Wednesday, February 17, 2021

THE NEXT TRAIN TO ARRIVE AT PLATFORM ONE IN BRIGG WILL BE...


A poster on Brigg railway station today is promoting train trips to Cleethorpes - even though the passenger service from our town to the resort is currently suspended until further notice due to factors connected with the Coronavirus emergency.
 


 

We should point out that there is a small notice explaining the suspension, but the nostalgic British Railways Eastern Region poster remains on display.
 

 


It's eye-catching and one of a number commissioned from various artists which were used by BR in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s with the worthy aim of getting people to take trains to resorts, beauty spots and historic towns and cities on its network.
As Brigg station lost its staff more than 50 years ago and there's no provision today for loud speaker or digital information to be relayed to passengers waiting on the platforms, we'd better hope that would-be travellers read the suspension message within the glass case near the entrance. Otherwise they will have a very long wait for the next train to arrive!
This reminds us of a Monday night some years ago when he walked the dog as far as the railway station and spotted a man on platform two (over the footbridge). He had delivered a new car to Brigg and was awaiting a train back to South Yorkshire where he lived. We had to tell him there would be no Sheffield-bound trains picking up in Brigg for five days! He had checked to see Brigg had a station before getting behind the wheel to come here but had no idea trains only called on Saturdays.
Also on display at Brigg station is a helpful map showing all the lines served by the Northern train provider. These are numerous but only a couple are marked 'Infrequent Service' - one of which is Sheffield to Cleethorpes via Brigg, Kirton Lindsey and Barnetby! A small section of this map can be seen below.