The Railway Clearing House Handbook of Railway Stations 1904
The Railway Clearing House Handbook of Railway Stations 1938
The Railway Clearing House Handbook of Railway Stations 1956
Railway Clearing House Atlas of England & Wales 1904 (Ian Allan reprint)
In my collection I have a number of working timetables, some of them dating back to the 1950s. A working timetable was the official timetable issued to staff. As well as passenger services, these books also included empty stock and light engine movements, as well as showing head codes, timings at passing places, mileages, train formation and lots more besides. Some timetables were specific to either passenger or freight trains, while others were mixed..
Traditionally, there were three types of freight train, often shown in three separate timetables:
Mandatory trains were freight services that were usually likely to run. These trains were often included in the passenger timetables.
Conditional trains were freight services of a less reliable nature and were often given their own timetable.
Trip workings were the local freights that went from marshalling yards to local sidings, usually within a small area, mostly on an as required basis. They had their own timetable.
Passenger trains were also divided into two different types of WTT. The main edition contained all passenger workings and associated empty stock and light engine movements that were not of a highly localised nature. Local movements between, for instance, Manchester Piccadilly and Longsight, or Manchester Victoria and Newton Heath, were shown in a separate timetable. The local timetables included all passenger workings, associated empty stock, freight and light engine movements and also gave a more detail picture of workings at stations, including platform numbers.
Many of my timetables are specific to the Manchester/Liverpool areas. Towards the end of the 1960s this area was divided into north and south for the purposes of internal passenger timetables:
North, described in 1968 as covering: Passenger trains between Manchester Exchange & Victoria and Liverpool Lime St, Euxton Jn., Liverpool Exchange, Southport, Diggle, Hebden bridge and Branches. Liverpool exchange, Todd Lane, Preston E.L. and Hebden Bridge and Branches. I have timetables covering this area from 6 May 1968 to 13 May 1984, with three missing editions. The gaps cover 3 May 1971 to 6 May 1973 and 8 May 1978 to 13 May 1979,
South, described in 1971 as covering: Crewe, Dunford Bridge, Dore and Totley, Liverpool, Chester and Manchester Piccadilly, also North Staffordshire, and branches. I have timetables covering this area from 3 May 1971 to 13 May 1984 with one two year gap from 8 May 1978 to 11 May 1980.
Crewe to Carlisle and branches timetables:
Euxton Jn. and Gretna Jn. Skipton and Carlisle and branches, 1 May 1972 to 6 May 1973.
Crewe, Liverpool and Euxton Jn., 7 May 1973 to 5 May 1974.
Crewe and Gretna Jn. Weaver Jn. and Liverpool. Skipton and Carlisle and branches, 6 May 1974 and 4 May 1975.
Crewe and Gretna Jn. Weaver Jn. and Liverpool. Skipton and Carlisle and branches, 3 May 1976 and 7 May 1978.
Crewe and Gretna Jn. Weaver Jn. and Liverpool. Skipton and Carlisle and branches, 14 May 1979 and 11 May 1980.
Crewe and Gretna Jn. Weaver Jn. and Liverpool. Skipton and Carlisle and branches, 1 june 1981 and 13 May 1984.
Local movement timetables for the Manchester area:
Manchester Victoria (Local Movements), described in 1973 as covering trains between: Manchester Victoria and Newton heath and Windsor Bridge. I have editions of this timetable covering 7 May 1973 to 1 May 1977, 14 May 1979 to 11 May 1980 and 17 May 1982 to 15 May 1983.
Manchester Piccadilly (Local Movements), described in 1964 as covering trains between: Manchester (Piccadilly and Mayfield) and Ardwick and Slade Lane Junction. I have editions of this timetable covering 9 September 1963 to 6 September 1964 (In fact these early editions also covered the Woodhead line as far as Gorton M.P.D.), 7 May 1973 to 4 May 1975, 3 May 1976 to 7 May 1978 and 1 June 1981 to 15 may 1983.
Manchester Central (Local Movements), dated 15 June to 6th September 1964, covering Manchester Central and Cornbrook, Old Trafford Jn., Trafford Park, and Chorlton Jn.
Freight timetables were similarly divided between north and south, but were eventually merged, before being separated again.
North (Described as in the passenger timetable): I have editions covering 5 May to 5 October 1969, 1 May to 1 October 1972, 1 October 1973 to 5 May 1974 and 1 June 1981 to 15 May 1983.
South (Described as in the passenger timetable): I have editions covering 5 May to 5 October 1969, 3 May to 3 October 1971, 1 May 1972 to 4 May 1974, 1 June 1981 to 16 May 1982 and 16 May 1983 to 14 May 1984.
North and South combined: I have editions covering 6 May 1974 to 3 October 1976 and 1 October 1979 to 10 May 1981.
Other specifically Manchester area timetables:
Freight Trains, Cheetham Hill Junction and Accrington South and branches, date 9 September 1963 to 14 June 1964.
Some of my most interesting WTTs are compilations of a number of smaller books made into larger volumes. These are as follows:
L.M.R. (Western Division) Passenger trains June 5th to September 24th, 1950 This volume contains seven WTTs in one book and covers the former L&NW Railway lines (From Euston to Carlisle), including routes around Manchester, Liverpool, Workington and Bolton (Great Moor Street), Holyhead as well as the Cheshire Lines Committee, the route to Holyhead, and many associated branches.
L.M.R. (Midland Division) Passenger trains 12th September 1960 to 11th June 1961 Sections A to G The whole of the Midland Railway’s lines, minus a bit and plus other bits. Marylebone, St. Pancras and the Cheshire Lines are certainly in there. Birmingham to Bristol is not covered.
L.M.R. (Central Division) Passenger trains 19th September 1955 to 10th June 1956 Sections A to F Think Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway.
N.E.R. Passenger trains 15th June to 13th September 1959 Section A to L The whole of the North Eastern Region of British Railways.
L.M.R. Freight Trains 2 October 1967 to 5 May 1968. This volume contains 3 timetables that cover the whole of the L.M.R. north of Crewe.
Freight Trains, Sheffield area, 9 September 1963 and 14 June 1964.
Freight Trains, Norton Bridge, Colwich, Chaddesden and Crewe, Macclesfield, Crewe, Chelford Loop and branches 14 June 1965 u.f.n.
Passenger Trains, Crewe and Holyhead, Chester, Shrewsbury, Crewe and Craven Arms. Shrewsbury and Aberystwyth, Machynlleth and Pwllheli and branches, 18 April 1966 and 5 March 1967.
Passenger Trains, Cleethorpes to Nottingham/Sheffield, Hull to Sheffield/Leeds and branches, 4 May 1970 and 2 May 1971.
Passenger Trains, King’s Cross suburban district, 15 June and 13 September 1959.
Passenger Trains, Euston and Crewe, Birmingham and branches, 17 November 1958 and 14 June 1959.
Passenger Trains, London and Chelmsford, Southend and Southminster, 13 June and 11 September 1960.
Passenger Trains, Trent, Nottingham and Chesterfield. WoodfordHalse and Heath Jn. and branches, 18 April 1966 and 5 March 1967.
Passenger Trains, Cudworth, Leeds (City), Bradford (Forster Square) and Skipton and branches, 9 June 1958 and 14 September 1958.
Register of Closed Railways 1948 – 1991 (Geoffrey Hurst)
British Railways Pre-grouping Atlas and Gazetteer (Ian Allan)
The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Volume 3 (John Marshall)
Clinker’s Register of Closed Passenger Stations and Goods Depots in England, Scotland and Wales 1830 – 1977 (C.R.Clinker)
Forgotten Railways North West England (John Marshall)
The Cheshire Lines Railway (R.P.Griffiths)
British Railways Locomotives (Ian Allan a.b.c. Summer 1961)
Complete Atlas of Railway Station Names (Tony Dewick)
The Highland Railway (H.A.Vallance)
(Many of these books are available second hand
from Abebooks.
Give them a visit and see what they can offer before you start
paying new prices.)