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Train trips for us to Cleethorpes mostly started from Scunthorpe after a short
journey from home in Winteringham. After our tickets were purchased we would go through the doors that opened onto the platforms to wait for our train to come, as we did this other trains mostly goods trains would
pass by us. Some of the trains would come through the station and others passed out of the goods yard sidings behind the platform and waiting room on the other side of the foot bridge that spanned the main lines
between the up and down platforms. Working for the railways Dad told us when the train was only minutes away because the signalman not only worked the signals but would ring a bell on the station from the signal box
to let the staff know the train was about to arrive. Being only a youngster at the time the noise from the engine was some what frightening as it passed us with a loud clanking, wheezing and groaning then followed
by the squeal of the brakes coming on. When at a stop you could imagine that it was some large beast of some kind crouching there panting and getting its breath back before it made its dash to the next station and
the next until its destination was reached.
On one of these trips by train we joined it at Scunthorpe and watched the country side go by once the train had left the town behind it. Appleby then over the River
Ancholme to Elsham stations with short stops for passengers to board or alight where you could see the flowers that were grown in the stations flower beds and attended to by the staff who worked there. Then to
Barnetby where our line joined with the ones to Lincoln and Brigg and its large number of signal gantries and semaphore signals for the main lines and the many sidings there, looking like a giant train set layout
that would have been any boys dream to own. This is where if I looked carefully up into the village my grandparents house could be seen as the train pulled away heading past the Malt kilns towards Grimsby. The first
station we came to was Brocklesby that along with Habrough the next one provided access to the line that went to Immingham, New Holland (for the Humber Ferries to Hull) and Barton upon Humber. With the two main line
stations and the one at Ulceby the lines formed a triangle on which engines could be turned round if required saving time as they would have had to go back to Barnetby to use the turntable or to one at Cleethorpes.
I remember that there were more stations on this stretch of line but not their names so I have had to have help with them and they are as follows Stallingbrough, Healing and Great Coates.
At Grimsby Town the
train pulled into a covered Station and as before people joined or left the train, the next station was Grimsby Docks and as the name may suggest this was where the trains either went to the docks or branched off to
Cleethorpes. After leaving the station and passing over the level crossing the train started to curve round part of the dock buildings and the smell of fish started to fill the carriages and most times the train
came to a stand still, this was mainly due to trains at Cleethorpes Station being moved down to the sidings between New Clee and the Big Dipper at the end of Wonderland to await the return journey, or the normal
passenger trains leaving. When we set off again we could see some of the various shapes and sizes of the trawlers in the docks for a brief moment over and through the gaps between buildings then stopping at New Clee
Station which was the last one before our destination. From there it was only a few more minutes travelling and passing the previously stated sidings and a quick flash of the sea. Slowly our train pulled into one of
the platforms at Cleethorpes where we would leave our seats and make our way down the corridor to the door and off the train unless you were in a carriage that had doors on both sides then you opened the one that
was at the platform side to get off.
Part Two - Cleethorpes Beach
Walking along the platform many of the children with buckets and spades in their
hands to the gate at the end which separated the rest of the station from it were the passengers that had travelled on the same train as us, some in a hurry, others taking their time but as the gate was reached
everyone was once again all together as the Ticket Inspector blocked our way and checked the tickets we had used. Some to be clipped and handed back as they would be used for the return journey, others were kept as
they were only valid to Cleethorpes. By the time we had left our platform, trains had arrived at the other empty ones and their passengers were leaving the same as we were. Time and time again people filled the
station as trains arrived with only a few minutes between them or to depart for one of the many destinations served by the trains from Cleethorpes. Some of the people headed straight out of the station where others
fought their way through the crowds to join the lines of people who wanted to use the toilets before making their way out.
A large number of the trains that arrived at Cleethorpes Station during the summer were
from Yorkshire and were carrying trips from the different coal mines or one of the trips organised by the Church and Chapel Sunday Schools. On one of our trips we arrived at the station and went through the ritual
of leaving and making our way to the sea front, this included the trip to the toilets then trying to make your way through the crowds of people down the steps and going the way you wanted to and not to be pushed
along with the rest. Clear of the Station we made our way to the beach where if the tide was right we were able to play in the water and on the sand. Some times we arrived and the tide had been in and gone out which
meant we could only play on the sand and the odd pools that the tide had left. The first thing us children did was to undress to our swimming trunks either to play in the water or build sandcastles or as I liked
doing dig holes in the sand and watch water start to fill them but by the time we were ready to leave they were full of sand again.
Depending on the time of day Dad or Mum would make their way to one of the
black huts on the beach that sold a bit of every thing including Jugs of Hot Sweet Tea, this along with the egg sandwiches and cakes brought with us made up our meal. No matter how much care was taken at least one
of my sandwiches managed to get sand in it and sometimes a bit of egg shell was found to have been left in when they were mashed up before being spread on the bread as I am sure others who made these trips will have
encountered the same. Our meal over and the jug and cups taken back it was back to playing again. Later in the day we were washed and dressed again. Then it was time to make our way up to the promenade to what may
have been described as an Aladdin's cave of arcades and shops and then down to Wonderland. On the sands there was the Big Wheel where I was always amazed at the blue / white glow that came from what I was told was
the transformer on electricity supply that drove it when the operator had the doors open. Around the same area was a roundabout with seats hanging from chains that spun outwards as it turned round also there was one
of the black huts that sold jugs of tea and other bits like bucket and spades and a small roller coaster for children.
Wonderland can only be described as a large under cover Fun Fair and side shows some of
them were archery where you could shoot arrows at targets, good old fashioned Dodgem Cars, The Ghost Train, Crazy House. The entrance to the Big Dipper Roller coaster was also reached from the inside of Wonderland.
Outside was a model railway with scaled down engines and rolling stock that you could ride on that ran under the Big Dipper. One of the noisiest rides inside were the Rocket Ships that were lifted and lowered by
hydraulics as they spun round in circles. There was the Spiders Web where a number of people played at the same time by turning a handle that slowly moved a fly down a strand of the web till one of them reached the
middle where the fly was going round in circles until stopped, Test your strength by hitting with a hammer a plunger and knocking a slide up towards a bell but even if you were unable to hit the bell the prize you
received was marked on the board at the back of where the slider went up and stopped, tins stacked on a shelf that had to be knocked down with a wooly ball, shooting range, also a stall where clowns heads with open
mouths turned from side to side and had a tube under it that directed the balls that you threw into the mouth to slots that had numbers in told if you won or lost. There were other things that I am unable to recall
at the time of writing. Coming back out in the entrance on one side was a stall that sold shell fish, the other was an ice cream stall.
Heading towards the Station we passed the following - a Cinema that showed
cartoons, toilets where once again queues could be seen as people waited their turn to spend a penny. Next was a Public House, then arcades with their slot machines, games, Bingo and some sold fish and chips, ice
cream and candy floss the latter made from heated spun sugar. And not forgetting the stalls that sold rock with the name of Cleethorpes through it and sweets. The last building was a cafe before the railings between
the road and railway station through which the trains could be seen. Around this area could be found a small wooden kiosk from which a photographer operated. They would stop people as they passed and ask if they
would like to have a photograph taken, there was another one up near the pier doing the same thing, this gave people who did not own a camera the chance to have a record of their day out if they so wished.
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