Quote:
Originally Posted by swisstrains
I think the holiday camp stations and the trains that served them were perfect examples of how the railways often went to great lengths to help the ordinary British family enjoy their well-earned annual holiday.
I don't know much about the Filey services but as a North-West trainspotter in the late 50's, early 60's I certainly remember the Pwllheli services.
The actual station serving the Butlins camp was called Penychain and it still exists today in a slimmed down form. As you said the trains serving Penychain branched off the North Wales Coast mainline at Menai Bridge (near Bangor) and passed through Caernarvon (not Camarthen  ) before joining the ex-GWR line at Afon Wen. A reversal was then necessary to reach Penychain station. The line from Menai Bridge to Afon Wen was mostly single track and as a loco change and a reversal was required it gives some idea of the trouble the railways went to to provide extra holiday services on summer Saturdays. I know trains ran from Liverpool, Manchester, Warrington and Stoke direct to Penychain but I don't remember a London Euston service during my trainspotting days. The Euston - Portmadoc "Welshman" service conveyed through coaches to Pwllheli but not specifically to Penychain for the Butlins camp. I would have thought that London was outside the Butlins Pwllheli camp catchment area in those days especially as they had camps on the south coast.
Between Bangor and Penychain the holiday trains were often worked by Stanier 2-6-4 Tanks changing to Stanier Black 5's or Standard 5's once on the mainline. Happy days |
My Father went on a Pwllheli Butlins Special in the early sixties - he said the train was absolutley packed. Mind you, those Hi-de-Hi style holidays were still very popular then.
Also if you were lucky to work on the railway, like my Grandad, you travelled for free to most places. I guess that was in the days before mass car ownership.