FIRST to arrive overnight on February 16 was Storm Dudley, weather forecasters predicting wind gusts of 60-70mph, along with warnings of structural damage.
ScotRail took the rare decision to wind down all services midafternoon on the Wednesday (16th) until mid-morning the following day. Services on the Far North, Kyle of Lochalsh, and Aberdeen-Inverness routes were unaffected. It proved to be a wise decision, as a tree damaged an overhead gantry between Kilwinning-Largs, but Network Rail staff worked through the night to complete repairs at other locations where trees and debris had fallen.
In Wales, a trampoline became stuck under a GWR IET at Cardiff, causing delays, while on the Midland Main Line, the overhead wires came down between Luton and St Pancras in the afternoon, leading to massive chaos for evening peak service. Some passengers did not reach their destinations until 01.30 the next morning.
Repairs were carried out overnight allowing the slow lines to operate, the fast lines remaining out of use until the early hours of Friday 18th.