2 October 1988 - Cricklewood depot closed, with servicing of Thameslink Class 319/0s EMUs transferred to the new facility at Selhurst.
2 October 1989 - timetable change highlights: -Great Northern Line: London King’s Cross - Huntingdon frequency doubled to half-hourly utilising Class 317/1s displaced from the Northampton Line; -North London Lines: Richmond - North Woolwich integrated with London Euston - Watford Junction local services and go over to Class 313s in replacement of the much older Class 416 2-EPBs which have plied the route since 13 May 1985 - and now return to the SR for continued employment on South London Lines!; -North London Lines: London Liverpool Street - Watford Junction remaining peak-hour services reduced to just one return in each direction; -Thameslink: Class 317/1 EMUs return to the route when six are temporarily drafted in from the Northampton Line to enable strengthening of Bedford - London St Pancras/Moorgate peak services to 8 cars to cope with demand; pending delivery of Thameslink’s own new 319/1 augmenting order during 1990. 2 October 1989 - Magdalen Road renamed Watlington - reverting to its previous appellation borne until 1 June 1875 - although the signal box at the station continues as Magdalen Road (still thus in 2011)! 3 October 1987 - St Leonards West Marina depot closed, previously home base for the ‘Hastings’ DEMU fleet. 3 October 1988 - Arlesey re-opened at cost of £630,000; ceremonial opening by Chris Green with day of free use on the 1st; the station had previously closed on 5 January 1959. 3 October 1988 - Martins Heron new station opened. 3 October 1988 - London King’s Cross suburban Platform No 11 re-opened to accommodate increased services; previously closed 5 December 1976 and infilled to widen adjacent No 10. 3 October 1988 - London Waterloo - Exeter first Class 47 diagrams introduced - the locomotives will eventually oust the popular Class 50s currently used. 3 October 1988 - Thameslink Class 317/1 EMUs use ceases - some had been retained to operate London St Pancras/Moorgate - Bedford peak services - even gaining Thameslink route logos! - pending delivery of new Class 319/0s. 3 October 1989 - Chris Green in an address to the Railway Studies Association reveals that NSE passenger business has risen 25% since 1983 with 468,000 passengers travelling into the Capital daily, commuting accounting for 64% of the sector’s market; a massive investment of £1.4bn up to 1994 will transform services on many routes - including the much proclaimed new state-of-the-art Networker trains; new rail links to Dunstable and Luton Airport proposed; 15 new stations are planned; station car parking will rise by one third to 100,000 spaces by 2001. |
3 October 1990 - Oxford £3.5m reconstructed station official completion ceremony; the new buildings have been in use since 8 April; a new footbridge has replaced the subway.
3 October 1993 - 159003 works a London Waterloo - Kingswear through special to the Torbay Steam Railway; en route it receives the name Templecombe during a stop at that station to celebrate 10 years since reopening. 4-5, 11-12, 18-19 and 25-26 October 1986 - Salisbury - Yeovil Junction ‘Blackmore Vale Express’ specials mark return to steam over this section 19 years after its cessation; organised by the enterprising Salisbury Area Manager, Gerald Daniels; the final weekend is an extra one - put on at short notice after the first three sell-out. An extra attraction are the ‘Laverstock Looper’ short but unusual railtours from Salisbury around the nearby Laverstock triangle - these are also popular - shunter 09026 plus 4-TC No 8011 provide very rare haulage. 4 October 1987 - Silvertown renamed Silvertown & London City Airport - with imminent opening of latter nearby on 26 October. 4 October 1990 - BR Public Service Obligation subsidy increase of 20% announced - the first for eight years - the April 1990-March 1991 grant to be £600m compared to £504m the year previously, to cover new safety equipments on NSE and Provincial. 4 October 1992 - Stratford-upon-Avon sees its first Networker Turbo passenger working, 165038/22/28 on a charter from London Paddington. 4 October 1993 - new timetable sees Thameslink cease use of London St Pancras, with diversion of last remaining services via London King’s Cross Thameslink. 5 October 1987 - Sanderstead - East Grinstead electrified services introduced; celebratory gala weekend held 26-27 September with completion ceremony on 30 September presided over by Transport Secretary Paul Channon and Chris Green. 5 October 1987 - Haddenham & Thame Parkway £430,000 new station opened on the Chiltern Line - located about ½ mile north of the former Haddenham (closed 7 January 1963) - and the 150th station opened since the 1963 Beeching report. 6 October 1986 - Bournemouth (Branksome) - Weymouth electrification works formally started by Transport Secretary John Moore. 7 October 1989 - Silvertown & London City Airport rebuilt station formally opened. 7 October 1989 - North London Lines gala day held, with Gospel Oak and Kew Gardens station refurbishments officially completed. 8 October 1990 - Weybridge £300,000 rebuilt road level buildings officially opened. |
A personal tribute by Mark Battle - Inspired from memories... |