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Private Notes
It's the early 1960s and steam trains are giving way to diesel. Cecil Parkin arrives to take up his post as the new station master at the rural station of Hatley. He is pleased to find that the buffet manageress is May,an old flame of his, although she is now married to Jack, the porter. There is far worse news,however,when Cecil reads that the new transport minister,Beeching, intends to close down rural stations like Hatley as being uneconomical.
Pandemonium ensues at Hatley when a turkey belonging to the signalman, Harry Lambert, is seen running up the line.
Mr Parkin plans to make Hatley Station more sophisticated by setting up a new speaker system, over which the station announcements will be made. Mrs Schumann, who is in charge of the booking office, is chosen to make the announcements, but will her nerves get the better of her?
Everyone on the station has to help move Mr Parkin's furniture into the Station Master's house, while Mr Parkin looks forward to a relaxing bath. May confesses to Ethel Schumann about her involvement with Mr Parkin - how will Ethel break the news to Jack?
The arrival of a coffin at Hatley Station causes chaos.
When Harry Lambert's signal is seen to be on fire, Ethel, Jack and Wilfred attempt to put matters right, but it only leads to them causing a small fire on the platform. Mr Parkin mischievously buys a set of expensive lingerie for May, for the eighteen birthdays she has had since they last met. May thinks that the only thing she can do is give them back, but she wishes she didn't have to. Jack gets wind of the present when Vera Plumtree, the station cleaner, accidentally lets it slip. Jack demands to know what is happening, but Ethel spins a story and Jack is convinced it was innocent. He insists that May comes home with him for a bit of hanky-panky, and Wilfred and Ethel have to deal with an unexpected arrival at the station.
Mr Parkin's former flame, a tax-inspector named Edna Taylor, to whom he has been engaged for six years, finds a letter on his desk and is not pleased to discover that he no longer loves her. Meanwhile, the station attempt to stop Mr Parkin from discovering the pig they have procured for their Christmas dinner.
May Skinner wishes to find a job at a larger station, and earn some more money. She is offered a job at Loxley Station, and goes for an interview, but Jack and Cecil will stop at nothing to ensure that she does not get the job. Harry Lambert is also interested, because the man doing the interview, Frederick Foster, is coming to the station to sample May's buffet. Frederick is the man for whom Harry's wife left him, and now seems a good opportunity to get his revenge.
Gloria Skinner, Jack and May's daughter, and Wilfred Schumann, Ethel's son, cause chaos when their parents discover one morning that their beds have not been slept in. Mr Parkin annoys the staff when he arranges a medical examination for Jack, without his permission, and Ethel desperately seeks a date for the Saturday dance.
In the pilot episode of what would subsequently become the first part of a series, Cecil Parkin travels to the small country railway station of Hatley to take over as its station master. He is pleased to find that his old girl-friend May Blanchflower runs the station buffet, less so that she is now married to porter Jack Skinner. Certain aspects of the station's running leave a lot to be desired.
There is a crisis when May has no milk in her buffet, and the Minister of Transport decides to pay a visit. Mr Parkin has installed a "Position Closed" sign in the Booking Office, which Ethel has trouble getting to grips with. Mr Skinner sets out to get revenge on Mr Parkin when the latter suggests that he take the day off following his drastic over-reaction to Mr Parkin's solution to the milk problem.
There is confusion over whether Jack or Cecil is Gloria's real father.
Jack finds a suitcase full of hundreds of five-pound notes, and it seems that all his worries are over, until Percy the Guard tells the station staff some important news.
British Railways decide to issue Mr Parkin with a van, following his appointment as Station Master of three smaller stations in addition to Hatley. Unfortunately, he can't drive.
When Ralph, the trainee engine driver, decides to go on strike following an outrage, Gloria Skinner is non too pleased when she hears her mother's suggestion for persuading him to change his mind.
Ethel becomes completely smitten with Joe, an American airman, when she meets him by chance in a cafe and ends up going to the pictures with him. Wilfred is not too happy, and takes drastic action.
It's the Hatley Bowls Club Outing. Cecil Parkin is all dressed for the occasion, having posted Jack Skinner to stay behind on duty. However, Mr Orkindale insists that Jack comes instead. He lies that Jack is a star bowler, but really it is because he buys his round. Left on station duty while Jack takes his place on the outing, Mr Parkin soon puts aside his indignation, when he realises that May is on the station as well. Unfortunately, she's not so thrilled about it.
The Hatley staff have a busy day ahead when Lady Lawrence's chauffeur tells them that Lady Lawrence will be coming to the station that very evening to meet a very important guest - none other than Dr Beeching himself!
After a shaky training day on the "Flamin' new diesels", Arnold suspects he's going to get the push and takes drastic steps to make sure he doesn't. May and Jack are equally as worried about whether now is the right time for another baby.
Hatley station is 100 years old, and a celebration is planned including a photo and news article. Ralph drives the train to a successful end and the staff dress in period clothing, after which a great street party and a not so surprising reaction to the vegetarian food ends the series with a trumpeting farewell.
