Eastern Times Issue 3

EASTERN • TIMES •

The new history periodical for students of the BR(E), BR(NE), LNER and pre-grouping constituents ISSUE NO. 3 • FEBRUARY 2024

LOOK OUT FOR FUTURE ISSUES OF

EASTERN TIMES Issue 4 due June 2024

The Transport Treasury publish a range of other LNER related books too.

For further information visit our website: www.ttpublishing.co.uk

EASTERN • TIMES • CONTENTS Introduction 3 Henry Ivatt’s ‘Second String’ GNR 4-4-0s

4-17

Ghosts over Stainmore

18-35

Stratford’s Traction Transition

36-45

No. 60027 Merlin 46-53 My Trainspotting Odyssey

54-61

The Man from the Pru – Part 2

62-79

The Headshunt

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Class Q1 (5F) 0-8-0T No. 69925 pictured at Eastfield MPD on 5th May 1951.

This loco was one of thirteen rebuilt by Thompson from Robinson-designed ex-GCR Class Q4 0-8-0 locomotives in 1942 for heavy shunting duties. It was withdrawn from Eastfield on 13th August 1954. Note that it still carries LNER insignia on its cabside.

Photo: © Transport Treasury

© Images and design: The Transport Treasury 2024. Design and Text: Peter Sikes ISBN: 978-1-913251-68-0 First published in 2024 by Transport Treasury Publishing Ltd., 16 Highworth Close, High Wycombe HP13 7PJ. The copyright holders hereby give notice that all rights to this work are reserved.

Aside from brief passages for the purpose of review, no part of this work may be reproduced, copied by electronic or other means, or otherwise stored in any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the Publisher.

This includes the illustrations herein which shall remain the copyright of the copyright holder.

Copies of many of the images in EASTERN TIMES are available for purchase/download. In addition the Transport Treasury Archive contains tens of thousands of other UK, Irish and some European railway photographs.

www.ttpublishing.co.uk or for editorial issues and contributions email: tteasterntimes@gmail.com Printed in the UK by Short Run Press, Bittern Road, Sowton Industrial Estate, Exeter EX2 7LW. 2

EASTERN TIMES • ISSUE 3

INTRODUCTION

A

warm welcome to the third issue of Eastern

We finish this edition with part 2 of ‘The Man from the

Times from Transport Treasury Publishing,

Pru’ featuring the Casserleys’ annual railway trip in 1954.

we hope that you enjoy the articles that

As usual all of the articles mentioned are accompanied

appear on the following pages.

by wonderful, evocative photography. Many of the

Issue 3 brings another variety of subjects which start with

photographs are available to purchase from the extensive

an in-depth look at Henry Ivatt’s elegant looking ‘second

Transport Treasury archive.

string’ 4-4-0s that appeared over large parts of the LNER

We are happy to announce that Eastern Times has been

network.

well received and as a consequence will now be available

We then take a trip along the long-lost, and much-missed,

three times a year, with issues 4 and 5 being planned to

Stainmore Line where services were predominantly in the

appear in June and October respectively. Also you will now

hands of smaller locomotives, this being due to weight

be able to receive the book on a subscription service, just

restrictions along the route. Venturing south to Stratford

sign up to ensure your copy is automatically sent to you

there’s a pictorial record of the changing scene from steam

every four months. You can do this by signing up online

to diesel before focusing on one of Gresley’s finest from

at https://ttpublishing.co.uk/transport-books/, by emailing

his A4 class of locomotives, and why it is the contributor’s

admin@ttpublishing.co.uk, or calling us on 01494 708939.

favourite. A trainspotter’s trip down memory lane starts with observations from his home town of Ilford in 1957,

PETER SIKES, EDITOR, EASTERN TIMES email: tteasterntimes@gmail.com

the year he took up the hobby.

Front cover (and inset right): A classic scene at the north end of York’s magnificent station.

Class D49/2 No. 211 The York and Ainsty is being prepared for departure. The fireman is busy on the tender organising a top up of water. Boiler pressure is well up, ready to go… (though one safety valve is taking the lion’s share of the action). Built in 1932, this engine survived until January 1958 when withdrawn by BR from Hull as No. 62737.

Photo: David P. Williams Colour Archive

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Henry Ivatt’s ‘Second String’ GNR 4-4-0 s

BY NICK DEACON Kings Cross station c.1905. An immaculate D1, No. 1393 with just a hint of smokebox burn, has arrived with a fairly short passenger service composed with what appears to be 6-wheel suburban stock. The loco was built at Doncaster in February 1903 and was one of a batch of ten produced that year. Becoming LNER Class D2 and numbered ‘4393’ in 1924 and ‘2188’ in 1946, she finished her career at Colwick during October 1949 without being superheated as others of the class were and never carried the allocated BR number, No. 62188. The pristine and well-ordered platform is particularly noteworthy but no more than was usual and, indeed, expected for the age. Photo: © Steve Armitage Archive, courtesy Rail-Online.

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A

lthough Ivatt is more well-known for the introduction of the ‘Atlantic’ type to Great Northern metals in 1898, two years before this innovation he had been responsible for bringing the 4-4-0 type onto the same stage for the first time in the company’s history.

second rate. At least on one occasion in 1897 the respected observer and recorder Charles Rous-Marten was able to return an impressive result tabulated with No. 400 on the 230 ton ‘Scotch Express’ between Grantham and York with the scheduled time of 98 minutes over the 82¾ miles being met just one second under, with this being achieved against a strong cross wind.

After his tenure as Locomotive Engineer with the Great Southern and Western Railway in Ireland, in 1895 he returned to England and, fortified by endorsements from the likes of John Aspinall of the LYR, William Dean of the GWR, Samuel Johnson of the MR and Francis Webb of the LNWR, was successful in gaining the post of Locomotive Superintendent of the GNR after the death of Patrick Stirling who had succumbed to pneumonia whilst still in office on 11th November 1895.

Ivatt probably was carrying the notion of an Atlantic type for some while prior to his GNR appointment and he was given the go-ahead for an experimental type by the GNR Board in February 1897 and one year later the prototype was completed. However, this was still some way off from the loco becoming a viable proposition and it was not until 1900 that the first ten of a class of twenty-two appeared providing, arguably, the company with an express loco capable of meeting the traffic demands of the new century head-on.

Ivatt lost no time in bringing his initial design thoughts to fruition, these being influenced by his ten years in Ireland, and experience working with the 4-4-0 type. December 1896 saw the appearance of his first GNR 4-4-0, No. 400, the first of a class of 51 two-cylinder locos built up to 1899 with these having minor differences between the five production batches. With Ivatt’s loco reclassification exercise in 1900 the locos became ‘D2’, but were generally dubbed ‘400s’.

Although Ivatt was convinced that the Atlantic design road was the right one to take, in 1898 and with mounting pressure from increasing traffic he produced another series of 4-4-0s built up until 1909 – this time with the improvement of a 4ft 8in boiler, a longer firebox, and an enlarged grate area. The new series would eventually total seventy locos and in service were known as ‘1321s’ after the number of the first of the class. From 1900 they were classified as ‘D1’ and subsequently ‘D2’ by the LNER. (Gresley added two more to the class total in 1923 and 1926 with the rebuilding of Nos. 4305 and 4320 of the ‘400’ series.)

The class brought a ‘new look’ to the Doncaster Works output having in addition to Ivatt’s 4ft 5in diameter boiler a swept back cab and tall dome. However, despite Ivatt’s apparent ‘new broom’ approach the new 4-4-0s were merely a continuation of Stirling’s standard 2-4-0 first introduced in 1884 and, apart from the obvious addition of a leading bogie, offered nothing startling in power capability over Stirling’s existing ‘E1’ 2-4-0s and single drivers – both of which were currently holding their own on passenger services. In the same year as the appearance of the ‘400s’ Ivatt appeared to hedge his bets with a final batch of ten ‘E1’ 2-4-0s which proved to be the last of the type built for the company. The appearance of the last 2-4-0s together with the new 4-4-0s tend to suggest Ivatt may have had doubts about placing all the future ‘eggs’ of passenger loco design into a 4-4-0 ‘basket’ despite his preference for the latter type. His subsequent innovative work with the two classes of Atlantic designs plus the twelve (less than satisfactory) single drivers introduced in 1900/01 rather tend to strengthen this assumption.

However, the early performances of the class whilst employed on premier express services was decidedly not

In appearance the new locos differed from their predecessors in that the running board was raised across the splasher area to allow ready access to the oil boxes on the coupling rods when in any position. The class cut its teeth with success on express services mainly between Doncaster and Leeds (where gradients north of Wakefield were prejudicial to the singles), between Grantham and York and also on expresses from Kings Cross – the latter sometimes unaided dependant on the load or assisted by a 2-4-0 or even a single. The increase of braked fast goods trains on the GN main line and elsewhere also resulted in the locos being used on these services until gradually displaced by the Ivatt 0-6-0 ‘J’ classes.

Although the capability of the 4-4-0s was, in theory at least, limited to modest, not overly taxing loadings, this was not to say that they were never stretched beyond 6

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‘They (the crew) touched 69mph near Claypole and averaged 65 over 6½ nearly level miles from Newark to Carlton. The minimum at Markham summit was 37mph but 64 was touched before Retford. On to Bawtry the average was 59mph and thence to Doncaster over Piper’s Wood ‘knob’ it was 52½. Here the train was nearly a minute earlier than the scheduled time of 58min and so there was hope of keeping time to York although the big train would hamper recovery of speed after the restriction over the swing-bridge at Selby. So they kept at it, but the average over the 18.4 level miles from Doncaster to Selby was little higher than the 51.2mph booked for the whole journey and so there was clearly not much to spare. After Selby the gradient profile is finely saw-toothed with an average rise of 1 in 1,800 but No. 41 stopped in York just on the right side of “time”.’

what was thought reasonable. W. A. Tuplin, in his treatise Great Northern Steam (Ian Allan 1971), provides details of a run between Grantham and York as recorded by Cecil J. Allen in 1915 behind D1 No. 41 (later LNER Class D2 No. 3041/2194). The load was 425 tons over 82.7 miles with a booked time of 97 minutes requiring an average speed of 51mph on a fairly easy road – not taxing for an Atlantic, but with a load around ten times its own weight decidedly challenging for a modestly built 4-4-0 even though No. 41 was a larger boilered version with a longer firebox and an enlarged grate area. However, the driver was clearly of an enthusiastic mien and, as Tuplin put it, thought the job worthwhile to “have a go”, managing in the process to clip 10 seconds off the booked time. Tuplin was able to flesh out the statistical bare bones of the run with some interesting en route detail which is worth repeating here:

A dramatic shot of D1 No. 1330 at the westbound GNR platform at Egginton Junction with a Nottingham Victoria-Derby Friargate-Burton train in c.1920. Towards the centre of the train which consists mainly of 6-wheeled stock is an articulated twin set. The station dated from 1878 and occupied the ‘V’ of the junction of the GNR Derbyshire & Staffordshire line and the North Staffordshire line to Uttoxeter coming in from Willington Junction to the east. The ‘Knotty’ line and platforms were to the right of the loco where some vans are standing. The D1 was one of seven built by Doncaster during November 1898, becoming LNER D2 No. 4330 as from February 1924. It was fitted with a Robinson superheater in May 1935 and was a long term Grantham resident from 1924 until withdrawn with its 1924 number during March 1946. Scheduled passenger traffic on the Egginton – Friargate section ceased in December 1939 but continued to see excursion traffic until September 1964. Freight continued until 1968 although the station had closed as from Monday 5th March 1962.

Photo: Rail Archive Stephenson, courtesy Rail-Online

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Interestingly, in its later LNER career whilst based at Hatfield until 1936, the loco together with sister No. 3042 (old GNR No. 42) were both regarded as star performers on the Dunstable–Luton–Kings Cross commuter services and kept in pristine condition. On Summer weekends the two were also employed on excursion services to East Coast resorts such as Clacton and Southend.

of the ‘C1’ class completed in 1903. With that said, taking one example – Grantham – during the early years of the Great War no less than seven out of the fifteen superheated ‘D1’ class were based there and although used mainly on secondary routes to Boston, Derby, Leicester, Mablethorpe and Skegness, some main line duties remained for them particularly on the York route with trains of up to 415 tons comprising as many as twelve coaches.

A further 15-strong addition to the 4-4-0 series appeared shortly before Ivatt retired in 1911: these being superheated versions of the ‘D1’ or ‘1321’ class and also having piston valves instead of slide valves. The superheater required the fitting of an extended smokebox with a higher pitched boiler and the front bogie positioned further towards the front to allow for clearance over the cylinders. A further class was introduced in 1912 when the newly appointed GNR CME Nigel Gresley (he had succeeded Ivatt as from 1st October 1911) introduced a new 4ft 8in boiler with a shorter firebox which could be fitted to the existing D2s.

These rebuilds were classified as ‘D3’ by both the GNR and LNER and by the Grouping only six remained of the unrebuilt D2 total, for which the LNER introduced the ‘D4’ classification which was used until the last was rebuilt in 1928.

Despite the availability of Atlantics and Pacifics from the 1920s, Kings Cross (a shed where one would have expected the class to have been ousted) maintained a stud of 4-4-0s up until the late 1930s for secondary passenger services, fast goods, station pilot work and double heading Atlantic locos sometimes as far as Potters Bar where a special stop was made and the loco detached to run light to Kings Cross. Otherwise the double heading duty might take the 4-4-0 as far as Peterborough, Grantham – even as far as Doncaster. The class also had duties on the outer suburban services to Dunstable and Baldock and further afield to Cambridge and Peterborough. As a further example, during the first years of the Grouping the allocation of the superheated ‘D1’ locos (now LNER Class D2) was Kings Cross 13, Hitchin 3, Grantham 5, Colwick 12, Boston 10, Lincoln 6, Louth 1, Retford 3, Doncaster 6, West Riding District 5, and York 6. Particularly of note was the number stationed at Colwick for local passenger work in the Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire areas with a small number allocated to Leicester Belgrave Road for duties taking them to Grantham, Newark, and Nottingham and during the Summer seasons excursions through to the East Coast resorts such as Mablethorpe and Skegness plus further afield to Cleethorpes and Scarborough.

In service the 4-4-0s ( of all categories) were worked hard and pressed into meeting the demands of increasing main line traffic levels but were soon encountering problems.

J. F. Vickery, another railway observer, recordist and a contemporary of Rous-Marten, noted that the hard work regularly performed by the class often resulted in red smokebox doors and various maladies encountered on the road including bogie and frame fractures (a common occurrence in all GNR 4-4-0s) requiring fairly regular works visits. It was reported that as early as 1908 six sets of complete frames and six of front-end only were ordered for the ‘1321’ class and other orders were probably placed.

Doubtless it was the relentless toll from main line work – often this requiring the piloting of Stirling singles on the heaviest trains departing from Kings Cross. Even at Bradford in 1903 two of the 400s were stationed there for use on its two top link passenger duties: Bradford– Doncaster and Bradford–Retford.

In 1925 there was a wholesale migration to the Scottish area of the fifteen members of the ‘D1’ class (also classified the same by the LNER) now deemed surplus to the GN main line requirements since the arrival of the new Gresley Class K3 2-6-0s. After being fitted with Westinghouse brakes at Cowlairs Works they were distributed mainly to Haymarket shed, Edinburgh with the balance spread between Carlisle, Dunfermline, Eastfield, Hawick, Ladybank and St Margarets sheds. At these locations they replaced time-expired NBR 4-4-0s or allowed for the redistribution of newer 4-4-0s to other sheds in the system where replacements were needed. The new arrivals were not favourably accepted by Scottish crews who found the class as a to be draughty, uncomfortable, rough riding and

Gradual displacement of the 4-4-0s as a breed from the principal express services was hastened by the increase in Atlantic numbers which in 1910 had seen all ninety-four of the ‘C2’ class in service alongside the twenty-two members 8

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A post-Great War but pre-Grouping shot of D1 No. 59 taking on water after arrival at Hitchin with an Up stopping service for Kings Cross.

The loco was one of Ivatt’s final class of fifteen built shortly before his retirement in 1911. All were fitted with Schmidt-type superheaters when built and although not intended for prime express work they were often called on to perform these duties until the early 1920s when they were gradually supplanted by the new Gresley 2-6-0s. All the class were declared surplus in 1925 and banished to Scotland where they were extremely unpopular. No. 59 (now LNER No. 3059 but still Class D1) found itself at Eastfield shed but was one of four returned south between December 1930 and July 1931. In October 1933 a Robinson type superheater was fitted and by 1939 the loco was at Norwich but during the post-war period (now as LNER No. 2210) it had moved to Yarmouth and was withdrawn from South Town shed at the end of December 1947. Photo: FHS © Transport Treasury

varied repertoire of bangs, thuds, jerks and jumps of any locomotive I have ever stood upon.

with some cab fittings such as the regulator handle and screw reverser downright primitive and awkward to handle. As a result, the locos were stigmatised as cast-offs from south of the border and never rostered to regular duties or bespoke crew manning and increasingly were only used when there was no other preferred loco available.

Despite the excellence of the Doncaster boilers being recognised, Norman McKillop, the well-known Haymarket driver and railway author (aka ‘Toram Beg’), knew these locos and had this to say of them: They could certainly run with speed, but the mauling the poor driver and fireman received left them feeling as if they had just finished a particularly strenuous hour or two with one of the more brutal types of all-in wrestler. They had beautiful steam action in fore gear and were extremely strong. When running at speed they had the most diabolical and

In 1939 seven returned to England with these eventually allocated en-bloc to Norwich where they found work in the Dereham area replacing withdrawn ex-GER D13 4-4-0s.

Those left in Scotland found a new lease of life during the war years and despite being in relatively poor condition those at Haymarket found fairly regular employment piloting Gresley Pacifics hauling the heavy night services between Newcastle and Edinburgh. Two (Nos. 3057/63) were based at Hawick and were used on workmen’s trains plying to and from Charlesfield Halt, which was opened to the south of St. Boswells in August 1942 to serve an adjacent Incendiary Bomb Munitions factory. Two more (Nos. 3051/3065) arrived during the conflict but No. 3063 9

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departed to Haymarket. These three remained at the end of the war but by the end of 1947 only 3057 was left pottering around on local jobs to survive long enough to assume its 1946 LNER number (2208) and also its BR number (62208) prior to withdrawal in July 1950. The last active D1 in Scotland, the Stirling-based No. 2209, lasted until November 1950 having done little work in the interim other than piloting Glasgow – Aberdeen expresses.

new arrivals proved to be unpopular with crews particularly those using the locos over the Stainmore route who complained strongly about the exposed nature of the cabs – a feature resulting from the rebuilding of the class from 1912 which included a deep cut-out in the cab side sheets.

As a result, in 1935, four of the class (Nos. 4075/7/4349/54) had the cab sheets reshaped with a side window but with the large cut-out omitted and the cab roof extended rearwards by 8 inches – all of which appeared, in part at least, to satisfy the crews. Others of the class due to have the same alterations were moved south before this could be carried out. Another factor said to have limited the life of the D3s over the route was the size of the turntable at Penrith - this stated as being 42ft at the time whereas the wheelbase of the D3s was 42ft 10in. The story has it that for turning at Penrith the D3s were obliged to use the triangle formed by the nearby Redhills Curve formed by the WCML and the Cockermouth line. With the closure of

Returning south of the border, another migration occurred with the transfer of eight D3s to the NE area with seven of these going to Darlington during 1930-1 to replace timeexpired D23 4-4-0s and for work over the challenging Stainmore line to Tebay and Penrith plus services to Barnard Castle, Bishop Auckland, Saltburn and the occasional foray out to Newcastle with Darlington stoppers. A solitary member (No. 4313) also went to Starbeck shed, Harrogate for local work until moved to Barnard Castle shed in 1933. Like the D1s in Scotland, the

An atmospheric, brooding shot of D1 No. 1377 taken at an unknown location – a guess might be one of the Kings Cross loco yards in c.1922 when the loco was known to be allocated there. As LNER D2 No. 4377 from July 1924, in 1935 she received a Robinson-type superheater when she was based at Hitchin but from November 1938 a move occurred to the former GCR shed at Frodingham where she was used to replace D3 No. 4309 on local services to Barnetby, Doncaster and Thorne and workmen’s trains to Scunthorpe. She was noted on shed at Frodingham on 9th April 1939. By 1948 she had gravitated to the class redoubt at Colwick and was withdrawn from there during October 1949. Photo: FHS © Transport Treasury

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On 19th September 1929, Westinghouse fitted D1 No. 3064 pilots A1 Pacific No. 2576 The White Knight through the curve at Portobello station with a top link Up express from Waverley. As GNR No. 64 she was the penultimate member of the small class of fifteen and appeared in July 1911. Despite the odium heaped upon the class after their arrival from the south in 1925, the Haymarket-based loco looks well cared for in this view although there are signs of burns to the smokebox door. The loco was one of the eight to remain on Scottish metals including two based at the ex-NBR shed at Carlisle Canal. Towards the end of the ‘40s she was based at Perth and used on the local passenger services to Ladybank and also piloting main line trains to Glenfarg and Kinross. As BR No. 62215 she was still at Perth in February 1950 when withdrawn during the same month, having some weeks earlier been replaced on the Ladybank service by D30 4-4-0 No. 62426 Cuddie Headrigg. Photo: James R.Clark/Rail Archive Stephenson, courtesy Rail-Online.

this curve in 1935 the locos had to work tender first in one direction to gain the 50ft turntable at Kirkby Stephen. This story is at odds with other sources which give the Penrith turntable size as 50ft and so if correct the D3s could use it – especially as one of the class, No. 4077, was recorded as being based there from 1935-36! Whatever the truth in the latter story, the D3s were ousted from their Pennine quarters by the arrival of ex-GER Class E4 2-4-0s during 1935 – a class which swiftly proved themselves to be more suited to the rigours of the Stainmore route (but they still required changes to the cab like the D3s!) and with shorter wheelbases could fit the Penrith turntable!

see just one GNR 4-4-0 over an eight-hour period – D2 No. 4335 on a Grimsby service via Boston and Louth reflecting the near-demise of the type on the GNR main line. The same observer was better served at Lincoln during a 1937 Summer weekend visit when lightly loaded stopping passenger services to Boston, Gainsborough, Grantham, and Spalding were monopolised by D2s and D3s.

In 1936 the LNER had assumed direct responsibility for the Midland & Great Northern system and this change occasioned a further migration of GNR 4-4-0s with twelve D2s and ten D3s moved to replace withdrawn ‘B’ class 4-4-0s of the original company. The new arrivals were concentrated at sheds covering the area such as Cambridge, Kings Lynn, Melton Constable, Norwich, South Lynn,

Moving further south during the 1930s, an observer at Peterborough North one day in May 1934 was surprised to 11

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During the 1930s Nottingham Victoria had become something of a focal point for seeing members of the 4-4-0 family given Colwick’s acquisition of a sizeable stud of the class since before the Grouping. Even in 1935 when the first 4-4-0 withdrawals occurred the shed still had eleven allocated and this post-1929 view of D3 No. 4318 with a local stopping service at Victoria taken during this period is one which could be seen on a daily basis. The loco was built during May 1898 and was one of the ‘400’ series which appeared from 1896 and classified ‘D2’ by the GNR from 1900. As part of Gresley’s rebuilding policy which started from 1912 using a boiler with a larger diameter barrel (4ft 8in), she was rebuilt in September 1920 and after Grouping all such rebuilds were reclassified by the LNER as ‘D3’. During WW2 when there was a redistribution of the class, from 1943 the loco was based at the former GCR shed at Staveley and, apart from a brief return to Colwick during 1946/7, remained there until withdrawn during August 1949. She had been renumbered to ‘2133’ in October 1946 and still carried this when withdrawn. Photo: Neville Stead Collection (NS202374) © Transport Treasury

Yarmouth Beach and took responsibility for a variety of passenger traffic including scheduled services within the M&GNR system as well as those further afield to Leicester and Nottingham. Excursion work also featured plus a variety of goods traffic ranging from pick-up goods to fish specials. By all accounts M&GN crews managed to extract the best from their aging steeds and going some way to prove this all ten of the D3s remained at work on the system until finally withdrawn during 1946-9 with this number including the pioneer of the genre, ex-No. 400, which succumbed from South Lynn shed during September 1947. According to Richard Hardy, in the account of his railway career (Steam In The Blood, Ian Allan 1971), “The Joint men [at South Lynn] thrashed work out of these old things that had not been coaxed out of

them for many a year on their own territory”. Hardy also noted that the pioneer loco No. 3400 was one of the “wildest riders” he had travelled on up to that time and at speed was “downright dangerous”!

On the outbreak of war in 1939, fifty-one D2s (twenty-four of these had received Robinson superheaters between 1928-36) and thirty-five D3s were in service, which was just as well for the next six years would see them fully employed and also distributed to a few locations not previously acquainted with them including Immingham, Langwith and Staveley. Immingham in particular gained a significant stud of D3s until by the war’s end eleven were based there and had been nicknamed “Spitfires” because of their use during 1942 in hauling workers’ trains to the construction site of RAF Fiskerton, near Reepham, Lincs.

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During the 1930s/40s the GNR 4-4-0s dominated the Lincolnshire passenger traffic with Boston shed in particular home to no less than eight D2s in 1933 and eight D3s in 1935. By 1939 the number of D2s had increased to ten including No. 4332 seen here at the station marshalling a venerable gas-lit 6-wheel GNR vehicle – possibly a conversion from an ordinary ‘third’ with windows at the end suggesting some kind of inspection use. The interior remains compartmented and is not fitted out with a saloon and maybe is a hybrid arrangement for the local engineer. As GNR No. 1332 the loco was built as part of a batch of seven during November 1898 as Ivatt’s larger development of his ‘400’ series. It received a Robinson superheater in March 1930 and, as far as is known, apart from interludes at Grantham shed it remained at Boston until late 1947 when (as LNER No. 2160) a move took her back to the GN main line metals at Hitchin along with classmate No. 2163.

Both were observed ‘light engine’ moving north on 5th October 1948 for scrapping at Doncaster.

Photo: Neville Stead Collection (NS202375) Transport Treasury.

Synonymous with the GNR 4-4-0 breed as a whole was of course Colwick shed, Nottingham, which first opened in 1876 and substantially enlarged in 1882 and 1897. However, it was not until the closure of Nottingham London Road (Low Level) shed in c.1906 that Colwick acquired passenger locos in any number to take on new duties formerly tasked to London Road, these being primarily services to Boston, Derby, Grantham, and Leicester. Once arrived as a family the 4-4-0s stayed on in considerable numbers with twenty-one on the books at Grouping split between eight D2s and thirteen D3s. Many of them recorded long residencies at the shed with D3s No. 4363/5 clocking up twenty-four and twenty-six years, but well beaten by classmate No. 4353 which arrived in 1905 and stayed on until 1936. With withdrawals starting to bite

from 1935 onwards numbers had dropped to seven D2s and five D3s by 1937 but the respite signalled by the requirements of war work lasted until early 1946 when withdrawals started in earnest again. In July 1946 a visitor recorded six D2s but the following year ten were seen plus a solitary D3. Becoming something of a last redoubt, Colwick managed to retain work for its 4-4-0s almost to the end and in June 1948 was still host to ten D2s plus three D3s. By now many 4-4-0s were spending long periods in store but from time to time they would make unexpected forays, one example being D3 No. 2148 observed passing through Bowes Park towards London with a P.W. train on 4th December 1948 having emerged from a long retirement at Hitchin. Bucking this trend – at least in the Nottingham area at this time – a regular RO observer noted that any 13

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train from Victoria station to Basford, Derby (Friargate), Grantham or Pinxton was odds-on being hauled by one of Colwick’s 4-4-0s and in March 1950 the same observer was a passenger on a Nottingham to Derby service with Colwick’s D2 No. 62172 keeping time over the hilly route.

Nicknamed ‘The Merry Widow’ by the Colwick staff, the loco had arrived from Grantham in May 1949 and proved to be the penultimate survivor of the entire 4-4-0 family when withdrawn on 19 June 1951. Prior to this, during November 1950, former Hitchin resident D3 No. 2148 (still with LNER livery and number) had been withdrawn from the sub-shed at Derby (Friargate) and almost until the end had been active on trains from Derby (Friargate) and Grantham.

Works visit in 1944 had been decked out with a full LNER livery, numbered ‘1’, then ‘2000’, given a rimmed chimney, a double window cab with hinged glass sight screens, for its more exulted use in hauling an inspection saloon on officer’s specials. By all accounts it was also employed on scheduled services in the area but by the late ‘40s, although somewhat of an unreliable performer, it still managed to cling on until finally meeting its end during October 1951.

Thus ended the story of the GNR 4-4-0, a type which, as time went on, was inevitably overshadowed by greater locomotive enactments on the GNR and LNER stage but nevertheless was able to play a critical supporting role for more illustrious colleagues across a fifty-year span. It is a great pity none of these gallant, hard-working and unpretentious locos were preserved.

At this time another local RO observer noted sadly: The influx of tank engines into the Nottingham area has, of course, brought about the virtual extinction of the Ivatt 4-4-0s. After so many years of faithful service on the G.N. lines around here, it seems a little sad to realise that the last of these attractive little engines must soon inevitably reach the “end of the road”. The two Colwick casualties left the last 4-4-0, the hybrid D3 No. 62000 (ex-LNER No. 4075) based at Grantham, which during a Doncaster

Sources consulted: Locomotives of the LNER Part 3B. RCTS 1980.

Great Northern Engine Sheds Vols. 1, 2 & 3.

Griffiths & Hooper. Irwell Press and Challenger Books.

The Great Northern Railway Vol. 3. John Wrottesley.

Batsford. 1981.

The Railway Observer. Various issues.

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Above: During the twilight years of the GNR 4-4-0s in Lincolnshire, their duties over the spread of branch lines emanating from the likes of Boston and Louth had become their bread and butter. Typically, and in smart condition, D2 No. 4333 is seen with a two coach service at Bardney which was the junction of the Louth line on the Boston-Lincoln route. The train is seen arriving from the south at the Louth platform and may be proceeding there or Lincoln or alternatively terminating at Bardney. The loco was built during November 1898 and was one of the very few of the class to make it through to 1950 having been based at Hitchin during the 1930s, Grantham during the war years and a few thereafter. As LNER No. 2161 since April 1946, a final move to Colwick occurred during November 1949 and she managed another eight months or so (probably in store) before being condemned during July 1950.

Photo: A.W. Croughton/Rail Archive Stephenson, Courtesy Rail-Online.

Left: Showing evidence of hard work at the ‘front end’, LNER D3 No. 4079 with express headlamps was captured amidst NER company at Scarborough sometime during the 1930s prior to being withdrawn during October 1937. As GNR No. 1079 the loco was one of the first batch of ten Ivatt ‘400’ series produced between May and June 1897 and classified firstly as ‘D2’ from 1900 and then ‘D3’ as each of the class was rebuilt by Gresley with the larger 4ft 8in diameter boiler. Those not rebuilt were classified ‘D4’ by the LNER. No. 4079 moved from D4 to D3 status on being rebuilt during January 1926. In July 1933, in company with classmate No. 4071, the loco was moved from the Southern area to Darlington possibly as intended ‘extras’ to work over the Stainmore route and others. However, a few days later both were sent ‘on loan’ to York and this arrangement became permanent as from early 1936. From then on the loco remained at York employed on local passenger, excursion and some freight services to the south until condemned in October 1937.

Photo: Neville Stead Collection (NS200407) © Transport Treasury.

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An early BR-era shot of a commendably clean D3, No. 62131, taking on water at the east end of Nottingham Midland station near the ‘East’ signal box on 30 March 1948. Built during April 1898 as D2 No. 1316, it was rebuilt during February 1914 with the larger Ivatt boiler to become ‘D3’ and at the same time uniquely received separate splashers which were carried until withdrawal. In the photograph the depth of the loco cab cut-outs have been reduced at some date to ease the discomfort of side winds. As LNER No. 4316 she was a familiar sight in the Nottingham and Derby area, being regularly based at Colwick since at least 1922 until the ’40s when it had moved firstly to Immingham and then to Peterborough New England shed probably during 1946. The loco was one of just two of the class to carry its BR allocated number; the other being the celebrated No. 62000. Withdrawal from New England occurred during October 1949.

Photo: Neville Stead Collection (NS202370) © Transport Treasury.

Returning to Scotland, D1 No. 62208 had been based at Hawick since before 1939 and was destined to finish her career there after pottering around on local passenger and freight duties over the Border Counties line to Hexham, the Berwick line including the Jedburgh branch and the Waverley line to Carlisle. The loco was built during May 1911 as GNR No. 57 and had arrived in Scotland in 1925. After being fitted with Westinghouse brakes at Cowlairs Works it was initially based at St Margarets, then moved to Carlisle and finally to Hawick where she was accompanied by two other classmates (Nos. 3051/65). Whilst at Hawick she reverted to the steam brake arrangement during January 1944 and on Nationalisation was numbered BR No. 62208. She is seen at Berwick with her new BR identity and, uniquely for the D1 class, a smokebox number plate and curved handrail – the former acquired during a Cowlairs visit during May 1949 for light repairs. The final call came in July 1950 leaving briefly just two other survivors of the class until No. 62203 at Colwick succumbed a month later and lastly No. 2209 at Stirling during November. Photo: Neville Stead Collection (NS202368) © Transport Treasury

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Almost the end of her days for D2 No. 62172, ‘The Merry Widow’, seen laid up at Doncaster during late June 1951 after withdrawal from Colwick shed earlier that month. Whilst working services in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire she had flown a solo flag for the class since the withdrawal of Nos. 2154/81 from Boston the previous November. Completed during October 1900 as D1 No. 1369, by the Grouping and afterwards classified as ‘D2’ No. 4369 by the LNER the loco appeared not to stray too far from parent GNR metals being then based at Lincoln, followed by moves to Boston, Grantham and finally, from May 1949, Colwick where it acquired, possibly uniquely for the class, a cast ‘38A’ shedplate. It says much about the durability of the class that whilst at Colwick the loco was recorded working passenger trains between Nottingham and Derby during the month previous to her demise and even at the very last had been fitted with a new brick arch, possibly anticipating an extended use which was not to be! Photo: Neville Stead Collection (NS202362) © Transport Treasury

The finale – Grantham loco yard with D3 No. 62000 seen in its BR-liveried and final form prior to withdrawal on 18th October 1951. The much-travelled loco had started life as GNR D2 No. 4075 during June 1897 and was one of the batch sent to Darlington for work over the Stainmore line and other routes. Prior to this it had been based at Ardsley and Copley Hill sheds, Leeds, but after its Darlington interlude was at Hull Botanic Gardens from January 1936 until sent back to the Southern area the following year. During a September/October 1944 routine visit to Doncaster Works it was selected to become the engine of choice to haul Officer’s specials. It received a side window cab, sight screens, a cut down chimney with a brass cap plus brass cab fittings and splasher headings. The loco was turned out impressively in LNER green with the company coat of arms displayed between the letters ‘N’ and ‘E’ on the tender and numbered ‘2000’. The loco was based at Grantham for use on ordinary services as well as inspection specials and when shopped at Doncaster in January 1950 was renumbered ‘62000’ but kept the LNER green livery. Photo: Neville Stead Collection (NS202352) © Transport Treasury

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Ghosts over Stainmore

W

BY IAN LAMB

hilst flicking through my ancient scrapbook of over sixty years ago, I came across an old British Railways cutting of the former North Eastern Railway station at Barnard Castle situated nearly seventeen miles west of Darlington. Railway lines radiated from here to Bishop Auckland, Kirkby Stephen, Penrith and Middleton-in-Teesdale. Understandably, that image is now very grainy, but another picture of the period still exudes the attractiveness of the town!

as fierce as 1-in-60 in some of the country’s wildest terrain over the 1,370ft Stainmore Summit. It has captured the imaginations of railway enthusiasts ever since.

This dramatic route was laid out by Cumbrian engineer Sir Thomas Bouch, whose bridge across the River Tay collapsed in 1879. However, his engineering reputation was redeemed slightly as the similarly constructed iron viaduct across the River Belah survived until closure.

The South Durham & Lancashire Union Railway was primarily built to take coke to the Cumberland and Furness blast furnaces and iron ore back to Cleveland; by 1874 much of the line was doubled. In 1910 five passenger trains were provided by the North Eastern Railway on weekdays, the journey taking 45 minutes. Forty years later, under BR, the service was virtually the same!

Historically, as the Lancaster & Carlisle Railway pushed through the West Coast Main Line north, pressure was mounting to link east and west railways. This line began life as the South Durham & Lancashire Union Railway, an offshoot of the Stockton & Darlington, overcoming resistance from successive Dukes of Cleveland until 1854 who did not want a railway over their land. The result being a tortuous line between Barnard Castle and Tebay in 1861. It was taken over by the Stockton & Darlington Railway in 1863 and later the same year was absorbed by the North Eastern Railway. In the process it eventually linked Darlington and Bishop Auckland with Tebay and Penrith, but featured gradients

The ‘Stainmore Route’ was also utilised for seasonal and excursion through trains between the north east and the Lancashire resorts of Blackpool and Morecambe. An unusual service which lasted until the line’s closure was an unpublicised passenger schedule, once every two weeks, normally on a Friday. This was The National Union of Mineworkers’ train from Durham to Ulverston in the Lake District carrying injured and sick miners to their convalescent home at Conishead Priory.

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A heavy passenger train, hauled by BR Standard Class 3MT 2-6-0 No. 77011 and banked at the rear, crosses Belah viaduct.

Photo: Neville Stead Collection (NS205078) © Transport Treasury

Because of weight restrictions, particularly over the Belah Viaduct, small locomotives were needed on this route, to which the LNER Class J21s and J25s 0-6-0s did sterling work. British Railways Standards and Ivatt ‘moguls’ eventually ousted the J21s, the last one running on the line on 7th May 1960. This remote and wild railway environment closed as a through route on 20th January 1962. British Railways very quickly lifted the track, demolished Belah

Viaduct and other structures, leaving only the section from Hartley Quarry at Merrygill to Appleby open to carry goods traffic until October 1974. This included a section of the South Durham and Lancashire Union Railway near Kirkby Stephen. Sadly, the former railway has long gone, but I want to imagine that I had a footplate pass for a train heading over the line, and to do this I’ve selected a collection of pictures taken when the railway was in

NEW BIGGIN

durham COCKFIELD

MIDDLETON-IN-TEESDALE

LONG MARTON

MICKLETON KIRKBY THORE

yorkshire

APPLEBY

ROMALDKIRK COTHERSTONE

westmorland

LARTINGTON

ORMSIDE WARCOP Helm Tunnel Stainmore Summit

MUSGRAVE BARRAS

CROSBY GARRETT Loco Shed

SMARDALE

BOWES

Belah Viaduct

KIRKBY STEPHEN GAISGILL

RAVENSTONEDALE

KIRKBY STEPHEN & RAVENSTONEDALE NORTH EASTERN RAILWAY MIDLAND RAILWAY

Birkett Tunnel Wild Boar Fell

High Seat

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WINSTON

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3rd August 1954 • Sister engine to 78017, Standard 2-6-0 No. 78019 rests between duties at Kirkby Stephen MPD. Photo: Neville Stead Collection (NS205235) © Transport Treasury

existence and choosing typical locomotives that performed on the ‘Stainmore Route’. In such a sparsely populated area passenger traffic was light, while in winter the line was often at the mercy of harsh weather. Trains – like the Dava route behind my house – were regularly snowed in for days after winter storms. In particular, one of my favourite British Transport Films has always been Snowdrift at Bleath Gill.

class were also allocated to 51F West Auckland, partly for similar duties in the opposite direction.

The differences incorporated all the major developments which had been successful on the larger BR Standard designs, but, being considerably lighter, were ideal means of motive power on the Stainmore route. Additionally such improvements included reduction of time required at running sheds for preparation and disposal services at the beginning and end of their day’s work.

The ten minute monochrome British Transport film concentrated on a freight train travelling between Kirkby Stephen and Barnard Castle. Motive Power, Operating and Engineering departments got to work with snowploughs to reach the trapped locomotive and vehicles. Eventually, the railway team dug clear of the snow and thawed out the moving parts to finally rescue the train, four days after it had been stranded!

From a design point of view these locomotives bore great similarities to the Ivatt designed machines of 1946, and were often misunderstood as such. At one point in time No. 46479 was allocated to Kirkby Stephen, followed by No. 46482 to West Auckland.

Now, clutching my treasured ‘pass’ (and cleared the foreman’s office) I approach the Standard 2-6-0 engine as she is stood simmering, ready to leave West Auckland depot while her driver carried out last minute checks, oiling the motion, and above him the fireman was doing his best to build up steam enough to ascend the mighty Pennines. Soon we were signalled on to the main line,

That snowbound train was headed by BR Standard Class 2 2-6-0 No. 78017, one of four engines of this class that were allocated to 12D Kirkby Stephen motive power depot.

They were physically the smallest of the Standard classes, of which 65 were built at Darlington Works. Nine of the 20

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20th April 1960 • Standard Class ‘mogul’ No. 76046 leads a trio of locomotives at West Auckland MPD. Photo: Mike Mitchell (MM1147) © Transport Treasury

uplift the coaches, and head off to Barnard Castle. For the moment the driver cuts off steam as he brakes towards the platform after clattering across the level crossing on the approach to the station. Whilst the few passengers board their train, and the guard and driver converse on current matters, the fireman takes advantage of the water facilities to top the tender ready for creating the eventual vast amount of steam that will be needed to take this service up to and over Stainmore summit.

considered as the gateway to the Lake District, and set amid delightful scenery. ‘Barney’ has a romantic setting and is well worth exploring. The main attractions include the Castle; Oliver Cromwell’s house; Bowes Museum and ‘The Kings Head’ inn where Charles Dickens stayed and gained inspiration for his book, Nicholas Nickleby.

Unique in railway history was Barnard Castle station clock. When the line was in operation, trains departed in reference to a long wall clock bearing an endorsed brass plaque, “This is a genuine Master Humphrey’s clock.

In the 1950s Barnard Castle was a fine market town

23rd June 1951 • Looking east from Barnard Castle station. The main bracket signal covers the route to West Auckland (left) and Darlington (right).

Photo: Neville Stead Collection (NS205058A) © Transport Treasury

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the force of escaping steam was more than enough to scare some birds resting on the station rafters.

Our train accelerates past the West signal box and over the Percy Beck bridge, and on to the impressive Pecknell Viaduct over the River Tees. The railway continues on a relatively level embankment running high above the surrounding fields towards Lartington. The engine was getting into its stride as it bade farewell to the Middletonin-Teesdale line heading off on the right before coasting in to the station, but not before due reverence was paid to the Middleton branch.

By now our effervescent locomotive was ‘champing at the bit’ to challenge the road ahead, but it first had to slow down for the Deepdale Viaduct crossing. From here the relatively flat agricultural land is gouged out by the railway in a wide curve, eventually heading under the old Roman road (A67) and running parallel with it until reaching Bowes station.

Late 1950s • Barnard Castle station. Photo: Author’s Collection

A product of the skill of the Barnard Castle clock maker immortalised by Dickens”.

In addition to its agricultural traffic, great quantities of military stores and equipment for its permanent camp and battle school were handled. A local penicillin factory relied on speedy passenger services for the transport of this important product. An unusual seasonal product (‘blue stocks’ – edible fungi) was conveyed to markets in Leeds and Bradford. Making chamois leather was a thriving local industry, much of which was despatched by train.

This village itself is mainly obliterated today as part of a major road junction and bypass for Barnard Castle, and for just over a mile thereafter; the former trackbed now serves as part of the A66 dual carriageway. A steady ascent is made towards the distant Stainmore Summit. From the end of Bowes station the steep incline began in earnest.

The signalman had cleared the line ahead, and just as the guard had given the ‘right away’ for this mobile railway ensemble, the boiler pressure on the engine was such that

The roar from the exhaust was heard far and wide, echoing across the moor until the summit was reached, when

11th June 1962 • ‘Foreign’ motive power in the shape of an ex-LMS 2-6-4T locomotive, Stanier Class 4P 2-6-4T No. 42553, waits to head off from Barnard Castle station with a local eastbound service, whilst the sidings are fully occupied with rolling stock.

Photo: Neville Stead Collection (NS205061) © Transport Treasury

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23rd June 1951 • Looking west from Percy Beck bridge to Barnard Castle station.

Photo: Neville Stead Collection (NS205058A1) © Transport Treasury

Romaldkirk station in winter. Photo: Neville Stead Collection (NS205063) © Transport Treasury

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things could ease up a bit. A stop was located alongside the railway cottages close to Stainmore Summit. That site is now lost under the A66 dual-carriageway. A nontimetabled stopping place was known to be in use in 1948, primarily for the use of railwaymen’s wives. There would not have been any kind of platform, but steps were provided for alighting or joining passengers.

gradually fading from the scene, but at least attempts are being made to resurrect some of the past.

With the main viaducts quickly being demolished after closure notice had been made, the operating side of the whole line was reduced to that of a branch line from Appleby. Such outliers are fondly remembered by steam enthusiasts as the age of the local ‘pick-up’ goods service, travelling to collect or deliver wagons and shunt yards as required. The inevitable line closures, the spread of road transport, plus the move away from wagonload traffic saw its final demise.

Downhill now through Barras to the River Belah. The wildness of the Stainmore route can be summed up by the Belah viaduct. It was the highest in England at 196ft, with a length of 347 yards across sixteen spans. Despite the Tay Bridge disaster, the similarly constructed iron viaduct across the Belah river survived until closure. Weight restrictions over this crossing limited the size of locomotives working the route, and no two trains were allowed to pass on it simultaneously.

Nevertheless, the photographic records of the many who recorded the ‘Stainmore Line’ in its prime have enabled us to recall these wonderful days when steam reigned supreme over this part of The Pennines. Then, strategically placed in its own right, Kirkby Stephen East also provided the junction to Tebay and Penrith. Alas much of the Tebay route is now covered in tarmac, and the railway structures on the route are but a memory. Smardalegill Viaduct is part of a very attractive walk.

The fireman on our ghost train was now in a relaxing mood coasting downhill within sight of Kirkby Stephen only six miles away on a steady winding descent through the very attractive upper agricultural land of the Eden Valley. In recent times the section between Merrygill, near the village of Hartley, and Stenkrith Bridge has been recreated as a walk/cycle way.

At least the missing part of the northern track base from Kirkby Stephen East station to Warcop may yet be relaid from Kirkby Stephen East, making it possible for steam train specials to run all the way from Carlisle to the heart of the Eden Valley once again. For the moment the Eden Valley Railway Trust runs trains between Warcop and Southfields.

Our ghosts on the ‘Stainmore Route’ were now beginning to disappear as the reality of today came into focus. The imaginary locomotive and her crew – and train – in one’s memory approached Kirkby Stephen East station,

13th April 1951 • Ancient railway stock together. A North Eastern tank loco, 1894-built Class G5 No. 67284 with a clerestory coach, sets the period in this scene. Photo: Neville Stead Collection (NS205066A) © Transport Treasury

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13th April 1951 • North Eastern Class G5 0-4-4T No. 67284 is appropriately seen at Middleton-in-Teesdale terminus.

Photo: Neville Stead Collection (NS205065) © Transport Treasury The Pennine rain falls on a modern DMU just prior to closure of the line.

Photo: Neville Stead Collection (NS205066/1) © Transport Treasury

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The first station from Barnard Castle lies in the beautiful setting of Lartington, showing Class J21 0-6-0 No. 65098 departing with a Kirkby Stephen local service as it builds up steam towards the Deepdale crossing. Photo: Neville Stead Collection (NS205070) © Transport Treasury The lattice work on Deepdale viaduct. Photo: R. C. Riley (RCR8256) © Transport Treasury

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20th January 1962 • Standard Class 3 2-6-0 No. 77003 double-heads Class 4 2-6-0 No. 76049 with a westbound train across Deepdale viaduct. Photo: Neville Stead Collection (NS209072) © Transport Treasury 19th April 1957 • Bowes station. Photo: Neville Stead Collection (NS209073) © Transport Treasury

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7th May 1960 • Class J21 No. 65033 with a westbound passenger train tops Stainmore Summit.

Photo: Neville Stead Collection (NS205075) © Transport Treasury The remains of Kirkby Stephen East station. Photo: Norris Forrest (NF240-25) © Transport Treasury

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Kirkby Stephen East complex in better times. Photo: Neville Stead Collection (NS205082) © Transport Treasury 12th September 1959 • 12D Kirkby Stephen Motive Power Depot. Photo: Neville Stead Collection (NS205084C) © Transport Treasury

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August 1959 • Looking west from Kirkby Stephen. Photo: Norris Forrest (NF013-17) © Transport Treasury Class 3MT 2-6-0 No. 77002 pilots an eastbound train over Smardale Viaduct. Photo: Neville Stead Collection (NS205086) © Transport Treasury

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29th May 1960 • Ravenstonedale station. Photo: Norris Forrest (NF038-11) © Transport Treasury The remains of Gaisgill station and signal box. Photo: Norris Forrest (NF240-32) © Transport Treasury

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11th September 1954 • Leaving the West Coast Main Line at Tebay for the cross-country route to Kirkby Stephen, behind Standard 2-6-0 No. 77012 and J21 No. 65090. Photo: Neville Stead Collection (NS209230) © Transport Treasury 11th September 1954 • Class J21 0-6-0 No. 65090 has a full head of steam outside Tebay’s coaling plant while her crew tramples down the coal for the long journey ahead. Photo: Neville Stead Collection (NS209229A) © Transport Treasury

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1954 • Five Standard 2-6-0 engines – 78015, 78014, 77004, 77010 and 77003 – are crammed into Tebay’s NER locomotive servicing bay.

Note the cable for slipping the coupling. Photo: Neville Stead Collection (NS209220) © Transport Treasury Ivatt ‘Mucky Pig’ Class 4MT 2-6-0 No. 43121 heads tender first over Appleby East level crossing and into the station with an empty train of mineral wagons for Merrygill quarry. Photo: Norris Forrest (NF-241-29) © Transport Treasury

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Ivatt 4MT Mogul No. 43121 hardly disturbs the peace as it rolls gently into the single platform at Appleby East.

Photo: Norris Forrest (NF-241-26) © Transport Treasury Appleby West station with the ‘Settle & Carlisle’ line going straight ahead. 43121 again with its train of empty mineral wagons. The route from Appleby to Kirkby Stephen links off right at the back of the signal box. Photo: Norris Forrest (NF-241-24) © Transport Treasury

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Clifton Moor station. Photo: Neville Stead Collection (NS205095) © Transport Treasury 14th April 1951 • North Eastern Class J21 0-6-0 No. 65047 coasts into Penrith station – the furthest north western outpost of the ‘Stainmore Line’ – with its train from Kirkby Stephen. Photo: Neville Stead Collection (NS205095A) © Transport Treasury

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STRATFORD’S TRACTION TRANSITION

T

BY DAVE BRENNAND

he steam era motive power at the mighty Stratford locomotive depot in the heart of London’s East End fell victim to the London Clean Air Act of 1956. The ‘Great Smog’ of 1952 caused the premature deaths of over 12,000 souls, so the urgency for change was certainly warranted. Not good news for the steam loving trainspotters of the day, but Public Health took priority over nostalgia.

Hence the dawn of the diesels and slightly cleaner air, for we now know that the particulates in diesel fumes are not quite what was hoped for in the 1950s!

In the onslaught to replace steam, many locomotive manufacturers were contracted to supply a wide variety of new diesels in the late 1950s. Due to the British Transport Commission's haste to eliminate steam, prototypes for each new diesel class were overlooked and this proved to be a very expensive mistake. As we now know, some of these classes were soon to become very unreliable, particularly the machines emanating from the North British Company. The British Thomson Houston Class 15 locomotives fared little better and were also troublesome.

The poor maintenance fitters at Stratford must have thought “Why us?”

It is well documented that the atmosphere around Stratford depot was truly dreadful during that decade, with a hundred or more steam locomotives all being prepared for the morning rush hour during the week.

When the toxic gases from local gas works and factories, not to mention road traffic, were added to the mix, the reasons for cleaner air became blatantly obvious. Steam locomotives, many of them built by the Great Eastern Railway at Stratford, had dominated passenger and freight services for over 100 years, but their planned demise was brutal and quick. The other aspect, often overlooked, was the detrimental effect that the pollution had on railwaymen, particularly footplatemen, loco cleaners and those cleaning out ashpans and ash pits. Has anybody ever seen a picture of these men wearing masks?

On a more positive note, the Brush Type 2 (Class 31/0) ‘Toffee Apple’ locos supplied by the Brush factory were far more successful and were in service for over 20 years.

The first English Electric Type 4 (Class 40) locomotives were quickly thrown in the deep end and ousted the Britannias on the Norwich services, although Stratford did not have enough of them to see the complete elimination of steam on the most prestigious express services from Liverpool Street.

Stratford had a large allocation of 03, 04 and 08 diesel shunting classes. From November 1960, an initial order of 42 English Electric Type 3 (Class 37) started to appear on many GE services, accelerating the withdrawal of even more steam locomotives at Stratford; the vast lines of forlorn withdrawn locomotives and widespread cutting up became a depressing sight. By September 1962 the Master Plan of steam elimination from all East Anglian depots had been achieved. The evocative colour images on the following pages, the majority of which have never been published before, give a taste of what were everyday sights during the transformation of traction in the East End.

In 1950 there were 393 steam locos allocated to Stratford (30A), comprising of 28 B1s, 21 B12s, 12 B17s, some 30 K2/3s, numerous 0-6-0 freight engines, 22 L1s, some 60-odd 0-6-0 'Buckjumpers' and over 100 N7s. This is not a complete list as there were numerous smaller classes represented including the robust GER (B74) Y4 0-4-0 shunting tanks. Built at Stratford for local small freight yards, they never strayed far from their home depot and all five were sadly scrapped. In fact, the Departmental Y4 No. 33 (formerly 68129) was the very last steam locomotive working at Stratford, shunting dead locos onto the scrap lines for several months after the official end of steam in September 1962. It met its grisly end at a scrap yard near Brunswick Junction on the former Millwall Junction to Blackwall line in 1963.

Right: Class J69/2 No. 68498 (Departmental No. 44) at Stratford A small number of Stratford’s J69s were relegated to Departmental use around the depot and local carriage sidings. This is former No. 68498 in its guise as Dept. No. 44 creeping slowly between the Tender Shop and Paint Shop in the dying days of steam operations at Stratford depot. “Beware of the Steam Engine’s Demise” would be more appropriate wording for the sign above the loco!

Photo: Andy Grimmett Collection.

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Left: Stratford Class Y4 No. 68128 The cold, harsh reality of steam being banished from Stratford. Former GER B74, latterly designated Y4, No. 68128 awaits the heat of the cutter’s torch in the winter of 1956, having been withdrawn in October.

These were designed specifically for use at Bow Creek (Pepper Warehouse) at Canning Town and the cavernous yards under the main line at Mile End (Devonshire Street). Robust and compact, these tenacious machines weighed just 38 tons but had high tractive effort and could negotiate the tightest curves in the yards they worked. Always synonymous with Stratford, they were built there and apart from the last one in service, No. 33 (68129), they all met their fate within the depot confines. Photo: Author’s Collection.

Above: Standard Class 4MT No. 80077 at Stratford Low Level As steam was phased out on the London, Tilbury and Southend route in the early 1960s, some BR Standard 2-6-4 tanks were sent to work on the GE Section. Former Tilbury (33B) engine No. 80077 waits for the ‘Right Away’ from the guard with a North Woolwich to Palace Gates service at Stratford Low Level in 1962. It was only at 30A for slightly under three months. The left hand colour light controlled by Fork Junction signal box would route the train via Channelsea Junction, High Meads and Temple Mills, then towards South Tottenham, where the branch to Seven Sisters and Palace Gates deviated. As the rail traffic from the London docks slowly declined, the number of workers using this service also diminished. The Palace Gates branch succumbed to closure in January 1963 and was one of the last bastions of steam hauled passenger trains on the former GE network, only taken over by diesel haulage in the final six months. Photo: Author’s Collection.

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Above: Class J15 0-6-0 No. 65462 at Ponders End A truly evocative image of Stratford allocated J15 0-6-0 No. 65462 at Ponders End on the Lea Valley line in 1960. A quartet of varied brake vans are about to be shunted into Ponders End Gas Works. The station building dated back to the opening of the line by the Northern & Eastern Railway in 1840. It was demolished in the late 1960s when the line was electrified. The gas works opened in 1859 and supplied gas for the local community for over 100 years, finally being severed from the main line in 1971. Photo: Gordon Wells/Andy Grimmett Collection Right: The same engine is seen in close up shunting a single tar wagon for the gas works.

The industrial backdrop and ancient station building are more visible in this delightful view. This locomotive survived the rapid onslaught of scrapping steam and is now the only surviving member of the class, being resident at the North Norfolk Railway, where it has been beautifully restored in GER Royal Blue livery at the time of writing.

Photo: Gordon Wells/ Andy Grimmett Collection

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D5512 at manor way level crossing, 1969 Very few photographers recorded the dying days of traffic on the Custom House to Beckton Gas Works branch. This view was taken in 1969 as Brush Type 2 ‘Toffee Apple’ A1A-A1A No. D5512 works a Beckton to Temple Mills freight over Manor Way level crossing. The branch closed in February 1971. The Northern Outfall Sewer can be seen in the background being carried over the road in giant pipes buried in embankments stretching from Hackney to Beckton. Today it has been landscaped and is a useful path/cycle route. The prefab houses and delightful road vehicles all combine to present one of the finest views of bygone Stratford workings. Photo: Author’s Collection

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Left: Stratford Low Level Class J19 0-6-0 No. 64657 Returning to Stratford Low Level we see J19 0-6-0 No. 64657 drifting through the station with a Stratford Market to Temple Mills freight in 1959. The right hand signal shows a caution aspect and the driver is braking for Fork Junction ahead. The signal box can be glimpsed through the bridge which carries the main line tracks. The train is routed through the middle of Stratford’s sprawling loco depot and works via the Loop Line and would emerge at Temple Mills East Junction.

Drivers had a real challenge to keep the couplings tight through this junction as there were rising gradients either side with a dip in the middle. Any mishandling of the power and brakes would lead to the couplings snatching, which risked a broken coupling or giving the guard a very uncomfortable ride!

Photo: Andy Grimmett Collection.

Above: Class 15 D8227 Temple Mills Loco Depot Whereas locos on Stratford depot lured many thousands of photographers, very few ventured to the poorly recorded Temple Mills loco depot in its short-lived heyday in the early 1960s. When the rebuilt yard opened in 1958, there were basic facilities for steam locos in the shape of a turntable and coaling tower. The provision of a diesel depot was an afterthought and it opened early in 1961 as seen here.

Class 15 BTH Bo-Bo D8227 is flanked by three Brush Type 2 locos and a North British Bo-Bo Class 16 outside the new building.

The tender of a steam loco can be glimpsed alongside the shed. Photo: Author’s Collection.

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Above: Stanier 8F No. 48133 at Temple Mills, early 1960s A rare colour view of a Cricklewood (14A) based ex-LMS 8F 2-8-0, No. 48133, at Temple Mills depot in the early 1960s. Having been turned and coaled, it simmers before returning to its home turf. It is well documented that Temple Mills yard hosted steam workings for at least a year after steam finished on the GE and some steam workings were also recorded at Ripple Lane yard beyond September 1962.

Photo: Unknown/Author’s Collection Right: Class 15 D8209 Temple Mills Marshalling Yard This view gives an idea of the vast area of land occupied by Temple Mills Marshalling Yard.

We are looking towards Stratford and just half of the 49 sorting sidings are in view with Temple Mills Wagon Shops occupying the area to the right.

The main line bisects the two yards and curves to the right alongside the River Lea. Class 15 British Thomson-Houston 800hp Bo-Bo D8209, one of the first batch of ten which went to Devons Road in 1958, waits for the signal. Thankfully, one member of the 44-strong class, No. D8233, has been preserved and is undergoing extensive restoration at the East Lancashire Railway.

Photo: Author’s Collection

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Above: Class 31s at Temple Mills, c.1961 A pair of unidentified Brush Type 2 (Class 31) diesels have left their freight train on one of the Temple Mills hump reception roads, and are approaching the hump cabin circa 1961.

Upon reversal, they will gain access to the loco depot (behind the photographer) via the lines in the foreground which was their main purpose, thereby avoiding conflicting movements. Note the three-position hump shunting signal.

Photo: Author’s Collection Right: Temple Mills Hump Looking towards Lea Bridge, this view shows the rare three-position hump shunting signal in the clear (green) vertical position. Lower speed hump shunting as the wagons reached the top of the hump was signified by the signal being set at halfway (caution/yellow) and stop as per any other semaphore. A single 350hp diesel shunter is working in the West Yard sidings and a pair of them are pushing a train towards the hump. It was normal to have two pairs working on the hump reception roads.

I spent many hours, mainly on night turns, driving these in the late 1970s. A Class 15 BTH loco has arrived with another train on an adjacent road. Photo: Author’s Collection

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Above: D5564 Temple Mills Loco Depot Our final view of Temple Mills loco depot was taken from the top of a diesel storage tank, which proves that some of these images were taken by a railway employee. In the distance is the coal-fired Lea Bridge Gas Works, which had coal delivered by rail. The diesel depot was an expensive mistake and needed to be staffed throughout the day and night, in addition to those men doing the same tasks at Stratford, less than two miles away. By the mid-1960s it had closed and all light engine movements, fuelling and maintenance was redirected to Stratford.

The empty shell of the building was still standing in the 1980s. Photo: Author’s Collection Left: 31273 at Temple Mills, viewed from Ruckholt Bridge Ruckholt Road bridge was a great vantage point to witness the movements at the eastern end of Temple Mills yard. Something which I was guilty of in the early 1970s. In the foreground is 31273 accompanied by three of its classmates. The year is 1982 and there is a healthy amount of traffic in the yard.

Sadly, in the mid-1980s the yard went into a spiral of decline as traffic dwindled away or fell victim to block train loads and the abandonment of individual wagon loads. Today, this area is occupied by the vast Eurostar depot which opened in 2007.

Photo: Author’s Collection

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CLASS A4 No. 60027 MERLIN

BY KEVIN POTTS

46

T

rying to select just one of the 35 A4 locomotives put into service by the LNER for the subject of this article is not an easy task. 34 locomotives survived into BR ownership (4469 Sir Ralph Wedgwood having been withdrawn after suffering bomb damage in York MPD during WW2). There were some inspired and evocative names. But as a retired Royal Navy pilot, the fact that 60027 Merlin was graced with the crest of HMS Merlin made the selection simple for me. Although entering service on 13th March 1937 as 4486, I’ve chosen to comment on pictures of the locomotive in BR days, running as 60027.

Seen passing Haymarket shed with an express passenger train, No. 60027 Merlin has been finished in the experimental so-called purple livery applied to Nos. 60024/27/28 and 29 in 1948 and carried by these A4s until 1950, when they changed to the new standard BR dark blue. The WD 2-8-0 No. 63072 seen in the background of this photograph was a visitor from Tweedmouth, soon to be transferred to Hull, and later renumbered 90072. © Image courtesy of David P. Williams Colour Archive; original monochrome photograph by J. Robertson.

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Above: 60027 sparkling at Haymarket Shed, Edinburgh, in 1958.

Photo: © Rail-Online

Right: 60027 at Grantshouse 20th June 1953.

Photo: © Transport Treasury

As described by Norman McKillop in his book Enginemen Elite, Haymarket’s senior footplate links were given their ‘own’ locomotives as an attempt to improve maintenance and performance after the war. For several years Merlin was the mount of Driver Bill Stevenson, and both turned in some impressive and consistent performances at the head of The Elizabethan (better known to railwaymen simply as The Non-Stop).

Merlin was a Scottish based A4 for her entire 28 years of service.

Here she sweeps through the gentle reverse curves at Grantshouse between Edinburgh and Berwick-on-Tweed. Note the immaculate condition of the permanent way and lineside. Those with eagle eyes may notice a dark shadow on top of the boiler casing. It would appear that the circular cover allowing access to the steam dome on the boiler has not been refitted by the shed staff for some reason.

The locomotives turned out for this duty – both from Kings Cross Top Shed and Edinburgh Haymarket – were immaculate. This is reflected by 60027’s appearance here, seen after fitting of the Kylchap double chimney in 1958. With coal in the tender topped up as high as the loading gauge permits, it appears that 60027 is gently setting back towards the water column to ensure the tank is also topped up before leaving the shed.

Merlin was allocated to Haymarket from 1937 to 1962. After a brief two year spell at St. Rollox she returned to Edinburgh in 1964, based at St. Margarets until withdrawal in 1965. During her time in service she ran for 1,556,803 miles.

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A panned shot of 60027 racing along the main line outside Edinburgh in the early 1950s. Photo: © Transport Treasury On 26th May 1946, the unofficial link between No. 27 (as she then was) and the Royal Naval Aircraft Repair Depot, HMS Merlin, in Donibristle was formally recognised. The locomotive was presented with a pair of crests at an official ceremony attended by both RN staff and Haymarket enginemen. The crests were initially mounted on the cab sides. These were relocated to the boiler casing in 1948, in which position they were carried until the locomotive was withdrawn in September 1965.

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Above: 60027 sweeps over the crossing into York station with a train from the north in the early 1960s. Photo: © Rail-Online (SA-SB).

This picture is full of atmosphere and detail as well as things that simply wouldn’t be allowed today for safety reasons. The most obvious is the youthful trainspotter lineside! He may be supervised by the person out of shot to the left, but neither are in a position of safety as recognised today. As well as the Fireman leaning out to get an early view of any signals blocked from his Driver’s sight by the boiler, note also the heads leaning from the windows of the leading coach. No doubt passengers are taking advantage of the sweeping right hand curve over the crossing to view Merlin with York station as a background ahead.

Merlin was fitted with AWS in May 1960. The magnet is situated behind the steel plate protecting it from the front screw coupling. Also of note is the reversed headboard, a common practice giving a practical storage solution when the locomotive was booked to work a named express on the balancing working.

Right: 60027 at Haymarket MPD. © Transport Treasury.

As the Deltics encroached upon the ECML in the ’60s, a selection of A4s were earmarked for possible use to decrease timings on expresses between Glasgow and Aberdeen. The initial trial was scheduled to use 60031 Golden Plover, but following a failure of that locomotive 60027 was transferred to St. Rollox in 1962 to cover. In February 1962 Merlin ran the planned 3 hour trial service in 2½ hours. This lead to the introduction later that summer of the famous ‘3 hour expresses’ between those cities that allowed the remaining A4s a final flourish in Scotland as their time in service drew to a close.

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Above: 60027 heading The Elizabethan southbound at Cockburnspath 2nd August 1960. Photo: © Rail-Online QP9438.

The locomotive is running here with a short cut-off and the gap between the chimney and the exhaust indicates the Fireman has complete control of the fire and combustion is efficient.

Merlin enjoyed a strong reputation as a regular performer on The Elizabethan in 1959. The locomotive ran 62 trips during the year, 40 of them on consecutive days. This was no mean feat for a steam locomotive and is testament to the care of the fitting staff at Haymarket and the professionalism of the locomotive crews. In 1960 the locomotive completed a further 74 trips on the ‘Non-Stop’; McKillop was proven right after all!

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Top Left: 60027 at Dundee, 20th April 1953.

Photo: © Transport Treasury.

Above: Journey’s end at Kings Cross.

Photo: © Transport Treasury.

Merlin moving tender first at Dundee, being prepared for a return trip to Edinburgh. Note the smaller cowling for the single chimney.

The Driver is absorbed in looking in the direction of travel (rightly so!) but judging by his youthful appearance could be either the Fireman gaining experience at the regulator under careful supervision, or perhaps a young Passed Fireman? The other member of the footplate crew (with a pipe clenched between his teeth and the inevitable oily rag in hand) has spotted the camera and his attention is diverted!

A final and appropriate view of 60027 Merlin at rest in Kings Cross, at the head of an express but surrounded by the platform clutter of a bygone era. She has brought in the summer 10.50 Edinburgh – London service. The reversed headboard implies that the morning’s return working to Edinburgh is either The Elizabethan or its predecessor, The Capitals Limited. Given the attention that any steam working to the capital now draws, the sight of an A4 sitting in a seemingly deserted Kings Cross is surreal…

Bottom Left: 60027 backing out of Kings Cross.

Photo: © Rail-Online (RAS BS 7294).

Merlin reverses out of Kings Cross station after bringing in the Saturday working of The Elizabethan from Edinburgh Waverley on 20th August 1960. As ever on this prestigious service, the locomotive is in pristine condition – although close examination of the chime whistle just below the chimney may reveal something unusual! As usual, the Fireman has already reversed the headboard.

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MY TRAINSPOTTING ODYSSEY

BY GEOFF COURTNEY I started trainspotting in the spring of 1957 at the age of 13, initially at my home station of Ilford, on the former GER main line out of Liverpool Street between Stratford and Romford, and subsequently pursued the hobby up and down the country, including Scotland and Wales, for four years until, in the summer of 1961, a career in journalism beckoned me away to new pastures.

Now semi-retired, but still a journalist, I have returned to my love of steam railways, and in this issue of Eastern Times launch a short series of articles based on the logs kept of trains passing through Ilford from April 1957 until August 1961, a period of transition that started with all steam operations and ended virtually all diesel. We start with my observations of 1957.

Class J20 No. 64680 heads a freight train at Romford on 4th April 1953. The 0-6-0 was the first ever entry by Geoff Courtney in his logs of trains passing through his home station of Ilford, and was doubtless the first ever locomotive he ‘copped’ at the start of his trainspotting days in April 1957. Photo: © The Transport Treasury

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M

y trainspotting odyssey started on 9th April 1957, as I sat on my bike leaning against the fence in Mill Road overlooking the line into Liverpool Street just west of Ilford station, near the flyover. Up to that date I had been an avid London Transport bus enthusiast, but as the Routemaster started its relentless march to omnibus stardom, my attention turned to the railway line a mile or so from home.

streamlined similar to the A4 Pacifics, but this was removed in 1951 although the new name was retained.

Three days later I was back for another short spell of afternoon spotting, during which I again recorded No. 70008 Black Prince on the Down ‘Broadsman.’ The B17 line-up included No. 61670 City of London, the other member of the class streamlined by the LNER, on a Down Yarmouth working, and the unusual sight of a B17 ‘Footballer’ on a goods train, No. 61655 Middlesbrough.

A third member of the class, No. 61636 Harlaxton Manor, passed through on a Down Clacton four minutes after No. 61670, and two B1 4-6-0s, two N7s, and a K3, also made appearances, on freight trains, and another B1, No. 61252, on an Up Yarmouth train.

That inaugural visit on 9th April was short and in two stages, the first only 26 minutes and the second an even shorter 21 minutes, but it gave me the taste for a new interest that became a central part of my leisure time for more than four years. I see a note in my log that I assumed all the Up goods trains were from Goodmayes marshalling yard, which was to close in 1962, and were going to Stratford – presumably I was referring to the huge yard at Temple Mills – but whether that assumption was accurate I don’t know.

By now I had the bit between my teeth, and during the month I went to my Mill Road perch on four further days.

One of the undisputed highlights was on 18th April, when

The very first locomotive I recorded was J20 class 0-6-0 No. 64680 on an Up freight train, followed shortly after by another Up goods working, with J39 class 0-6-0 No. 64807 at the helm, while the first expresses were within a minute of each other, Class B17 4-6-0 No. 61618 Wynyard Park on an Up Clacton and B1 4-6-0 No. 61111 on a Down train to the same resort.

On a slightly diversionary note, the winter 1957/58 edition of the much-loved and treasured Ian Allan combined volume listed No. 61618 as Wynford Park, a rare error for these invaluable publications that were as vital to a steam era trainspotter’s travelling armoury as packed sandwiches and a bottle of pop.

Among other locomotives logged on that first day were ‘Brit’ Pacific No. 70008 Black Prince on an Ilford trainspotter’s highlight of the day, ‘The Broadsman’ express, and two further B17s, Nos. 61654 Sunderland and 61659 East Anglian, on Down Yarmouth and Clacton trains respectively. The latter was originally named Norwich City, but was renamed in September 1937 when it was

Britannia No. 70008 Black Prince speeds through Haughley, between Ipswich and Norwich, with The Broadsman, the Liverpool Street–Norwich flagship express. The Standard Pacific was a regular sight at Ilford during the 1950s.

Photo: Dr. Ian C. Allen (BR55) © The Transport Treasury

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The B17 ‘Footballers’ were among the favourite locomotives for trainspotters on the former GER main line, due to their evocative names. One of these 4-6-0s was No. 61654 Sunderland, seen here at an unidentified location, which was logged by Geoff passing through Ilford on 9th April 1957, the day he started his trainspotting hobby.

Photo: Dr. Ian C. Allen (ICA E3859) © The Transport Treasury

1952 Standard Britannia No. 70005 John Milton powers up Brentwood bank with the Down Day Continental boat train to Harwich Parkeston Quay.

Photo: Neville Stead (NS207649) © The Transport Treasury

2nd April 1957 No. 61003 Gazelle is seen here at Stratford three weeks before Geoff logged the B1 at Ilford.

Photo: Nick Nicolson (LN 684) © The Transport Treasury

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five successive Down expresses hauled by named locomotives sped through in the space of 14 minutes, a heady experience for this line and this nascent trainspotter.

The quintet comprised Britannia Pacifics Nos. 70008 Black Prince and 70009 Alfred the Great, and B17s Nos. 61608 Gunton, 61659 East Anglian, and 61662 Manchester United.

miles away in July 1899 and was to be withdrawn in October 1958 after a service life of nearly six decades. The other was No. 65463, a mere youngster at 45 years of age.

With my trainspotting hobby being on hold during the summer school term, I next cycled to Mill Road on 22nd July, and in the course of 3½ hours logged, among others, seven B17s and four ‘Brits.’ The former included Nos. 61662 Manchester United, 61663 Everton, and 61672 West Ham United, a trio of names that enthralled us sports-mad youngsters – and, come to that, in my case still do.

Up expresses on that day included ‘Brit’ No. 70005 John Milton on ‘The Scandinavian’ and B17 No. 61669 Barnsley, one of whose nameplates sold for £26,200 at a Talisman Railwayana auction at Newark in July 2022, while classes making their debut in my logs were J17 and L1 (Nos. 65514 and 67729, both on goods), J69 (No. 68532 running light), and B12, represented by No. 61570. A brief visit four days later, on Easter Monday, 22nd April, was rewarded by the sight of 10 expresses, four of which were worked by B2s or B17s, three by ‘Brits,’ two by B1s, and one by a B12.

Another was No. 61651 Derby County that passed by on an Up Clacton express and in not much over two hours returned on its way back to the Essex coast after a quick service, likely at Liverpool Street but maybe at Stratford, while B12 No. 61564 was still earning its keep on a Down Ipswich express, more than 37 years after emerging from Stratford Works as GER No. 1564.

On the following day I made four separate visits and recorded a marvellous mix of 42 GER, LNER, WD and BR Standard locomotives from 16 different classes. So where to start? Well, perhaps with B1 No. 61003 Gazelle, one of 40 members of the class to carry the enigmatic antelope names that so tested us trainspotting teenagers with their meaning and, in most cases, pronunciation. Or maybe those classes making their debuts in my logs, J19, K5, Standard Class 4MT, and a WD 2-8-0.

No. 41949, a Class 3P 4-4-2T that spent its postNationalisation life allocated to Eastern Region sheds, also made its mark on a Down parcels train by becoming the first former LMS locomotive to make it into my Ilford logs.

Two days later a brief evening visit provided five B17s, including No 61600 Sandringham itself on what I logged as an Up Gorleston-on-Sea to Cambridge (not via Liverpool Street) express, with the final entry of that summer being WD No. 90062 on an Up freight.

Another candidate for a shout-out is one of those class debutants, No. 61863. This 2-6-0 started life in September 1925 as a Gresley-designed K3, but in June 1945 was substantially rebuilt by Edward Thompson, Gresley’s successor, with a new boiler, two cylinders instead of three, and new frames and wheels, to become the first, and only, member of the K5 class.

And so to the week leading up to Christmas, with morning visits to Mill Road on Friday 20th and Saturday 21st December. Over those two days I recorded 24 expresses, of which 16 were worked by B1s, an unusually high proportion for that class, six by ‘Brits,’ and only two by B17s. It was particularly busy on the first of those two days, when five Up expresses passed by in the space of just eight minutes, headed by four B1s and ‘Brit’ No. 70006 Robert Burns.

As the Easter school holiday continued I was back two days later, on 25th April, when morning and afternoon sessions yielded three ‘Brits’ and six B17s, including No. 61659 East Anglian (again!) at 10.21am on an Up ex-Yarmouth South Town express and again at 3.45pm on a similar Down working. The latter train passed through just three minutes after No. 70035 Rudyard Kipling had preceded it on the Down ‘Broadsman,’ the 4½-year-old Pacific doubtless easily outpacing its 1936-built pursuer on the same route.

Two of those trains were troop specials – maybe full of service personnel from Colchester Barracks going home for Christmas – one of which was hauled by the now preserved B1 No. 61264, the only ex-LNER locomotive to be sent to Woodham Brothers’ Barry scrapyard.

The fact that just two of the 24 expresses recorded on those two mornings were worked by B17 class locomotives was worthy of note. A sign of the waning powers of these much-loved Gresley 4-6-0s perhaps?

That visit also led to the Victorian-era J15 class making its logbook debut with two representatives, one of which, No. 65444, had been built at Stratford Works just a few 57

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21st May 1955 One-off No. 61863 heads a Down freight train through Stratford. The 2-6-0, a regular sight for Stratford and Ilford trainspotters, was the only member of the K5 class, a development of Gresley’s K3 locomotives.

Photo: A. Lathey © The Transport Treasury

April 1953 Standard Pacific No. 70035 Rudyard Kipling, a regular recorded by Geoff on The Broadsman express, passes B1 No. 61334 on departure from Liverpool Street. Photo: Roy Edgar Vincent (REV97A-6-3) © The Transport Treasury

Class B17 4-6-0 pioneer No. 61600 Sandringham, which was logged at Ilford on 24th July 1957, departs from Liverpool Street with a Down train.

Photo: Dr. Ian C. Allen (ICA E2600) © The Transport Treasury

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The now preserved B1 No. 61264 is photographed on an unknown date at Ilford flyover, a favourite location for steam era trainspotter Geoff Courtney.

Photo: Roy Edgar Vincent (REV68B-6-2) © The Transport Treasury

Class J17 0-6-0 No. 65514, which was logged at Ilford station with a goods train on 18th April 1957, passes through Haughley on an unrecorded date.

Photo: Dr. Ian C. Allen (ICA E3471) © The Transport Treasury

London’s Liverpool Street terminus is the location for L1 class No 67729, a 2-6-4T that entered Geoff’s Ilford logs on 18th April 1957 with a Down goods train.

Photo: Dr. Ian C. Allen (ICA E3612) © The Transport Treasury

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Above: Class B17 ‘Footballer’ No. 61669 Barnsley is seen at Wickham Market between Ipswich and Lowestoft with The Easterling express that ran from 1950 to 1958. Photo: Dr. Ian C. Allen (ICA E1703) © The Transport Treasury.

Below: Veteran J69 No. 68532 busies itself at Stratford on shunting duties in June 1957. The 0-6-0T, which was built at Stratford Works in March 1892 and withdrawn in December 1958, was logged running light through Ilford on 18th April 1957.

Photo: Dr. Ian C. Allen (ICA E2465) © The Transport Treasury.

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16th February 1957 • B12 No. 61564 is in fine fettle as it rests at Liverpool Street. The 4-6-0 was logged at Ilford on a Down Ipswich express on 22nd July 1957, more than 37 years after having been outshopped by Stratford Works.

Photo: Dick Riley (RCR8089) © The Transport Treasury

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THE MAN FROM THE PRU – PART 2

A

BY PAUL KING

t New Holland Pier on 28th April Class B1 4-6-0 No. 61142 waited with the 9.58am for Cleethorpes. I recall when waiting at Grimsby Town to catch the train to New Holland the station announcer would preach a mantra that regular travellers remember to this day. “The train approaching platform 2 is for New Holland Pier and Hull calling at Great Coates, Healing, Stallingborough, Habrough, Ulceby, Thornton Abbey, Goxhill, New Holland Town and New Holland Pier.”

Barnetby there was sufficient time for Henry to photograph their train and capture classmate No. 61169 arriving on the 2.22pm Cleethorpes–Sheffield Victoria, the two trains providing a connection with each other. No. 61405 arrived at Lincoln Central just after 4.15pm and a visit was made to St. Marks station where No. 62666 Zeebrugge was waiting to depart with the 5.00pm for Nottingham and Compound 4-4-0 No. 41185 was arriving with the 3.48pm from the same city. However, they hadn’t finished for the day and were back at Lincoln Central where C12 4-4-2T No. 67383 headed west through the station with a goods train for the yards at Pyewipe and No. 64204 waited with a train for Boston via the Lincolnshire Loop Line.

During the journey to Grimsby, the opportunity was taken to record views of Thornton Abbey and Ulceby stations.

Alighting at Grimsby Town they made their way across the Old Market Place and along Flottergate and Alexandra Road to the terminus of the Grimsby District Electric Railway (the Immingham Trams) at Corporation Bridge.

The street section, from Corporation Bridge to Cleveland Bridge, was due to close, although this didn’t take place until the end of June 1956. The journey time was approximately 30 minutes and on arrival at Immingham Dock it was just a short walk across the lock gates to Immingham Dock station. Here they caught the 12.10pm for New Holland Pier which would be hauled by Class A5 No. 69820. Photographs were taken as the train paused at Killingholme Admiralty Platform and East Halton but not at Killingholme, the other halt on the line. Arrival at New Holland and a change of platform took them onto the Barton-on-Humber branch with Class N5 0-6-2T No. 69305 performing the passenger duties that day. After a short break at Barton-on-Humber they travelled back to New Holland on the 1.25pm departure.

Normally very adroit with recording their trains, I have had to assume they took the Boston train hauled by No. 64204 to reach their next destination as it is not noted in their diary. Next stop was Bardney, where A5 4-6-2T No. 69804 was captured shunting in the yards there whilst Austerity 2-8-0 No. 90066 passed on a northbound goods train made up of empty bolster wagons. There is also no record of how they got from Bardney to Woodhall Junction as the next record is at Woodhall Spa. The penultimate day of their holiday ended in Horncastle. The branch train, with Class J6 No. 64260, was duly photographed before it returned to Woodhall Junction and Boston with the 7.57pm departure. Once the train had departed Henry and Richard made their way to the hotel.

On the final morning, Thursday 29th April, one assumes a leisurely breakfast was taken before heading down to the station. No. 64260, the train engine from the previous evening, was waiting with the 8.55am for Woodhall Junction. Also in the station, in the bay platform, were the usual branch coaches, not in use over the two days of their visit. These coaches had an interesting history, having been built for the Great Northern Railway as the coaches attached to steam railmotors Nos. 5 and 6. On withdrawal they were coupled together and saw out their lives on the Horncastle branch, they were withdrawn in February 1959.

At Woodhall Junction they transferred to the 9.15am Lincoln-Skegness hauled by Lincoln-based B1 No. 61281.

The route took them south to Coningsby Junction and along the ‘New Line,’ as it was known, through Tumby

Alighting at New Holland Town they took a stroll along the pier to capture No. 69820 waiting with the 1.45pm departure to Immingham Dock and then No. 69305 at New Holland Town with the 2.05pm to Barton-on-Humber.

A walk around the sidings found Sentinel No. 68185 on pilot duty. Returning to New Holland Town, Lincoln based B1 No. 61405 ran in with the 2.33pm New Holland PierLincoln Central, the train for the next part of their journey.

The New Holland–Lincoln service was the only one to use the normally freight only Ulceby South Junction– Brocklesby Junction line on a regular basis. On arrival at 62

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28th April 1954 • The 9.58 to Cleethorpes is seen at New Holland Pier with Immingham B1 No. 61142 at the head. Access to the ferry was via the ramp in the right background. The ferry on the left is the spare, on this date it was Lincoln Castle, the only one of the trio not to survive.

28th April 1954 • Ulceby station as seen from the 9.58 New Holland-Cleethorpes. This is the down platform, on the up platform were waiting rooms and a refreshment room. This was because, initially, the main line from the west ran to New Holland and Ulceby was an interchange for Grimsby-bound passengers. Inset: Taken from the opposite end of the up platform, Ulceby today is a shadow of its former self. The down platform and all the buildings have gone and a replacement platform with a shelter on the up side is bi-directional. Class 69 No. 69005 Eastleigh with No. 69002 Bob Tiller CM&EE on the rear is passing the site of the down platform with a weed killing train bound for Barton-on-Humber on the 4th May 2023. Photo: Paul King

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Woodside, New Bolingbroke, Stickney and Midville to Bellwater Junction on the East Lincs line. Then heading north to Firsby South Junction where the train took the curve to Firsby East, avoiding the station at Firsby.

Through Thorpe Culvert, Wainfleet, Havenhouse and the closed station at Seacroft before arriving in Skegness.

what is now the Nene Valley Railway and then south from Yarwell Junction over the ex-LNWR line to Northampton Bridge Street. Oundle, Thrapston Bridge Street, Ringstead & Addington, Irthlingborough, Wellingborough London Road and Castle Ashby were photographed during the journey. The photograph of No. 40677 at Northampton concluded this holiday, 13 days travelling around northern England visiting branch lines long closed and much missed by enthusiasts and some that survive in preservation.

A similar journey today, due to closures, could probably be made in 2-3 days.

At Skegness they came across a virtual treasure trove of pre-grouping coaches, finding examples of Great Central, Great Eastern, North Eastern and Great Northern & North Eastern Joint stock as well as more modern ex-LNER stock! There were also two pick-up goods trains, J11 No. 64405 from Lincoln and K2 No. 61757 from Boston, hard to believe nowadays but such was the case in 1954.

Possibly having time for a fish and chip lunch, the next train they caught was the 12.26pm Skegness–Grantham as far as Boston. The train engine was one of the ex-GER Class B12 4-6-0s,No. 61553, which was seeing out its twilight years at Grantham before withdrawal from Cambridge in 1957. At Boston there was time to capture K2 No. 61725 passing through the station, N5 No. 69256 and A5 No. 69816, both on goods trains. At Spalding, class B1 No. 61098 was on the 12.38pm Lincoln–Peterborough, which they had caught from Boston.

On the following pages are tables showing the stations, halts and loco sheds photographed during the journey and their fate. The initials in brackets are, generally, the operating company at the grouping and the dates shown are for closure to passenger services. There are 180 stations and halts listed, 105 have closed and 75 remain open, although many of these have been rebuilt in the intervening years. Of the 105 closed stations, six have been replaced or reopened, three are now stops on the Manchester Metrolink and nine have been reopened on preserved railways.

28th April 1954 • The Grimsby terminus of the Grimsby District Electric Railway at Corporation Bridge. Tram 12, built by Brush in 1913, awaits departure time with a service to Immingham. Note the staff keeping the area clean and tidy. Under the right hand side of the shelter there is a bench which now resides in the National Railway Museum at York. The original plan was for these trams to cross the Alexandra Dock, behind the photographer, but the bridge then in situ was deemed incapable of supporting the weight.

The bridge was eventually replaced in 1928, by which time Grimsby Corporation were looking to close their tramway and so the link was never made.

Arrival into Peterborough North found D16 4-4-0 No. 62548 on the 3.10pm to Peterborough East, with C12 4-4-2T No. 67376 on station pilot duties and J6 0-6-0 No. 64171 in the adjacent goods yard. At Peterborough East, Stanier 2-6-4T No. 42487 had arrived on the 1.43pm from Rugby whilst their train to Northampton Castle, the 3.45pm departure from East, was to be hauled by Fowler 2P 4-4-0 No. 40677. The route home would take them over

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28th April 1954 • Immingham Dock station with Class A5 No. 69820 preparing to depart with the 12.10 to New Holland Pier.

In the centre background, the tram terminus can just be seen. Although it looks as if the rails were connected this wasn’t so as the entrance lock to Immingham Dock was in between. The Humber estuary is, literally, the other side of the coach bodies in the left foreground, they are on the bank of the estuary.

28th April 1954 • The Barton & Immingham Light Railway was one of three railways built to serve the new dock complex at Immingham. The other two were the Humber Commercial Railway from Ulceby and the Grimsby District Light Railway which ran from Pyewipe in Grimsby. There were three intermediate halts on the Barton & Immingham before it joined the Grimsby-New Holland line at Goxhill but only two appeared regularly on maps and timetables. The third was Killingholme Admiralty Platform, built to serve a naval base, however, from the photographs I have seen of the stations on the line Admiralty Platform is the only one to show passengers and they are definitely not naval personnel.

This is the said station, unfortunately a light flare running through the negative does detract slightly from the quality.

28th April 1954 • Barton station approach, an angle rarely photographed. This was remedied when this view was taken from across Waterside Road. The goods shed is on the left partially obscured by a large station sign, the notice board and the station buildings.

The station master’s house is on the right. Richard Casserley is standing in the gateway.

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28th April 1954 • The usual power for the branch trains around the time of nationalisation until the advent of the first diesel railcars were the Class N5 0-6-2Ts. No. 69305 awaits departure time with the 1.25pm Barton to New Holland Pier. Note the loco crew passing the time in conversation on the bench.

28th April 1954 • The 1.45pm to Immingham Dock is ready for departure from New Holland Pier.

Class A5 4-6-2T No. 69820 is only 12 days out of works, hence the immaculate condition not normally seen on an Immingham based loco.

Note also that the loco has been turned since the earlier view at Immingham Dock. There was a triangle to the south of New Holland Town where this would have occurred.

The service ferry, either Tattershall Castle or Wingfield Castle, can be seen in the background.

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28th April 1954 • The Y3 class were ideal for the light shunting work around New Holland. No. 68185 is seen here with Barrow Road Crossing signal box in the background. The signal box remains in use today to control the level crossing but is now the only recognisable feature in this photograph.

28th April 1954 • Class N5 No. 69305 would spend the entire day, possibly several days, shuttling backwards and forwards between New Holland and Barton-onHumber with this set of three coaches. It may also have worked a pick-up goods along the branch too. It is seen at New Holland Town with the 2.05pm from New Holland Pier. The two stations at New Holland were effectively one as the platforms extended from the Pier through to the level crossing from where this photograph was taken.

28th April 1954 • Class B1 4-6-0 No. 61169 from Darnall shed is running into platform 3 at Barnetby with the 2.22pm CleethorpesSheffield, where it connected with the 2.33pm New Holland-Lincoln, hauled by No. 61405, seen on the right, in platform 4.

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Station

Status

Notes

Accrington (LYR) Aintree (LYR) Alton Towers (NSR) Appleby East (NER) Appleby West (MR) Ardwick (GCR) Arthington (NER) Ashburys (GCR) Ashton Oldham Road (OA&GB) Bacup (LYR) Bardney (GNR) Barnard Castle (NER) Barnetby (GCR) Barnoldswick (MR) Barrow Haven (GCR) Barton-on-Humber (GCR) Battersby (NER) Bell Busk (MR) Belle Vue (MR) Ben Rhydding (MR) Berry Brow (LYR) Beverley (NER) Birkenhead Central (Mersey Rly) Birkenhead Hamilton Square (Mersey Rly) Birkenhead Woodside (Birkenhead Rly) Blackburn (LYR) Blythe Bridge (NSR) Bollington (GCR–NSR Joint) Bolton Abbey (MR) Boston (GNR) Bradford Exchange (LYR) Bridlington (NER) Brighouse (LYR) Broadbottom (Goods only) (GCR) Burley-in-Wharfedale (Otley & Ilkley) Carnforth (LNWR, FR) Castle Ashby (LNWR) Castleford Central (NER) Castleford Cutsyke (LYR) Cheadle (NSR) Cheddleton (NSR) Church Fenton (NER) Clayton (GNR) Clayton West (LYR) Cliburn (NER) Clifton Moor (NER) Clitheroe (LYR) Clough Fold (LYR) Collingham Bridge (NER) Cresswell (NSR) Cullingworth (GNR) Daisyfield (LYR)

Open Open Closed January 1965 Closed January 1962 Open Open Closed March 1965 Open Closed May 1959 Closed December 1966 Closed October 1970 Closed November 1964 Open Closed September 1965 Open Open Open Closed May 1959 Open Open Closed July 1966 Open Open Open Closed November 1967 Open Open Closed January 1970 Closed March 1965 Open Closed January 1973 Open Closed January 1970 Closed July 1963 Open Open Closed May 1964 Open Closed October 1968 Closed June 1963 Closed January 1965 Open Closed May 1955 Closed January 1983 Closed September 1956 Closed January 1962 Closed September 1962 Closed December 1966 Closed December 1964 Closed November 1966 Closed May 1955 Closed November 1958

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Replaced by a new station nearby

Reopened May 1998. Embsay & Bolton Abbey Railway Replaced by Bradford Interchange nearby

Reopened 1991. Kirklees Light Railway

Reopened May 1994

EASTERN TIMES • ISSUE 3

Station

Status

Notes

Darlington (NER) Delph (LNWR) Denholme (GNR) Denstone (NSR) Earby (MR) East Halton (GCR) Gargrave (MR) Garsdale (Hawes Junction) (MR) Giggleswick (MR) Glaisdale (NER) Glossop (GCR) Goole (LYR) Great Ayton (NER) Greenfield (LNWR) Greetland (LYR) Grimsby Town (GCR) Grimsby Tramway Station (GCR) Guide Bridge (GCR) Hadfield (GCR) Halifax (LYR) Halifax (North Bridge) (LYR-GNR) Haslingden (LYR) Hatfield Main Colliery Hatfield & Stainforth (GCR) Haworth (MR) Hellifield (MR) Heswall (Birkenhead Rly) Higher Poynton (GCR-NSR Joint) High Lane (GCR-NSR Joint) Hooton (Birkenhead Rly) Horncastle (GNR) Huddersfield (LNWR) Hunts Cross (CLC) Hyde Central (GCR-MR Joint) Hyde North (Sheffield & MR Committee) Ilkley (Otley & Ilkley) Immingham Dock (GCR) Immingham Tramway Station (GCR) Ingrow East (GNR) Ingrow West (MR) Irthlingborough (LNWR) Kildale (NER) Killingholme Admiralty Platform (GCR) Kirkby Stephen East (NER) Kirkby Stephen West (MR) Kirkdale (LYR) Knottingley (LYR) Knotty Ash (CLC) Lancaster (Castle) (LNWR) Lancaster (Green Ayre) (MR) Leeds Central (GN-LY-LNW-NE Joint) Leeds City (MR-NER)

Open Closed May 1955 Closed May 1955 Closed January 1965 Closed February 1970 Closed June 1963 Open Closed May 1970 Open Open Open Open Open Open Closed September 1962 Open Closed July 1956 Open Open Open Closed May 1955 Closed November 1960 Colliery closed 2001 Open Closed June 1962 Open Closed September 1956 Closed January 1970 Closed January 1970 Open Closed September 1954 Open Open Open Open Open Closed October 1969 Closed July 1961 Closed May 1955 Closed June 1962 Closed May 1964 Open Closed June 1963 Closed January 1962 Closed May 1970 Open Open Closed November 1960 Open Closed January 1966 Closed May 1967 Open

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Reopened July 1986

Colliery reopened 2007, closed 2016 Reopened 1968. Keighley & Worth Valley Railway

Reopened 1968. Keighley & Worth Valley Railway

Reopened July 1986

EASTERN TIMES • ISSUE 3

Station

Status

Notes

Lincoln Central (GNR) Lincoln St. Marks (MR) Manchester Central (CLC) Manchester London Road (LNWR-GCR) Manchester Mayfield (LNWR) Manchester Victoria (LNWR-LYR) Methley (MR) Methley Junction (LYR) Middlesbrough (NER) Middleton-in-Teesdale (NER) Middlewood Higher (GCR-NSR Joint) Midville (GNR) Mirfield (LYR) Mottram (GCR)

Open Closed May 1985 Closed May 1969 Open Closed August 1960 Open Closed September 1957 Closed October 1943 Open Closed November 1964 Closed November 1960 Closed October 1970 Open Open

Nelson (LYR) New Bolingbroke (GNR) New Hey (LYR) New Holland Pier (GCR) New Holland Town (GCR) Northampton Bridge Street (LNWR) Oldham Lees (LNWR) Oldham Mumps (LYR) Oundle (LNWR) Oxenhope (MR) Park Bridge (OA&GB) Penrith (LNWR) Peterborough East (GER) Peterborough North (GNR) Pontefract Monkhill (LYR) Queensbury (GNR) Ramsbottom (LYR) Ravenscar (NER) Rawtenstall (LYR) Ringstead & Addington (LNWR) Robin Hood’s Bay (NER) Rochdale (LYR) Romaldkirk (NER) Romiley (GCR-MR Joint) Royton (LYR) Royton Junction (LYR) Scarborough (NER) Shaw & Crompton (LYR)

Open Closed October 1970 Closed October 2009 Closed June 1981 Closed June 1981 Closed May 1964 Closed May 1955 Closed October 2009 Closed May 1964 Closed June 1962 Closed May 1959 Open Closed June 1966 Open Open Closed May 1955 Closed June 1972 Closed March 1965 Closed June 1972 Closed May 1964 Closed March 1965 Open Closed November 1964 Open Closed April 1966 Closed May 1987 Open Closed October 2009

Simonstone (LYR) Skegness (GNR) Skipton (MR) Sowerby Bridge (LYR) Spalding (GNR) Staintondale (NER) Stalybridge (LYR) Stanley (Methley Joint)

Closed December 1957 Open Open Open Open Closed March 1965 Open November 1964

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Renamed Manchester Piccadilly 1960

Renamed Methley North 1950 Photograph would be of closed station

Renamed Broadbottom in January 1954.

Casserley records it as Mottram

Reopened February 2013, Manchester Metrolink tram stop Replaced by New Holland, opened June 1981

Reopened January 2014, Manchester Metrolink tram stop Reopened 1968. Keighley & Worth Valley Railway

Reopened 1987. East Lancashire Railway Reopened 1991. East Lancashire Railway

Reopened December 2012, Manchester Metrolink tram stop

EASTERN TIMES • ISSUE 3

Station

Status

Notes

Stickney (GNR) Summerseat (LYR) Tadcaster (NER) Thornaby (NER) Thornton (GNR) Thornton Abbey (GCR) Thorp Arch (NER) Thrapston Bridge Street (LNWR) Trafford Park (CLC) Tumby Woodside (GNR) Ulceby (GCR) Uttoxeter (NSR) Wakefield Kirkgate (LYR) Wakefield Westgate (GNR) Wansford (LNWR) Wellingborough London Road (LNWR) Wennington (MR) West Kirby (Birkenhead Rly) Wetherby (NER) Whitby (NER) Whitby West Cliff (NER) Widnes Central (GCR-MR Joint) Wilsden (GNR) Woodhall Junction (GNR) Woodhall Spa (GNR) Woodley (GCR-MR Joint)

Closed October 1970 Closed June 1972 Closed January 1964 Open Closed May 1955 Open Closed January 1964 Closed May 1964 Open Closed October 1970 Open Open Open Open Closed January 1957 Closed May 1964 Open Closed September 1956 Closed January 1964 Open Closed June 1961 Closed October 1964 Closed May 1955 Closed October 1970 Closed September 1954 Open

Reopened 1987. East Lancashire Railway

Reopened 1977. Nene Valley Railway

Locomotive Sheds Accrington (LYR) Bacup (LYR) Bank Hall (Liverpool) (LYR) Belle Vue (Manchester) (MR) Carlisle (Kingmoor) (CR) Gorton (Manchester) (GCR) Hellifield (MR) Lees (Oldham) (LNWR) Longsight (Manchester) (LNWR) Middleton-in-Teesdale (NER) Newport (NER) Newton Heath (Manchester) (LYR) Penrith (LNWR) Plodder Lane (Bolton) (LNWR) Skipton (MR) Whitby (NER)

Closed to steam March 1961 Closed October 1954 Closed October 1966 Closed April 1966 Closed January 1968 Closed June 1965 Closed June 1963 Closed April 1964 Closed to steam 1965 Closed September 1957 Closed June 1958 Closed to steam 1968 Closed June 1962 Closed October 1954 Closed April 1967 Closed April 1959

Reopened as DMU depot, closed October 1972

Rebuilt for use by electric stock, remains open Replaced by new depot at Thornaby New diesel depot built on part of site, remains open

The 16 loco sheds visited ranged from the tiny, Middleton-in-Teesdale, to the large, Carlisle (Kingmoor). All closed their doors to steam between October 1954 and January 1968. Accrington found further use as a DMU depot but has since been closed. Longsight is now an electric depot with some parts of the old steam shed incorporated. Newton Heath, although it remains open, is a completely new build, the old shed having been demolished. There is a diesel depot at Kingmoor, but it is on the opposite side of the main line from the old steam shed which has been entirely razed to the ground.

Bibliography: The Negative Records of H.C. and R.M. Casserley. • BR Steam Locomotives Complete Allocations History 1948-1968 by Hugh Longworth, OPC 2014 Clinker’s Register of Closed Passenger Stations by C.R. Clinker, Avon-AngliA Publications 1978 • Directory of British Engine Sheds – North Midlands, Northern England & Scotland

by Roger Griffiths & Paul Smith, OPC 2000 • Railways of North East Lincolnshire, Parts 1-5 by Paul King, Pyewipe Publishing 2018-2022.

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28th April 1954 • Lincoln Cathedral dominates the skyline in this view at Lincoln Central, although the spire of St. Swithins Church does interrupt the view of the main tower.

Class J6 0-6-0 No. 64204 is heading for home with an evening train via the Lincolnshire Loop Line.

28th April 1954 • An evening view looking south along the Lincolnshire Loop Line at Bardney. Doncaster based Austerity 2-8-0 No. 90066 is heading for home and is approaching the station with a train of empty bolster wagons.

28th April 1954 • Low evening sun highlights some of the features of the Woodhall Junction bound platform at Woodhall Spa, seen from a Horncastle bound train.

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28th April 1954 • Improved Director 4-4-0 (Class D11) No. 62666 Zeebrugge awaiting departure time from Lincoln St. Marks with the 5.00pm train for Nottingham Midland.

It was in the middle of a four year spell at Lincoln before moving onto Sheffield Darnall in 1957 from where it was withdrawn after several spells of storage.

EASTERN TIMES • ISSUE 3

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29th April 1954 • The train engine for the trip to Woodhall Junction was the same J6 that they had travelled to Horncastle behind on the previous evening, No. 64260. Since the previous evening it had worked back to its home depot of Boston for servicing before returning to resume its branch line duties once more.

29th April 1954 • The Horncastle branch had its own set of coaches, although they weren’t in use during the Casserleys’ visit. They are seen here in the bay platform. Numbered E44161E and E44162E, they had begun their careers attached to the GNR Railmotors 5 & 6, often seen on the Grimsby-Louth service. After the railmotors were withdrawn the coaches were coupled together and used on the Horncastle branch.

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29th April 1954 • The 9.15am Lincoln-Skegness lifts its safety valves as if impatiently awaiting departure time at Woodhall Junction.

The loco is Lincoln based B1 No. 61281. Note the magnificent station sign proclaiming WOODHALL JUNCTION CHANGE FOR WOODHALL SPA & HORNCASTLE AND FOR CONINGSBY & MIDVILLE LINE.

29th April 1954 • Viewed from the 9.15am LincolnSkegness train, the up platform at Midville on the ‘New Line’ is seen here and shows how substantial the brick waiting shelters were. The station master’s house can be seen between the shelter and the signal box at the end of the platform.

29th April 1954 • During the visit to Skegness, Henry and Richard spent some time in the carriage sidings. Here they photographed coaches from four of the pre-grouping companies and one ex-LNER vehicle. The oldest of these dated from 1906. Two ex-GCR coaches are seen here with Barnum saloon E5160E (centre) and 56ft BCK E5721E (right). The Barnum was built in 1910 and the BCK in 1911.

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29th April 1954 • Boston-based Class K2 No. 61757 is seen shunting the coal sidings at Skegness after working in with the daily goods from its home town. Most of the train would appear to be made up of standard BR mineral wagons but the leading two wooden wagons appear very decrepit. On the extreme left is the goods yard, whilst in platform 4 are a rake of coaches in multiple liveries. What really caught my eye is the magnificent Commer coal lorry on the right.

29th April 1954 • Grantham-based Class B12 No. 61553 is seen at platform 1 waiting to return to its home town with the 12.26 departure.

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29th April 1954 • Except for a year in 1945/46, Class K2 No. 61725 was a Boston-based loco from 1940 through to withdrawal in 1958. It is seen here heading north through Boston station with a mixed goods.

29th April 1954 • Thompson Class B1 No. 61098 at the head of the 12.38 Lincoln-Peterborough at Spalding. Just visible on the left is one of Boston’s J52 0-6-0STs outstationed at Spalding for station pilot duties.

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29th April 1954 • Stanier 2-6-4T No. 42487 is about to uncouple and run to the nearby shed for servicing after arrival at Peterborough East with the 1.43pm from Rugby.

29th April 1954 • Wansford station as seen from the 3.45pm Peterborough East-Northampton Castle.

Now the headquarters of the Nene Valley Railway, the building on the left is instantly recognisable as is the signal box beyond the level crossing; at the time the road that crossed here was the A1, later diverted further west.

Note the absence of the platform and buildings on the right, all added in preservation days.

29th April 1954 • In contrast to the grandeur of Wansford is the halt at Ringstead and Addington, viewed from the same train. Of note are the coal merchant loading his lorry in the goods yard and the uniformed railway employee about to open the crossing gates after the passage of the train.

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29th April 1954 • Station pilot duty at Peterborough North was being performed by Class C12 4-4-2T No. 67376. This venerable loco still had another four years of work before withdrawal.

29th April 1954 • The 3.45pm from Peterborough has arrived at Northampton Castle and 2P 4-4-0 No. 40677 will soon be on its way to shed for service. Although it would be a further 10 years, the gods of closure eventually caught up with this cross-country line with services ending in May 1964.

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THE HEADSHUNT In future issues our aim is to bring you many differing articles about the LNER, its constituent companies and the Eastern and North Eastern regions of British Railways. We hope to have gone some way to achieving this in Issue 3.

Eastern Times welcomes constructive comment from readers either by way of additional information on subjects already published or suggestions for new topics that you would like to see addressed. The size and diversity of the LNER, due to it being comprised of many different companies each with their differing ways of operating, shows the complexity of the subject and we will endeavour to be as accurate as possible but would appreciate any comments to the contrary.

We want to use this final page – The Headshunt – as your platform for comment and discussion so please feel free to send your comments to: tteasterntimes@gmail.com or write to Eastern Times, Transport Treasury Publishing Ltd., 16 Highworth Close, High Wycombe HP13 7PJ.

A4 60002 SIR MURROUGH WILSON AT NEWCASTLE. I’ve acquired a photograph, unfortunately with no details attached, which I have scanned and reproduced here. The location is easy: the eastern end of Newcastle Central Station looking towards the Castle Keep. However, the scene pictured may be worth considering for inclusion simply because it is so unusual!

I have tried to see if any further information could be unearthed by asking some of the local railway social media groups involved with 52A Gateshead if any of their members remember this event. There has been some response but I’m hoping for further corroboration.

It would appear that the A4, No. 60002, had arrived in Newcastle with a northbound express. Before heading to Gateshead MPD for servicing it would seem that the A4 was requested to work forward and pilot the K1 which was in difficulties bringing its coal train through the station avoiding lines and was subsequently blocking traffic flow.

Hence the rather unusual sight of an A4 running tender first as the pilot engine to an unfitted freight working! Perhaps some reader may have further information?

Best wishes, Kevin Potts EASTERN TIMES, ISSUE 1

ASPECTS OF THE MABLETHORPE LOOP

Dear Editor,

Page 42 – Map. Amend Bradney to read Bardney.

I recently purchased, and enjoyed, both the printed and photographic content of the above. I look forward to learning when it is intended for the next issue to be published.

Page 43 – Caption to photo. After traversing the Mablethorpe Loop the RCTS Special train then covered the Spilsby branch from/to Firsby.

I do hope you don't mind me making the following few pedantic observations:

Page 56 – As far as Willoughby station itself was concerned, the last trains on the main line called there on Sunday 4th October 1970.

CONCRETE SIGNALS

Page 57 – SOME ODDITIES. I recall seeing the signal post with stop arms facing in the Down and Up directions at Mablethorpe.

There was an Up (to Willoughby) signal near to it with an out of use symbol X fastened to the arm indicating it was going to be a replacement. With closure looming it never happened.

The location of the photo depicting the ex-GNR somersault signal on page 35 is not shown. It is Havenhouse (Boston–Skegness line).

Page 36 photo caption. Heckington is west, not east of Boston.

The location of the photo depicting two upper quadrant semaphore Home signals on page 39 is not shown. It is Somerleyton; the swing bridge can just be seen in the middle distance (Norwich–Lowestoft line).

Yours sincerely, Charles Allenby

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EASTERN TIMES • ISSUE 3

Gresley Class A3 Pacific No. 2746 Fairway entering Peterborough station on an unrecorded date. Note the leading vehicle is an NER dynamometer car. Named after the winner of the 1928 St. Ledger, the locomotive entered service on 26th October 1928, being allocated to Kings Cross and gave almost 36 years’ service before withdrawal from Gateshead (52A) on 12th October 1964.

Photo: A. W. V. Mace © Transport Treasury.

Published by Transport Treasury Publishing Ltd.

£12.95