Like other lines, the former Great Central Railway network saw closures during the first waves of railway retrenchment from the 1920s to the 1950s. The North Lindsey Light Railway lost its sparse passenger service from 13th July 1925. Other early passenger service withdrawals were Doncaster to Shireoaks via the joint line through Maltby from 2nd December 1929 and between Barnsley and Wakefield Westgate from 22nd September 1930. Passenger strains ceased on the Cheshire Lines Committee Southport line beyond Aintree in January 1952 and on the St. Helens Central branch in March that year. Barnsley to Sheffield services via the GC route ended in December 1953.
On the Lancashire, Derbyshire & East Coast Railway section, trains from Shirebrook North (renamed from Langwith Junction in 1924) to Sheffield were withdrawn in September 1939. Chesterfield Market Place to Shirebrook North closed from 3rd December 1951 owing to structural problems in Bolsover Tunnel and the truncated service eastwards to Lincoln ceased from 19th September 1955. Trains from Edwinstowe to Nottingham via Mansfield Central were withdrawn from 2nd January 1956.
1958: The LMR takes over
From 1st February 1958, as had been rumoured for some time, most of the GC main line – from south of Heath near Chesterfield to London Marylebone – was transferred from the Eastern Region of British Railways to the London Midland Region. In exchange the former Midland Railway lines in the Sheffield area passed to the ER. This was part of a process, in stages since nationalisation in 1948, to tidy up Regional boundaries and eliminate ‘penetrating lines’.
Change was soon to come: on the introduction of the winter timetable on 15th September 1958 the ER transferred the name ‘Master Cutler’ to a new Pullman service from Sheffield to London King’s Cross, calling only at Retford. Running on ER metals throughout, the 2hr 45min timing was the fastest ever between Sheffield and London, and 52/57min faster up/down than the GC train. Hauled by one of the new English Electric Type 4 diesel locomotives, the train made a fill-in trip midmorning from King’s Cross to Sheffield and mid-afternoon return. The GC train was to be withdrawn, but was reprieved following protests in particular from Nottingham businessmen. (Following a later decision to concentrate Sheffield services on the London Midland route, the ‘Master Cutler’ name was transferred to a Sheffield Midland–London St. Pancras train from 7th October 1968).
July 1958 saw the end of local services on the Fallowfield Loop line in South Manchester.
From 1956 the finances of British Railways took a downturn, with an increasing deficit on operations. Under pressure from Government, cuts in branch and secondary line timetables were imposed from 30th June 1958, and lines and stations threatened with closure.
1959: Service cuts - Oldham, Barnsley and Lincoln
Trains from Oldham Clegg Street to Guide Bridge via the Oldham, Ashburys & Guide Bridge line ceased from 4th May 1959.
In June 1959 passenger services ended between Penistone, Barnsley and Mexborough, journeys henceforth having to be made via Sheffield. Exceptionally, the 01.17 Manchester–Cleethorpes, operated primarily for newspaper and mail traffic, continued to run over this route until the end of trains via Woodhead in January 1970.
From 2nd November 1959 the Clarborough Junction (Retford) to Sykes Junction (Saxilby) line was closed owing to the condition of the bridge over the River Trent at Torksey. This line was used only by a sparse local service and the Liverpool–Harwich Parkeston Quay boat train; the latter was diverted via Gainsborough, a seven-mile detour. Three miles of the line from Clarborough Junction were reopened in 1967 to serve the new power station at Cottam by ‘merry-go-round’ coal trains until its closure in 2019.
From the same date (the start of the winter timetable, deferred from September owing to a printers’ strike) the York–Bournemouth train was curtailed to run from York to Banbury only, for onward connections, formed of a four-car diesel multiple unit. This arrangement applied for two winters but proved very unpopular, so the year-round through service was restored.
1960: London fast trains withdrawn
After months of rumours the LMR announced in May 1959 that daytime passenger services on the GC line between Marylebone and points north of Nottingham would be withdrawn after the summer and all but principal stations between Aylesbury
