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Stations with excursion platforms

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montyburns56

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I asked a question about Bridlington's excursion platforms on another thread, but it got me thinking about how many other stations had them? I believe that Blackpool, Scarborough, Hull Paragon and possibly Skegness had them, but I'm sure that there were plenty of others, especially at seaside towns.
 
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Midnight Sun

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Weymouth, the current station uses old excursion platforms 5-6. The old station platforms 1-4 were where Halfords and Tradepoint are now.
 
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30907

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Weston super Mare had Locking Road.
Skegness and others had plenty of platforms (same goes for Epsom Downs, Tattenham Corner et al) but as part of the main station.
 

scarby

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Scarborough didn’t have any official “excursion platforms”. The reality was, though that platforms 1, 2, 6, 7, 8 and 9 were rarely used, if at all, for passenger traffic outside the spring and summer months. When they were used in the summer it was mainly for extra timetabled trains, rather than what I would call excursions, though many catered for holiday passengers.

Now it has 5 platforms which all see regular use. The area for 6-9 still exists as a car park.

Scarborough had an excursion station, Londesborough Road, with a through and bay platform. It was last used by passengers in 1963. You can still see the somewhat degraded platforms and parts of the station building are intact.
 

Dr Hoo

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Barmouth had one.

I've heard that Crystal Palace had one or more too.

Although not always platforms associated with a main station there were plenty of racecourse and football 'platforms' that tended to be used largely by 'special services' although regular trains may have called additionally on event days.
 

Ianno87

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Didn't Southport have some? What is now the car park alongside the station.

And Aintree.
 

marsker

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When I first moved to Teesside in 1978, Redcar still had the remnants of an excursion platform, on the "Down" side just to the west of the existing station. The platform was still there with an enamel tangerine enamel name board. IIRC the ground next to it looked as if track had been lifted not all that long ago, though memory might have faded over the 40+ intervening years!
 
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L+Y

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Didn't Blackpool North have excursion platforms before the station was moved to be on site of those platforms?

Yes, Blackpool North as currently exists is on the site of the old excursion platforms, with the main station nowadays covered by the Wilkinson's building. The old station closed in 1973.

Didn't Southport have some? What is now the car park alongside the station.

And Aintree.

Yes - Southport had excursion platforms, not far from the old steam depot.

I think the site of Southport's car park were "proper" platforms and part of the main station (does anybody know when they were taken out of use?). The excursion platforms were located a little further towards Wigan, underneath what's now Asda.
 

S&CLER

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Yes, Blackpool North as currently exists is on the site of the old excursion platforms, with the main station nowadays covered by the Wilkinson's building. The old station closed in 1973.





I think the site of Southport's car park were "proper" platforms and part of the main station (does anybody know when they were taken out of use?). The excursion platforms were located a little further towards Wigan, underneath what's now Asda.

If I'm not mistaken there were 10 platforms in the old trainshed at Southport and 2 or3 excursion platforms further out, as you say. Platforms 7-10 were closed in the 1970s when the station was rebuilt as the rather cheapskate structure it is now; 8-10 are under the station car park, but you can still see what's left of platform 7. Platform 10 had a short additional section called no. 11 road. Was this used by the "Altcar Bob" railmotor on the Downholland branch? You can find a signalling diagram in Nock's Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, page 119.
 
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I believe Keith effectively has an excursion platform. The Royal Scotsman often stables in the Dufftown branch platform (which is now disconnected from the Dufftown branch). This doubtless allows the punters to be decanted to various Speyside distilleries
 

xotGD

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Can I take a step back here.

What is the difference between an Excursion Platform and a regular platform that doesn't see much use?
 

Iskra

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Scarborough didn’t have any official “excursion platforms”. The reality was, though that platforms 1, 2, 6, 7, 8 and 9 were rarely used, if at all, for passenger traffic outside the spring and summer months. When they were used in the summer it was mainly for extra timetabled trains, rather than what I would call excursions, though many catered for holiday passengers.

Now it has 5 platforms which all see regular use. The area for 6-9 still exists as a car park.

Scarborough had an excursion station, Londesborough Road, with a through and bay platform. It was last used by passengers in 1963. You can still see the somewhat degraded platforms and parts of the station building are intact.

Morecambe Promenade would fit in this category too. It had two platforms that were barely used apart from excursion traffic although they weren't specifically excursion platforms.

Was Cleethorpes the same? It looks like it used to have a lot more platforms than perhaps needed all year round?
 

Jorge Da Silva

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Morecambe Promenade would fit in this category too. It had two platforms that were barely used apart from excursion traffic although they weren't specifically excursion platforms.

Was Cleethorpes the same? It looks like it used to have a lot more platforms than perhaps needed all year round?

Cleethorpes used to have 6 platforms but Some of these were used all year round until the 1980’s. Cleethorpes May have had a few excursions but I think all platforms were used all year round.
 

30907

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Barmouth had one.
I've heard that Crystal Palace had one or more too.
Barmouth - I can only think of the old Ruabon platform east of the Level Crossing on the Up side.
Crystal Palace (LL) - had spare platforms in the main station; there was some sort of stucture next to what might have been a siding the other side of Anerley Hill bridge on the way in from Norwood Junction, but that's all.

Can I take a step back here.

What is the difference between an Excursion Platform and a regular platform that doesn't see much use?
I would define an Excursion Platform as being separate from the main station in some way, even if it didn't appear in the public timetable as such - eg a separate entrance .
 

D2007wsm

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Weston super Mare had Locking Road.
Skegness and others had plenty of platforms (same goes for Epsom Downs, Tattenham Corner et al) but as part of the main station.
Yes, the excursion platforms at Weston-super-Mare were known as Locking Road Station. Where these were is now Tesco and Locking Road Car and Coach Park.

The remaining station is the station which opened in 1884. Consisting of 2 platforms, Platform 2 closest to the old Excursion Station, with the east facing bay platform relegated to a siding. Usually holding a track maintenance train. The carriage siding between the platforms has also been removed.
 

Springs Branch

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Up until the 1960s, in the days of 1500V DC and quadruple track on the Altrincham Line, I wonder if the Fast Line platforms at Warwick Road were effectively (if not officially) excursion platforms?

These platforms were not used by regular MSJ&AR stopping services, CLC trains to Manchester Central, nor the MSJ&AR peak-hour expresses.

As I understand it, at one time there was a siding or two south of Warwick Road station on the western side for stabling football / cricket specials (although I've not found any photographic evidence in a quick search)

Disused platforms are visible behind the fence here:-
4091669_5a65420e.jpg

Image copyright Nigel Thompson at www.geograph.org.uk/p/4091669. Licenced for re-use under cc-by-sa/2.0

In similar vein, there are the platforms on the Fast Lines at Wembley Central:
- never used in normal circumstances.
- bleak concrete with zero facilities.
- securely gated off from the rest of the station.
- only opened for events at Wembley Stadium.
Do these count as effectively excursion platforms? (though I'm not sure how often they're used in recent years).
 

Malcmal

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Wouldn't Filey Holiday Camp be the ultimate example? I would assume that then entire station was made up of excursion platforms - or was there ever a scheduled regular service serving that station?
 

Mcr Warrior

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Wouldn't Filey Holiday Camp be the ultimate example? I would assume that then entire station was made up of excursion platforms - or was there ever a scheduled regular service serving that station?
According to "Lost Stations of Yorkshire - The North and East Ridings" by Alan Young (part of the Disused Stations series), Filey Holiday Camp station was only operational for thirty or so years between 1946/7 and 1977. The station had two island platforms. (Four platform faces).

In part answer to Malcmal's query as regards service provision, the 1955 timetable apparently shows that Saturday only services departed for Newcastle, King's Norton, York, Sheffield Victoria, Manchester Victoria, Manchester London Road, Leeds City, Edinburgh Waverley and London Kings Cross, the last departure being by 11.35 a.m.

In 1975, there were trains to Bradford Exchange, Liverpool Lime Street, Newcastle, Sheffield and Leicester.

1976 saw a Wednesday only service to/from Hull. The following year (1977) the station closed.

Hope that helps!
 

scarby

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Wouldn't Filey Holiday Camp be the ultimate example? I would assume that then entire station was made up of excursion platforms - or was there ever a scheduled regular service serving that station?

If memory serves correctly I do believe that there were services advertised in the public timetables and that there were trains that stopped at other destinations en-route, so again those weren't strictly excursions, though many services to the camp were "circular" services. e.g. Leicester to Leicester to drop off and pick up the visitors.

Obviously in terms of being "regular" these were of course nearly all "SO" services for just a few weeks of the year. So not "regular" possibly in the sense you mean - you couldn't get there by train in October!

I simply can't remember if you could simply go to a ticket office and just buy a regular ticket to Filey Holiday Camp. There wasn't a "normal" entrance to the station (I think there was a little wooden gate by the road with steps down, for staff use/access) - there was a subway/foot tunnel leading to the camp, so I don't know what would have happened to a a passenger alighting and not intending to visit the camp. Sadly as it closed in 1977 I was just a little too young to attempt anything that adventurous on my own - if it had been open a couple of years more I'd have doubtless tried!
 

lyndhurst25

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Doncaster St James Bridge station was used for excursion traffic only: horse racing and seaside specials.

Also, didn't Aintree have xcursion platforms for Grand National specials?
 

matt_world2004

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Up until the 1960s, in the days of 1500V DC and quadruple track on the Altrincham Line, I wonder if the Fast Line platforms at Warwick Road were effectively (if not officially) excursion platforms?

These platforms were not used by regular MSJ&AR stopping services, CLC trains to Manchester Central, nor the MSJ&AR peak-hour expresses.

As I understand it, at one time there was a siding or two south of Warwick Road station on the western side for stabling football / cricket specials (although I've not found any photographic evidence in a quick search)

Disused platforms are visible behind the fence here:-
4091669_5a65420e.jpg

Image copyright Nigel Thompson at www.geograph.org.uk/p/4091669. Licenced for re-use under cc-by-sa/2.0

In similar vein, there are the platforms on the Fast Lines at Wembley Central:
- never used in normal circumstances.
- bleak concrete with zero facilities.
- securely gated off from the rest of the station.
- only opened for events at Wembley Stadium.
Do these count as effectively excursion platforms? (though I'm not sure how often they're used in recent years).

The fast platforms at Wembley central are locked because of the wind tunnel effect caused by trains passing through . They actually have about an hourly service through them and are unlocked shortly before the train arrives and locked again shortly after it leaves
 

hexagon789

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I asked a question about Bridlington's excursion platforms on another thread, but it got me thinking about how many other stations had them? I believe that Blackpool, Scarborough, Hull Paragon and possibly Skegness had them, but I'm sure that there were plenty of others, especially at seaside towns.

Whitehead had an excursion station, it's now headquarters of the RPSI
 

swt_passenger

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I expect there’ll be a few disused stations that had excursion platforms. Killingworth on the ECML had dedicated platforms for racecourse traffic to Gosforth Park. I remember seeing them in closed condition as a small child.

But would racecourse or event platforms count as excursion platforms? Presumably they’d need to be services additional to the usual working timetable.

So how would Twickenham stand in this context?
 
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If memory serves correctly I do believe that there were services advertised in the public timetables and that there were trains that stopped at other destinations en-route, so again those weren't strictly excursions, though many services to the camp were "circular" services. e.g. Leicester to Leicester to drop off and pick up the visitors.

Obviously in terms of being "regular" these were of course nearly all "SO" services for just a few weeks of the year. So not "regular" possibly in the sense you mean - you couldn't get there by train in October!

I simply can't remember if you could simply go to a ticket office and just buy a regular ticket to Filey Holiday Camp. There wasn't a "normal" entrance to the station (I think there was a little wooden gate by the road with steps down, for staff use/access) - there was a subway/foot tunnel leading to the camp, so I don't know what would have happened to a a passenger alighting and not intending to visit the camp. Sadly as it closed in 1977 I was just a little too young to attempt anything that adventurous on my own - if it had been open a couple of years more I'd have doubtless tried!
Tickets were available for Filey HC. I remember going with some other boys in 1974, we bought tickets as normal and climbed aboard behind a class 40. Several yobbos were on board further along unscrewing light bulbs and throwing them at cars waiting at crossings. There was a land train to take you through a subway to the camp which had a superb narrow gauge railway around a lake. I also remember the big wheel and a ride on a cable car to the beach. The journey back was on a DMU.
 
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