cars on the East Coast Main Line in 1961 had been questioned as it was believed the ER had not waited for the completion of evaluation of the Blue Pullmans. The later introduction of 2nd-class air-conditioned Mark 2 coaches on these services hastened the perception that the Pullman supplement was not value for money. The WR Birmingham Pullman ran in the morning Wolverhampton Low Level to London Paddington, via Birmingham Snow Hill and through High Wycombe, with a fill-in journey from Paddington to Birmingham Snow Hill and back, before the evening return to Wolverhampton. The Bristol Pullman from Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington and back, twice in a day. The two morning services were booked to arrive at the same time at Paddington, giving the possibility of a side-by-side arrival. From 1961, an additional morning train, the South Wales Pullman, operated from Paddington to Cardiff and Swansea. With the imminent withdrawal of the Midland Pullman, in 1965 one operated a trial from London King's Cross to Leeds via the East Coast Main Line. However they were not introduced on this route and after the Midland Pullman ceased, the sets were transferred to the WR to be used on a new non-stop service for Oxford, and on additional out-and-back services on the Bristol and Swansea routes. The Birmingham services were eventually withdrawn, with the last services being to South Wales. Withdrawal Towards the end of their operational life, the sets operated as three makeshift sets formed from various original cars to maintain a working service. With declining reliability, the last sets were withdrawn en masse in May 1973. A farewell commemorative special journey out and back from Paddington was run by the Western Region, travelling for 12 hours via High Wycombe, Banbury, Leamington Spa, Kenilworth, Coventry, Birmingham New Street, Cheltenham, Bristol Temple Meads, the Severn Tunnel, Swansea, Cardiff, Bristol Parkway, Didcot and Slough. After service Ten cars (six Midland and four Western) had been reportedly saved from the scrapyard in July 1975 for preservation, however, none have been preserved. Some of the motor cars were retained at Bristol Temple Meads and Bristol Bath Road TMD until mid-1974 as standby electricity generators during industrial action in the electricity and coal-mining industries. The Irish national rail and bus operator Córas Iompair Éireann gave "serious consideration" to acquiring (and by implication, re-gauging by exchanging the standard gauge bogies with broad-gauge ones) the Blue