East Coast Mainline in the 1960s

[Trainmodeller35]

I'm considering doing a layout based on a section of the east coast mainline between London and Peterborough set in the 1960s. The problem is I'm not really sure what trains ran at that time.

I'm aware there were the Deltics doing express services, but I can't find what trains ran slower, stopping services. I imagine there were some steam trains still running but I can't find a lot of information online. I was also considering doing the 1970s instead but it would depend on what is available in OO gauge.

So if anyone could help me out on what trains ran stopping services between London and Peterborough in the 1960s and maybe the '70s that would be great.

Thanks in advance.

[Bulleidboy]

I remember in my spotting days at New Southgate (a few stops out from Kings X), the local service was operated by N2 tank engines, with three or four surburban style coaches. I think they ran as far as Hatfield? 

Peterborough, today, is the first stop (about 45mins) out of Kings X on semi-fast trains for Leeds and Newcastle.  Sorry can't be of more help.

LC&DR will be along to give a very comprehensive answer.

[96RAF]

As an RAF Halton apprentice I travelled the ECML from the North East to King’s Cross and back on leave 1960-63 routing by underground from KX and then overland lines to/from Wendover.

 

Locos were generally any named LNER Pacific, but also including CotN and then Deltic DP1, latterly several diesel types. One thing I do remember was it was always full going out of London and I often had to sit on my bag in the corridor.

 

My usual home station was Durham, but often I would bail out at York and get a stopping train up to Sunderland, getting off at Seaham as it was closer to Murton where I lived. I cannot remember the locos on the slow line.

[Trainmodeller35]

I remember in my spotting days at New Southgate (a few stops out from Kings X), the local service was operated by N2 tank engines, with three or four surburban style coaches. I think they ran as far as Hatfield? 

Peterborough, today, is the first stop (about 45mins) out of Kings X on semi-fast trains for Leeds and Newcastle.  Sorry can't be of more help.

LC&DR will be along to give a very comprehensive answer.

Thanks that is very helpful. Luckily Hornby do seem to make an N2 so I will look into that. It appears the N2s operated short services out of Kings X as you said, similar to what the class 313 did and now the class 717.

Admittedly I am trying to model the area a bit further north between Peterborough and Stevenage as my local station is in that area, but I do appreciate the information and now I have a better understanding of what ran local services at the time.

[LCDR]

It will really depend on where abouts on the ECML you want to represent. South of Hitchin you got plenty of suburban services as well as trains going to Cambridge and Kings Lynn.  North of that you get the expresses plus a few stoppers serving intermediate places, and of course plenty of freight.

 

Taking the section from Kings Cross to Hitchin first. In the 1960s the Deltics started to take over from the Gresley and Peppercorn Pacifics on the main line. In 1960/1961 there would still be plenty of steam, including all the usual Pacifics, and V2s, on the faster trains, B1s going to Cambridge, and on the stoppers.

 

The  local suburban trains were in the hands of the N2s and a few N7s, pulling trains made up of Gresley and Thompson non-corridors, with a scattering of BR Mark 1 non-corridors.

 

The L1 2-6-4T would also be used on sone of the heavier suburbans and outer suburbans. These might also be seen on local freights too with 0-6-0s like the J39 . Long distance goods might have Gresley O2, Thompson O1, WD 2-8-0s 9F 2-10-0, or some of the 2-6-0s Ks and BR standards. 

 

North of Hitchin the intermediate services dwindled as Beeching's axe closed all the intermediate stations apart from Biggleswade and Huntingdon 

 

But in the next few years diesel classes quicly started to take over including Brush Type 2, BRCW type 2, Baby Deltics, Derby and Sulzer type 2, The English Electric type 1 and the BTH and North British Type 1 Bo-Bos were to be seen of local freight. The Deltics were taking the Anglo Scottish expresses, but EE Type 4 1Co-Co1 and new Brush type 4 were also being used on express services. By the end of 1963  there was almost no steam south of Doncaster. Kings Cross shed had closed and all services were being hauled by Finsbury Park diesel locomotives.

 

My spotting days herabouts was 1961 to 1963 which were very interesting with both diesel and steam on a variety of services.

 

The diesel multiple unit had alao taken over working on parts of the Eastern region.

 

The Beeching cuts removed most of the intermediate stations between Hitchin and Peterborough in the early 1960s so there was very few stopping services in the 1970s. Brush type 4, and Deltics were the usual power over this stretch until the HSTs appeared in the mid 1970s.