The Changing Fortunes of the Travelling Public
'They' say comparisons are odious. Well, I'll let you be the one to decided, but in my humble opinion the Durham Coast Line has not been a winner in the rail traffic stakes. There are currently (November 2013) five direct weekday trains to London and the same number in the reverse direction. However, almost 20 years ago (1963/4 winter timetable, West Hartlepool had long-distance weekday trains to King's Cross (three, including an overnighter with limited sleeping accommodation), Liverpool and York, and in the other direction, arrivals from London, one, and Leeds, two. In the late Fifties and early Sixties additional services ran direct to Colchester, Liverpool, and northbound from Liverpool and Bristol.
This is not going to be the familiar slanted railway-bashing tract which is staple fare for the media. Train services were largely lost because the philosophy of planners changed, largely towards shorter but more frequent dieselised services instead of irregular loco-hauled stock. There was also the harsh economic capitalist-minded protocol of 'use it or lose it' rather than having a social railway run to suit passengers' needs and not chauffeur-driven board members or staff seeking more social hours. The BR bean counters had 'taken over the asylum'.
The comparison is being made for West Hartlepool as expresses did not stop at Seaton Carew, nor do Grand Central services currently. Data is taken from the winter timetable for 9 September to 14 June 1964. On weekdays there were 50 through trains and 21 on Sundays. There was also a smattering of terminating trains on days other than Sunday. The full list for 1963/4:
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