Buttsy
Established Member
Nelson, and after singling of the Colne line from Rose Grove, Rose Grove, used to have a summer saturdays service to the south west (Paignton?)
Oh yes the Walsall-Great Yarmouth.
Was this train routed direct to Lichfield City or via Sutton Park?
Indeed there was such a working.
The amount of summer saturday loco hauled workings all over the network in the 70's/early 80's was unbelievable when you look back.
I always thought Stranraer to Blackpool was a real 'oddball' service.
Not sure, maybe those avoiding Preston had a loco change at Crewe.
Yes, the Walsall to Yarmouth went via the usual route for Birmingham to Norwich trains of the time from New Street. It stood out in the local Walsall to Birmingham timetable of the time, being a very basic hourly all-stops service.
Sorry if this goes off-topic somewhat, but mention of the Sutton Park line here and on another thread about diversions, leads me to ponder. The only time I can recall a scheduled service in 'recent' times was during the Proof House blockade which closed all routes into Birmingham New Street from the east for a couple of weeks some time back in the 1980s.
There were a number of diversions and full use made of the Lifford north curve, Soho to Perry Barr line, and the Camp Hill avoiding line. Some trains from the north-east to south-west and south coast didn't call at New Street at all, but used stations such as Kings Norton, Small Heath and Water Orton where passengers changed to/from alternative local services, connections to Moor Street, and other diverted trains.
But the oddest would have been an early morning train which started at Wolverhampton at 05-something, normally via New Street, to Peterborough and, I think, Harwich Parkeston Quay (as it was then). During the blockade, it still started at Wolves but stopped first at Water Orton. Now, would I be right in thinking to this day that that could only be via Walsall and the Sutton Park line?
Those were the days when bank holidays and major engineering works brought a full supplement to the Great Britain Timetable, and I'm sure I still have a copy somewhere to confirm the dates and times, but does anyone else remember it?
There was a summer Saturday train routed this way for the duration of the summer timetable in the early 80s. From memory it was a Liverpool to Penzance which ran during the week too but on the normal route via New Street. On the Saturdays it would be diesel hauled from Liverpool and shown as non-stop Crewe to Gloucester. Before Wolves it would cut off for Bescot at Bushbury Junc(?) then before Bescot head off through Walsall Station, through Sutton Park then past Saltley and up Camp Hill bank to come back out on its normal route at King Norton. after Gloucester I think it took up its normal times.
Got it one Saturday in 1981 and with other trains that day covered all three sides of the Lifford Triangle and the Nuneaton avoider as it was then.
Don't get me startedWorcester still has "InterCty" services, but I use the speech marks to denote that even with redoubling, the padding and stopping at the likes of Honeybourne and Shipton by HST's means its a local service in all but name.
However it used to be served until about 1982 by InterCity services on the Cross-Country route as part of a regular timetable. 3 or 4 trains a day from Manchester or York/Leeds to Bristol and beyond called each way.
It should still be really, and XC could stop Manchester - Bristols there without any pathing/stock issues. They wont though, as it adds 15 mins to the journey
Don't get me started
They could do that now in the current timetable with the current stock available. The trains wait 40 minutes at New Street before returning, and have ridiculous slack between University and there.If wanted to be really mean I could get you started by suggesting we move all those nice lovely Birmingham - Hereford semi fast trains into Snow Hill.
But because I'm a nice person, I'm still in favour of 2tph New Street - Worcester, linked into the Tamworth/Leicester to Worcerster/Hereford cross city project,
They could do that now in the current timetable with the current stock available. The trains wait 40 minutes at New Street before returning, and have ridiculous slack between University and there.