Chesterfield’s Three Holiday Trains
Chesterfield's Three Holiday Trains - Yarmouth, Scarborough and Skegness - Summer 1978
Until the end of the Summer 1982 season, three Summer Saturday holiday trains started from Chesterfield, destined for Yarmouth, Scarborough and Skegness. The empty stock for these working came from Nunnery Carriage Sidings, with one set travelling to Chesterfield on the Friday evening and the other two on Saturday morning. All empty stock workings travelled via the Old Road and ran into the Down platform (Platform 1) at Chesterfield.
The Friday empty stock ran into the Down platform at Chesterfield, ran round and the propelled into the Down Sidings, with engine then returning light to Sheffield station. The running order for the Saturday morning began with 5P12, the empty stock for the Yarmouth arriving into the Down platform, running round and departing. Following this, the empty stock for the Scarborough arrived into the Down platform, the locomotive detached, ran into the Down sidings and coupled up to Friday’s empty stock which then formed the Skegness working. Whilst this was taking place, a light engine arrived from Barrow Hill and coupled up the the Scarborough stock in the Down platform. After the Scarborough’s departure, the Skegness then pulled out of the Down sidings, into the Down platform and then departed to Skegness via Sheffield.
Some details of these movements changed slightly over the years (for example, in later years, the Scarborough ran from the Down Sidings), but the overall pattern is well illustrated in the 1978 timetable as shown below:
5P12 06.16 (SO) Nunnery CS to Chesterfield, arrive 06.48.
1P12 07.08 (SO) Chesterfield to Yarmouth via Joint Line (27th May to 2nd September)
5L18 07.24 (SO) Nunnery CS to Chesterfield, arrive 08.14.
1L18 08.26 (SO) Chesterfield to Scarborough via Swinton & Knottingley (27th May to 16th September)
5D23 17.33 (FO) Nunnery CS to Chesterfield, arrive 17.57.
1D23 08.35 (SO) Chesterfield to Skegness via Joint Line (27th May to 9th September).
These movements are shown in the Summer 1978 Working Timetable below:
Page YE69 shows 5D23, 17.33 (FO) Empty Stock from Nunnery to Chesterfield, arriving into the Down platform at 17.57, running round and then shunting into the Down Sidings. Note the detail that on Friday 15th September only this train ran as 5L18, because the Skegness had finished the previous Saturday and for one day only this working formed the next day’s Scarborough.
Page YE33 shows the Light Engine leaving Chesterfield at 18.25 and running to Sheffield station as 0J00.
Page YE52 shows 5P12, 06.16 (SO) Empty Stock from Nunnery to Chesterfield, arriving into the Down platform at 06.48 and running round.
Page YE14 shows the departure of 1P12 to Yarmouth at 07.08. This working travelled via Worksop to Gainsborough Trent Junction then down the Joint Line to March, the Ely Avoiding Line to Norwich and after reversal at Norwich, on to Yarmouth via Reedham.
Page YE54 shows 5L18, 07.24 (SO) Empty Stock from Nunnery to Chesterfield, arriving into the Down platform at 08.14 after a fairly long wait at Tapton Jc for 1M13, 07.55 Sheffield to St Pancras to pass. On arrival into the Down platform, the locomotive uncoupled and ran into the Down Sidings to join Friday’s empty stock as 1D23 to Skegness. The stock that arrived as 5L18 was joined by 0L18, 08.10 (SO) Barrow Hill depot to Chesterfield to form 1L18, 08.26 (SO) Chesterfield to Scarborough. This practice happened until the season’s last run of the Skegness on Saturday 9th September. 1L18 to Scarborough continued for one further Saturday, 16th September, on which date its locomotive arrived light engine as 0L18, 07.55 from Barrow Hill Depot, arriving into Chesterfield’s Down platform at 08.05 with 21 minutes to couple up.
Page YE16 shows the departure of 1L18 at 08.26 to Scarborough, after which 1D23 came out of the Down Sidings, paused briefly to pick up and then followed North at 08.35 to Skegness. Closely following 1D23 was 1E04, 07.30 Birmingham New Street to York/Newcastle, arriving at 08.38½, thereby allowing effectively no margin for late departures of 1L18 and 1D23.
It is interesting to conjecture why the empty stock of 1D23 ran to Chesterfield on Friday evening. It may be that the circa 20 minutes required for arrival, run round and departure of stock from and to the North (as shown in the case of 5P12/1P12) would have made it very tight to accommodate both 1L18 and 1D23 between 1S49 at 07.52 and 1E04 at 08.38½ if both had had to run round in the Down platform.
