Camping Coaches on freight only lines

[52D]

When Camping coaches were sited, some were on parts of the Network that had lost regular passenger services. Part of the deal when you rented a camping coach meant you had to travel by rail I know of one example where this happened at Wooler in Northumberland. The party travelled by a coach that was attached to the local parcels train from the nearest convenient railhead in this case Alnwick. Can anyone think of other locations where this may have happened and is there a list of locations served by Camping coaches.
The reason im asking is on another site i belong to Bygone Lines, a similar example to Wooler has turned up at the former Gresley Was Right station at Aberayron in Wales where the branch was closed to passengers but had a camping coach.

[52D]

Update to the post above the Western region expected you to get to the nearest passenger railhead and then get a taxi to your camping coach. Im glad the NER put a coach on behind a D20 hauled parcels much more civilised.
Can you imagine if Network Rail had camping coaches on freight only lines these days how many track bashers would be hiring them if they could be hauled by a class37 and Mk3 coach to reach holiday heaven.

[L&Y Man]

Update to the post above the Western region expected you to get to the nearest passenger railhead and then get a taxi to your camping coach. Im glad the NER put a coach on behind a D20 hauled parcels much more civilised.
Can you imagine if Network Rail had camping coaches on freight only lines these days how many track bashers would be hiring them if they could be hauled by a class37 and Mk3 coach to reach holiday heaven.

It was a series of camping coach holidays in the 1950s which caused me to be bitten by the railway bug, for which there is no cure.

What a pity they don't have them on branch lines now.

L&Y Man

[stembok]

On the Scarborough -Whitby line one or two passenger trains made special stops at stations closed to passengers, for the benefit of any camping coach passengers arriving or departing on summer Saturdays.

[Malcolm]

Three holidays in camping coaches.
Abergele 1963 and 1965.
Aberech 1964.
Great memories. I wish there still were as many as there used to be.

Malcolm

[PinzaC55]

I have a photo of me looking out of one of the camping coaches at Cloughton on the Scarborough to Whitby line on 1963 aged 3.The start of an unfortunate obsession with railways.

[Bryan]

There are still some around.
2 coaches available on the NYMR but booking up well in advance.
1 at Goathland and the other at Levisham.

[60041]

When Camping coaches were sited, some were on parts of the Network that had lost regular passenger services. Part of the deal when you rented a camping coach meant you had to travel by rail I know of one example where this happened at Wooler in Northumberland. The party travelled by a coach that was attached to the local parcels train from the nearest convenient railhead in this case Alnwick. Can anyone think of other locations where this may have happened and is there a list of locations served by Camping coaches.
The reason im asking is on another site i belong to Bygone Lines, a similar example to Wooler has turned up at the former Gresley Was Right station at Aberayron in Wales where the branch was closed to passengers but had a camping coach.

Many other stations on the Cornhill branch also had camping coaches, I know that there were ones at Akeld, Ilderton and Whittingham, no doubt there were more. In addition, Wooler station was used as a youth hostel.
I also think that there were camping coaches at some of the Border Counties Line stations, but here there was not the problem of transport, as passenger trains ran right up to closure.

I have often thought that a modern version of the camping coach would be popular, Network Rail still own some very attractive stations, places such as north and west Scotland, north Wales, Cornwall, north Yorkshire etc., surely it would not take too much effort to place a converted coach on a length of track or disused siding, pay a local girl a few quid to swill it out each saturday morning and wait for the money to roll in! Holiday cottages in this area can easily cost over £1000 pw in the high season, so a coach in a touristy area must be worth a few hundred.
If they were to put a camping coach at somewhere like Glenfinnan or Criccieth and throw in discounted travel for the week, I would be first in the queue.

[stembok]

The present owner of Cloughton station on the former Whitby-Scarborough line has a Camping Coach for let on the property, as well as a restaurant and B&B in the station buildings. The 1962 Derby built MK 1 has been there since 2004.

[Bryan]

The present owner of Cloughton station on the former Whitby-Scarborough line has a Camping Coach for let on the property, as well as a restaurant and B&B in the station buildings. The 1962 Derby built MK 1 has been there since 2004.

After our group relaid the track for him.
We also put the track back at Ebberston and Hawsker for the same sort of reason.

[Boris]

The Sidings Restaunt just North of York and the E.C.M.L. had a couple one with four poster bed . but not as camping but for overnight or more. A restraunt car was also on site with meals being served with a viewing room by the side of the main line.
Are these still there?

[Bullhead]

A couple of pictures I took at Llanfair PG in 1974:

[mr B]

The camping coaches seem to have escaped our good Doctor (been painted in blue & grey) , pity they didnt escape messers Pringle, like the NYMR pair I'm sure they would be fully booked.



Mr B, enjoying his 'Arriva freeB'

[v3man]

I seem to remember a Camping Coach at Kilmany on the North of Fife line from St.Fort to Newburgh. This line lost it's passenger service around 1948 and there were only three buses a day from Cupar or Newport. I would have been about 8 when the passenger service was withdrawn and I'm pretty sure the Camping Coach was there after that.

[Bulwell Hall]

I know this is an LNER site but the GWR has already been mentioned in this thread so I'll add this. There was also a Camp Coach at Bridport West Bay station from 1936 to 1939/40. West Bay was the terminus of the GWR branchline from Maiden Newton and had lost its passenger service in 1930 to competition from buses. Passenger services were cut back to the original terminus at Bridport and West Bay was served by a daily goods train - nominaly - in practice the goods train only ran a couple of times a week as required. Hirers of the Camp Coach made their way to Bridport station by rail as required and completed their journey to West Bay - about three miles - by taxi. What I don't know is who looked after the coach although the redundent station building was rented out to railway staff - a loco fireman lived there just before WW2 so perhaps his wife looked after it. Post cards on sale in West Bay into the 1950s showed the Camp Coach insitu even though it was removed at the outbreak of WW2 and never returned. The coach was only yards from the sea and would have been a delightfull place to stay.

Gerry