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Direct Rail Link To London - For How Long?


Guest Dan Hardy

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Guest Dan Hardy

Hi,

I'm would be interested to know how long Sheffield has had a direct rail connection to London? Someone suggested to me that this is relatively recent (last few decades), but cannot find any evidence of this. Could be a useful avenue of research for a research project I am involved in, so any help appreciated.

Best wishes,

Daniel

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The Midland Railway started in 1844 engineered by George Stevenson. (That's one of the reasons he is buried in Chesterfield) reached their London terminus of St Pancras in 1868.

So this direct connection from Sheffield Midland station to London via Derby was in operation from 1868 to the present.

The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (Jokingly termed The Mucky Slow and Lazy) built their extension to London completed in 1899. On completion the railway changed its name to The Great Central Railway. Trains from Sheffield Victoria Station to London via Leicester on this line would have started in 1899 and finished with Dr. Beeching's cuts when the line closed.

A portion of the Great Central Railway near Leicester is run as a steam hauled heritage railway. A few years ago there was a scheme to re-open the Great Central because it was built to the continental Berne loading gauge and would allow through railway traffic via the channel tunnel to the north of England. Continental waggons and carriages are wider and taller than ours so they will not pass under our bridges.

It is all on Wikipedia if you want to check it out.

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The first through services between Sheffield and London appear to have been through carriages from Wicker Station which were taken via a rather circuitous route via Derby and Birmingham, terminating at Euston Square Station (as it was then called). This involved the Sheffield & Rotherham Railway, the North Midland Railway, the Midland Counties Railway and the London & Birmingham Railway. FIrst day of this operation was 11th May 1840. By 27th June that same year a more direct service omitting Birmingham was started. Until 1857 trains ran to Euston Square, from 1857 to 1868 they ran to Kings Cross and from 1868 onwards St Pancras.

Through trains from Sheffield Victoria to Kings Cross started on 1st August 1857. This was a joint service operated by the MSLR and the GNR.

The Midland Railway's direct route from Sheffield to St Pancras opened in February 1870 with the completion of the line from Chesterfield to the new Pond Street Station.

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Probably worth mentioning in this topic in light of the recent application by Hull Trains to run a Sheffield - Kings Cross  service again.  

As mentioned by madannie77 such a service first ran in 1857.  

The last trains from Sheffield Victoria, if you exclude the 1971 & 1972 Summer Saturday Kings Cross Flyer, ran in March 1967.  The remaining two trains each way being switched to Sheffield Midland,  these themselves ceased in October 1968.

 

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I remember travelling ,via Retford , to London Kings X sometime in the early 1960s….I got off the train at Hitchin and then caught a local to Letchworth where I was on a Government inspired course devoted to export(or am I dreaming?)

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Their used to be a Pullman service from the Midland to Kings + via Retford in the 60's. I lived next door to one of the stewards, and he  showed me around the kitchen and dining cars once when I was at the station.

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1 hour ago, Lysanderix said:

Would that have been The Master Cutler?

On the Pullman yes it would.

Mostly hauled by a Class 31 or a Class 40 diesel loco

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Actually, there is talk about restarting the Sheffield (Midland) to Kings Cross via Retford service again. There are trains that can switch from diesel power to electric power, so when they get to the East Coast Mainline they can use the electric lines. The switching is all automatic and computer controlled, so they don't have to stop. They could, of course, electrify the line from Retford to Sheffield, it would be cheaper than electrifying the entire line to St Pancras. 

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I can remember as a small boy (11 or 12) being taken to St. Pancras and put on the train for Sheffield.  This would be around 1968.  Dad met me at Sheffield Midland.  If you tried that today someone would probably call social services!

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True, but don’t some airlines still accept unaccompanied children…making special arrangements for them?

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23 hours ago, History dude said:

Actually, there is talk about restarting the Sheffield (Midland) to Kings Cross via Retford service again. There are trains that can switch from diesel power to electric power, so when they get to the East Coast Mainline they can use the electric lines. The switching is all automatic and computer controlled, so they don't have to stop. They could, of course, electrify the line from Retford to Sheffield, it would be cheaper than electrifying the entire line to St Pancras. 

More than talk, see my posting a few days ago.

Also see First Group Press Release issued on 4th January 2024.

Draft weekday timings are:-

Sheffield dep 0920, Woodhouse 0930, Worksop 0949, Retford 1017, Kings X arr 1144

Sheffield dep 1654, Woodhouse 1704, Worksop 1720, Retford 1739, Kings X arr 1914

Kings X dep 1248, Retford 1410, Worksop 1424, Woodhouse 1444, Sheffield arr 1457

Kings X dep 1956, Retford 2117, Worksop 2131, Woodhouse 2145, Sheffield arr 2156
 

 

 

 

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On 24/01/2024 at 22:05, Lemmy117 said:

Their used to be a Pullman service from the Midland to Kings + via Retford in the 60's. I lived next door to one of the stewards, and he  showed me around the kitchen and dining cars once when I was at the station.

I think you will find that all trains in the 1960's between Sheffield and King's Cross conveyed Pullman Cars.

In the latter years these were:-

'The Master Cutler' - 07:25 Sheffield Midland - King's Cross / 19:20 King's Cross - Sheffield Midland

'The Sheffield Pullman' - 10:50 King's Cross - Sheffield Midland / 15:35 Sheffield Midland - King's Cross

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The train was on platform 1, I was there with mum and dad and it was hot and sunny and we went into the buffet for a drink, so it must have been the Sheffield Pullman. Thanks for the information.

 

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1 hour ago, Lemmy117 said:

The train was on platform 1, I was there with mum and dad and it was hot and sunny and we went into the buffet for a drink, so it must have been the Sheffield Pullman. Thanks for the information.

 

If you look at the feature Gainsborough - Barnetby via Brigg on the RCTS website.  The final picture shows the Sheffield Pullman stood on Platform 1 which tallies with your recollection of it using that platform. Between Octobe 1965 and March 1967 departure time from Sheffield was at 14:45 rather than 15:35. 

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