Skegness to Newcastle/summer Saturdays mid 80s

[ecmlthrash15]

I would be very grateful if someone could give me further information about this. I think the service was formed by class 31. Does anybody know the timetable and the stopping pattern?

 

[Gloster]

Summer 1986 it was just went to York.
Skegness depart 10.07, Boston, Sleaford, Lincoln, Gainsborough Lea Road, Doncaster, York arrive 13.19. Connection depart York 13.56 and arrive Newcastle 14.58.

 

[ecmlthrash15]

Summer 1986 it was just went to York.
Skegness depart 10.07, Boston, Sleaford, Lincoln, Gainsborough Lea Road, Doncaster, York arrive 13.19. Connection depart York 13.56 and arrive Newcastle 14.58.

Thanks.

 

[Magdalia]

I'm not aware of Skegness having a timetabled summer Saturday train to Newcastle, but on occasions a Skegness-York or Skegness-Leeds could be extended to Newcastle.

One such occasion was 27 August 1988 when the 1042 Skegnsss-Leeds was extended to Newcastle, hauled by 31155 and 31166.

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

In the 1984 timetable Summer SO departures are:-

0924 Grantham (Stopper).
0946 KX.
1007 Nottingham.
1041 Sheffield.
1130 Nottingham (Stopper).
1158 Leicester.
1238 Derby.
1450 KX.
1540 Nottingham (Stopper).
1730 Ditto
1801 Boston.

A different world! Early and late services were provided to Boston by bus to avoid opening the signal boxes for additional shifts.

 

[Harpo]

I'm not aware of Skegness having a timetabled summer Saturday train to Newcastle, but on occasions a Skegness-York or Skegness-Leeds could be extended to Newcastle.

There was lots of stuff on summer Saturdays that was limited to a few dates so didn’t make it to the WTT and went into the STP plan instead, either as variations or additions. Localised holiday fortnights/periods were one example.

 

[xotGD]

Newcastle had summer Saturday services to Scarborough, Yarmouth, Blackpool and the south West, but not Skeggy, back in the 80s.

 

[Harpo]

Newcastle had summer Saturday services to Scarborough, Yarmouth, Blackpool and the south West, but not Skeggy, back in the 80s.

And Glasgow!

 

[ecmlthrash15]

Newcastle had summer Saturday services to Scarborough, Yarmouth, Blackpool and the south West, but not Skeggy, back in the 80s.

Newcastle to Yarmouth? After Doncaster, did it take the route via Lincoln and Sleaford?

 

[Harpo]

Newcastle to Yarmouth? After Doncaster, did it take the route via Lincoln and Sleaford?

Yes. Originally direct from Spalding to March with a loco change at Grassmoor but then Spalding-Peterborough-March after the joint line closed.

 

[ecmlthrash15]

Travelling from Newcastle to Yarmouth this way wouldn’t have been a lot of fun. It must have taken hours, on mk2 stock, probably, no air con.

 

[Harpo]

Travelling from Newcastle to Yarmouth this way wouldn’t have been a lot of fun. It must have taken hours, on mk2 stock, probably, no air con.

Fresh air mark 1s and never (to my knowledge anyway) air-cons. Which was how we all scooped loads of coal encrusted tractors!

 

[Magdalia]

Newcastle to Yarmouth? After Doncaster, did it take the route via Lincoln and Sleaford?

The Newcastle-Yarmouth had a long history as a summer Saturday extension of the daily York-Yarmouth/Lowestoft train via the Joint Line. For most of its history it only ran on a few Saturdays in the middle of summer, but from 1970 it ran all through the summer. In that era it was the heaviest summer Saturday train in East Anglia, usually 11, 12 or even 13 cars.

Yes. Originally direct from Spalding to March with a loco change at Grassmoor but then Spalding-Peterborough-March after the joint line closed.

The last summer via the Joint Line was 1982, but loco changes at Grassmoor finished in 1980. The public timetables suggest that it called at Lincoln Central but avoided Sleaford. From 1983 to 1988 it ran via the ECML to/from Peterborough. After March-Spalding closed in 1982 only one summer Saturday train each way used the Joint Line: southbound was the Leeds, northbound was the Manchester.

Travelling from Newcastle to Yarmouth this way wouldn’t have been a lot of fun. It must have taken hours, on mk2 stock, probably, no air con.

In May and September there was usually an effort to find a loco with train heat.

 

[Bevan Price]

And 12 or 13 coaches was a heavy load when a Class 37 worked the train......

 

[GarethW]

Newcastle had summer Saturday services to Scarborough, Yarmouth, Blackpool and the south West, but not Skeggy, back in the 80s.

Agreed, I spotted at Skeg on summer Sats in 82, due to working on a project there; and there were no directNewcastle services.

 

[xotGD]

Travelling from Newcastle to Yarmouth this way wouldn’t have been a lot of fun. It must have taken hours, on mk2 stock, probably, no air con.

I did it throughout (and back 2 weeks later) in 1979 going on a family holiday.

It was fun, as I was on my way to a seaside holiday! Aged 12.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Lots of pairs of 20s to/from Skeggy but don’t remember any Newcastles

 

[ecmlthrash15]

From memory about 1989. I saw an advert at Boston station about a summer Saturday service from Skegness to Newcastle? It called at Boston, Sleaford, Lincoln, Gainsborough, Doncaster. Then to York, (can’t remember if it went via Wakefield and Leeds), Darlington and Durham.

 

[Clarence Yard]

The Newcastle (1021) was in the WTT for two years only, 1990 and 1991. It was a Leeds (1020) in the 1989 WTT.

The summer of 1992 saw only one booked SO LHCS working, the 1810 Derby. A bit of a contrast from the 1958 WTT when there were 26 summer SO LHCS departures from Skeg.

 

[Harvester]

I travelled on the SO 10.20 ex Skegness three times in September 1989, on (2nd and 16th) between Lincoln and Doncaster with 31447 and 31405 respectively, and on 30th between Darlington and Newcastle behind a 47. In 1989 this train was a return working of the 06.23 Leeds-Skegness, and involved a loco change at Leeds when extended to Newcastle. The 31s would have had fuel issues going on to Newcastle, and returning as ecs after a Leeds - Skegness round trip.

In 1991, the last summer, I had two runs on the train between Darlington and Newcastle, with 47234 on 27/7/91, and 47491 on 28/9/91. The stock on these dates was:

47234 + 5279, 5337, 9442, 6524, 5246, 5291, 5437

47491 + 5414, 5323, 9448, 5406, 5379, 5614

 

[ecmlthrash15]

We travelled Boston/Sleaford to Durham/Newcastle at that time. It probably would of been quicker and more comfortable to change at either Grantham or Doncaster.