A FORTNIGHT ago, we were tackling the railway line over the Stainmore summit.
It was mainly a mineral line, running from Darlington and Barnard Castle over the Pennines to Kirkby Stephen and Tebay where it joined the West Coast Main Line.
But people in County Durham remember the line because during factory fortnight it took them on their holidays to Blackpool, which was then the height of any working person’s aspirations.
“We religiously went to Blackpool North or Central stations every year from Bishop Auckland, but our last journey on the train was in the summer of 1961 as the line closed in January 1962,” writes John Askwith.
“We kept up our Blackpool appearances by using Primrose Coaches from Ryton, which ran a regular service from Tyneside, calling at Bishop Auckland en route for Blackpool.
“I think our last trip was 1966, because I recall listening to the World Cup final on the coach radio on the way home!”
The Primrose coach heading home from Blackpool takes the corner of Horsemarket and Galgate in Barnard Castle. In the background on the corner is Young’s shop which today is home to McFarlane butchers. From below the windows to the pavement has glazed tiles dating from the 1880s and bearing the name of the original butcher - Johnson - and also a view of the castle
John has sent in a couple of photos of a Primrose Coach, driven by Ray Hornsby, tackling the trans-Pennine route. One shows it battling through amazing snowdrifts on the Stainmore summit – although there is an entirely different climate up there, this picture can’t possible show a summer holiday, can it?
A Primrose coach tackling the snows of Stainmore
IN another Stainmore extreme weather note, Ray Todd in Newton Aycliffe writes: "I was lucky enough to travel on this railway in my younger days with the scouts. We camped near Kirkby Stephen. After we got the tents up the weather deteriorated. The wind and rain was so bad it damaged the tents. Fortunately a farmer let us sleep in his barn for the night where we had to make do with jam and bread. These were made with thick slices of white bread. I've never enjoyed jam and bread so much in my life! Things eventually got back to normal and we enjoyed the rest of the break round the camp fire."
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