Above: a 1960s postcard by Valentine & Sons Ltd.
Here's a handbill promoting a day excursion from stations in the Manchester area to the Lincolnshire bulb fields. Passengers would travel by train to Grantham, arriving just before 12 noon, then change to road coaches for their Tulip Time tour. The train departed from Grantham for the return journey to Manchester at 7.55pm.
Tulip cultivation in Lincolnshire today is on a much smaller scale than it was in the 1960s.
Thanks to Richard Whitaker for lending the handbill.
Very informative
Very interesting posting
Fascinating - that is a 14 hour day, plus your time taken to and from London Road. Why did BR only bring its passengers to Grantham to join the coaches? Spalding had (and still has) a station. The M&GN route had of course closed only the year before, but there were still options for getting to Spalding. Sad to remember that the train would have been electric-hauled along the Woodhead route.
Hello John,
It’s interesting that you’ve picked up on Grantham being the interchange point between train and road coach, rather than Spalding. I expect the decision was made in a in a BR traffic planning office somewhere. Maybe someone will know why.
Regards,
John
John Clayson