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Liverpool - Skegness in the 80s

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Im trying to remember a journey I did when going to Skegness in the 80s.
I cant remember the station names and would like some help.

The journey started at Liverpool Lime street, we made our way to Manchester via the CLC line to ManPicc.

From there on it all gets fuzzy.

I remember the train we were on stopped in a rather small station with an island platform, and did a reversal after sitting in the platform for maybe 10 minutes. But I have no idea what that station is.
I remember we went past some rather stunning hills on the way there .

Help me find the stations? I couldnt be sure of the names apart from those mentioned.
 
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Jonny

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It sounds like the current Liverpool-Norwich route, as far as Grantham.
 

Stampy

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Might it be something like this:-

Liverpool Lime Street
Edge Hill
Warrington Central
Manchester Picc
Stockport
Across the Hope Valley then right at Dore/Totley to avoid
Sheffield
Nottingham
Reverse at Grantham - although (I think) it could have gone straight on at Allington


Sleaford
Heckington
Swineshead
Hubbert's Bridge
Boston

and on to Skeggy

BOLD = current route taken by the EM/CC trains between Liverpool & Norwich
 

Whistler40145

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Presumably the Hazel Grove Chord had opened when this journey took place, otherwise it would’ve been routed via Ashburys and Romiley
 

Edders23

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Presumably the Hazel Grove Chord had opened when this journey took place, otherwise it would’ve been routed via Ashburys and Romiley


maybe this was pre hazel grove chord which might explain the reversal or during engineering works
 

30907

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maybe this was pre hazel grove chord which might explain the reversal or during engineering works
Doesn't explain the reversal, as it is not required via New Mills.
It can't have been Sheffield, so must have been Grantham - the only other possible route would have been via Gainsborough which doesn't need avreversal anyway.
 

Whistler40145

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Doesn't explain the reversal, as it is not required via New Mills.
It can't have been Sheffield, so must have been Grantham - the only other possible route would have been via Gainsborough which doesn't need avreversal anyway.
Indeed, I can’t think of any other station where the train would’ve reversed
 

Ianigsy

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If you were reversing in the bay at Grantham, I suppose it's always possible that you might not realise the full extent of the station.
 
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A long shot but if it was 1980 (and definitely not later than July 1981) it could have been via Woodhead and run round at Darnall, then via Sheffield Midland?
 

Whistler40145

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Could well have been as in 1980 the Hazel Grove Chord didn’t exist and you couldn’t travel via Stockport towards the Hope Valley line, only access was to the Buxton line
 

Bevan Price

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why would it reverse at Grantham there is a Grotsville avoiding line on Nottingham to Skegness rouite
At that time, most Nottingham - Skegness trains used to run via, and reverse at Grantham. Unless you left Liverpool very early, you would probably have needed to change trains at least once - maybe twice - between Liverpool & Skegness, and used one of those dmu services. .

Without checking timetables, I cannot remember when the Manchester - Skegness finished, but that ran via Sheffield & Lincoln, with no reversals en route to Skegness.
 

bunnahabhain

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At that time, most Nottingham - Skegness trains used to run via, and reverse at Grantham. Unless you left Liverpool very early, you would probably have needed to change trains at least once - maybe twice - between Liverpool & Skegness, and used one of those dmu services. .

Without checking timetables, I cannot remember when the Manchester - Skegness finished, but that ran via Sheffield & Lincoln, with no reversals en route to Skegness.
Quote a large number actually operated as a Grantham to Skegness, or a Grantham to Nottingham and beyond service. Most of the through Nottingham to Skegness services avoided Grantham.

There was a direct Manchester to Skegness for many years which ran via New Mills and Lincoln.
 
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Couldnt tell you wether it was via New mills or Romiley...
I seem to remember it being '86.

I cant really remember, I know the train reversed somewhere as I remember the train pulling into the station, I jumped off for a smoke as we knew there was a wait at that station, but had to get back on as the kids kicked off and that was the end of that.

The problem is everything has changed so much now. It might have been Grantham. I do seem to remember there was a train from Liverpool to Grantham but then why would it reverse...
30 odd years might be clouding my memories of what happened. Maybe we changed there and I just cant remember properly.
 

hooverboy

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Grantham would probably be the reversing station
on a liverpool-skeg with 7 carriages and a pair of 20's???.. I doubt it.

most skeg DMU trains do/did reverse at grantham, but the loco hauled stuff nearly always went direct nottingham-sleaford at allington junction
 

30907

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on a liverpool-skeg with 7 carriages and a pair of 20's???.. I doubt it.

most skeg DMU trains do/did reverse at grantham, but the loco hauled stuff nearly always went direct nottingham-sleaford at allington junction
How do you know it was a hauled working, as the OP hasn't said?
 

SouthDevonian

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Grantham was a very important junction for East Lincs passengers wanting to go to London / W + E Yorks / North East / Scotland. The only other likely reversal possibility might be Sleaford but only if the service had been diverted due to something like engineering works or points failure - in that case the route would have been via Sheffield & Lincoln.
 
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Did they used to do that?

I know there is not normally a direct service to Skegness, but in the summertime?
There used to be a daily to Grantham I think
 

30907

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I've now been able to check some timetables - 82, 85 and 87.

There is no sign of any service to Skegness from the NW, and as late as 1985 there was only the Continental (which was in its brief spell of running through from Scotland via Manchester Vic, plus SO workings to Yarmouth.
By 1987 there was the beginnings of the present Liverpool-Norwich route, including just one daily train from Liverpool, which ran to Yarmouth: from the timings this reversed at Sheffield; it ran via the CLC route and Grantham.
That's the nearest I can get to a Liverpool-Skeggy!
 
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The problem with the timetables is that they don't show everything that ran. It was common place for additional relief services to run, some with almost identical timings week after week. They were in effect timetabled trains that didn't appear in the timetable, something that some of us grumbled about at the time. So for example in the summer of 1988 from the end of June, and at least until the end of August, on Saturdays from Liverpool;

0908 Liverpool - Yarmouth
0925 Liverpool - Nottingham

Neither of which were in the timetable. Both were loco hauled Mk1 and neither involved running round as far as I recall (except the Yarmouth was a reverse/loco change at Norwich). Both were via the Hope Valley to Sheffield. The Yarmouth was then via Worksop, Retford curve and ECML to Peterborough. The Nottingham was via Beighton to Chesterfield. The lack of reversals doesn't help the OP although the simplest route from Liverpool to Skegness would have been to change trains off the Nottingham for a dmu to Skegness which may well have reversed at Grantham.
 
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