Holiday traffic

[4SRKT]

Yesterday I heard a traffic report on Radio 2 warning people to steer clear of the A64 between York and Malton because it was totally bunged with people heading for Scarborough. This got me thinking about the volume of trains that used to run there, and how much more efficient this was as a means of getting people to the seaside. Not only do people have to queue for ages on the A64, but half of Scarborough must have been paved over for car parks in the last 20 years or so. Here's a summary of departures from Scarborough on a summer Saturday in 1987 to get a flavour of what was possible compared to the hourly 3-car 185 we have now.

06:28 York
06:51 Hull
07:43 Liverpool
07:55 Hull
08:40 Manchester Victoria via Bradford
09:10 York
09:19 Hull
09:53 Liverpool
10:10 Paignton
10:40 Manchester via Bradford
10:50 Hull
10:56 Sheffield
11:10 York
11:48 Leicester via Bridlington
11:53 Liverpool
12:10 York
12:19 Hull
12:39 Manchester via Bradford
13:02 Sheffield
13:16 York
13:33 Glasgow Queen St
13:46 Hull
13:53 Liverpool
14:40 Manchester via Bradford
15:35 Hull
15:53 Liverpool
16:20 Leeds
16:30 Hull
16:38 Manchester via Bradford
17:10 Leeds
17:16 Hull
17:53 Liverpool
18:12 Hull
18:40 Leeds
19:04 Sheffield
19:15 Wakefield Westgate via Castleford
19:46 Hull
19:53 Liverpool
20:40 York
21:19 Hull

This is the first year of the so-called Sprinter 'revolution', and the regular service to Liverpool was a 4- or 6-car 150/2, and the Calder Valley 2- or 4-car 150/2 (4-car at least as far as York in summer). The Paignton and Leicester are loco-hauled and the Glasgow an HST. The York shorts are mainly pacers and the rest (including the Hulls IIRR) a heterogeneous assortment of DMUs of varying length. I wish I had a book from about 1983 as my memory of trips to Scarborough and Filey are of huge numbers of loco-hauled trains coming back in flights from Scarborough to locations all over the north of England.

 

[Welshman]

Going back even further, I can remember alighting with my bucket and spade at Londesbrough Rd station in Scarborough - the excursion platform just outside the present station - which attracted holiday trains from the north and midlands. The dmu to Robin Hood's Bay and Whitby used to reverse there too.

Londesbrough Rd station closed in 1963.

 

[142094]

I've done both driving and train to Scarborough a few times, and both are packed during the summer and bank holidays. Of course the train is a 3 carriage 185 and only goes once per hour usually, so not great. Makes you wonder why LHCS hasn't made a comeback - bet someone building a few rakes of coaches and hiring a few locos from DB wouldn't have to wait long to recoup their investment.

 

[T163R]

Wow I didn't think Scarborough had as much departures as that !

 

[4SRKT]

Here's Blackpool North on a summer Saturday in 1985:

06:05 Manchester Victoria
06:30 London Euston
06:55 Manchester Victoria
07:20 Cambridge
07:55 Manchester Victoria
08:25 Manchester Victoria
08:55 Manchester Victoria
09:25 Manchester Victoria
09:45 Stranraer Harbour
09:55 Manchester Victoria
10:16 Manchester Victoria
10:21 London Euston
10:40 Leeds via Copy Pit
10:55 Manchester Victoria
11:25 Manchester Victoria
11:33 Liverpool Lime Street
11:45 Sheffield
11:55 Manchester Victoria
12:05 Colne
12:17 Newcastle
12:25 Manchester Victoria
12:40 Leeds via Copy Pit
12:55 Manchester Victoria
13:05 Birmingham New Street
13:25 Manchester Victoria
13:55 Manchester Victoria
14:16 London Euston
14:25 Manchester Victoria
14:35 Glasgow Central
14:55 Manchester Victoria
15:25 Manchester Victoria
15:55 Manchester Victoria
16:22 Manchester Victoria
16:30 London Euston
16:55 Manchester Victoria
17:25 Manchester Victoria
18:15 Manchester Victoria
19:05 Manchester Victoria
19:35 Manchester Victoria
19:51 Colne
20:00 Liverpool Lime Street
20:05 Manchester Victoria
20:15 Leeds via Copy Pit
20:35 Manchester Victoria
20:43 Colne
21:05 Manchester Victoria
21:35 Manchester Victoria
22:05 Manchester Victoria
22:17 Liverpool Lime Street
22:45 Manchester Victoria
23:04 Crewe

Phew! The Monday-Friday service at that time was a basic hourly DMU to Manchester (xx:55 and oh! weren't those 104s awful?!!) plus the Eustons and the odd peak extra. Quite incredible.

 

[The Crab]

Yes, you're right - traffic at Blackpool was much reduced by 1985.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

If you wanted to see excursion traffic in the days of steam, Blackpool Central was the place to go to. It took you straight to the centre of the town. Like Welshman, I too remember the long excursion platforms being very well used at Scarborough, in those far-off days. A great pity that the line from there to Whitby was terminated. Llandudno and Southport also saw many excursions trains in the summer periods in the days of steam.

Many a train spotter had a field day with locomotives from far-flung sheds appearing on these excursion trains.