south curve (platform 1A) to allow Lincoln-bound trains to clear platform 1 proper. 1960s change of layout The lower-level platforms (originally numbered 4 and 5, now re-numbered 3 and 4) were added when the flat crossing between the two lines was removed and replaced with a bridge in 1965 and the Sheffield-Gainsborough tracks lowered to pass beneath the main line. These works also necessitated the removal of the direct north-to-east curve, meaning that trains between Sheffield and Lincoln could no longer call at the original platforms without a reversal. The curve connecting the Sheffield to Lincoln line to the current Platform 2 still exists and is used by a limited number of trains each day. Use of station buildings Canteen and Rest Room The work of the WVS of Retford at the station is celebrated with a plaque on Platform 1, which states that between March 1940 and March 1946 they served 2,284,000 meals to HM and Allied Forces in the canteen and rest room. Buffet and First Class Dining Room The former Buffet and First Class Dining room on platform 1 are currently used as clubrooms by the Bassetlaw (North Notts) Railway Society. The club has installed an interesting display of local railway images in the windows of the rooms. Great North of England Cattle Market The Great Northern and the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway Companies put forward the idea of a ‘Great North of England Cattle Market’ next to the railway. By 1865, the Retford Cattle Company was holding markets on a site to the east of West Carr Road and north of the railway line. There was a public house next to this known as The Cattle Market or Market Hotel (building still exists). Accidents and incidents On 13 February 1923 - an express passenger train overran signals and was in a rear-end collision with a goods train. Three people were killed. 13 August 2014 - man was killed after being struck by a train. 21 February 2019 - a 45-year-old woman died after being struck by a train in Retford. References in popular culture Bill Bryson comments of Retford station, in his book Notes from a Small Island, that it is shown on railway maps in a typeface (and large filled circle graphic) marking it as equivalent to much more notable cities in northern England, and he therefore deemed it worth a visit. Michael Palin