School Outings

[DerekC]

Does anyone else remember school outing specials in the 1950s? I can recall two, both from Cheshunt, but picking up from a number of stations in the Lea Valley.

First was steam hauled to Windsor - I think Riverside. I can vividly recall seeing Gospel Oak station from a line at higher level, which would suggest Tottenham & Hampstead, then Acton Central and Old Kew Junction - but how we got onto the T&H without reversing I don't remember. Maybe we did reverse. I think it started off with an N7 but whether it changed to something more SR-friendly en route I don't remember either.

Second was the following year - DMU (exciting and new!) to North Walsham - presumably via Cambridge, Ely and the Wensum Curve. Back the same day.

They were brave guys in those days - a trainload of 8 to 10 year olds must have been fun to organise and keep under control!

 

[Calthrop]

DerekC -- do I read you rightly, that these were outings envisaged as being via and to places which would be educational / interesting; rather than gricing-oriented as such?

I recall a summer 1958 school outing of mine – though recall is tantalisingly faint and meagre, even more so than most of my 1950s rail experiences. From 1957 on, our family lived in Peterborough (my Hertfordshire school time in the early 60s was at boarding school). This 1958 venture was a day-trip for primary-school kids, involving my then school; by rail, from Peterborough to the far-east-coast. I strongly suspect that it was by a train chartered specially for the purpose, likely involving multiple schools – but at this distance in time and with memories “faint and few”, am not 100% certain on that. The day’s doings involved travelling to Norwich; a boat trip on the Norfolk Broads (I think from Wroxham, but couldn’t swear to it); then time at the seaside – Lowestoft, again "I think"; but it might possibly have been Great Yarmouth.

The journey into East Anglia and return, was via March and the Ely – Norwich line. I enjoyed the run both ways, but have now virtually no direct recollection of it. I recall fellow-kids talking in general terms, of motive power; one expressing a preference for diesel locos, “because they go faster” – I mentally disagreed as to diesel superiority, but didn’t cross swords with him over it. I truly don’t remember what in fact hauled us either way; or whether the lad was expressing hope for modern haulage, or satisfaction that we did have a diesel up front.

I do definitely remember feeling disappointed that our train was travelling via the ex-Great Eastern route, rather than via the Midland & Great Northern Joint system, then in its last year of life. With an itinerary involving Norwich, and then places in the environs of and beyond that city, the GE route would have been the only logistically sense-making way – a subtlety which eluded me at the age of nine. Family journeyings during the 1950s took me over some of the more westerly parts of the M & GN network; but I never travelled on the Peterborough – Sutton Bridge section, even though our house was within sight of that line.

 

[Ash Bridge]

I have recollections of a primary school trip to Liverpool possibly around the the 1963-65 period.

Our party along with other local schools boarded the train at Reddish South and I can remember being surprised when the charter train came into view that it was steam hauled, as when travelling to visit relatives from my mums side of the family in Macclesfield we always travelled on dmu's (class 104's I think) so this was a new experience for a 7-8 year old,, it also proved to be my one and only experience of steam haulage before the end of BR steam.

So from what I can remember the train was formed of a large tank locomotive, probably either a Stanier or Fowler 2-6-4 and the stock I think was former LMS 57ft opens, the one we were in was in four seat bays with a table, very different to the dmu's I was used to.

I remember the train travelling over Stockport viaduct and veering right after Edgeley MPD. the next point that caught my interest was a three way junction which I presume must have been Skelton, after that all that my memory can recall is lots of cuttings and bridges running through endless fields until arriving at Liverpool via a very long mainly brick cutting so I presume it must have been Lime Street.

At the station we were ushered aboard a fleet of coaches and were taken through the Mersey Tunnel, later in the day we were to return to Liverpool on board a Mersey Ferry, I can remember little else about the trip (apart from eating crinkled chips for the first time with fish in some sort of cafeteria) including the return journey, I would dearly like to learn which route we took from Skelton Junction, whether via Lymm or Glazebrook?

 

[Bookd]

When at junior school in the fifties I remember two school trips on chartered trains, both from West Hartlepool. One was to Penrith via Stainmore and the other to Edinburgh. I don't remember much about the journeys, but I think that the Edinburgh one arrived at Princes Street and returned from Corstophine (after a visit to the zoo). Both were steam hauled but I have no idea what by.

 

[DerekC]

DerekC -- do I read you rightly, that these were outings envisaged as being via and to places which would be educational / interesting; rather than gricing-oriented as such?

Yes, that's right. Thanks all - some interesting comparisons already. Chartered trains for primary schools (or groups of them) were obviously not that uncommon. I wish I could remember more about mine. I have a couple of photos of one of them, but unfortunately of the river trip at the end of the train ride rather than the train!

 

[Calthrop]

When at junior school in the fifties I remember two school trips on chartered trains, both from West Hartlepool. One was to Penrith via Stainmore and the other to Edinburgh. I don't remember much about the journeys, but I think that the Edinburgh one arrived at Princes Street and returned from Corstophine (after a visit to the zoo). Both were steam hauled but I have no idea what by.

Lord, how I envy you the bolded one ! A function of where one happened to be born / live in childhood; and, things have just so worked out, that I've dwelt for most of my life in IMO rather boring parts of Britain.