first trip was fairly brief, timed to minimise exposure to foreign influences whilst still gathering sufficient data for the report to the Committee. Boarding the sleeper at Preston, we arrived early the following morning in Inverness, and promptly entrained again, this time on a day return to Kyle of Lochalsh. After an overnight stay in a B&B we retreated back south, mission completed. Following some deliberation, permission was eventually granted for an annual trip, subject to democratic decision-making on when and where.

Since then the trips have gradually expanded in scope, length and number of attendees. We have criss-crossed the length and breadth of Scotland by a variety of transport modes, visited many a Hebridean island and consumed significant amounts of whisky and real ale. Numerous museums, railway centres, castles and gardens have benefitted from our attendance, and we have embarked on a variety of boat trips, including quite a big one from Greenock to Liverpool.

On three occasions we have swapped the Scottish sleeper for one to Penzance, the better to explore the more southerly Celtic lands. Also three times we have stretched the definition of ‘sleeper’ to include overnight ferry berths, thereby bringing Ireland into scope. Once we visited Kent via Glasgow, and took the opportunity to Channel-hop to Paris, because it was there apparently.

Fourteen members have participated over the quarter-century, and on five different occasions up to three wives have kept us company for part of the journey. Our excursion in June 2019 coincided with the introduction of new sleeper cars on the Scottish routes, complete with en-suite facilities that only seemed to work in the hours of daylight. And quite how we spent the majority of the trip in East Anglia rather than northern Britain is a little tricky to explain - you had to be there.

Overall I think my favourite is the sleeper to Inverness followed by the train across to the west coast, much as we did on the very first expedition. The experience of going to sleep in the soft South and waking up in the Scottish Highlands is one to be savoured, particularly when one’s Onboard Customer Fulfillment Executive is on hand to supply a malt whisky cocktail and a Scottish salmon breakfast.

Unfortunately the Covid-19 global lockdown stymied our plans for 2020 - not even a token trip in late summer was possible. The plan was to include a trip to the island of Colonsay, so far unvisited, with an expanded clientele of members. Like so much else, it had to wait for better times.