Local WCML & ECML Stopping Services, pre 1958?

[Chrius56000]

. . .This might sound a silly question, but before most E.C.M.L. minor stations were closed in 1958, could you travel from King's Cross to Edinburgh on trains that called at every local station open at the time, and likewise on the W.C.M.L. between Euston and Glasgow, or were the locals too infrequent to make that possible?

. . .(I presume there certainly wouldn't have been a thro' King's X – Edinburgh train that called at every single minor E.C.M.L. station between these termini!)

 

[Gloster]

I looked at the Summer 1949 timetable for the WCML and it would take you from early in Day 1 to early afternoon on Day 3 to get to Carlisle with overnights at Crewe and Oxenholme. This excludes the four stations that don’t appear to have a service on weekdays, if at all. I can’t help beyond Carlisle.

EDIT: There is a timetable for trains on to Glasgow (not necessarily a complete one), but it seems that you would just miss the only train that stops at Rockcliffe and Floriston. So you would have to wait almost twenty-four hours, but that train would take you at least as far as Law Junction.

 

[Magdalia]

I can do Kings Cross-York in 1958. The parliamentary trains were as follows:

7.20 am Doncaster-York arr 8.26 am
7.35 am Peterborough-Doncaster arr 10.15 am
5.50 am Kings Cross-Grantham arr 9.25 am
11.5 am Doncaster-York arr 12.1 pm (missed Riccall)
12.30 pm Grantham-Doncaster arr 2.25 pm (missed Crow Park)
3.58 pm Peterborough-Grantham arr 4.56 pm
2.45 pm Hitchin-Peterborough arr 4.18 pm

7.25 am Peterborough-Kings Cross arr 10.4 am
7.10 am Doncaster-Peterborough arr 9.57 am (missed Crow Park)
8.22 am York-Doncaster arr 9.22 am
5.25 pm Peterborough-Kings Cross arr 8.13 pm
4.45 pm Grantham-Peterborough arr 5.42 pm
6.20 pm Grantham-Peterborough arr 7.17 pm (missed Tallington)
4.52 pm Doncaster-Grantham arr 6.41 pm
4.52 pm York-Doncaster arr 5.47 pm (missed Balne)

 

[Bevan Price]

From LMR Summer 1950 timetable.
On the Scottish section of WCML, you needed to change at Motherwell in both directions to call at all the stations between Motherwell & Glasgow Central. Northbound, there was a 14:02 Carlisle - Glasgow that called at all stations via Wishaw Central as far as Motherwell. It was also the only Northbound service to call at Rockcliffe & Floriston.
The only other Northbound "stopping service", the 09:00 from Carlisle was first stop Gretna, then all stations as far as Carstairs, then skip-stop to Glasgow.
(There was also a 18:16 Carlisle, first stop Gretna, then stations to Lockerbie, and a 20:35 Beattock, stations to Carstairs., and a 07:15 Lockerbie, then Wamphray & stations to Carstairs, then skip-stop to Glasgow)

Southbound was just as bad; 07:00 Glasgow Central, most stations from Motherwell to Gretna (omitting Flemington & Braidwood, via Wishaw South, then Carlisle; On SO there was a connection from Gretna for Floriston & Rockcliffe to Carlisle (train ex GSWR line).
Then was a 10:00 Glasgow Central, most stations from Carstairs to Carlisle (omitting Nethercleugh & Ecclefechan)
then 13:53 SX from Glasgow, all stations from Carstairs to Carlisle,
and finally 16:45 SX from Glasgow, all stations from Carstairs as far as Kirkpatrick, then Carlisle.
plus 15:30 SO, Beattock, Wamphray, Lockerbie then all stations to Carlisle.

NER 1955 Timetable
On the ECML, no single train called at every station between Newcastle & Edinburgh. The nearest were:
07:15 Newcastle - Berwick Upon Tweed (omit Manors)
07:13 Berwick Upon Tweed - Edinburgh (omit Inveresk)

06:20 Edinburgh - Newcastle (omit 3 stations to Alnmouth, then skip-stop to Newcastle
18:38 Edinburgh - Berwick Upon Tweed (omit East Fortune & Grantshouse)
07:28 Berwick Upon Tweed omit Goswick & Chevington to Morpeth, then Manors & Newcastle only.
07:32 Alnmouth - Newcastle (omit Pegswood & Plessey)

York to Darlington had one stopping train per day each way; northbound services omitted Croft Spa - that was served only by Richmond branch trains, so you would have to double back from Darlington to call at Croft Spa

06:40 York - Edinburgh; most stations to Darlington then semi-fast to Edinburgh.
06:27 Darlington - York - Doncaster (omit Otterington)

Chester Le Street & Birtley had one northbound train per day, and two southbound
07:35 Darlington - Newcastle
06:56 & 17:30 Newcastle - York.

Ferryhill had a few more trains each way.

 

[BeijingDave]

When did the Preston-Crewe stoppers finish running, out of curiosity?

It's notable (but I suppose not that strange since, say, the possible Acton Bridge-Leyland traffic would be miniscule) that that section of the WCML no longer has a stopper (except for those that branch off to Liverpool or Manchester).

 

[Springs Branch]

When did the Preston-Crewe stoppers finish running, out of curiosity?

It looks like the last appearance of those trains (DMUs at the time of course) was in the May 1969 - May 1970 timetable.

Here are a couple of scans from the 1969-70 LMR Passenger timetable showing the small handful of northbound trains stopping at shacks such as Coppull, Garstang and Hest Bank, and which diverted from the WCML to serve Earlestown & Newton-le-Willows.

These trains had disappeared by the May 1970 timetable, along with the smaller stations between Warrington and Carnforth.


After electrification, there was a daily Class 304 working from Crewe to Preston & back, but that wasn't "all shacks" in the sense of the ones shown here. For example, in 1976 it stopped at Hartford, but skipped Winsford, Acton Bridge & Leyland.