ECML Diversion Routes - Lincoln-Spalding-March-Ely between 1976-1980?

[Robin Edwards]

There are times when memories fade and notebooks are never instructive enough - I'm looking to see if there are any dated weekend diversions known to have been in place between 1976-1980 where ECML diversions to/from King Cross from/to Doncaster and points north may have used the closed Spalding to March section with trains rejoining ECML at Hitchin.

I have faded memories of Merrymaker weekend trip routed via Lincoln all the way via Ely & Cambridge to rejoin ECML to London.

Am I imagining or does anyone have any evidence or such diversions?

Grateful for any shared experiences folk may have.

 

[CW2]

I travelled on the ECML quite a bit late 70s / early 80s, mainly bashing class 40s, but with a fair sprinkling of other traction thrown in for good measure.
With the caveat that this is all from memory, not referring to any official printed documents:

I believe that the March - Spalding section was operated on a 12-hour single shift basis Monday to Saturday by that time, as the large number of manual signal boxes and level crossings meant a disproportionately high wage bill - which is one of the factors resulting in the route's closure.

The periodic Saturday night / Sunday morning and Sunday night / Monday morning engineering diversions would take place on prearranged engineering periods,typically of 8(?) weeks. Whilst things might be different in the event of large scale engineering works e.g. area resignalling or bridge replacement works, the normal weekend diversions would be arranged so they didn't overlap with one another (in terms of dates).

Leaving Kings Cross, diversions via Hertford North instead of Welwyn could take place at any time.
From Hitchin, diversions via Cambridge would continue via March to Peterborough, then continue on the ECML without further diversions.
Alternatively, trains ran direct to Peterborough, then via Spalding, Sleaford and Lincoln Central to Doncaster.

To the best of my knowledge, there weren't any diversions planned to run via Kings Cross - Hitchin - Cambridge - March - Spalding - Doncaster, but I look forward to being proved wrong on that one.

If the Merrymaker you remember was on a Saturday then it may well have run via Spalding - March as you described or vice versa, but not on a Sunday.

 

[norbitonflyer]

I recall a special train laid on for our school, and another from Market Rasen, which ran to and from Liverpoil Street via the Lincoln Avoiding Line, Spalding and Bishops Stortford. C1970

 

[Robin Edwards]

Thanks for responses @CW2 and @norbitonflyer :

I could just be imagining but majority of outings of any distance during this period would have used BR Merrymakers which don't really feature so much on Sixbellsjunction as would traditional rail tours with third party organisers. I have recollection of a south-bound divert likely for engineering works taking 'ages' via Spalding and I don't think we regained ecml at Peterborough but headed south from Lincoln & Spalding via March, Ely and Cambridge. I would have joined/alighted all of these at Stevenage with trains starting & ending from KingsCross.

I think some Merrymaker excursions ran during the week during school holidays but known trips at Weekends I travelled on were:
Saturday 9th April 1977 (London KX to Carlisle on S&C and back via Tyne Valley)
Saturday 28th May 1977 (London KX to Edinburgh and back)
Saturday 1st April 1978 (London KX to York and back with 40068)
Saturday 8th April 1978 (London KX to Carlisle on S&C and back via Tyne Valley)
Saturday 3rd June 1978 (London KX to Edinburgh and back)
Saturday 25th Nov 1978 (London KX to Nottingham and back with 31205 & 31125)

Cheers for any shared experiences from these.

 

[Magdalia]

March-Spalding was closed on Sundays once the Sunday passenger service was taken out in 1963. By the early 1970s It was closing in Saturday evenings at about 2000.

The Hitchin-Cambridge-Peterborough and Peterborough-Lincoln-Doncaster diversions both added more than an hour to journey time for ECML trains. Planned diversions might include one or the other but not both, simply because it would have taken too long. In the 1970s diversions via Cambridge were usually in April and September.

 

[61058]

I recall a special train laid on for our school, and another from Market Rasen, which ran to and from Liverpoil Street via the Lincoln Avoiding Line, Spalding and Bishops Stortford. C1970

I was on this as train as well. Our school got on at Lincoln. The only time I went to London from Lincoln on the ex Great eastern route.

 

[ecmlthrash15]

I can only briefly recall about 1984/5 at Cambridge. On Sundays there were diversions via Cambridge. It was a dream come true if you liked the paxman valenta hst.

 

[The Foghorn]

As a Spalding resident who looked forward to seeing Deltics open up as they headed south from the station, I can confirm they always went straight on for Peterborough rather than hang left for March.

 

[norbitonflyer]

I was on this as train as well. Our school got on at Lincoln. The only time I went to London from Lincoln on the ex Great eastern route.

That almost certainly means we went to the same school.........

 

[a good off]

There were rare times when the full Hitchin to Doncaster via March and Spalding route was used, avoiding Peterborough. A local photographer got the diversions at French Drove.

 

[Magdalia]

There were rare times when the full Hitchin to Doncaster via March and Spalding route was used, avoiding Peterborough. A local photographer got the diversions at French Drove.

It was very difficult to do this because Spalding-March had very restricted opening hours on Sundays, only opening to allow for the passage of the three booked passenger trains. These finished in 1963, after which the line was closed on Sundays. For most ECML trains there would never be any reason to do it.

The only ECML diversions over the Spalding-March line that I'm aware of were some Sunday Grimsby-Kings Cross trains via the East Lincs route going direct from Spalding to March as part of diversions via Cambridge.

 

[a good off]

They may have made arrangements to open the boxes on overtime then as I know it happened at least once.

 

[Magdalia]

They may have made arrangements to open the boxes on overtime then as I know it happened at least once.

Not that I've seen from looking at various train registers.

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

There were, of course, the scheduled Summer Saturday services to Yarmouth over the route - I specifically went on the Manchester service to do the line (and the Sleaford avoiding line and the Ely Curve). It called at Lincoln Central so I never did the avoiding line there unfortunately.

 

[a good off]

So you have a train register available for *every* Sunday that the joint was open in later years? Really?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 10 Jun 2026 ==

In reply again to Magdalia, the photos I’ve seen of the diversions were I now think on weekday nights. I’m trying to locate the photos, it was a while ago when I saw them.

 

[Magdalia]

So you have a train register available for *every* Sunday that the joint was open in later years? Really?

The Joint Line wasn't open on Sundays in later years, the Sunday service ceased in 1963. I have looked at lots of train registers, including French Drove. What they show includes when the signalmen booked on and off. Even when the Sunday service ran, there are no instances of the boxes staying open all day for additional traffic.

When the Sunday trains were running, the Sunday night shift started a bit early to allow passage of the 5.40pm York-March. On Sunday 29 October 1961, the signalman signed on even earlier to allow passage of the 6.10pm Kings Cross-Grimsby and 5.26pm Grimsby-Kings Cross. That's the only instance I've found of signalmen's hours being varied for diversions.

In reply again to Magdalia, the photos I’ve seen of the diversions were I now think on weekday nights. I’m trying to locate the photos, it was a while ago when I saw them.

The Joint Line closed in 1982. In those days no camera equipment was capable of capturing moving trains at night at a location such as French Drove.

It would help if you could find the photo.

There were, of course, the scheduled Summer Saturday services to Yarmouth over the route - I specifically went on the Manchester service to do the line (and the Sleaford avoiding line and the Ely Curve). It called at Lincoln Central so I never did the avoiding line there unfortunately.

Indeed, and until 1973 weekday loco hauled trains too (I did do the Lincoln avoider once on the Leeds-Yarmouth).

There was also a significant amount of troop traffic via the Joint Line to and from Brandon, and to and from Harwich. It is possible that a troop train could be misindentified as a diverted ECML train.

 

[a good off]

Magdalia, in lighter summer months camera equipment in 1980 was perfectly capable of capturing moving objects. I can’t be bothered, I’ve tried to be helpful to the original poster in asking whether any ECML diversions went via the March to Spalding section, they did. As you say, the joint line wasn’t booked to be open on a Sunday but was at least one time specially opened using overtime, I know this as I knew quite a few of the staff who worked on the line. Whatever.

 

[Magdalia]

Magdalia, in lighter summer months camera equipment in 1980 was perfectly capable of capturing moving objects. I can’t be bothered, I’ve tried to be helpful to the original poster in asking whether any ECML diversions went via the March to Spalding section, they did. As you say, the joint line wasn’t booked to be open on a Sunday but was at least one time specially opened using overtime, I know this as I knew quite a few of the staff who worked on the line. Whatever.

I am trying to be helpful too, but I'm also trying to establish the facts, and have done a lot of research.

We are in the lighter summer months now. Sun sets at about 2130 and rises at about 0430. Camera equipment of the time could not capture moving objects much later than an hour before sunset and much earlier than an hour after sunrise. I know, I tried.

I grew up in Cambridge and I'm very familiar with the history of ECML diversions via Cambridge from the mid 1970s onwards. All of the instances I know of were diversions Hitchin-Peterborough.

My research has also included an extensive trawl of the published photographs, with the help of a friend. Apart from a few summer Saturday daytime photos in 1981 and 1982, there is very little in the published sources for the Joint Line between March and Spalding.

As a researcher I want to know, if this happened, when it happened and why.

 

[The exile]

The Hitchin-Cambridge-Peterborough and Peterborough-Lincoln-Doncaster diversions both added more than an hour to journey time for ECML trains. Planned diversions might include one or the other but not both, simply because it would have taken too long.

Which suggests that the only times it would possibly have been used would have been if there was a full blockade at Peterborough.

 

[Magdalia]

Which suggests that the only times it would possibly have been used would have been if there was a full blockade at Peterborough.

The time that might have happened was 1972-73 when Peterborough was remodelled. Railway Observer has some quite detailed descriptions of the various stages of the track alterations, but nothing on the disruption to the trains. It is possible that, using 1970s modes of operation, the work was done without any full blockades. As all the track was new in the 1972-73 remodelling, any full blockades at Peterborough between then and closure of the Joint Line in 1982 would have been very unlikely.

 

[The exile]

The time that might have happened was 1972-73 when Peterborough was remodelled. Railway Observer has some quite detailed descriptions of the various stages of the track alterations, but nothing on the disruption to the trains. It is possible that, using 1970s modes of operation, the work was done without any full blockades. As all the track was new in the 1972-73 remodelling, any full blockades at Peterborough between then and closure of the Joint Line in 1982 would have been very unlikely.

I know I’ve seen photos of ECML expresses picking their way through the rebuilding works, so I suspect any full closure would have been very short.

 

[The Crab]

I travelled on the ECML quite a bit late 70s / early 80s, mainly bashing class 40s, but with a fair sprinkling of other traction thrown in for good measure.
With the caveat that this is all from memory, not referring to any official printed documents:

I believe that the March - Spalding section was operated on a 12-hour single shift basis Monday to Saturday by that time, as the large number of manual signal boxes and level crossings meant a disproportionately high wage bill - which is one of the factors resulting in the route's closure.

The periodic Saturday night / Sunday morning and Sunday night / Monday morning engineering diversions would take place on prearranged engineering periods,typically of 8(?) weeks. Whilst things might be different in the event of large scale engineering works e.g. area resignalling or bridge replacement works, the normal weekend diversions would be arranged so they didn't overlap with one another (in terms of dates).

Leaving Kings Cross, diversions via Hertford North instead of Welwyn could take place at any time.
From Hitchin, diversions via Cambridge would continue via March to Peterborough, then continue on the ECML without further diversions.
Alternatively, trains ran direct to Peterborough, then via Spalding, Sleaford and Lincoln Central to Doncaster.

To the best of my knowledge, there weren't any diversions planned to run via Kings Cross - Hitchin - Cambridge - March - Spalding - Doncaster, but I look forward to being proved wrong on that one.

If the Merrymaker you remember was on a Saturday then it may well have run via Spalding - March as you described or vice versa, but not on a Sunday.

I remember EE4/40s out of The Cross in the early 70s. When did they become unusual from there in ordinary service?

 

[The exile]

I remember EE4/40s out of The Cross in the early 70s. When did they become unusual from there in ordinary service?

The spread of electrically heated stock would have rendered them increasingly less useful - though I think they staggered on on the odd relief till quite late in their careers.

 

[Magdalia]

The spread of electrically heated stock would have rendered them increasingly less useful - though I think they staggered on on the odd relief till quite late in their careers.

In 1978 HSTs started on the ECML, and the outer suburban electric service started too. After that there were very few daytime trains which could use a class 40, apart from occasional appearances on the Peterborough commuters, which were steam heat until 1983. Night time was different, with the sleepers also steam heat until the MarkIIIs arrived.

To get us back to the topic, one of the key reasons for not doing both diversions at the same time was that it overstretched loco, rolling stock and traincrew resources. Usually diversions finished by about 1600 on Sunday, if diversions continued after that then the Kings Cross end could literally run out of locos, rolling stock and traincrew, because inbound workings were not arriving in time to take up their usual booked outbound workings. In situations like that then a class 40 on MarkIs could sometimes be used on a Sunday afternoon diverted train out of Kings Cross.

 

[Taunton]

I remember EE4/40s out of The Cross in the early 70s. When did they become unusual from there in ordinary service?

There was a magazine account quite late in their time of one encountered on a Leeds to Kings Cross express, mid-late 1970s, not long before HSTs came along. Mk2c stock, air braked, which made for some notably high speed stops. It seemed if there was a shortage of Deltics everything cascaded downwards. Must have been winter because the boiler was in use. Not too much time lost.

 

[a good off]

I can’t find the photos that I’ve seen of a diversion. The best I can do is this https://flic.kr/p/2a4yYcL

 

[Sultan1056]

I can’t find the photos that I’ve seen of a diversion. The best I can do is this https://flic.kr/p/2a4yYcL

Correct me if I am wrong but I wasn’t aware that there was a Stirling-Ely Motorail service. Could it be a parcels or ECS working?
If the date is correct, the photo was taken on a Friday; an unusual date for a diversion? Having said that if the date is correct and it isn’t a Motorail service, could it not be a booked service over the route?

 

[a good off]

Stirling to Ely was a booked service in the early 80s. It was originally Cambridge to Stirling but got changed to start at Ely when the stage work for the 198 resignalling was happening.

 

[Magdalia]

Correct me if I am wrong but I wasn’t aware that there was a Stirling-Ely Motorail service. Could it be a parcels or ECS working?
If the date is correct, the photo was taken on a Friday; an unusual date for a diversion? Having said that if the date is correct and it isn’t a Motorail service, could it not be a booked service over the route?

The East Anglia-Scotland motorail has a short but complicated history. It is difficult to trace from the Public timetables, which just gives a map and list of motorail services. It appears to start as a Cambridge-Edinburgh in 1974, when I have the WTT which shows the northbound train as 1S84 2345 SO and southbound as 1E37 2210 SuO.

In 1978 the train served both Harwich and Cambridge at the East Anglian end and switched to Stirling at the Scottish end. I have the WTT which shows the northbound train as 1S56 2210 ThO from Cambridge and 2000 SO from Harwich, and southbound as 1E36 2302 FO to Harwich and 2057 SuO to Cambridge. The following year Cambridge was replaced by Ely, so the northbound train was 1S56 2230 ThO from Ely and 2000 SO from Harwich, and southbound was 1E36 2300 FO to Harwich and 2300 SuO to Ely. Then in 1980 Harwich was dropped and the train ran 2230 ThSO from Ely and 2302 FSuO from Stirling.

In 1981 the northbound end switched to Inverness and the train ran 3 times per week: 2135 MWFO from Ely and 2020 TThO/2135SO from Inverness. As far as I can tell 1982 was the last year when northbound was 1854 WO Ely-Inverness and southbound was 1824 TO Inverness-Ely.

All of the WTTs I have show the trains running via Peterborough, except 1981, when 2020 TThO Inverness-Ely was booked via the Joint Line. So, in the French Drove picture, the train is on its booked route, not a diversion.

 

[Sultan1056]

The East Anglia-Scotland motorail has a short but complicated history. It is difficult to trace from the Public timetables, which just gives a map and list of motorail services. It appears to start as a Cambridge-Edinburgh in 1974, when I have the WTT which shows the northbound train as 1S84 2345 SO and southbound as 1E37 2210 SuO.

In 1978 the train served both Harwich and Cambridge at the East Anglian end and switched to Stirling at the Scottish end. I have the WTT which shows the northbound train as 1S56 2210 ThO from Cambridge and 2000 SO from Harwich, and southbound as 1E36 2302 FO to Harwich and 2057 SuO to Cambridge. The following year Cambridge was replaced by Ely, so the northbound train was 1S56 2230 ThO from Ely and 2000 SO from Harwich, and southbound was 1E36 2300 FO to Harwich and 2300 SuO to Ely. Then in 1980 Harwich was dropped and the train ran 2230 ThSO from Ely and 2302 FSuO from Stirling.

In 1981 the northbound end switched to Inverness and the train ran 3 times per week: 2135 MWFO from Ely and 2020 TThO/2135SO from Inverness. As far as I can tell 1982 was the last year when northbound was 1854 WO Ely-Inverness and southbound was 1824 TO Inverness-Ely.

All of the WTTs I have show the trains running via Peterborough, except 1981, when 2020 TThO Inverness-Ely was booked via the Joint Line. So, in the French Drove picture, the train is on its booked route, not a diversion.

You are correct, a very complicated history. Thanks for the clarification.