Traction on the line

The passenger trains were typically worked by diesel multiple units, usually Derby Class 114 and Cravens ‘105’ two-car sets. Summer Saturday trains brought pairs of Class 25s and Class 31s, ‘37s’, ‘40s’ and ‘47s’. On four occasions, pairs of ‘20s’ appeared in the Derby-Yarmouth train.

Railtours brought Classes 40, ‘45’ and ‘55’ to the route in its last days, while a notable visitor on March 10 1979 was 50050 Fearless on a London Bridge to York railtour.

And then there was the one day each year when the line came into its own - the annual early-May Spalding flower show. This would attract extra trains, and those from the south usually came via March. Trains from the north would also unload their passengers, and owing to a shortage of sidings many would run empty to March for stabling. They also brought rare power to the town, such as Hastings diesel electric multiple units and Class 33s.

The most common traction for freight trains were ‘20s’, ‘31s’, ‘37s’, ‘40s’ and ‘47s’. But there was other variety - ‘25s’, ‘44s’, ‘45s’, ‘46s’ were all seen, especially on the Toton-Whitemoor trip, which was a good bet to produce a Class 44 right up to their final days of late 1980.

On November 23 1981 there was a very unusual working when 31324 hauled withdrawn Deltics 55004/ 011/ 018 from Stratford to York, via Cowbit, for cannibalisation.