ECML before electrification
North of York
In July 1978, I took a holiday in the north east of England,
starting at York, then spending a few days in Northumberland.
Although it was not a railway trip as such, I took the
opportunity for a few "photo stops"....
The selection starts at Pilmoor, between York and Thirsk, a spot
which was my favourite train-watching haunt when I lived within
cycling distance. The HSTs had very recently been introduced to
the east coast route, and the first train through was none other
than 254 001, first of the batch. Soon after, a southbound train
passed through, in the hands of a slightly faded 55 015 "Tulyar",
soon to be displaced. Pilmoor was an interesting spot - the former
junction for the Boroughbridge line lay just to the north of my
overbridge, while to the south, just beyond the box, an overbridge
was built to connect the Boroughbridge line with the Malton line.
The latter branched off at Sessay Wood and Bishophouse junctions,
forming a triangle to Sun Beck Junction. The bridge was never
Geoff’s Rail Diaries
used. Older readers will remember the sighting signals - a set of
four signals on the trackbed of the ill-fated link.
We drove north to spend the best part of a week at Bamburgh, the
village less well known than the castle which is a major landmark
on the Northumbrian coast, looking out to the Farne Islands, and
north to Lindisfarne. The six photographs which follow were taken
in the evenings, when the sun was dipping rapidly. The first three
were taken near Lucker, once the well-known site of a set of water
troughs. A couple of evenings later I spent an hour or so just a
little further north near Belford, and lastly, there are a few shots
taken near the Scottish Border, in the course of a trip to St Abbs
and Eyemouth.
The line is now, of course, electrified throughout. The Peaks,
Deltics and class 40s have long since departed - even the HSTs play
second string to the class 91-powered push-pull sets.
July 1978
