single line working was introduced between Gorleston-on-Sea and Lowestoft North as the other line was needed to store wagons; normal service was restored in March 1948. Gorleston North was so badly damaged by enemy bombing that it was subsequently closed; the station was inconveniently sited in relation to the town and had suffered from bus and tram competition. The post-war timetable gave the line its poorest level of service than at any previous point: four trains ran from South Town and two from Yarmouth Beach. At this time, a two-coach unit was suitable for most workings except Summer Saturdays. Holiday excursions returned after the war and M&GN services to the East Midlands and Birmingham were popular. The 1951 summer timetable showed 14 trains MON-FRI (6 from Yarmouth Beach, 8 from South Town) and 19 on Saturday (10 from Yarmouth Beach or beyond and 9 from South Town) at irregular times. After the closure of the M&GN and the introduction of DMUs the Winter 1957-58 timetable showed 15 hourly departures from South Town between 7.29am and 9.29pm, rising to 20 in 1963-64 after the closure of the line to Beccles. By the final winter of 1969–70, this number had fallen to 12. Goods traffic The line did initially deal with substantial goods traffic: nearly 20,000 tons of coal a year and 5,000 tons annually of Lowestoft fish traffic, around 10% of the total generated. and Gorleston North stations became important coal depots, while potential for new traffic was created by the construction of a sugar beet shoot at Hopton-on-Sea in 1913. In the same year, a new 12-coach spur was installed at Gorleston-on-Sea to accommodate passengers for the Suffolk Show. A new station was opened at in 1914 to serve the adjacent golf club which paid the costs of construction. Fish traffic declined during the First World War, but overall goods traffic increased as a result of war requirements and the diversion to rail of traditionally seaborne traffic to Yarmouth, Lynn and Wisbech. The volume of goods carried by rail declined significantly in the post-war period due to agricultural and industrial depression, coupled with the growth of road competition to which the line was vulnerable due to the short distances over which traffic was conveyed. Between 1923 and 1936 the M&GN provided the goods service over the line which consisted of two or three trains per day together with fish trains.