May 2025 Steam Days **20 PAGE FREE PREVIEW** by Mortons Media Group Ltd

SEEKINGOUT‘BRIGHTON’STEAM

Cover: Billinton’sLB&SC RE4r adia l0 -6 -2Ts had dwindled from 70 enginestoeight by summer 1962 ,wit ha llocationevenlys plit between theSout hern Region’s Westerna nd Cent ra l divisions .Weather-wornbut presenta ble, No.32503 restsoutside Brighton shed ,by nowa lsohometot he ot herCentr al Division examples andfromwhere they were found on loca lwork, in theNewhavenfreight ya rds andont he oddpassenger outing to Horsha m, substituting fora nIvatt 2MT. Geof fW Sharpe

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No 429 May2025

4Trains

ofThought

5Pull &push ser vices:

LMS evolution andLMR inheritance

Although the basis forLMS motor train operation was inherited, JohnMacnab and EricStuar t consider thestor yoncethe former Midland Rail wayvacuum system was adopted, whichincludes ne wlocos,stockand routes,BRinter-regional changes,and the end of London Midland pull & push duties in 1965.

19 Rail way200 –ﬁrst thoughts

An event to open minds to the stor yofour rail ways likenever bef ore, AndrewKennedy looks at thejourney made over 200 years,atthe oppor tunities that areongoing to celebrate the stor yofthe moder nrail way, and howtobepar tofthis grandcelebration.

26 Pilg rimage to Beattock: Spottingin1954 and 1963

Astretchofthe West Coast main linewith near-legendar ystatus,itisthe contrasting sights of speedingCoronation Paciﬁcs and the slog of bank ing work that pepper thememories of Douglas McNaught as he recalls how famil yvisits to Beattockled to manydayswitnessing steam on the bank.

40 Subscriptions

43 Seek ing out ‘Brighton ’steam Li ving on the Easter nDivision of the Souther nRegion, Utrick WR Casebour ne tells of howhis wish to witness former LB&SCR steam culminated in twoBrighton lineshed bashes of Jul y1962.

53 Shrewsbur yinthe 1950s: Agoodsappraisal

With anew Walcot MarshallingYardplanned, Brian Lewis describes his role in the evaluation of Shre wsbury ’s goods operationsin1956 and includes some other rail wayacti vities ser vingthe town and its vicinityatthat time.

Next month…

SummerSaturdayNor th Walescoast

trafﬁc:1954-63

GWRSaint No.2935 Caynham Cour t Haughley:A busyGreat Eastern junction

USA tank No.30064 andits buddies

Glasgow northsidesuburbansteam in colour

On sale Thursday, May15, 2025

TR AINS of thought

Followingon from thefront coverand contents listingeachmonth,itseems to me that the turn of thepagetoTrainsofToughtfndsthe welcome to step into each newissue,and of late Ihavetendedtotalkabout oneortwo features,but always thestrengthisthe sum of parts. TistimearoundIwonder if ever ysinglearticle is relatedbyone common thread –Railway200. It hasa featureofits ownand it includes perhapsa frst for SteamDays in that one photograph wastaken lessthanaweekbeforegoing to press– ournewstends to be of 1968 and earlier –and that is thelocomotiveline-upatHopetownDarlingtonthatprovides ‘early doors’ to theunfoldingyearofeventstocelebrate all that is thecreationofthe modernrailway by recognisingthe Stockton &DarlingtonRailway’s opening, 200 yearsago this comingSeptember Abouttoreceive theirpublicasIwrite this,the threelocomotives centre stage– Penydarren, SteamElephant and Locomotion – lead us in to 1825, so thegathering is agrand waytoget us all in themoodfor what is ahead. Actually,Ireallylikethe breadthofwhatliesahead in terms of events, large andsmall,and plenty of interaction with communities,and thus ourfeature is an appreciation of today’srailway throughthe mindset that therailway,asanentity, has come a long waytoget to here.Inevery elementthere hasbeenevolution– spread of thenetwork (and contraction in light of meetingcurrent andfutureneeds), signalling, infrastructure, locomotives andstock,operations, andeventhe waythe public has chosen to travel,ornot,and then there is safety,and even thestory of howthe railway‘sellsitself,’orhow aticketispurchased…orat leastthatisone wayoflooking at it all. Istumbledoveravideoonthe webthathad an American exclaiming: “What, theBritish invented trains!” Tere arefew single inventions that have brought aboutsuchtransformation, here andaroundthe world.

So,tomymindwehavetraction evolutionacrossthismagazine, in thecaseofthe Brighton lines, theadvance of outersuburban electrifcationbyboththe LB&SCR andSouthernRailway ledtofar fewerlocomotives on passengerwork, so that by 1962, at thecoreofUtrickCasebourne’s article, therewereslimpickingstobefound.Asfor Beattock,well, theneedfor banking locomotiveshas alonghistory,not leastonthatclimb as it is of such long-termAnglo-Scottish importance,opening as it did in theRailway Maniaofthe mid to late 1840s,but as dieselsand then electricsbecamemorepowerful, such things became farlesscommon. Tenthere is the spotlighton Shrewsbur yin1956 andthe realisationthatinherited traditional yardsinthe area mightbetterbereplacedtomakethe railwaymoreefcient, andlastbut notleast we have the conclusionofthe three-partworkonLMS andLMR pull &pushser vicesbyEricStuartand John Macnab,and this very much canberelated to themodernrailway,ofcourse.

Talk aboutbeing aheadofhis time,itwas as long agoas1847 when WilliamBridges Adams actedonthe realisationthata fxed formationtrain wasthe wayfor ward,creatingthe Fairfeld steamcarriage. So,while themotor trains in this issueof SteamDays were notthe frst step to ‘self-shuntingcarriages’(atongue-in-cheek phaseoncecoinedbya friendashewatched adiesel unit)assteam railmotors were ahead, it becomesclear that when theBritish speed record-holder of HS1 hasthe same operationalpractice at itscore–convenience throughthe abilitytodrive from either end, andquickturn-arounds –thatthere is much more commonalitythanwemight at frst perceive as we look to enjoythe full gamutofwhatRailway 200 represents

Andrew Kennedy

St andheretoday,nea rAuchencastle, about1½miles into thenor thboundclimb to Beat tock Summit ,a nd aWestCoa st main line tr ainwillglide by ef fort lessly,suchist he abilit yofmodernt raction. Impressive as it is that Beat tock ha sbeen‘ fattened ,’ Ifeelsuret hatver ymanyofuswould wish that we couldbewatchingt hispar ticula rJuly30, 1960,scene live ,where all- outactionisongoing to gett he 9. 50 am Euston -A berdeenser vice to Beat tock Summit .The tr ainengineisnot known, butt he ba nker from Beat tock st ationfor thedur ationoft he climbisa nLMS er aFairburn2 -6 -4T. No.42205 proved to be long -ser ving in this role ,moret ha neight year soft hiss pecifc ha rdcore action coming to an endint he fnal days of 1962 ,its role served andcareerover. WAC Smit h/ Tr ansport Treasury

Pull &push ser vices –

LMS evolution andLMR inheritance

Although the basis forLMS motor train operation wasinher ited, John Macnab and Eric Stuart consider the stor yonce theformer Midland Railwayvacuum system wasadopted, whic hinc luded new locomotives and stock,some new routes ,BRinter-regionallossesand gains, and ultimately concludes with the end of London Midland Region pull &push duties in 1965.

Aswehavealready seen in ourpreceding twoarticles –LMS/LMR pull &push services: an introduction (SteamDays, December2024), andPull &push: theLMS inheritance(SteamDays,February2025) –there aremanyfacets to such operationswithin the London,Midland &ScottishRailway story. Such canbetracedbackto1906withthe Midland Railway, andsoonaferand very widely,bythe London &North WesternRailway,and then theLancashire&YorkshireRailway wasinthe midst of introducingmotor trains just as the Grouping wasauthorisedand it wasabsorbedby theL&NWR.Inanutshell, thesethree companies all contributedtoLMS motortrain varietyat 1923 andovertimethatinheritance wasevolved and, of course,streamlined throughthe natural attritionofolder locomotivesand stock. Te majority of pull &pushtrainson theLMS, andbyits naturalBritish Railways successorin Englandand Wales, theLondon MidlandRegion(LMR), consistedtwo coaches,

ThecrewofIvatt 2MT2 -6 -2TNo. 41211havelikelyrecentlya rrived on the12.10 pm motort rain from Liverpool(Lime St reet)a nd ta ke wateratWarring tonArpleyLow Levelinsummer1961. A spor adic serviceovert he Ditton Junction to TimperleyJunctionlinewas maintained by enginesa nd motort rain sets ba sedatt he sub - shed at Wa rrington Ar pley.Timed to matchshift work patterns anda lsoS aturdaysocia lrequirements, they aredif fculttosumma rise butgener ally ra nbet ween Liverpool(Lime St reet)a nd Ma nchester (OxfordRoad),but with afew west boundt rainsturning roundatDit tonJunctiona nd ot hers st ar ting from or terminatinghereatWarring tonBankQuay LowLevel.Successivepublictimet ablesindicatet hatt he servicewas withdr awn, only to redirect theunsus pectingpassenger to anot herpagewhere BR apologetically admitted that it wa sstill runninga nd displayedt he timeta ble, so it wa sclearly lineduptogoalongtimebeforeclosure wa s actually achieved from September10, 1962 ! LesFifootCollection/Colour-R ail.com/30 0152

onebeinga drivingtrailer with luggage accommodation. Many were thirdclass only (makingthemeasiertospotintimetables), butothersincludedfrstclass accommodation. Afew consisteda singlevehicle,and fewer stillwereofthree coaches– specifc to the latter arethe Romford-Upminster,BletchleyBedford, Liverpool(Lime Street)-Warrington (BankQuay)-Manchester(Oxford Road),and theWelsh Dragonser vices –withver yfew consisting four coaches, twooneitherside of thelocomotive, as with theprewarNorth Wales coastalser vice andthe Styallinelocal trains,for example.Also, four-car trains ran on theDelph branch,and betweenStHelens andWarrington(andpossiblyelsewhere) on Saturdays, when extratrafc wouldbe expectedfor shoppingtrips, football, andother leisureactivities; three-coachformationswere also only forstrengthening on certain trains on some lines.

Onespecifc serviceinSouth Lancashire ofersacuriosity in that it hauled asecond two-coachset in onedirection each weekday morning, returninginthe evening. As thesewere twosingle-trips, thesecondunitwas notoperated in pull &pushmodebut merely coupledtothe rear of thetrain –thismeant that in onedirection

of travel,the cabofthe second unitwould be attached to either thelocomotiveorthe cabofthe basic unit; it wasa highlyunusual situation. If a supplementary vehicle or vehicles (coach, vanor goodswagon/s)neededtobeconveyedbypull &pushtrains, they wouldhavetobecoupled at therear, involvingsomeshuntingenroute or at termini; theLMS/LMR hadnomotor-ftted luggagevansasfound on theSouthern.

Accordingtogenerallyunderstoodpractice, themaximum number of vehiclespermitted fora pull &pushtrain that wasoperatedpneumatically wassix, compared with four with amechanical rodsystem. Tiswas done by having threevehicles on each side of thelocomotive; it wastwo for mechanical trains.Tis maximum formation wasveryrare, four beingthe most seen regularly, andeventhatwas only on afew routes, as already stated.However,in1957 therewas alarge Boy ScoutJamboreeinSuttonPark, in what is now theWestMidlands. Trains of four-coaches were photographed in thearea, with allvehicles at oneend of thelocomotive, andbeing propelled. Tisisquite remarkable,inviewofthe generally considered practice,yet surely cannot have happened withoutthe connivance– notjust‘blindeyeturning’–ofhigherauthority.Interestingly,the LMS document titled Instructions Respecting the

WorkingofRailMotorsand MotorTrainsdoes statethatthe maximum number of ‘speciallyftted coachesthatmay be attached at theleadingend of theengine’ is four,‘exceptbythe authorityofthe Chief Operating Manager.’Tis wouldindicate that therewas,infact, no laid down maximum of vehiclesthatcould be pushed,whichmustsurely have been acceptedbythe BoardofTrade as it generallyhad aviewonsuchthings. Nonetheless, it is widely understoodthatthree propelled coacheswas themaximum considered acceptable. Anyreaderwho canthrow furtherlight on this phenomenon,pleasewrite viathe editor

pe of ra il moto rs an dm ot or tr ai ns .A si de fr om th eo bv io us op er at ingp roce du re sa nd pr ot ocol ,m any op er at ed over ru ra lo rlig ht ly us ed li ne s wh er et he gu ar dw as al so re sp on si bl efor ticket satu ns ta ffed ha lt sa nd fo rlig ht inga nd ext ingu is hi ng pl at fo rm lighti ng ,s ot he re wa s mu ch to ta ke in . RNS mi th Co ll ec tion

Apermitted butrareoccurrenceofafourcoachmotor trainatStreetley on what is likely to be aWalsall to Birmingham (New Street) serviceinabout 1960.The line frequently saw additional traf fc to events in Sutton Park and thestrengthenedser vice mayberelated to local traf fc demandsonthe day. Adding an additional through-pipedcoach to at ypical two- coachpull& push workingwas commonplace butstrengthening to four-coaches wasmoreoften than notachieved by theengine beingmarshalledinthe middle of apairofsets. Communicationbet ween the train- crew wasparamount ,sointhiscaselocal BR management must have been satisfed that stationstops andsignalsightingcould be handled adequately WA Camwell/SLSCollection

LMS/LMR pull &push(motor)-ftted locomotives

Duetotheir longevityintothe BritishRailways era, some earlier pull &pushlocos do appear in this stor y, butfor nowweconsider the four newLMS typeswithexamplessoftted, andalsothe lone BR-designed example that followed.AsLMS classesbecameavailable, they couldtakeoverfrompre-Groupingtypes, butinitially, only to alimitedextent.

Stanier2P0-4-4Ts

Tese worked many trains that hadbeenthe duties of theex-Midland RailwayJohnson locomotivesofthe same wheelarrangement However, therewereonly10ofthisnew type, so they made acomparatively smallimpression, even though they were all pull &push-ftted Teir locationsin1952 were as follows:

41900-04 11E Lancaster

41905-07 9A Longsight

41908/09 1C Watford

Te locos at Lancasterwereessentially theretoreplace an electric service,briefy, with motor-worked trains used on theMorecambe linewhile it wasrenewed –the Lancaster, Morecambe &Heysham lineofthe Midland Railwaywas electrifedat6600v 25hz AC in 1908, butthe equipment waslife-expired by 1950. Afer

Th eM id la nd Ra il way’sv ac uu mm ot or tr ai ne qu ip me nt wa su ni ve rs ally ad op te dbyt he LM Si nt he late 1920 sa nd th eL &N WR me ch an ic al syst em ph as ed ou t. Ex is ti ng L& NW Ra nd L&YR engi ne swer ef tt ed with th ev ac uu me qu ip me nt an dc ar ri ages co nver te d, bu teye st ur ne dt ot he pr ov is io n of as ta nd ar df ee t–t he fr st moto r- ft te dS ta nier 2P 0- 4- 4Tse nt er ed se rv iceatt he en dof1932a nd we re cl ea rl yconce ived as an up date dver sion of th eM RJ oh ns on 1P 0- 4- 4Ts, bu tt he ty pe wa sn ot pe rp et uate da ft er th ei niti al batc hof10. Th eb lo ss om is ou tatS tA lb an sa sS ta nier 0- 4- 4T No.419 08 ap pr oa ch es th eS t Al ba ns (A bb ey)t er mi nu sw it ha pu ll &p us ht ra in fr om Watfor dJ unct io no nA pr il 30 ,1955. At th is time th ef ee tw as allocate datWat fo rd Ju nc tion sh ed (t wo engi ne s),R yc roft an dR ug by in th eM id la nd s, an di nt he No rt hWes t. Howeve r, th eWat fo rd Ju nc tion pa ir so on de se rt ed th ec ap it al ,w it ht hi se ng in egoi ng to Lo ng sighta nd No.419 09 to Wa rw ic ki nS ep te mb er 1955;a na ll oc at io nl at er re tu rn ed wh en No.419 01 ca me so ut hi nM arch 1958 . AE Be nn et t/ Tr an sp or tTre asur y

Theoverheadwires areswitchedoff andout of useatL anca ster (Green Ayre)a ssteam -worked motort rainssubstitutefor theelect ricser vice while it wa srenewed betweenL anca ster (Castle),Morecambe Promenadea nd Heysha m. St anier2P0 -4 -4TNo. 41904isworking theintensive 30 - minute servicewhich included arever sa lherea nd at Moreca mbe, thedateunrecordedbut theperiodofoperation wa searly 1951 to thesummerof1953. Af tert he electric servicereturned, apairoft hese enginescontinued to be allocatedherefor theL anca ster- Moreca mbeser vice viaBareL ane, which wa snot motor-worked ,but in common with allbut onememberoft he class, thesewerewit hdrawn en ma ss in November 1959 Rail -Online

evaluating French railwaypractice,BRdecided to usethe linetotestthe grid frequency of 50hz atthe same voltage, butwithaviewtouplifing thisto25kvwhenappliedelsewhere if it proved successful.Aconsequence wasthe need to maintain aservice whilethe linesideapparatus wasupgradedand former L&NWR electric units once used on thewithdrawn Willesden to Earls Courtservice were convertedfromfourthrailDC to overhead catenary AC.Interms of needingto

WatfordJunctionshedprovidedengineand motorsetsfor theStAlbansand Stanmore branches:Fowler3P2-6 -2TNo. 40020waits in theloopplatformatHarrow& Wealdstone before departingwiththe pull &pushtoBelmont on April20, 1959.The Stanmore branch passengerser vice wascurtailed at Belmontfrom September15, 1952 ,and it eventually went over to diesel operationbeforeclosure in 1964.While allthe Stanier2P0 - 4 - 4Tsweremotor-fttedfrom theoutset, theinstallationofthisequipment to the70Fowler3P2-6 -2Ts deliveredtwo years earlierwas done retrospectively, with only asmall number receivingthe kit–20ofthe classwere fttedwithcondensingapparatus forworking theMidland’s WidenedLinestoMoorgate, so they were acommonsight in London,but none of thosereceivedpull-push gear,and only afew of theengines operatingonthe WesternSection outofEustonweremotor-ftted. MJ Reade/ Colour-Rail.com/92167

coverthe service in theshort-termtransitional period,the result wasthe transfer of pull &pushequippedStanier 2P 0-4-4TsNos.41900 and 41902-04 to Lancaster’sGreen Ayre shed in July 1950, to join No.41901 whichhad been theresince 1948. Te motor-trainservice operatedwhile the

Stockpor t(Edgeley) washometoStanier LM S2P0 -4 -4Ts Nos. 1905,1906and 1907 at Nationalisationin1948, buttheysoonmoved to Longsightdepot wherethe enginesfound work forthe next decade on motortrainsand carriage pilotduties. Areminderoftheir original conception came in February 1954,however, when No.41905 movedthe shor tdistanceto Buxton to replaceMidland 1P 0- 4- 4Tsonthe pull &pushser vice betweenthere andMiller’s Dale.The engine seemswellstocked with coal andattractsacrowd as thecrewcoupleupto themotor setinthe Midlandstation at Buxton in 1954.The classwas well spread at this time andwas active elsewhereinand around Rugby, Crewe, Lancaster, Manchester andatWat ford. Colour-Rail.com/302191

electric trains were outofuse from February 12, 1951, anduntil their return on August 17, 1953. Te otherallocations were more prosaic, with theLongsightexamples used on Manchester southtrains, andthose at Watford on theStanmoreand St Albans branches.

Fowler 3P 2-6-2Ts

Afew of theseFowler 3P engines were fttedfor pull &pushoperation andworkeda number of services northofLondon, workingfrom Watford, plus around Oldham,the latter heading

With ba rely adozen Fowler 3P 2- 6-2Tsmotor- ft tedt heir oper ationa la reawas ea sily defned –six were allocatedtoLees(Oldham)depot andwere to be foundont he Oldham (Clegg St reet)toDelph service, theso - ca lled ‘Delph Donkey.’ Thelinewas double -tr ackfromOldha m, pa st theengine shed at Lees andt hent hrough LydgatetunneltoGreenfeld on thet ra ns - PennineDig gleroute ,which it tr aver sedfor ashort dist ance before gaining thesingle -tr ackbra nchtoDelph.Fowler3P2 -6 -2TNo. 40 057returns from Delpha nd gets away from Measurements Ha lt propelling themotor set to Oldham (Clegg St reet)int he ea rly1950s .Thisser vice wa sa nearly post wa rvictimoft he motorbus anddes pite theobvious usefulness of themain line link at leastbet ween Oldham andGreenfeld ,passenger tr ains ceased entirely from May2 ,1955. In themonthsbeforeclosure ,BR - designed 2MT 2- 6-2Tsdis placed theFowlert anks ,which were then beingloa nedtot he Nort hE astern Region. Kennet hField/R ailArchive Stephenson

to such places as Delphand basedatLeesshed. Te followingwererecordedas having been motor-fttedatleast forsomepartof their careers –Nos. 40010, 40012, 40017, 40020, 40043, 40056, 40057, 40059-61 and40068.

Dispositionsin1952 includedNos. 40010, 40020 and40043 at Watford–thisshedwould need at leastthree locos forthe Belmont(one loco) andStAlbans(twolocos) branches,so with apairofmotor-ftted Stanier 2P0-4-4Ts andanIvatt 2MT 2-6-2T (No. 41220) also on thebooks, theturns were well covered, but

Locomotive transfersasaresultofregional boundary changeswerefrequentinthe 1950sbut thetransferof‘foreign’ enginestoanother region were notsocommon. From August 1954,Fowler 3P 2- 6-2Tsoperating from Oldham’s Lees depot were loaned to theNorth EasternRegionatHull, ostensibly to assist ageing indigenous engines on localpush-pull duties.Atthe same time,several newlyassembled sets of modern stockwere draftedin, as seen here –notethe ‘HullPush’ (& Pull?) on theend of theset beingpropelled by former Lees-allocatedFowler2-6 -2TNo. 40059 as it pauses at Hessle with aser vice to Brough from Hull (Paragon). Theloanwas relatively short; allsix returnedtothe LMRbythe endof 1956. NevilleStead Collection/Transport Treasury

if necessar yNo. 40017 wasatWillesden and presumably couldbecalledon.

Replacedbynewly-built Ivatt2-6-2TsatLees (Oldham) depot,LMS Fowler 2-6-2T No.40056 wasthe frst of theclass despatchedonloantothe

NorthEastern Region at Hull (Botanic Gardens) shedinAugust 1954, followed by Nos. 40012, 40056/57 and40059-61, to provide assistance to theageingex-North EasternRailway Worsdell G5 0-4-4Tsand IvattGreat Northern Railway

nger se rv ices on th efor me rM Rlin eb et we en Sw an se a(St Th om as)a nd Br yn

,195

re move da cr os st ow n. Fowl er ‘J inty ’3F0 -6 -0TN o. 47481t akes in th es ea aira sitp as se sSwa ns ea Bay2 sign al boxw it hap ull - &p us ht ra in fr om Sw an se a( Vict or ia)t oPonta rd ul ai s in th es pr ingof195 8. On th el ef t, th e‘ Mu mb le sTra in’s ti ll ha dn ea rl yt wo ye ar s’ op er at io ns le ft .W hi le th eB Rlin ei nv ieww as so on

th eWes te rn Region af te rN at io na li sation ,itw as n’tu nt il th ec lo su re of Sw an se a’sPax to nS tr ee

nAug

an sfer re dt

t31, 1959,t hatt he LM Sh egem

wa sb ro ke na nd GW Ra ut o - wo rked tr ai ns re pl aced th el as t‘ Ji nt ie s,’N os .47478 an d47479,w hich we re re tu rn ed to th eL MR Hu wD anie l

C124-4-2Tsonlocal motortrain duties. Several modernthree-coachsetswereassembled to replace pre-Grouping stockand sawuse when No.40057 launched thenew order with a Bridlington lineservice outofHull(Paragon) stationonSunday, September26, 1954.

Te public were no doubtsatisfedbythe new ride,but theengines were notwell-receivedby crewsand whiletheywerenot idle,theyfound little consistent regularmotor trainemployment, being used in andaroundexistingmotor-ftted engines rather than supplantingthem. Withdrawal of the former Hull &Barnsleypassengerservice from Hull to SouthHessleinAugust 1955 reducedmotor trainworking in theareaand Nos. 40012 and40060 were transferredtoBridlington in May1956. Te frst diesel units startedarriving in theareainlate summer,and all of theFowler tankshad returned to theLondonMidland Region by theend of the year as dieselisationclaimed more victims.

Fowler

3F ‘Jinty ’0-6-0Ts

Some of thesesix-coupledtankengines were allocated to theSwansea area formotor train

Theline from Nort ha mptontoWellingborough andt he br anch from thereto Higham Ferrer s were pull &pushworked, as wa st he Midland line from Nort ha mptontoBedford ,a nd from theremotor-work ingextendedtoHitchin on theE astCoa st main line .All were ea rly recipients of thenew Ivat t2 -6 -2Ts as they ca me outoft he work sint he 1940 s. With just asingle coach, Ivat t2 MT No.41271 slowstocollect thesingle - line tokenatBedford (StJohns)on aBedford (M idla nd)toHitchin pull &push serviceonJune2 ,1961. BR optedtoreplace this arra ngementwit ha 4-wheelr ailbus in 1958 , buta ny failureoft he unit inva riably ledtot he oldorder beingwheeled out, as here ,tos ave theday.The fatcrossingint he foreground is with theVar sity line ,which featured pull & push work ingbet ween Bedford(St Johns) and Bletchley. MJFox /R ailArchive Stephenson

operation,their initial home beingUpper Bank shedtoworkfromSwansea (StTomas), the former MidlandRailway terminus,tosuch destinationsasBrynamman (East).Sadly, passengeroperationsonthe Midland’sSwansea Vale lineceasedinlateSeptember 1950, and whilestill relatively young–these engines datedfrom1927-31 –the opportunity was takento redeploythemacrosstown. Teytook over from long-in-the-tooth ex-L&NWRWebb 0-6-2T Coal Tanksonser vices from Swansea (Victoria), primarilythrough to Pontardulais, thus in thecourseoftheir careerstheywere

worked by both ex-Midland mentothe east of Swanseaand former ‘North Western’ men on itswestside.Te‘Jinties’ that were motorfttedwereNos. 47477-81, plus Nos. 47655 and 47681.

Ivatt2Pand BR Standard 2MT 2-6-2Ts Te fnal LMS designtobepull&push-ftted wasthe Ivatt2-6-2T.Introducedin1946, thewell-known ‘MickeyMouse’typetook over many services, as didthe similarBR Standard loco in the84000 series. Te ‘old order’could stillbeseeninthe early1950s,

Seve ra le x- LM Slin es in So ut hWal es em pl oyed pu ll &p us

butthe Class2stookoverasquicklyasthey lef theworks! Te LMStype, andthenthe Standard version, became almost theuniversal powerfor pull &pushtrainsonthe London MidlandRegion, from Leighton Buzzard to Lancashire, into NorthWales, andinthe south andEastMidlands. Te motor-fttedIvatt 2MT 2-6-2Tsequippedfromthe outset were Nos. 41210-29, 41270-89 and41320-29, while all 30 of the84000 series,Nos. 84000-29, were ftted. Te dispositionsofIvatt pull &push 2-6-2Tsasat1952 is shownbelow :

41210-16 10D Plodder Lane (Bolton)

41217 11B Barrow

41218/19 2E Northampton

41220 1C Watford

41221 11B Barrow

41222 1E Bletchley

41223 6H Bangor

41224 6K Rhyl

41225 3B Bushbury

41226 3C Walsall

41227/28 2C Warwick

41229 5A CreweNorth

41270-72 15D Bedford

41273/74 20C Royston

41275 1E Bletchley

41276 6K Rhyl

41277 15A Wellingborough 41278 2A Rugby 41279 3C Walsall 41280-82 24F Fleetwood 41283/84 27B Aintree

41285/86 10E Sutton Oak 41287 6H Bangor

41288/89 10E Sutton Oak 41320 5A CreweNorth

ul y1951, ca llingatTor ve ro naFox fe ld to Co ni st on se rv ice, on ly As pi na ll 10 08 2- 4-2T No.5 0643 wa ss ti ll at Ba rr ow,p re su ma bl ya ct inga s sp ar e; it wo ul ds ee fur th er se rv icea ft er movi ng to Bo lt on’s Pl od de rL an es he di nO ct ob er 1951. Pursey CS hort /Col our- Rail .com /B RM1410

BR St an da rd 2MT2 - 6-2T No.8 40 09 on aC ud wo rt ht oB ar ns ley(Co ur tH ou se)p ull&p us h se rv icei sd wa rfed by th el an ds ca pe as it navigate st he sp oi lt ip sofB ar ns leyM ai nCollier yo n Ap ri l2 0, 1955 .The engi ne wa sd eliver ed newt on ea rbyR oyst on sh ed in Se pt em be r1953a nd pr ov id es ad ra maticcontr as tt ot he Ed wa rd ia nB ai n - de sign ed MR moto r - se t, th ef rs tveh ic le of wh ic hi su ni qu en on - co rr id or co mp os it eN o. M17998 Mb ui lt to di ag ra mM40 .The se rv ice pr ov id ed alin kt ot ra in so nt he Mi dl an dm ai nlin e, bu tr eg io na lb ou nd ar yc ha nges sawit‘move’ fr om th eL MR to th eN or th Ea st er nR eg io ni n1957a nd th ei nt ro du ct io nofan ew dies el se rv ice on th efor me rL &Y Rlin eb et we en Ba rn sl ey (E xc ha nge) an dWakef el d, No rm anto na nd Le ed s soaked up mu ch of th eb us in es s, wh ic hl ed to th ew it hd rawa loft hi ss er vice on Ju ne 6, 1958 . PJ Ly nc h/ Kidd er mi ns te rR ailw ay Mu se um

Te dispositionsofthe BR Standard 84X XX series in 1956 were:

84000 6E Wrexham

84001/02 6D Chester(Northgate)

84003/04 6E Wrexham

84005 15D Bedford

84006-08 17B Burton

84009 20C Royston

84010 26E Lees

84011/12 27A Bank Hall

84013/14 26E Lees

84015-18 24F Fleetwood

84019 26E Lees

Nos. 84020-29 were still to be deliveredin 1956, butin1959 they were allallocated to the Southern Region in Kent,withNos. 84020-24 at Ashford(74A), andNos. 84025-29 at Ramsgate (74B). Te BR Standard versionofthe 2-6-2Ts were possibly sent to theSouthernRegion becauseoftheir abilitytoworkpush-pulltrains –itwas in LMS territorywhere thetermpull &pushwas used –itmay have been thought that such ftting shouldmakethemusefulto replace ageinglocomotives there. However, the SR push-pull systemwas diferent(compressedair) from thetypeftted to thelocomotives (vacuum) –the mismatch mayaccountfor their fairly rapiddespatch to theLMR,where they were used on pull &pushwork.

On theSouthern, they were replaced by theLMS version, whichwas largely not motor-ftted. Of course,theycould have been retro-ftted with suitable gear,and therewere some instances wherepull &pushequipment was removed, such as on No.41270, and presumably addedtoanother locomotiveif such an expense wasjustifableinlight of its allocationand possible use.

Asnapshotofthe situationinthe early 1950s

Te situationinabout 1950-52 is of interest,as therewas stillrollingstock of thepre-Grouping era in operation,althoughitwas working alongside thenew rollingstock,while the‘Mickey Mouse’ tankswerefastchangingoverasmotive power. Whilethe demise of pre-Grouping locomotivesonmotor workings in theperiod canfrequentlybelaidatthe door of theIvatt 2MT 2-6-2Ts, therewereother factorsatplay. Convenientfor short,intensive services, the introduction of pull-pushworking wasinitself ofen theresultofa need to reduce operating costs on marginal services, wherethere was

On theL &N WR main line betweenLiver pool andWigan (Nor th Western),until 1951 St Helens (S hawStreet) st ationwas at the hear tofmotor tr ainworking to Rainford Junction ,Widnes(Sout h) andapassenger link to St Helens Junction on theLiver pool & Ma nchester Railway. Thelat tert wo shared theroute pa st Sutton Oa kenginesheda nd as fa ra sSut tonOak Junction ,where theirpat hs sepa rated. Locatedin - betweenwas Sutton Oa k st ationwhere an L&NW RWebb1P2 -4 -2Tcalls with asouthboundpull&pusht rain in 1947,to either Widnes (South)ortowards St Helens Junction.The st atus quoherea nd on the Skelmersda le line wa sa bout to change ,wit h servicewit hdrawa ls andt he arriva lofapairof theubiquitousIvatt 2- 6-2TsatSut tonOak shed in December 1950. WA Camwell/SL SCollection

Wiga

also now, very ofen, acompeting motor-bus. Te 1947 TransportAct nationalised public transportand whilethiswas swifly reversed for road transportbythe incomingConservative government in 1950, thedie wasalready cast for rail service withdrawals.Areportinthe February 1950 editionof Te RailwayObserver gave some insight into operationsinsouth Lancashire. Citing four formations,onlyone of thesewas not completelyofpre-Groupingorigin:

Ormskirk-RainfordJunction

No.10648: Ex-L&YR Aspinall 2-4-2T (Aintree,23B)

+M24456: Ivattdriving brakecompartment third +M3451: Ex-L&YR former steamrailcar trailer thirdclass open saloon

RainfordJunction-StHelens(Shaw Street) No.46727: Ex-L&NWR Webb 2-4-2T (SuttonO ak,10E)

+M 3437: Ex -L&NWR di aM 76A

We bb th irds ide-corri dorw it hlug ga ge comp ar tm ent

+M3420: Ex-L&NWR diaM45 BowenCooke drivingbrake composite

2.10pmStHelens(Shaw Street)-Earlestown No.46654: Ex-L&NWR Webb 2-4-2T (Sutton Oak, 10E)

+M3422: Uncertain, butprobably ex-L&NWR intermediate vehicle

+3404: DiaM58 ex-L&NWRdriving third open saloon with luggagespace

Berthedbut theset likely forthe St Helens (ShawStreet) to Widnes (South)ser vice. No.46658: Ex-L&NWR Webb 2-4-2T (Sutton Oak, 10E)

+3443: Ex-L&NWR diaM76A Whalethird corridorwithluggage compartment

+M3417: Ex-L&NWR di aM45 Bowen Co okeDriving brakeopens aloont hird

Te commentmade wasthatitwas noticeable that nearly 30 yearsaferthe Grouping,the locomotivesand rollingstock were keepingto their ‘old’lines, butwondered forhow much

Ho lcom be Br oo kb ra nc hf ro mB ur yo nM arch

longer. Te Stanier andIvatt pull &pushfttedcoaches took over from much of the older coachingstock as they became available. However,aslongasground/low-level haltswere includedinitineraries, theolder pre-Grouping saloons with steps were needed forawhile more Te southLancashirelines came into this bracket andthe ex-L&YR service betweenOrmskirkand RainfordJunction, knownasthe ‘SkemJazzer’ wouldbecurtailed at Skelmersdale from June 18, 1951. Former L&NWR servicesbetween Rainford Junctionand St Helens(Shaw Street) went at thesametime, as did thosebetween St Helens (ShawStreet) andWidnes (South). Tislef SuttonOak shedatStHelenswithjustone motor trainworking,fromStHelens(Shaw Street) to St HelensJunction, whichwas variouslyextended toEarlestown or Warrington (BankQuay) at peak hours. Te survivingservice betweenOrmskirk and Skelmersdale did notlastmuchlongerand ceased on November 5, 1956.

Electric replacements

In 1913, Dick, Kerr &CoElectricalengineers of Prestonwas givenpermissionby theLancashire &YorkshireRailway to usethe short andlightly loadedbranchfromBurytoHolcombeBrook to evaluate a3500v DC overhead line system forexport, andoncompletionofthe testing theequipmentwas sold to theL&YR in 1916. Ayearlater thelinewas convertedtomatch therecentlycommissioned1200v DC thirdrail linetoBuryfromManchester(Victoria). Te inevitable degradationsuchequipmentsufers over time eventually manifested in acable fre andanL&YR Aspinall 2-4-2T worked steam railmotorwas drafedintoworkthe branch from Monday,March 25, 1951, pendinga longer-term decision. Although thesteam renaissancewas contrary to much of what was goingonelsewhere,passenger loadingsonthe branch did notjustify theexpense of repair and it soon became apermanent arrangement, albeit

ashort-livedone as thepassenger servicewas withdrawn altogether from May5,1952.

Otheroperationsofnoteand curiosity

Burton-on-Trent to Tutbur y:

On aNorth StafordshireRailway routethrough to Derby, thepull &pushservice from Tutburylinked to Burton-on-Trentand wasintroducedbythe LMSin1932, so wasapost-Grouping development; no othermotor trainservicesoperatedonthat company’s network, although the‘Knotty’had used steamrailcars. Te trainsharedthe linebeyond DoveJunctiontoBurton-on-Trent with LNER (exGNR) passengerservicesuntil 1939 andwhether the withdrawal of thoseserviceshad abearing on it ornot,all of theintermediatestations–Rollestonon-Dove, Stretton &ClayMillsand Horninglow – were closed on January1,1949. Nevertheless, the service rantoBurton-on-Trent until June 11, 1960.

Knownasthe ‘Jinny’ or sometimesthe ‘Jenny,’our December2024 articleincluded aMarch 1949 photograph,taken at Tutbur y, of adriving trailer of NSRorigin–itwas ex-NSRbogiebrake No.27, builtatStoke to dia22 in 1914 with an elliptical roof.Afer conversion, thevehicle carried LMS No.24469 anditinitiallyran coupledtoanother ex-NSR carriage, butthe latter wasreplacedin1936 by astandardLMS motor-fttedcoach.

Dumfries-Lockerbie:

Likewise,the LMSbrought some pull &push operation to ex-CaledonianRailway metals DavidL Smithnoted that therewas atremendous amountoftrafc to be handledatDumfries during theSecondWorld War, with locomotive power augmented accordingly–there wasamassive munitionsfactory at Annan, so perhapsitwas the passengerneeds of thefactory workforcethat ledtothispull&pushdevelopment?Indetailing what took place in wartimeyears,circa 1942-44, hewrote:“Forthe linetoLockerbie they hadsent downaL&NWpush-and-pulloutft,withaWebb

2-4-2tank. Besides itsLockerbie activities, the push-and-pull[sic] did at leastone turn on the main line. Inoted No.6639 on it severaltimes.” Although Ihavenever heardofthisand it is unverifed, in view of DavidSmith’s standingas ahistorian,there is no reason nottoaccepthis comments at face value. As an aside,itisintriguing to wonder:towhich‘main line,’Caledonianor Glasgow& SouthWestern,was he referring?

Mofatbranch:

Tiswas worked in normal branch linemanner from itsopening in 1883 untilearly LMS days andevenhad athrough coachto/from Glasgow forawhile.Post-1923, however, L&NWR rail motorNo. 29988, dating from about1905/06, wassentnorth to provide theservice.Te L&NWR steamrailmotorswereamong the most successful of their genreand,remarkably, theMofat carworkedthe longestof itstype anywhere,surviving untilthe frst year of British Railways,1948. Afer No.29988 waswithdrawn, apull&pushservice wasintroduced, composed L&NWR motorbrake second No.24490, built in 1922, alongwitha1938-builtLMS motorfttedcomposite,No. 17922, arriving in 1948, presumably fortrafc peaks; thewhereabouts of thecomposite forthe previous 10 yearsisnot known. Te motive powerwas providedbyexL&NWR 2-4-2T No.46656.

Forthe last year or so of thebranch’slife, specialdispensationfor thetrain to be pushed by non-motor-ftted locomotiveswas givenand thelinewas then worked by oneofthe poolof ex-CaledonianRailway 0-4-4tanklocomotives kept at Beattock shed, mainly forbanking trains on theWestCoast main line,thisdispensation allowingthe 2-4-2T to be retired.

Te WelshDragon: Atitledservice that waspull&pushoperated, the story behindthe WelshDragonisofgreat interest. Afer theSecondWorld Warand Nationalisation

rs af te rt he Se co nd Wo rl dWar.I na ug ur at ed on Ju ly 3, 1950 ,t he se rv icew

dw it hThe We ls hD rago nh ea db oa rd an dc ar ri age boar ds fr om th eo ut se ta nd so on gr ew to at hr ee -coa ch load fr om th ei niti al twou se do nl au nc hd ay. Co lo ur-R ail.co m/ BR M1649

of therailways, BritishRailwayshad aparticularly enterprisingmanagementteam in NorthWales, whichIbelieve wasbased in Chester. Itsploys to sell therailway includedkiosks in theresorts andacaravan,whichtheytoted around local holiday campsand caravanparks. One of their ideas wasthe institutionofathird class-only pull &pushservice runningbetween Rhyl and Llandudno, covering some of themostpopular resortsalong thecoast.Itran afew timeseach way, each dayexceptSaturdays, when therailway was fullyinvolved in gettingfolkbetween their homesand their holiday resorts. It wasseenas justalocal ideaand wasnot includedin theLMR timetable, butwas advertised locallybymeans of posters/handbills/fyers –itwas giventhe name Welsh Dragontoenhance itsappeal. Remarkably, headquartersatEustondid notbecomeaware of its

existencefor awhile,bywhichtimeits popularity wassuchthatthisinfringementofprotocolwas overlooked andthe service givenofcial blessing. Originally,the service operatedwithtwo coaches, butitsoonswelled to three, anditwas recorded that some journeys hadpassengersstanding!

Of additional note is that Te Railway Observer pointedout that this wasactuallya revivalof aprewarser vice called Te Golden SandsExpress –surelya titleone might expect to fndinachildren’sstory book.Onoccasions, theprewartrain couldconsist of twocoaches on each sideofthe locomotive,presumably an indicationofits popularity

Bedford-Bletchley:

As previously stated,one useofrailmotorsand, subsequently, pull &pushtrainswas to provide

more frequentservices, ofen with extra calling points, withoutdelayingtrainsfromfarther afeld. Tisappliedonthe central sectionofthe OxfordCambridgeroute (sometimes called theVarsity line), whereanumberofextra intermediate halts were provided, thesehavingminimal facilities andnoconventionalplatforms.Asmosthalts were at levelcrossings, it seemsthatthe signalman includedthe halt in hisduties andprobablysold tickets. Tese stopswereservedbyL&NWR vehicles with central doorsand drop-down steps –mindyou,prams andpush-chairswere frequentlyconveyed, whichmusthaveinvolved man-handlingtoreach thefoorlevel,keeping the signalman andconductor/guardbusy! Even so,it wasstill easier than bustravelfor thepramowners. Perhapsmostinterestingly,itseems that passengers forother stations with conventional

Th eL &N WR Va rs it ylin es na ke dits wayb et we en th eu ni ve rs it yc it ie sofC am br idge an dO xfor da nd wh il et he re we re afew th ro ug hs er vice s, th er e we re al so tr ai ns to se rvel oc al ne ed s–t he se ct io nb et we en Be dfor d(St Jo hn s) an dB le tc hl ey wa sp op ul at ed by fr eq ue nt ha lt sa nd st at io ns wh er e fa ci lities we re ba sic, an di ns om ec as es no mo re th an ag ro un d - leve lp latfor m. To se rvet he se ,t he L& NW Ri nt ro du ce da moto rt ra in se rv icew it h gu ar d - op er at ed ex te nd ings te ps ,w hich en su re dt he su rv iv al of pr e - Gr ou pi ng st oc ku nt il th ef ac ilit ie swer eu pg ra de di nt he late 1950 s, en ab li ng dies el un it st ot akeove r. Pa ss enge rs at th eg ro un d - leve lp latfor matB ow Br ic kh illa nt ic ip at et he ar ri va lofI vatt 2MT2 -6 -2TN o. 41329o naB ed fo rd (S tJ oh ns)t oB le tc hl ey moto rt ra in se rv icei n195 8. Th em ot leycolle ct io nofp ra ms wi ll no do ub td el ay de pa rt ur ea nd fr us tr at et he gu ar da st hey ar em an ha nd le do nb oa rd . Jo hn Sp en ce rG il ks /R NS mi th Co ll ec tion

Even ings un lighti ll

height platformswereofencatered forby compartmentcoaches in thesametrain, although pictures of trains in lateryears show corridorcoaches included,allowingpassengers to walk throughtoand from thecoach with drop-down steps;thislinewas onewhere three-coachtrainswerenot unusual. Also,it appearsthatatleast oneofthe throughtrains to andfromCambridgeincludedavehicle with drop-down steps, so that it couldinclude additional stopsatthe ground-levelhalts.

DearneValley :

Tislinewas mentionedinour articleon LNER push-pull trains in theMarch 2023 issueof Steam Days as it wassited on thebordersofthe Eastern/ North Easternand London MidlandRegions.Tis somewhat quixotic branch lineran eastward from Wakefeld,through theSouth Yorkshirecoalfeld, withthe stationnames familiar to thosewithan interestingeology, geographyorbrass bands! Once againgroundlevel haltswereprovided, but hereserving almost everystoppingplace –and the linealsohad female signal-persons!

Whilenever changing itsapp earanceas an L&YR/LMS/LMR line, it ac tu al ly spre ad rightintot he he ar toft he LNER, fina lly dep ositing itsp assengers ne ar thebir thpl ace of so many LNER lo comotives, Donc aster, butint he suburb of Ed lington. Possibly as therai lway’s mark of cont rition at their clos eappro achtosucharenow ne dplace,t he De ar ne Va lley lef tits pass engers to re acht he centreof‘Donny’ by bus!

St an ie r2 P0 -4 -4TN o. 4190 0h as ar ri ve d at Up to n - up on - Seve rn with as er vice fr om As hc hu rc hJ unct io no nJ ul y4 ,1959. AM id la nd br anch ,ito rigi na ll yr an th ro ug ht oM al ve rn bu tw as tr uncate dh er ei nD ecem be r1952a nd tr an sfer re dt ot he We st er nR eg io ni n195 8b ut th ro ug ho ut th is pe riod se em st oh aveh ad th e unus ua ld is ti nc tion of be inga ll oc at ed moto rft te de ng in es an dcoa ch es th at we re notu se d in th at fa sh io n. Th et ra ns fe roft hi se ng in et o Gl ou ce st er ’s Ba rnwo od sh ed in Ju ly 1957 an d su bs eq ue nt move to th eWes te rn Region to ok it aw ay fr om th em as sw it hd rawa loft he re st of th ec la ss on th eL MR in Nove mb er 1959.I t wa st he re fo re ,a lm os tbyd ef au lt ,t he la st of it sc la ss in se rv iceu nt il with dr aw al eventu ally ca me in Ma rc h1962, bu tbyt he nt he re we re ma ny di sp la ce dm od er nG WR engi ne s lo ok ingfor wo rk ,s oits di sp os al wa sn od ou bt inevita bl e. Co lo ur-R ail .com /3 00118

Alineformerlyser vedbyL&YRrailmotors –their long-lived operationdoubtlessdelayed thecompany from pull &pushoperation for some years– thetrainsthereafer used the former railcartrailers, initiallywithAspinall 2-4-2T motive power, butuponits passenger closure, in 1951, thelastser vices were in the handsofIvatt 2MT2-6-2Ts.

AshchurchtoTewkesburyand Upton-upon-Severn: This branch linehad aquirkinits latter days, af teritwas cutb ackf romMalvern to Upton-upon-S ever n. That st at ionwas ap assenger terminus from De cember1, 1952, until August 14, 1961. Despiteb eing prov ided with amotor-f itte dlocomot iveand motor-fitted co ach, it frequent ly op erate d with amotor-f itte dlocoand non-f itte d co ach, anon-f itte dlocomot ive(sometimes afor merMid land 0-6-0tender lo comotive) anda motor-fitted co ach, anon-f itte d lo comotive andnon-f itte dcoach,and sometimesw it ha motor-fitted lo comotive andmotor-f itte dcoach butoperate das aconvent iona lly-hau le dt rain.Possibly ak nowledge able re ader canexplain this st rangeb ehav iour,but thes er vice wass o sp arse that Isuspe ct thecre wmay have felt they woulddie of bore domift he ydidn’t do some shunt ingabout to pass thet ime!

Formanyyears an L&YR steamrailmotor had charge of theDearneValleyser vice,which woundits wayacrossthe mining communities betweenWakefeldand theoutskir ts of Doncaster, at Edling ton.The LM Stimetable delightfully gave it theelevatedstatusas‘one classonly,’which it retained when therailmotor wasreplacedbyanL&YRAspinall1P2-4 -2Tand motortrain operationinthe 1940s–the coach in this view is a1911built Hughes dia83corridor thirdtrailer that wasusedwithrailmotor services,but it is nowwithanIvatt 2- 6-2T, No.41250.Shortly af terNationalisation,thisline wouldfnd itself straddledbet ween theLMR and Easternregions as BR at temptedtocar ve up the railwaycake. This June 18,1951, scene, complete with staf fand passengers posing,records a Wakefeld (Kirkgate) to Edling tonser vice at thegroundlevel plat form of Goldthorpe & ThurnscoeHalt; thelineclosedtopassengers threemonthslater,onSeptember 10. NevilleStead Collection /Transport Treasury

Despitethe regional boundary of theLMR beingpushedbackfromBristol to BarntGreen in autumn 1958, theWestern Region gainingex-MR territory, thebestpartofthree yearslater thelast tripsfromUpon-upon-Severnwereworkedby an ex-Midland 0-6-0– it hauled amotor-ftted drivingbrake second (No. M24323M) paired with aPeppercornbrake second (No. E87301E), andthere were numerous standingpassengers. Te MidlandshedatTewkesburyclosed from September1961, thebranchbythenjustto Tewkesbury, thesupplyoflocos thereaferfrom Cheltenham (Malvern Road), ex-GWR,hence for thelastfew yearsofits existence themotivepower wasmainlyapanniertank, andwith5700 class enginesfavoured, motor-workingwas notpossible. It seemsthatthe linekeptits quirkiness to theend.

Regional boundar ychanges

WhileScotlandgainedits ownregionofmerged LMSand LNER assets from thestart of 1948, the transition from theBig Four eratoanominally like-for-like regional systemwithinEngland andWales wasnot as easy as it might seem, as the decisionmakingprocess needed to contend withsuchthings as establishedrunningrights and particularly jointlines with agreed operating practices –interms of motorservices, thelines

mo re st ra ig ht fo rw ar da st heyb ot he mp loye dt he sa me syst em .Agoo de xa

Tr an sp or ta nd in he rite dbyt he LM Rf ro mt he ER in 1958 .Pus h - pu ll ft te dG CR Pa rker N5 /2 0- 6-2Tsa nd Ro bi ns on C134 -4 -2Ts ca me ac ro

to th

LM Rw it ht he bo un da ry ch ange bu teve nt ua ll yced ed wo rk to Iv at t2 -6 -2Ts towa rd st he en doft he ye ar –N ea sd en - allocate dN o. 41329p ro pe ls aw ay fr om Ch al fo nt &L at im er with am ot or tr ai nt oC he sh am on Oc to be r17, 1959. Co lo ur-R ail.co m/ 30 4767

betweenOtley/Ilkley andBradford (Forster Square), theBirkenheadJoint forthe HootonWestKirbyservice,and thoseof theCheshire Lines Committee (CLC) areexamples of thelatter. Also, thereweremanyinstances in railwayhistory where acompany struck outfromits ownareaand lines remained ‘out on alimb’ throughthe creation ofthe BigFourand then LMS to LMR,GWR to Western Region etctransfers.Competition was perceivedtobeathingofthe past,soacross the board atidying up processbegantounifyany historic ‘tentacles’within thedominantregion. In reality, theregionaland divisionalboundary changesundertakenaferNationalisation wasa cumbersome afairundertakeninphases, andany perceivedlight ‘moppingup’ of intrudinglines went on to be somethingakintomassive ‘land grabs,’presumably afer much more of arethink Despitethe frst boundary changesbeingpublic knowledgeearly in 1948,the processwas stillin play 15 yearslater

From ourperspective,the London Midland Regionestablished on NewYear’sDay 1948 both lost andgainedmotor-workedlines over this time, thenew ‘owner’generallyusingthe established train sets of itsformercompetitor/neighbourto seamlesslycontinuethe operation of itsnewly gained services, butinevitably, over time,brought inits ownlocos andstock.Tat said,itwas not necessarily stockoflocal origin in useanyway, as at leastone motorset in service between Abergavennyand Merthyr(on an ex-L&NWR line) wasactuallybuilt by theLancashire& YorkshireRailway –itwas in useatMerthyr until atleast September1951, with Ivatt2-6-2T power, the WesternRegiongoing on to substitute a6400 0-6-0PT andits WR stock. In some cases, thenew owner opted to bringservices to an endbefore

very long,aswas thecasewiththe ‘Jinty’worked lines on theeastside of Swansea. Both theMRand L&NWR hadmanaged to plunder GWR territory inSouth Wales, andsuchlines were amongst thefrsttobelostbythe infant LMR in the 1948-spring1950 phaseofredrawing traditional boundaries, whichalsoincludedthe ex-MR lines in Essexand theCLC ones of LNER &LMS (previouslyGCR,GNR andMR) jointownership

Oneaberrationcausedbythe change of allocationofthe former London,Tilbury & Southend linetothe EasternRegionin1949 wasthatthe Romford-Upminster-Grays shuttle services wasoperatedfor awhile by some former LNER locos,suchasIvatt C12class 4-4-2Tsand Hill N7 0-6-2TswithLMS-patterncoaches.Tis unique situationwas facilitated by thefactthat theLNER andLMS both utilised thevacuum controlsystemfor their push-pull trains.

OneLMR gain in allthiswas theCLC –despite theLNER having larger CLCinterests than theLMS –and theex-LNER lines west of Chesterweregainedtoo,sotoShotton and then southfromthere to Wrexham andnorth to Seacombe. By this time thearea’spush-pull operationswithex-Great Centraltankengines seem to have been confnedtoaChester (Northgate)toConnah’sQuay&Shotton shuttle, so that wasnow LMR andusedIvatt 2-6-2Ts.

Furtherchanges includedformerMidland territory lostin theWestRidinginautumn 1956, theNorth EasternRegionexpandingsouth-west andgrabbingmorepush-pullworkfromthe LMR,includinginthe Barnsley area,while gains in 1958 includedex-Great Centralinterests from Marylebone,sothe LNER part of therelated Cheshambranchoperation (joint with London Transportsince 1941 andstill usingLTcoaches)

wasthenceLondonMidland untilits demise in 1960, throughelectrifcation–asatShotton, ex-LNER locos gave waytoIvatt 2-6-2Ts. Further north, theDIDOservice forBRstafthatlinked theNottinghamareawithAnnesleyyards was anotherthatpassedtothe LMR,while the September1963retreat of theWestern Region from itsnorthernterritory,aswellasintoMidWales,saw such things as theOswestry-Gobowen service change hands–itwas traditionally a Collett1400 0-4-2T andanautocoach.

Naturally, from theLNER/ER and NER perspective, agoodnumberofthese changes fall into ourpreviouscoverage of that company’s push-pull operations(seerelated reading), so aida fuller pictureofsomeofthe transferredservices.

Finale –lastLMS/LMR pull &pushser vices Regularpull& push operationsfnished in south LancashireinSeptember 1962, buta carriage setwas retained in workingorder at Sutton Oak shed, St Helens, with motor-fttedlocomotives as acontingencytocover fordiesel unitfailure Elsewhere,dieselisationand branch closures took their toll andverysoonthe only motorworked lines in thenorth were theBarnoldswick andHorwich branches,whichbothclosed to passengers on Monday,September 27, 1965. Pull-pushoperation,however,doesnot appear to have been employed on either of theseonthe last workingday,Saturday, September25.

Aweeklater,the pull &pushservice betweenSeatonJunctionand Stamford sawits last outing on Saturday,October 2, 1965. Te RailwayObserver forFebruary1966 described theclosureofthe Stamford service as ‘the end of regularsteam push-and-pullworking .. .. on BritishRailways,’and thereseems nothingto

TheBarnoldswickbranchser vice wouldjointly hold theaccoladeofthe last motor-worked services in thenorth,withthe Horwichbranch, butthe servicewas best describedaspaltr y. It waspossibleto leavethe town on the08.19 to Skipton, butthere wasnoreturnuntil the16.39 from Skipton; thetrain then left at 17.00asempty stock. On aSaturday, your returntoBarnoldswickfromthe junction station at Earbywas at 11.45and therewas no eveningser vice.Consequently, intrepid photographerswere probably best recommendedtostudy abus timetable! In thefnalmonths, BR Standard 2MT2-6 -2T No.84015 or 84028werethe enginesemployedonthe branch,and we seethe former here,after its arrivaland whilewaiting to return with theempty stock. Thesameenginehad theresponsibilityof workingthe fnal passengertrainsonSaturday,September 25,1965, butonthatday theusual trainwas strengthened to fvecoaches andran-roundonarrival. MichaelAllen/R NSmith Collection

In itslater passengeryears theHor wich branch enjoyedahandful of conventionally hauled trains to/ from Bolton (Trinity Street)and aseriesofmotor trainser vicestoChorley,plusanearly morning trip to thebranchjunctionatBlackrodand back again. Thesameset worked alltrains, with anear equalamountofempty stockworking betweenthe Chorleyser vices. Eveningtrainsdid notoperate on Saturdaysbut were more straightforwardand in thefnalweeks before closurewefnd Stanier4MT 2- 6- 4T No.42426 waitingtoleave with aser vice to Bolton,while BR Standard 2MTNo. 84019 stands readyfor itsmomenttoshunt to thevacant platform to work amotor traintoChorley.The workings captured here were notclearly recorded butcould equallybethe 16.54toBolton(Trinity Street)and 16.57toChorley,orthe 17.47and 17.51 services to thesamedestinations; both theChorley workings returned as emptystock to Horwich. On occasion,bothcould be foundmarshalledinthe platform at thesametime, to avoida hurriedshunt BR 2MT2-6 -2Ts Nos. 84019and 84025monopolised trains at theend.The last full dayofser vice was on Friday,September 24,1965, andthe last motor trains should have been the06.56 from Horwich to Blackrod and07.13 return,followedbythe 07.22 emptystock to Chorleyand 07.50fromChorley to Horwichonthe Saturday morning. Rail-Online

contradictthis. Consideringtheir domination over theclosingyears,itwas appropriatethat an Ivatt2-6-2T worked thelasttrain, the20.10 Seaton-Stamford, itspull&pushset made up of Nos. M24434 andM17932M. Te LMS-designed loco worked thetrain in place of aBRStandard version, whichhad been workingthere recently.

Tislosslef theset at Sutton Oakasthe only ofcial motortrain option, retained if the need arose. Te exactlastdateofany steam pull &pushoperation on aregular trainser vice maybedifculttostate defnitively,as there were workings to coverfailuresaferthe ofcial dieselisationofsomeser vices, includingforays from St HelensorWigan(NorthWestern)to Liverpool(Lime Street) andback. Whilesome maypossiblyhavebeenaferOctober 2, 1965, franklyIthinkitunlikely.

However, this setwas paired with Sutton Oakallocated Ivatt2MT No.41286 to bring thecurtain down on motortrain operation some 60 yearsaferthe MidlandRailway frst experimented with pull-pushworking,a pair of

fnal rail toursoperating on February 5and 12, 1966, from Earlestown,visitingWarrington, Sandbach,Knutsfordand St Helens. Arranged by theLocomotiveClubofGreat Britain, these were almost certainly thelastsuchworkings on theformerLMS, or indeed anywhere in the UK before thepreservationera.

Epilogue

Te pull &pushtrain might ofen be perceived to have ahum-drum existence,but the foregoingshows that therewereinteresting variations around thecountry.Another view is that themotor trainwas just abucolic, bumblingvehicle,but they should notbe dismissed as grouches –there aremany recorded instances of thesetrainsexceeding 70mph,withone timedat85mph,although whetherthe loco waspullingorpushingin this last,exhilarating case is unfortunately notrecorded. Onecrewdelighted to runtheir motortrain –anIvatt 2-6-2T andtwo coaches –tobeatthe diesel timings when flling in for

Fi na lt ra in sh ad be co me ar ou ti ne occu rr ence as th e196 0s wo re on bu tt ob ot ht he cr ed it of BR an dt he LCGB ,t he pa ss ingofm ot or tr ai nwor ki ng wa sg iven af ne se nd - of fove rits ol ds to mp ing gr ou nd in th eN or th We st seve ra lm onth sa ft er th el as ts ch ed ul ed tr ai ns ha dr un .S uc hw as th e de ma nd th at as econ dr ep eatt ou rw as sc he du le do nt he we eken da he ad of th el as ta nd we se e Iv at t2 MT 2- 6-2T No.412 86 on th is to ur,o nS at ur day, Fe br ua ry 5, 1966 .Pro pe llingt he se tw he n ret ur ni ng fr om Ma nc he st er,iti sd ro pp ingd ow nf ro mc ro ss ingove rt he Ma nc he st er Sh ip Ca na lat Latc hfor dv ia du ct an dconti nu es onwa rd st ow ar ds Wa rr ingt on Trevor BO we n/ RNS mi th Co ll ec tion

TheUppingham branch lost itspassenger service in 1960 andpupilsatthe public school of the same name hadfurther to go to catcha train, butitseems that they mayhavebeenaroundand exercising theirLatin skills on thelastday of motor train workingatnearbySeatonJunction. Ivatt 2MT 2- 6-2T No.41212 waitsinthe bayplatform withthe fnal daylight pull &push-operated service trainonBR, the18.55 to Stamford on Sunday, October2 ,1965. Venitsumma dies et ineluctabile tempus R.I.P. Thefnalday andthe inevitable time have come. Tony Cooke/Colour-Rail.com/95556

afailedmultipleunit! Also,itisknown that passengers on theWatford-StAlbans(Abbey) line were glad to seea pull &pushreplacement fortheir diesel unitinwinterastheywould be warm!So, whosaidthatpull&pushtrains were dull!

Modellers

Forsometime, Westernand Southern modellers have hadof-the-shelf OO gaugemodelsfor push-pull trains,but this is notthe case forEastern andLMS/LMR modellers. Of-the-shelf models of ‘Jinties,’CoalTanks andIvatt ‘MickeyMouse’ 2-6-2Tsare available, as aremodelsofG5s andN7s, sothe lack is drivingcab equipped coaches. Suitable Stanier andGresley vehicles areavailable forsimple adaptation,soperhaps modelmanufacturers can be persuadedtoproduce suitably modifedmodels, openingupmoremodellingpossibilities

Railway200 –ﬁrst thought s

An event to open minds to the stor yofour railwayslikenever before , Andrew Kennedy looksatthe journey made over 200 year s, at the oppor tunities that areongoing to celebrate the stor yofthe modernrailway,and howtobepar tofthisgrand celebration.

Astrik ingviewof100 year sofDarling tonpride:No. 1 Locomotion , thepioneer of theStock ton&Darling tonR ailway (Rober tStephenson&Co, 1825) andLNE RR avenA 2PacifcNo. 24 02 City of York , Nort hE astern Railway240 0cla ss (Darling tonWorks ,1924).Thisphotogr aphdates from July 2, 1925,whent he LN ER wa smarking thecentena ry of theS&D R, theduo intended to show progress ,a lt hought heir duties couldn’t have been more different. Fort he record , Locomotion ha s4ft drivingwheels, two10inby24inver tica lc ylinders (origina lly9in by 24in), a4ft by 10 ft boiler of 50 psi (origina lly25psi), anditweighed 8tons8cw t. In cont ra st ,t he sa me st atistics for City of York read 6f t8in drivingwheels, three19inby26inhorizonta l cylinder s(twooutside andone inside), a6ft by 26ft boiler,set at 20 0psi,a nd aweightof101½tons. JM ar shallCollection/KidderminsterR ailw ay Museum

Readingcoverage of thecurrent railway sceneinour sister magazines Te Railway Magazine,HeritageRailway,Railways Illustrated and Rail Express, it is apparent that theRailway 200 initiativeof2025 hasabroad reachand is inspiringcountlessevents, from the leadinglightsofthe railwaymuseum operation throughtotrain operatingcompanies, heritage lines, andevenfromwithin communities. At theheart of it is the200thanniversary of the Stockton &Darlington Railway’sopeningon September27, 1825, andwhile tramroads, wagonwaysand railways canbetracedtothe 17th century,itisthisspecifc eventthatisseenasthe birthofthe modernrailway

Te desirefor arailway in theearliestdays wasfor thetransportationofgoods, andin this sensethe Stockton &Darlingtonscheme wasnodiferent, itsfrstsection of linelinking Phoenix Colliery, abouttwo miles north-west of Bishop Auckland,withStockton, crucially to anavigablesection of theRiver Tees forthe transfer of goodstosea-going shipping to reach more distantmarkets. Around thecountry, theideaofusingarailway to make such a connection wasnot new, as roadswereofen achallenge to use, butwhile privately-owned tramroadseased theburdenofmovingheavy loads, they tended to be short. With them, asmall businesssuchasa quarry wasmore practicaland efcient, albeit wooden railsand thelimitationsofthe motive power–men and horses in theearliest times–meant that each individual movement might be just asingle dramofproduct;itwas all very labour-intensive. In termsofconnectivity, thewheel and horse-drawn transport, navigableriversand coastalshipping, man-made waterwaysand

nowrailwayswereall part of an evolutionary chain, andpracticalthinkers wouldalways look to fndthe best transportation options –howtoreceive anddistributegoods wasa key consideration from theearliestdaysofBritain’s industrialisation; thebesttransport options ofen spannedatleast twomethods

Te breakthrough in powerwas harnessing steam, TomasNewcomeninventing the condensingoratmospheric engine in 1712, and the beam engine followed,and steamwas thus the driving forcewithin theIndustrialRevolution, its practicaluse includingsuchthings as pumping out waterfromsubterraneanminingoperations. Tat wasthe worldofCornish engineer Richard Trevithick, who unlocked thenextstage –the step-uptohigh-pressuresteam,agame-changer in termsofrailways. In 1803, Trevithickwas buildinga steamlocomotivefor usefromthe PenydarrenIronworks in MerthyrTydfl.While it defnitelyshowedthe wayinthatatrain of wagons wassteam-hauledfromthe workstoacanal for shipmenttothe port of Cardif –its successful runonFebruary21, 1804, wasamilestone in the history of railways –the troubles proved to be within theiron-makingprocess, Penydarren being too heavyfor thebrittle metalofthe day, which meant broken railsand even abrokenaxle;the locomotive insteadbecameastationaryengine.

Merthyrismineral-rich, andlikewiseLeeds andNorth East Englandare too, andtheysoon sawgreat progress forthe movement of coal by rail,Matthew Murray’s two-cylinder rackengine Salamanca of 1812 notableasthe frst commerciallysuccessful loco,and then aclutch of collierylocomotives of NorthEastEngland were createdasengineers metthe needsof collieryowners–GeorgeStephensonrepaireda

pumpingengineatKillingworth Collieryin1811 andwithin threeyears wasbuildinglocos of his own. Tere were severalsteam locomotivesbuilt forsuchwork, theareabecomingknown as the ‘Cradle of Railways’thankstomuchsuccess.

Allthis, of course,predatesour 200th anniversary, whichalignswiththe forwardthinking Stockton &Darlington Railway’s purchaseand useof Locomotion,whichwas builtbyRobertStephenson& Co,George’sson headingupthe company. In fact, the25-mile railwaytothe RiverTeeswas originally intended to be horse-drawn untilS&DRdirectorEdward Peasemet George Stephenson.Bythistime, Stephenson alreadyhad theeight-mile Hetton CollieryRailway of 1822asa success–worked by inclines butwithlocomotives on thelevel sections –and so theplanchanged Locomotion wasnot agreat technical leap forwardassuch, butStephensonwas alreadyusingfangedwheels on edge-rails(rather than fangelesswheelson platerails), 4f 8in washis gauge– soon gaining ½in forclearance purposes andadopted as the standard in Britain–and he favoured coupling rods,but thecrank axles needed couldnot yet be made andthusasystemofbeams played a role.An80-ton load of coal andfourwas taken nine milesonthe openingday –withaspeed of 24mph reachedatone point– and, most signifcantly, thetrain included Experiment,the frst purpose-built passengercoach.Aboardwere dignitaries,the frst passengers to travel behind asteam locomotive;everythinginthe next 200 yearsfollows that achievement Tatevolutionaryleapwas thekey to massivechangeinBritain andindeed theworld, connecting establishedcommunities as well as creating others throughbetterlinks fortradeand

thecomingofpassengertravelfor themasses. Railway 200 is ayear-long celebrationofthe past, presentand future of rail transport, thewebsite for thenationwide partnership-ledcampaign –railway200.co.uk–showcasingthe ongoing celebrations,whichlooktobothcelebrate 200 yearsofthe modernrailway andin doingsoalso inspireanew generation of youngtalenttochoose a career in rail.Traditionally,joiningthe railway wasajob forlife, anditcan stillbeinsomecases

Milestones

It is simply impossible to summarisethe developmentofrailwaysinjustafew pages, for dependingonyourpersonalleaningwithinthe greatersubject, one’sattention shifs throughits vastness.However,I’llhighlight afew signifcant moments, andthe images andtheir captions play aroletoo.Tat said,muchofthe most signifcant developments pre-datewidespreadphotography, so lithographsoferthe earliestillustrations.

Te birthofthe Stockton &Darlington Railwaywas marked by acentenary celebration in 1925 andthenanother event50years later; the openingofthe Liverpool& Manchester Railway on September15, 1830, as thefrstrailway from city to city is ofen thenext favoured milestone Te evolutionofmotivepower wasrapid at this time,sothe locomotiveswerequite diferent, even in just fveyears,withits Rainhill trials settingout to fndthe most suitable locomotives forL&MR service – Rocket proved to be the most efcient‘locomotive travellingengine,’so designerGeorge Stephenson took home a£500 prize.All this aidedaremarkablenewsstory that broughtahugedesirefor railways to be built. As an aside,the 31-mile railwaycostabout £820,000 to build, whichisupwards of £55 millionin modernterms –amassive undertaking

Tere wassomethingofamismatchin termsofsomegaugesused, with earlyScottish lines at odds with Stephenson’s gauge, butin theshorter term it took some bigthinking to

believe that somewheresuchasthe Dundee &Newtyle Railway(D&NR) –whichopened in theverynext year,onDecember16, 1831, from Dundee via AuchterhousetoNewtyle –might ever be better suited to matchthe same gaugeasa railwayinLiverpool,asanational networkoflines mayone dayexist…thatday wassurprisinglynear. Extraordinarily, the D&NR hadthe Dundee &ArbroathRailway on itsdoorstepas of October1838 andthatchose 5f 6in gauge, so at this time therewas some seriouslyinsular thinking in thelocale.

As forIsambardKingdom Brunel,he ploughedhis ownfurrowinterms of abroad gauge of 7f ¼inthatoferedgreater stability, room, andcomfort butusedmuchmoreland. As engineer to theGreat WesternRailway,his linelef Kensal Green(latertoberenamed Paddington) on June 4, 1838, frstly to Maidenhead,but Bristol was thegoal. Tatsignifcantdestination was linkedwithLondonfromJune30, 1841.

Te year 1839 saw18diferentrailway companies open either their frst stretchofline or extendtheir railway, butofgreat signifcance is theLondon& Birmingham Railway (L&BR)-workedAylesburyRailway from the Buckinghamshiretownvia MarstonGateto AylesburyJunction–renamed Cheddington Junction in 1850, andCheddington20years later–which opened on June 10, 1839, as a pioneering branch linelinking thefrstmainline outof London.Trunk routes couldnot serve everywhere,and anetwork of feeder lines was thus begun. Even bigger thinking sawthe L&BR become akey constituentofthe railwaygiant that wasthe London &North WesternRailway and be part of agrander visionfor acoreroute linking London with both Edinburghand Glasgow, andindeed Aberdeen,tocreateaWestCoast route; similarly, anotherroute throughYorkand Newcastleevolved on theeastside of Britain. Mind-bogglingthatitis, themindset of theday wasbriefythatonlyone Anglo-Scottish route

Acentury on,insidethe GradeII-listed Hopetown Carriage WorksonMarch 27,2025, thestage is beingset forS&DR200 Presents RailwayPioneers– CelebratingThe Railway RockstarsOfThe Past! Locomotion is furthest from thecamera, with Penydarren and Steam Elephant to theright andlef trespectively. Extraordinarily, Locomotion waspreserved in 1857,after 16 yearsasastaticboiler, andwhile itst wo compatriotswerelost, they have been recreatedsothatthe evolutionofthe earliest steamlocosuccesses canbebet terappreciated. RichardTrevithick’s Penydarren only sawbrief usebut wasthe frst loco in theworld to haul a trainonrails,while SteamEle phant is believed to be aJohnBuddleand WilliamChapman design;itsaw useonthe Wallsend Waggonway andcollier yonthe northbankofthe Tyne Respectively used in 1804,1815tocirca 1825, and1825- 40 (right ,lef t, middle),collectively they show advancements of rail technology and engineeringinnovationuptothe openingofthe S&DR .Running from April4 to June 22 (10am4. 30pm)asakey bicentennial event, entr yisfree butticketed–visit ww w.hopetowndarlington. co.uktobook. Hopetown Darlington

wasrequired,and whilefourprimary ones went on to be built; it wasthe East Coastand West Coastlines that were each other’snemesis. It is difculttocomprehend theamount of railwayconstructioninthe next fewyears, aRailway Maniaperiodofthe mid-1840s continuinguntil abanking crisis of 1847 cooled progress –thatsameyear, theRailway Clearing Houseadopted GreenwichMeanTimeoverand aboveany localvagaries that sawdistant places such as London andBristol outofsync; theneed forrailway timetablingbrought that to fruition, with most railways adoptingGMT in 1848.

An economic upturn sawasecondrailway buildingera begininthe 1850s andintothe 1860s andthisissometimes knownasthe second Railway Mania, butitcertainly didnot match thefrstin termsofits vigour.Withbothperiods it is true to saythatwithinsomerailway schemesthere was acaseofover-optimism andover-stretchingof fnances, andinthe comingyears,while many railways were establishedonalocal basisand it was always intended that alargerneighbourwould work theline, it wasexpansionist companies that ledthe creation of anetwork,supportingsomeschemes andthenbuyingthemout,aswellasactively blocking theplans of rivals;suchisthe nature of competition. Initially, thethengovernmenthad a fairlyhands-ofapproachtorailway development, butthatdid change,and sometimescompeting companies with rivalschemes were ledtowards cooperation andjoint operations.

Forthe most part,virtually allofBritain’s railways were builtduringa period of 75 years, with oneofthe laterlines beingthe Great CentralRailway’s London Extension, which was completed in 1899 andwas thecapital’s last main lineuntil High Speed 1was completed in 2007withthe ChannelTunnel,which itself was amilestone openingofMay 6, 1994 –avariant of therailway tunnel scheme to/fromFrancewas frst proposed in 1876! Te latter yearsofthe Victorianperiodalsosaw theLight RailwayAct of 1896, whichendeavoured to encourage and sanction connection to some lesswell-populated areasbyallowinglessexpensive,lightly laid

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ofThought

TR AINS of thought

Andrew Kennedy

Pull &push ser vices –

LMS evolution andLMR inheritance

Stanier2P0-4-4Ts

Fowler

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Railway200 –ﬁrst thought s