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Holidays By Train


Stuart0742

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Before the advent of the car and the improvement of major roads, the most popular way for Sheffield families to go on their annual family holiday was by train.

I have just skimmed through my 1978 copy "Sheffield Station Working Book", during that year there were around 25 trains serving holiday destinations on Summer Saturday mornings alone, destinations including:

Scarborough

Bridlington

Cleethorpes

Skegness

Yarmouth

Poole

Weymouth

Paignton

Penzance

Newquay

Weston Super Mare

Tenby

Llandudno

Blackpool

That’s in the late 1970’s when road transport was fast taking over from rail. In earlier years there must have been more trains and more destinations

What are your memories of holidays by train?

Where did you go to by train?

Do you have timetables from earlier years?

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Before the advent of the car and the improvement of major roads, the most popular way for Sheffield families to go on their annual family holiday was by train.

I have just skimmed through my 1978 copy "Sheffield Station Working Book", during that year there were around 25 trains serving holiday destinations on Summer Saturday mornings alone, destinations including:

Scarborough

Bridlington

Cleethorpes

Skegness

Yarmouth

Poole

Weymouth

Paignton

Penzance

Newquay

Weston Super Mare

Tenby

Llandudno

Blackpool

That’s in the late 1970’s when road transport was fast taking over from rail. In earlier years there must have been more trains and more destinations

What are your memories of holidays by train?

Where did you go to by train?

Do you have timetables from earlier years?

My memories are of day excursions to places like Belle View at Manchester ( Ashburys for Belle View ), Cleethorpes and Scarborough.

In those days motive power was always provided by steam engines, the only exception being the Woodhead route, and before the days of welded rails the journey was always noisey.

As kids we were always looking out of the window which was lowered by a big leather strop, This invariably resulted in a black face and styes in one if not both eyes a few days later.

Some of the rolling stock was non-corridor which resulted in crossed legged children and strained expressions on adults faces.

One journey I remember was a steam powered return from Belle View when we were diverted along a tiny rural line, past a tiny station called Parsley Hay, through the illuminations at Matlock Bath and we pulled into Sheffield Victoria about 11 pm.

HD

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Guest bus man

The last time we went to mablethorpe on holiday I went by train ! i would have bene bout 6

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My granddad was a driver on the old LNER....latterly the Eastern Region of British Rail. Rail holidays to Skegness, Scarborough, Bridlington , Mablethorpe and Cleethorpes from the Victoria Station ( suit cases taken and left on a Friday evening) were fine by him....but a trip to Morecombe or Blackpool over the dreaded LMS from the Midland Station brought hoots of derision from him.

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I remember going to Skegness by train in the middle of the 60's. When the train came into Midland it was far too short for all the passengers to get on. Many had booked seats and the train was full up. Lots of passengers were complaining to the station staff and eventually the Station Manager came out. But the main reason for his appearance might be something to do with the fact that my mum was leading a protest to stop the train going out, as she was sitting in front of the engine!

Eventually the Station Master consented to her demands and an 08 shunter brought at least 4 more coaches to the back end of the train.

Result BR 0 Mum 1 :Plol

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Latter in 1976(?) my dad me and my cousin went on a Merry Maker excursion to Bridlington (day trip). Coming back the train get being stopped by signals. Ages we waited at some! During a long stop at one, the guard came down the train and told us that we were following the Royal Train! Which is why we kept stopping. The Queen was creating a train traffic jam!

When we got into Sheffield we came in a Platform 8, though I suspect we should have come in at number 1.

By the time we were outside the Midland Station, the Royal Train had come in a platform 1. The Queen got into her "bubble" saloon car, and we watched her been driven away. I could see her in the car and we got the Royal wave and so we waved back.

It sort of made up for being late back. Not many times you can say my train was delayed by the Queen :)

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Always used to go to Brid for our holidays on the train. During the 60's it was two or even three times a year (Easter, Whitsuntide & Summer) where we would stay with relatives.

Loved that train route, most of the time we'd change at Hull but sometimes we'd catch the through train.

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Hi All,

I've been trying for a number of years to find details of a train journey I took as a young child from Sheffield Victoria to Yarmouth Vauxhall in the late 1950's/early sixties and wonder if anyone out there can suggest where to find the timings and route of the journey.

I think we used to take the two weeks before the official Sheffield school summer holidays started, for our break in Lowestoft.

One week before leaving, BR Road Services would pick up our trunk and deliver it to the campsite in Lowestoft, this was booked at an BR agency in Commonside, Walkley.

On the following Friday we would get a taxi to Sheffield Victoria Station catch an overnight train to Yarmouth Vauxhall departing around midnight, (the train I believe was a newspaper train from Manchester). I would be settled down to sleep on a bench seat in our compartment.

I am not aware of any changes of train.

We would arrive in Yarmouth around 6-6.30am, walk over the River Yare bridge to Yarmouth South Town, wait for it to open and then get the local train down the coast to Lowestoft.

I've hunted high and low for where this train from Sheffield to Yarmouth was timetabled but with no luck.

Can anyone help?

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