Eastern Times Issue 5 - Full

EASTERN • TIMES •

The new history periodical for students of the BR(E), BR(NE), LNER and pre-grouping constituents ISSUE NO. 5 • OCTOBER 2024

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LOOK OUT FOR FUTURE ISSUES OF

EASTERN TIMES Issue 6 due February 2025

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

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

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EASTERN • TIMES • CONTENTS Introduction 3 The South Yorkshireman A kaleidoscope of the L.N.E.R.

5–17

New Holland – A peer among piers

18–31

The ‘Alpine’ Route – linking Halifax, Bradford and Keighley (part 2)

32–41

Return of steam to Scotland

42–48

The G.N.R. Stirling Singles

49–53

Return to Ripple Lane Diesel Depot

54–58

My Trainspotting Odyssey – 1958 (continued)

59–65

L.N.E.R. Locomotive mileages and availability – V2 and J70

66–72

Malcolm Root

73–77

The Failed 1500 Volt DC Plan

78–79

The Headshunt

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31st July 1954 • Reid Class J37 0-6-0 No. 64585 pictured by the turntable at Stirling (Shore Road) shed.

Photo: W. A. C. Smith © Transport Treasury

© Images and design: The Transport Treasury 2024. Design and Text: Peter Sikes ISBN: 978-1-913251-86-4 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

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INTRODUCTION

A

wonderful image of Class B1 No. 61387 at the head of ‘The South Yorkshireman’ starts us off on our journey through the pages of this issue of Eastern Times.

The superb art of Essex-born Malcolm Root is looked at by Geoff Courtney who explains how Malcolm became interested in railways through his trainspotting hobby, accompanied by a few examples his work.

First stop is a collection of photos from Alan Postlethwaite, who, as he admits, is more renowned for his Southern and Western photographs. Happily he took his camera on occasional visits further north to capture evocative images of a variety of railway infrastructure as well as locomotives and rolling stock.

Finally we have a second offering from Dave Brennand which is a short piece about the unsuccessful Fenchurch Street to Stratford 1500 volt DC scheme.

I would like to thank all of the previously mentioned contributors to this book, and indeed to the writers of the many articles published in previous issues of Eastern Times.

If you have anything you think would be an interesting addition to this series please don’t hesitate to send it to me at tteasterntimes@gmail.com.

Paul King takes us out to sea with his in-depth article about New Holland Pier, and covers an era where joined up thinking and strategy combined different modes of transport to the benefit of the travelling public.

Eastern Times is published three times a year, and is available on a subscription service. To sign up use the contact details below and ensure your copy is automatically sent to you every four months. https://ttpublishing.co.uk/ transport-books/, email admin@ttpublishing.co.uk, or call us on 01494 708939.

Having started his journey in issue 4, Philip Hellawell continues on the ‘Alpine Route’ resuming at Holmfield and making his way to Keighley describing the building of the line and the places it served. Through his present-day photography we can see some of the trackbed and buildings of the line that still remain today.

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

We then move on to Ian Lamb’s recollection of the return of steam to his native Scotland, focusing on preserved A4 Union of South Africa and its involvement in the Scottish Steam Special No. 1 on 5th May 1973. Were you on the trip or one of the many that lined the route to see the graceful lines of the locomotive? If you were, why not drop us a line with your memories of the event?

Talking of graceful, we then take a look at the Great Northern ‘Stirling Single’ through the words of David Cullen and some wonderful images from the Transport Treasury library before moving forward to more modern times. Former Stratford driver, Dave Brennand describes his memories of the Diesel Depot at Ripple Lane, Barking.

Geoff Courtney then continues his memories of trainspotting in 1958, describing the large variety of motive power that was around at this time, diligently noting the working the engines were on and where they were headed to.

Front cover (and inset right): ‘Large Director’ Class D11/1 4-4-0 No. 506 Butler-Henderson looking resplendent in its original Great Central livery at Horwich Works in September 1961.

Simon A.C. Martin’s look at L.N.E.R. wartime mileages continues with two more classes of locomotive, the ‘go to’ mixed traffic V2 – often described as the locos that won the war – and at the opposite end of the scale, the diminutive and unusual looking Class J70.

Built at Gorton Works, Manchester, No. 506 entered service in December 1919, being withdrawn from service in November 1960 as No. 62660 of Sheffield Darnell (41A) shed, and chosen for preservation as part of the UK National Collection. The loco currently resides at Barrow Hill Roundhouse.

Photo: R. C. Riley © Transport Treasury

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THE SOUTH YORKSHIREMAN Thompson B1 5MT 4-6-0 No. 61387 ready to depart Bradford Exchange on an unrecorded date.

Photo: Robert Anderson © Transport Treasury

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A Kaleidoscope of the L.N.E.R. WORDS AND PHOTOS BY ALAN POSTLETHWAITE

I

am better known for writing books and articles

I did enjoy occasional trips to the rest of BR, some deliberate, others on holiday, photographing trains and stations but not always fully appreciating what I was seeing. I offer here the best of my L.N.E.R. collection that may have merit artistically or for historical content.

The two maps are parts of Airey’s Railway Map, 1893 edition, a masterpiece of cartography.

about BR Southern Region and its predecessors.

Having grown up in South London during the

post-war recovery years, I was limited by time and money to the south-east counties plus summer outings to the far south-west.

In the smoky cavern of Liverpool Street in 1959, LNER class N7 tank No. 69614 is decked out in its finest for the opening leg of the RCTS rail tour of London and North Kent.

Meanwhile, Standard class 7MT Pacific No. 70003 John Bunyan prepares to take an express into the wilds of East Anglia.

Which one shall we take?

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The RCTS rail tour paused on the North London Line at Canonbury where the platform ashes may have come from freight locomotives. The engine looks immaculate. Designed by Alfred John Hill of the GER, his five-sided spectacle plates are a lovely touch. The enthusiasts are smartly dressed, intrigued by something going on at wheel level. Note the far washing, hung from tenement windows in the days before tumble dryers.

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Above: The rail tour reversed at East Finchley on the High Barnet branch of the Northern Line tube. The original station was on the Edgware branch of the GNR. It was rebuilt in the late 1930s with additional tracks as part of London Transport’s Northern Heights Plan, only partially completed before the war intervened. The station building was designed by Charles Holden and L. H. Bucknell in Art Deco/Streamline Moderne style.

Right: There was a change of engines at Finsbury Park, taken over by Gresley class J50 tank No. 68987.

The rail tour continued to Kings Cross, the Widened Lines, Blackfriars, Loughborough Junction, Bexleyheath, the Dartford Loop, Chislehurst and Swanley to Gravesend West, then directly back to Liverpool Street via the East London line. It was my only rail tour of the 1950s.

I was primarily a lineside photographer, a walker.

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I attended evening classes in Railway History at Goldsmiths College. A weekend field trip in 1958 was to Temple Mills hump yard, just north of Stratford. The three-way point here is: Left for incoming trains; Centre to the primary retarders; and Right, the loco escape.

The two primary retarders led to multiple secondary retarders.

From the control room, knowing the weight of each wagon, the operators would judge how much pneumatic pressure to apply to each retarder to avoid heavy collision. This was decades before the computer age.

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In 1958, an Up coal train passes Temple Mills hump yard, headed

by Class J17 No. 65528. I love the multifarious wagons. We used to haul fifty coal wagons, all different, behind an LNER Garratt on my mammoth model railway.

In 1963, a friend and I met at Romford to make a unique trip into Essex to photograph the Maldon branch. This is Wickham Bishops, the first station out from the main line junction at Witham.

The half-timbered building is a delight with its tall chimney stack, so too the washroom with its own tall chimney. The goods siding, platform and platform access couldn’t be simpler. The stationmaster’s car was a sign of the times, a prelude to closure.

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Unlike Wickham Bishops, the platform at Langford & Ulting had a canopy. The station is unmanned with grass encroaching the platform. The lamps may once have been oil.

Between Langford and Maldon, a Metro-Cammell DMU is framed by a tall wooden signal post and a Great Eastern cast iron ‘Trespassers’ sign on a bullhead rail post. There was provision for line doubling that never happened.

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The Jacobean splendour of Maldon East & Heybridge, terminus of the branch. Most welcoming are the Flemish gables and the ornate colonnade over nine entrance arches.

The great canopy is a delight, so too the flower bed. Remaining traffic would appear to be coal plus a few passengers and the railwayman’s car. The branch was opened in 1848 by the Eastern Counties Railway.

It closed in 1964.

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Maldon West station opened in 1889 on a GER branch to Southend-on-Sea, combining with another branch from Southminster to Shenfield – see map on previous page. The station closed in 1916, was reopened as a halt in 1919 and closed to all traffic in 1939. The jungle here is 24 years old.

On the line south-east of Great Yarmouth, St Olaves signal box was a GER Type 7, looking mellow in wood with large windows. A secondary duty of the signalman was to cycle, as needed, to the New Cut to help open and close the A143 drawbridge using hand winches, one on each side of the canal – see below.

In 1959, two friends and I hired this cabin cruiser to explore the Broads, mooring here overnight. For about two miles, the GER line between Haddiscoe and Reedham ran on an embankment of the New Cut, a canal to connect the rivers Waveney and Yare. Class K3/2 2-6-0 No. 61926 lets off steam near the level crossing drawbridge combination. These days, this line to Yarmouth is closed and a tall new bridge carries the A143 over the canal.

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Backed by hedging and trees, lupins glorify this GER staggered platform at Brundall. In 1959, a Norwich to Yarmouth service pauses for imaginary passengers. The tall front windows of the Derby-built ‘lightweights’ make them strong contenders for the most attractive of the first-generation DMUs.

This map illustrates the crazy intensity of the Railway Mania.

The ECR’s Peterborough East opened in 1847, serving also the LNWR and the Midland Railway. The station buildings and company offices are in Tudor style with mullioned windows, corner stones and a three-arch entrance to the station. In 1963, two parcels vans, mail bags and barrows occupy the huge forecourt. The siding is unguarded.

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The Stamford and Essendine Railway opened in 1856 and was taken over by the GNR in 1886. A branch opened in 1867 to Wansford on the LNWR’s Nene Valley line. This branch ran parallel for several miles with the Midland’s cross-country line from Leicester to Peterborough. At the same time, the Midland obtained running powers over the Essendine line, used for freight. In 1963, Fairburn 2-6-4 tank class 4MT No. 42103 heads a passenger service via Stamford Town to Peterborough. To its right are the GNR goods yard, goods shed and Stamford passenger station which closed in 1957. Six years on, everything looks in pristine condition.

Built into the bank of the river Welland, Stamford signal box was an all timber GNR Type 4a. This junction was rich with signals from the GNR, LNER, MR and LMS. Note the catch points and foot crossing to the box.

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Stamford engine shed with integral water tank, also the coaling stage and piles of ash and sand.

Resembling a Hornby clockwork O gauge terminus, Stamford station had a peninsular platform for arrivals (right) and departures (left). The shed lighting looks barely adequate. This empty station felt sad and haunted.

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On a Saturday field trip from Goldsmiths College in 1958 we were escorted by an Inspector through Ludgate Hill and Snow Hill tunnel to the Widened Lines at Farringdon. The GNR goods station and its great warehouse were adjacent to the Farringdon platforms.

The bollards took ropes for shunting loose wagons either by horse or steam, perhaps both at different times? The enamelled sign on the canopy reads: ‘Engines must condense’.

On the Stafford & Uttoxeter Railway, Salt station opened in 1867. The line was taken over by the GNR in 1881. Never profitable, it closed to passengers in 1939 and to freight in 1951. The signal box is a smaller version of Stamford’s. The jungle here is eleven years old.

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I came across this Gresley cafeteria car in 1958 at Portsmouth and Southsea. Built in 1928 as a third class sleeping car, it was converted at Eastleigh into an ambulance car and saw service on the Continent after D-Day. After the war, it became a cafeteria car for use on excursions and inter-Regional services. The car had three sections: dining saloon, kitchen and buffet.

Gresley coaches and a bogie van in the bay at Peterborough East.

At the western end of Southampton’s Western Docks, Gresley ambulance cars are being loaded onto a train ferry, one of three requisitioned from the Southern’s Dover-Dunkirk service.

A great travelling crane was added at the stern for lifting vehicles onto any quay on the Continent. Southern Railway, 1944, Southampton City Archives.

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NEW HOLLAND – A PEER AMONG PIERS

I

BY PAUL KING

n Grimsby we are fortunate to have two of the best folk singer/songwriters in the country. John Connolly and Bill Meek have written and sung folk songs celebrating the good and the bad of the history of the area. In 1997 they released a double CD celebrating their songs called By Humber’s Brown Water. The water is indeed brown and the banks and bed comprise thick mud.

Is there little wonder? The Humber is an estuary, it is not a river, even though it answers to that name, as it doesn’t have a source of its own. It originates at the confluence of the rivers Trent and Ouse. The Ouse starts life above Wensleydale as the River Ure and flows as such as far as Linton on Ouse where it becomes the River Ouse. Shortly before assuming its new name it is joined by the River Swarfe near Boroughbridge. A few miles further south the

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Lincoln based Class B5 4-6-0 No. 6072 is seen at the head of the daily train bound for its home city in 1936 and a great improvement in rolling stock from that hauled by 5687 (see page 24) is readily apparent. Of interest in this view is the absence of the floating pontoon. This would have been under repair and access to the ferries would have been via the western arm of the pier.

Photo: T. E. Rounthwaite © Transport Treasury.

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Ouse is joined by the River Nidd. The Nidd rises on the slopes of Whernside in the Yorkshire Dales and flows through Nidderdale and Knaresborough on its way to the Ouse. At York, the Ouse is joined by the Foss. This rises north of Easingwold and joins the Ouse within the city boundary of York. The 65 miles long River Wharfe is formed from two becks rising in the Yorkshire Dales National Park and flows through Ilkley, Otley, Wetherby and Tadcaster before entering the Ouse at Cawood near Selby. The Aire, which flows into the Ouse near Airmyn just to the north-west of Goole, has meandered through 92 miles of Yorkshire yet it is only some 58 miles from its source at Malham. In that distance it has passed through Skipton, Keighley, Bingley, Saltaire, Shipley and Leeds.

At Castleford it is joined by the River Calder, this rises high in the Pennines and passes close to Halifax and Huddersfield before flowing through Mirfield, Dewsbury and Wakefield. Therefore, it can be seen that, virtually all the major rivers of Yorkshire drain into the Humber.

Humber and with its vicious, unpredictable currents and slack water areas, a good amount is deposited on the bed and banks of the river.

What has the foregoing to do with this article? Simply, the unstable riverbed means that it is very difficult to travel from bank to bank. Over the years ferries have crossed from such places as Gainsborough on the Trent, Bartonon-Humber, New Holland and Goxhill. All depended on the state of the tide and at low water it was impossible to cross. Downstream, close to the mouth of the estuary it is 8¼ miles wide, whilst at Cleethorpes, at the mouth of the estuary, the north bank is a distant 5 miles. At Hull it is a little over 1¾ miles from bank to bank.

The Great Grimsby & Sheffield Junction Railway (GG&SJR) was closely allied, from its inception, with the fledgling Sheffield & Lincolnshire Junction Railway (S&LJR) and the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne & Manchester Railway (SA&MR). These three companies amalgamated into the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) in July 1846. There is no doubt that a port on the eastern seaboard of Britain would boost the export trade of South Lancashire, South Yorkshire and the North Midlands and Grimsby was seen as the ideal location. However, on the north bank of the river, close to the route the railway would take on the south bank, was the growing town of Kingston-upon-Hull, to which the MS&LR were keen to gain access. In the 1840s it would have been impractical to build a bridge over or tunnel under the Humber. Therefore, the only viable option was a ferry service. The MS&LR purchased the three ferry services then operating from the south bank, at Barrow, New Holland and Goxhill, in August 1845 for £21,000. In 1850, it was discovered that a group of GG&SJR directors had earlier purchased the three ferries for only £10,000.

They agreed to refund the difference to the MS&LR.

The Trent, the third longest river in the UK, on the other hand flows through a far less dramatic and lower lying part of the country. It rises on Biddulph Moor and as their names suggest flows through Stoke-on-Trent and Burtonon-Trent then Nottingham, Newark and Gainsborough.

The rivers flowing into it are also less well known. The River Tame, which meets the Trent near the National Arboretum at Alrewas, is larger than the Trent at the confluence of the two rivers. Just south of Burton-onTrent the river passes close to Central Rivers service depot where the Voyager units are serviced. The Dove, rising near Buxton, is 45 miles in length and joins the Trent near Newton Solney. The River Soar is next and meets the Trent in the shadow of Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station. Its source is near the Leicestershire town of Hinckley and passes through Leicester and Loughborough on its way to the Trent. Just south of Long Eaton, the Derwent joins the Trent. The only major towns it passes through are Matlock and Derby but it also supplies the great reservoirs of Derbyshire – Howden, Derwent and Ladybower. The final major river to join the Trent flows into the Attenborough Nature Reserve which then empties into the Trent. This is the Erewash and flows south past Ilkeston and skirts the western edge of Toton Traction Maintenance Depot.

It was impractical to maintain the three ferries as the intention was to build trade with Hull and a more robust service would be required. The three would be combined into one service and the location would be New Holland.

However, it would be necessary to maintain services around the clock. To facilitate this, due to the tidal flow, a pier 1,500ft long was required. Construction commenced almost immediately and was completed in time for the opening of services in the area on the 1st March 1848. It is interesting to note that the MS&LR considered New Holland, not Grimsby, to be the eastern terminus of its

Add to the above rivers several major canals; they are all carrying alluvial deposits washed into them from the fields and moors they pass through. All of this enters the 20

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NEW HOLLAND PIER

PIER STATION

NEW HOLLAND STATION

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system until 1883. In fact, initially, passengers for Grimsby had to change trains at Ulceby until through services commenced.

Top right: Those of us who remember the ferry service between New Holland and Hull associate it with the three handsome Castles, which were the last ships built for the service. All were coal burning paddle steamers of shallow draught. Two came from the yard of William Gray at Hartlepool in 1934. The third was built on the Clyde by William Denny at Dumbarton in 1940. One of the 1934 sisters, Tattershall Castle, is seen approaching New Holland Pier on the 12th May 1953. Note the waterfront at Hull in the background.

Photo: Neville Stead Collection © Transport Treasury.

At Hull, a smaller pier, the deep-water channel ran closer to the shore on the north bank, was constructed between the entrance to the old docks and the river Hull. Known as Hull Victoria Pier station it was renowned for being the only railway station never to receive a train.

Middle right: The other Hartlepool built vessel was the Wingfield Castle. It is seen here approaching Hull Victoria Pier from the stern of one of the other ferries on 17th May 1959. Photo: Neville Stead Collection © Transport Treasury.

From the outset, due to the vagary of the river and its continuously shifting mudbanks, the practical option was to operate shallow draughted, wide beamed, paddle steamers. Even with these it wasn’t unknown for the ferries to run aground and have to wait for the next tide to refloat. At extremely low tides the ships would often have to travel at least twice, and often more, than the 2½ miles distance between the piers on the two banks.

Bottom right: Lincoln Castle, built at Dumbarton, seen off New Holland Pier in the 1970s, differed slightly from her sisters. The funnel was closer to the wheelhouse whilst there were only five windows in the forward saloon rather than six. The last of the trio to remain in service, Lincoln Castle, became a restaurant at Hessle, in the shadow of the Humber Bridge, and later moved to the Alexandra Dock at Grimsby in the same role. Unfortunately, after a number of successful years the need for substantial repairs and a drop in business forced the owner to have it broken up in 2010.

The other two have survived with Tattershall Castle on the Thames, in the shadow of the London Eye, and Wingfield Castle now resident at Hartlepool, where it was built. Photo: Paul King Collection.

New Holland boasted two stations, Town and Pier. These were effectively one, as the platforms were continuous from the Town station all the way along the pier. Town station was provided with impressive, brick, buildings with an arched entrance flanked by Doric pillars with windows reflecting the arched entrance to the station.

New Holland Dock, taken in the late 1950s when the dock was in a very run down state, this picture exemplifies how the dock drained of water at low tide. The pier can be seen stretching into the distance at the top of the picture. The spare ferry can be seen on the western side of the pier, two ships sufficed for the service with one as spare. Photo: John Quick Collection.

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Many of the D7 4-4-0s, built for the MS&LR between 1887 and 1894, saw out their days at New Holland, working the passenger services to Barton-on-Humber, Cleethorpes and Immingham. 5687 was based at Immingham at the grouping and came to New Holland in May 1929, where it spent most of the next five years, occasionally returning to Immingham. Moving back to Immingham in July 1934, it was withdrawn in August 1935. It is seen here in 1931 at the head of a motley collection of six-wheel stock awaiting departure from New Holland Pier for Cleethorpes. Photo: T. E. Rounthwaite © Transport Treasury.

Surprisingly, this entrance was little used with passengers preferring to enter the station via a gateway adjacent to the signal box. At the Pier station, the buildings were much more practical and reflected the need for a relatively lightweight construction by being built of wood. The pier was double track except for the very end where the western track swung outwards to allow a centre road for storage of the coal wagons required to supply the coal fired ferries. Access to the ferries was gained from a floating pontoon on the eastern side of the pier. Storms along the east coast are a way of life and their effects can often be felt as far upstream as New Holland, in fact even today it isn’t unknown for the Humber Bridge, just a few miles further upstream, to be closed to vehicles due to the weather. One such storm, on the night of 18/19th October 1869, destroyed and sunk the pontoon, necessitating its replacement. In 1895, a fire caused a gap in the pier, passengers were forced to cross this on a temporary bridge and by 1915 the pier was in such a parlous state that

heavy locomotives were banned. The pier, in its original form, lasted for around 75 years, but by early 1923 it was in such a poor condition that it required a major rebuild.

This took five years, during which time the original wooden structure was replaced with steel pillars bonded together by steel lattice girders, the reconstruction was such that the pier survives today, almost a hundred years later. The opportunity was also taken to refurbish the buildings on the pier. It fully reopened for business on the 19th March 1928.

Passenger services commenced on the 1st March 1848 and initially ran to Louth via Grimsby. However, after a somewhat acrimonious dispute between the MS&LR and the East Lincs Railway, owners of the line between Grimsby and Louth, in July 1851, these terminated at Grimsby until the railway was extended to Cleethorpes in 1863. From then until closure Cleethorpes remained the main terminus of services from New Holland Pier. The timetable varied little over the years with ten Up and ten 24

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Down trains a day with all but the first from the Pier and the last from Cleethorpes connecting with the ferry service. Currently the service is covered by eight trains per day, however, these terminate at Barton-on-Humber after calling at a new station at New Holland, brought into use when the Humber Bridge opened in 1981.

witnessed the end of passenger services along the pier.

Amazingly, it wasn’t the end for the pier as it survives today and is in use for commercial purposes, although no longer rail connected. Many of the buildings, although not accessible to the general public, survive too, at the end of the pier.

The branch line from New Holland to Barton-on-Humber opened a year after the line to Grimsby on 1st March 1849.

Again, the line averaged 10 Up and Down trains per day but not all connected with the ferry services. Sunday services operated along both lines with the Cleethorpes trains averaging five per day, six in the summer timetable, and the Barton trains seven per day. The Barton line services increased in the 1960s to around 17 per day on weekdays and nine on Sundays (see tables on page 26). At the Pier station, the Barton trains tended to use the western platform and the Cleethorpes trains the eastern one, although this could and did vary from time to time.

Prior to the arrival of the railways, New Holland was little more than a few houses around a creek. It is believed to have gained its name when gin was smuggled into the country from Holland. As well as the pier, the MS&LR built a dock, loco shed and substantial sidings. The dock was a popular destination for the Humber Keels, that plied their trade along the Humber and surrounding area, as well as receiving small timber ships from western Europe and the Baltic. The dock was, effectively, a harbour as the entrance was ungated and subject to the fall and rise of the tides. More often than not, this left visiting ships high and dry at low-tide.

In May 1911, the 7-mile-long Barton & Immingham Light Railway opened to the new dock from a junction half a mile south of Goxhill. Services between Immingham and New Holland commencing from that date. There were usually five trains a day each way with the timings very much favouring the working hours on the dock. These services ceased on 17th June 1963 when the line closed.

The following is an extract from Part 3 of my series of books, The Railways of North East Lincolnshire, and describes the ferries used on the Humber crossing.

The paddle steamers, always coal fired until the very end, were to ply an unglamorous trail back and forth across the river for more than 130 years. Two ships were acquired with the ferry services, the Falcon and the first Magna Charta. Little is known about these vessels except that Falcon became a goods only carrier in 1849 and Magna Charta was replaced by a ship of the same name in 1873.

With the announcement of the building of a bridge across the Humber estuary, the fate of New Holland Pier was sealed. The opening of the Humber Bridge on 24th June 1981

10th May 1946 • The view along New Holland Pier gives an excellent impression of its length. On the right the service ferry awaits departure from the floating pontoon with the ramp connecting it to the station visible. This ramp could be almost level at high tide and incredibly steep at low tide. Photo: H. C. Casserley, Paul King Collection.

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WEEKDAY NEW HOLLAND PIER WINTER 1949 TIMETABLE – ARRIVALS 06.26 – Barton-on-Humber (06.15) 12.40 13.20 Immingham Dock (12.10) 07.01 07.40 Barton-on-Humber (06.50) 13.37 14.35 Barton-on-Humber (13.25) 07.14 07.40 Cleethorpes (06.10) 15.15 16.00 Cleethorpes (13.07) 08.03 08.45 Barton-on-Humber (07.50) 15.15 16.00 Immingham Dock (14.45) 08.18 08.45 Immingham Dock (07.43) 15.22 16.00 Barton-on-Humber (15.10) 08.47 09.25 Cleethorpes (07.48) 15.29 16.00 Cleethorpes (14.34) 09.56 10.40 Barton-on-Humber (09.44) 16.20 16.50 Cleethorpes (15.27) 10.53 11.25 Cleethorpes (09.53) 17.46 – Barton-on-Humber (17.37) 11.48 12.25 Barton-on-Humber (11.35) This service terminated at New Holland Town WEEKDAY NEW HOLLAND PIER WINTER 1949 TIMETABLE – DEPARTURES – 06.27 Cleethorpes (07.24) 11.05 11.50 Cleethorpes (12.46) – 06.34 Barton-on-Humber (06.45) 12.10 12.40 Barton-on-Humber (12.52) – 06.40 Immingham Dock (07.10) 13.15 13.45 Immingham Dock (14.15) – 07.13 Barton-on-Humber (07.25) 13.15 14.05 Barton-on-Humber (14.17) 07.35 08.03 Cleethorpes (09.06) 14.00 14.30 Lincoln (16.16) 08.25 08.50 Immingham Dock (09.20) 14.00 14.44 Cleethorpes (15.48) 08.25 08.55 Barton-on-Humber (09.07) 15.30 16.00 Immingham Dock (16.30) 09.20 09.55 Cleethorpes (10.53) 15.30 16.05 Barton-on-Humber (16.17) 10.10 10.50 Barton-on-Humber (11.05) 16.30 17.07 Cleethorpes (18.16) WEEKDAY NEW HOLLAND PIER SUMMER 1960 TIMETABLE – ARRIVALS 06.24 – Barton-on-Humber (06.16) 11.35 12.25 Barton-on-Humber (11.25) This service terminated at New Holland Town 11.45 12.25 Cleethorpes (10.56) 07.05 07.40 Barton-on-Humber (06.55) 12.30 – Barton-on-Humber (12.20) 07.09 07.40 Cleethorpes (06.12) 12.39 13.30 Immingham Dock (12.10) 08.00 08.35 Barton-on-Humber (07.50) 13.05 13.30 Barton-on-Humber (12.55) 08.04 08.35 Immingham Dock (07.20) 14.05 14.40 Barton-on-Humber (13.55) 08.46 09.25 Cleethorpes (07.48) 14.11 14.40 Cleethorpes (13.14) 08.51 09.25 Barton-on-Humber (08.40) 15.18 16.00 Immingham Dock (14.47) 08.59 09.25 Immingham Dock (08.35) 15.05 16.00 Barton-on-Humber (14.55) 09.30 – Barton-on-Humber (09.20) 15.31 16.00 Cleethorpes (14.36) 10.00 10.35 Barton-on-Humber (09.50) 16.19 16.50 Cleethorpes (15.27) 10.49 11.25 Cleethorpes (09.55) 16.25 16.50 Barton-on-Humber (16.15) WEEKDAY NEW HOLLAND PIER SUMMER 1960 TIMETABLE – DEPARTURES – 06.30 Cleethorpes (07.20) 11.10 11.42 Cleethorpes (12.39) – 06.36 Barton-on-Humber (06.44) 11.10 11.45 Barton-on-Humber (11.55) This service commenced at New Holland Town 12.10 12.40 Barton-on-Humber (12.50) – 06.43 Immingham Dock (07.09) 13.15 13.40 Barton-on-Humber (13.50) – 07.13 Barton-on-Humber (07.23) 13.15 14.00 Immingham Dock (14.29) 07.30 08.00 Cleethorpes (09.01) 14.05 14.35 Lincoln (16.14) 07.30 08.05 Immingham Dock (08.30) 14.05 14.40 Barton-on-Humber (14.50) 07.30 08.10 Barton-on-Humber (08.20) 14.05 14.54 Cleethorpes (15.15) 08.25 08.55 Immingham Dock (09.24) 15.30 15.55 Barton-on-Humber (16.05) 08.25 09.03 Barton-on-Humber (09.13) 15.30 16.00 Immingham Dock (16.23) 09.10 09.35 Barton-on-Humber (09.45) 16.30 17.00 Barton-on-Humber (17.10) 09.10 09.47 Cleethorpes (10.44) 16.30 17.07 Cleethorpes (18.14) 10.10 11.00 Barton-on-Humber (11.10)

17.44 18.30 Immingham Dock (17.15) 17.57 18.30 Cleethorpes (16.52) 19.35 20.20 Immingham Dock (19.05) 19.42 20.20 Barton-on-Humber (19.30) 19.52 20.20 Cleethorpes (18.53) 21.05 21.45 Barton-on-Humber (20.53) 21.14 21.45 Cleethorpes (20.22) 23.06 – Cleethorpes (22.15) This service terminated at New Holland Town 17.30 18.00 Barton-on-Humber (18.12) 17.30 18.10 Cleethorpes (19.12) 17.30 18.17 Immingham Dock (18.47) 19.20 19.50 Cleethorpes (20.51) 19.20 19.56 Barton-on-Humber (20.09) 20.50 21.20 Barton-on-Humber (21.33) 20.50 21.30 Cleethorpes (22.23) 22.05 22.35 Cleethorpes (23.26) Thursday and Saturday only 17.44 18.30 Immingham Dock (17.15) 17.50 18.30 Barton-on-Humber (17.40) 17.57 18.30 Cleethorpes (16.52) 18.18 – Barton-on-Humber (18.10) This service terminated at New Holland Town 19.45 20.20 Barton-on-Humber (19.35) 19.49 20.20 Cleethorpes (18.55) 21.25 22.00 Barton-on-Humber (21.15) 21.31 22.00 Cleethorpes (20.40) 21.50 – Barton-on-Humber (21.58) This service terminated at New Holland Town

17.25 17.55 Barton-on-Humber (18.05) 17.25 18.00 Cleethorpes (18.51) – 19.05 Barton-on-Humber (19.13) This service commenced at New Holland Town 19.20 19.50 Cleethorpes (20.48) 19.20 19.55 Barton-on-Humber (20.05) 21.00 21.30 Barton-on-Humber (21.40) 21.00 21.35 Cleethorpes (22.24) 22.05 22.39 Cleethorpes (23.30) Thursday and Saturday only. There was also an additional service from Barton-on-Humber (depart 21.50) that reversed at New Holland Town to Cleethorpes (arrive 23.01)

Notes: Arrival/departure times at Hull Victoria Pier are in bold italic. Arrival/departure times at originating/destination stations are in (brackets) • There is a departure for Lincoln but no arrival • 1960 timetable: Additional arrival from Cleethorpes at 11.45 and the removal of the 23.06 arrival at New Holland. Additional service to Immingham depart 08.05, last departure at 19.35 removed, additional arrival at 08.59.

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In 1848 the MS&LR purchased two further ferries from the Greenwich Steam Packet Co., Queen and Prince of Wales were both built by Ditchburn & Mare at Blackwall on the Thames. Queen dated from 1842 and it is assumed Prince of Wales was of a similar age. The latter was sold in 1855 and Queen two years later.

This seems quite a high figure and is open to conjecture.

Sheffield was withdrawn in 1861 and scrapped in 1865, a relatively short life for a ship. Manchester had a service life of 20 years but after running aground it broke its back and was scrapped in 1875. The next pair of ships also came from Samuelson’s and were Liverpool, in 1855, and Doncaster, in 1856. These two vessels really put in a shift on the Humber with Liverpool serving for 50 years before being broken up in 1905. Doncaster holds the record for the longest serving Humber ferry and wasn’t taken out of service until 1913, after 57 years service. The second Magna Charta was the next ship to enter the fleet in 1873, as a replacement for its namesake. It was built by T. Charlton at Grimsby and was the first ship to enter service for 17 years. Somewhat smaller than the other ferries, Magna Charta, appears to have worked out of Grimsby to both Hull and New Holland for much of its life. It was used for excursion traffic and it was not unknown for it to be used on tug work. Magna Charta had a working life of 51 years and was broken up in 1924. In 1876 the Goole Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. delivered the third paddle steamer to carry the name Manchester. It was the replacement for the second Manchester and was broken up in 1914.

The first new builds arrived in 1849 and 1850 and were the first ships to carry the names Manchester and Sheffield.

Manchester came from the Robinson & Russell shipyard at Millwall; Sheffield was built by H. E. Smith at Gainsborough. From an artist’s engraving they looked real beasts, with tall twin funnels flaring out at the top and large paddle boxes. They were renamed Old Manchester and Old Sheffield in 1855, when their replacements arrived.

Old Manchester was sold in 1864 and scrapped 14 years later. Old Sheffield was sold a year earlier and lasted a further 20 years, being scrapped in 1883.

To replace them, the MS&LR purchased a pair of vessels less than a year old giving them the names Manchester and Sheffield, hence the previous two receiving the ‘Old’ prefix. Built by M. Samuelson at Hull they would appear, from their gross tonnage, to be of different designs, although both were registered to carry 500 passengers.

28th April 1954 • New Holland Pier with Class N5 No. 69305 about to couple up to the 14.05 departure for Barton-on-Humber whilst, recently ex-works, Class A5 4-6-2T No. 69820 waits with the 13.45 for Immingham Dock. Two of the three castles are visible in this view, Lincoln Castle is just visible between the railings on the left with either Wingfield Castle or Tattershall Castle on the right about to depart for Hull. Photo: H. C. Casserley, Paul King Collection.

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Two views of the terminus at New Holland Pier in its final days, just two months before closure. It is now a single line branch from New Holland Town with the western most track and the siding for the coal traffic removed. The whole scene exudes a feeling of neglect and dilapidation, once proud buildings gradually passing into decay. In the first view on the left, a 2-car Class 114 Derby Heavyweight DMU has just arrived from Cleethorpes, note the floodlights of Hull City’s former home, Boothferry Park, visible across the river. In the second view, two sets of Class 114s are seen with the front pair bound for Cleethorpes and the rear pair for Barton-on-Humber. Photo: Paul King Collection

It was 12 years before another ship joined the fleet. This was the second Grimsby in 1888, it came from Earle’s shipyard in Hull. The largest vessel so far on the New Holland-Hull service, it served the company through three name changes and was broken up by the LNER in 1924, it tended to be the reserve ship from 1912. By the time the next new delivery entered the fleet, in 1903, the MS&LR had become the GCR. It was built by Gourlay Bros. of Dundee, the only ship built by them for the company.

Named Cleethorpes, it became a familiar sight on the Humber working alongside Grimsby. During World War I Cleethorpes worked under Admiralty orders as a seaplane carrier and as such was known as H.M.S. Cleethorpes, being noted as working in the Mediterranean during this period. Transferred to the Firth of Forth in 1934 for pleasure cruising as Cruising Queen, it only lasted a further year before being laid up and scrapped in the following year, 1936.

The final pair of Humber ferries delivered to the GCR could certainly be described as unique. Their predecessors and successors followed what can be described as standard ship outlines. Brocklesby and Killingholme definitely did not. Like so many of the company’s ships they came from the Earle’s shipyard in Hull and with a gross tonnage of 508 were the largest ferries so far. The new ships were double-ended with a rudder at each end. There was no discernible stern as such, the ships appearing to have a bow at both ends. This removed the necessity to turn when approaching or leaving the piers at Hull and New Holland. The upperworks were amidships with controls fore and aft on the bridge deck. An extremely tall, thin, funnel was located in the centre of the ship creating an extremely ancient appearance for what were modern ships. Killingholme was given the honour of carrying King George V and Queen Mary at the opening of Immingham Dock and was repainted white for the occasion. It was 28

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17th April 1947 • The GCR war memorial engine, Class B3 4-6-0 No. 1496 Valour, is rounding the curve from Barrow Road to New Holland Town with the 18.52 from Cleethorpes. Barrow Road signal box, still in use today, is above the chimney of the loco and the Yarborough hotel, once home to the MS&LR laundry, is above the first carriage, there is little else left today to identify this scene. 1496 would leave Immingham at the beginning of June for Lincoln, who retained it in service until the end of the year. A sad end for such a magnificent looking loco.

Photo: H. C. Casserley, Paul King Collection.

renamed Queen Mary but the name had to be removed beforehand as the application to change the name wasn’t completed in time. The Admiralty used Killingholme and Brocklesby, like Cleethorpes, as seaplane carriers during World War I. Killingholme had a lucky escape off the Humber when a torpedo exploded against its paddle box.

This saved the ship from sinking. With its three most modern ferries away on war service, the GCR relied on P.S. Grimsby for passengers and Magna Charta for goods, giving this elderly pair a second lease of life.

eight years before being broken up in Belgium. New vessels, see below, arrived in 1934, enabling Killingholme and Brocklesby to be retired. Brocklesby followed Cleethorpes to the Firth of Forth as Highland Queen.

It lasted a year before travelling to the Netherlands for breaking. Killingholme was more fortunate in that it was kept as the reserve ship. In 1941 it was taken under Admiralty control as a kite balloon vessel and on release, in 1945, was broken up at Paull near Hull.

Referred to in the previous paragraph are the new vessels of 1934. It was apparent that the vessels on the crossHumber service were ageing and realistically no longer fit for service as the 1930s progressed. Orders were placed in 1934 for two new ships from the William Gray shipyard at West Hartlepool. The new vessels, Tattershall Castle and Wingfield Castle, went into service in November 1934, Tattershall Castle on the 2nd and Wingfield Castle on the 27th. The new ships saw a return to the traditional outline

After the war, the Admiralty returned the three ferries and Killingholme and Brocklesby settled down to the routine of crossing the Humber for the next 16 years, with Cleethorpes and Grimsby as reserve ships. By 1924 Grimsby was no longer fit for duty and was retired. In 1928 it was necessary to find another ship and the 1895 built Dandie Dinmont came down from the Clyde, being renamed Frodingham.

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and stately looking ships they were. At 550 gross tons they were the largest ships built for the service. Despite the modernity of the ships they were built with an open bridge, post-war a wheelhouse was installed giving the crew protection from the vagaries of the Humber weather. They were also the first ferries on the Humber with deck space specifically designed for transporting motor vehicles. In 1940, a third ship was built coming from the yard of A. & J. Inglis in Glasgow. Named Lincoln Castle, due to the war it didn’t arrive on the Humber until early July 1941.

Essentially the same design as the other two Castles, Lincoln’s funnel was set closer to the bridge structure forward of the paddles. There were only five windows per side in the forward lounge to the other pair having six.

Although considered by the Admiralty for minesweeping duties, the trio spent the war years on the Humber transporting essential workers and goods across the river.

Post-war they continued in much the same way covering the daily services from Hull to New Holland. Excursions up and down the river, always an important role for the company, continued from the early days through the 1960s. By the 1970s all three were beginning to show their age and with the prospect of a bridge across the Humber fast approaching, there was little enthusiasm to find replacements. Tattershall Castle was retired in April 1972, leaving the other two to maintain the crossing. In 1974 the Wingfield Castle was taken out of service in March, leaving Lincoln Castle as the only coal burning ferry on the Humber. It wasn’t, however, the only ferry, as the diesel powered paddle vessel Farringford was transferred from

the Isle of Wight service. Arriving in the January, the 498-ton, 1947 built, vessel took Wingfield’s place alongside Lincoln Castle. Built by William Denny at Dumbarton, it was surplus to requirements on the south coast. Once more the outline bore no resemblance to the traditional and, in my opinion, Farringford was even more ugly than Brocklesby or Killingholme. Lincoln Castle and Farringford maintained the service for a further four years. On 13th February 1978 Lincoln Castle crossed to Hull and was taken out of service with boiler failure. Thus, a paddle ferry alien to the river became the last such vessel to work and maintain the service through to the end on 24th June 1981, the day the Humber Bridge opened. Thus ended the railway owned shipping interests on the Humber inaugurated 135 years previously by the GG&SJR. The last four ferries on the Humber had varying careers after being taken out of service. Farringford lingered for a few years in the docks at Hull before being broken up in 1984. Lincoln Castle became a bar and restaurant at Hessle and later in Grimsby. Unfortunately, this venture eventually fell through and much to everyone’s dismay it was broken up alongside Corporation Bridge, Grimsby in 2010. Wingfield Castle had several owners and spent time both at Brighton Marina and on the Thames. It has returned to the north-east as part of the Museum of Hartlepool. Tattershall Castle moved to the Thames as a floating art gallery and is currently moored in the shadow of Big Ben and the London Eye in, to a purist, a muchbutchered state, as a floating bar and restaurant.

New Holland engine shed officially closed in 1941, when it became a sub-shed of Immingham. It was still used for many years after but gradually lost its roof and became more and more derelict. Once the DMUs took over the services the only occupant was the diesel shunter used around the docks. BR Class 03 204hp 0-6-0 D2020 is seen at the shed in 1959. It has survived into preservation and is currently on the Lavender Line in East Sussex, however, I am not certain as to its condition.

Photo: Neville Stead Collection © Transport Treasury.

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2nd October 1965 • The much-photographed RCTS tour is seen arriving at New Holland Town from the Pier before heading to Barton-onHumber. BR Standard Class Britannia 70012 John of Gaunt was not the first of its type to venture onto the pier, Immingham’s stud of seven occasionally being used, especially on Sunday extras or when the local football clubs were playing each other. Photo: Paul King Collection.

10th May 1946 • This is one of my favourite photographs from my H. C. Casserley collection. Not only because it shows my favourite class of loco, the Robinson C4 Atlantic, not only because it shows beautifully the juxtaposition of the Town and Pier stations, but also because the negative was in such a poor condition that it took me two days deleting scratches, marks and lines to get it into this presentable condition.

The 13.52 New Holland Pier–Cleethorpes is pulling into New Holland Town hauled by Class C4 Atlantic No. 6083. Photo: H. C. Casserley, Paul King Collection.

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THE ‘ALPINE’ ROUTE LINKING HALIFAX, BRADFORD & KEIGHLEY PART TWO

BY PHILIP HELLAWELL Holmfield to Queensbury impossible due to water penetration and full breakthrough took until 2nd October 1877. Even then, it was only by use of a revolutionary (at that time) drilling machine from the Diamond Rock Boring Co., said to have improved the productivity of the miners fourfold.

The GNR’s initial refusal to link Queensbury with Halifax and Keighley dismayed local businessmen, so they decided to go their own way and promote a railway from Holmfield to Keighley. At this time, the H&OJR was still in the making, so the completion of that would provide a large part of the vital link into Halifax.

Opening took place on 31st July 1878, the last brick being inserted by James Albrighton, who had supervised work on the tunnel from the outset. The event was celebrated by the flying of colours from the headgear of No. 4 shaft, followed by a sumptuous meal for the 300 workmen.

During winter months this notoriously wet bore suffered major problems from the formation of giant icicles, so in the severest of weather an engine was kept in light steam overnight to prevent them forming.

This new scheme became known as the Halifax, Thornton & Keighley Railway (HT&KR), plans for which were placed before Parliament in 1873, with Royal Assent being granted on 5th August after many months of debate. John Fraser was once again appointed engineer, with Benton and Woodiwiss, a company which had been involved in building the highest part of the Settle & Carlisle line on the Dent Head to Kirkby Stephen section, being the contractors.

Some 600 men were involved in building the tunnel, of which 200 were miners, plus 14 horses. Tragically, there were ten known deaths during construction – John Gough, Frederick Goulding, Sutcliffe Hodgson, Henry Ingham, Henry Jones, Richard Jones, Llewellyn Jones, Captain Pickles, Richard Sutcliffe, and John Swire. Sadly, John Gough (38) and Henry Jones (35) were killed in the same dreadful explosion at 4.00 a.m. on Tuesday 7th December 1875. There were 20 men working on the night shift when a severe blast killed both men, their bodies being “dreadfully disfigured” according to an account in the Liverpool Albion.

Interest had previously been shown in such a route by both the Great Northern and the Midland railways. Realising the possibility of linking this line with the Halifax-Ovenden route via a tunnel under Queensbury, and keen to keep the MR out, the GNR had finally become committed.

However, it wanted nothing at all to do with the direct Halifax-Huddersfield section of the original proposals, so that piece of the grand plan was allowed to perish and was, sadly, never revived.

The hills north of Holmfield were the biggest obstacle on the Halifax to Queensbury section. Opening of the through line depended on the diversion of Strines Beck, excavating Strines cutting and boring Queensbury tunnel, all of which accounted for much of the 2¼ miles from Holmfield.

Navvies had to hew their way through the 59 feet deep, 1,033 feet long cutting at Strines, which took four years to complete. This was needed to gain access to the one mile 741 yards long tunnel under Queensbury, the longest on the Great Northern Railway until 1910.

This fatality rate was one worker in every 60, but many more would suffer major injuries during construction.

A reporter from the Halifax Guardian who walked through the nearly complete tunnel was somewhat fancifully inspired to remark “The pyramids of Egypt sink into insignificance compared with such a work.”

Fittingly, the Queensbury Tunnel Society has recently erected a very poignant memorial to ‘The Ten Men’ who paid the ultimate price. Each of the ten is represented by a standard wooden sleeper stood on end with one iron rail chair fixed near the top and a plaque with their individual name lower down. On the back of each sleeper is a QR

Work on the northernmost of the construction shafts started in May 1874, the contract requiring the tunnel to be completed within two years. However, this proved 32

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code which links to a description of the circumstances of their death and, where known, biographical information.

From Thornton, the line left its north-westerly course and headed west before penetrating the 662 yards long Well Head tunnel, after which the summit is reached. Then followed the 150-yard-long Hammer’s Hill tunnel, before a northwards curve and a dip downhill to Denholme.

When the passenger service started, there were nine trains daily between Bradford and Thornton, whilst a further six went between Halifax and Bradford. The effect of this extra traffic was that the facilities at Halifax and Bradford stations proved inadequate, as a consequence of which both needed to be enlarged – at Halifax Old, the number of platforms was doubled from three to six in 1885.

Denholme At 850 feet above sea level, this station was the highest on the entire GNR system, its coal depot being kept busy particularly in the harsh winters when road traffic could not get through. Goods trains began running from Thornton to Denholme on 1st September 1882 on a singletrack alignment. Its facilities included a goods warehouse 150ft long by 50ft wide and 20ft high completed at a cost of £3,800 in 1883. Three hand cranes were situated on the platform for the loading of goods.

Only the GNR ran timetabled passenger trains on the lines and, although impacted by the arrival of trams, there were still 21 trains from Halifax through Queensbury in 1910, for example. However, the journey time from Halifax to Bradford was, depending on stops and dwell times, up to 40 minutes, virtually double the time of the rival L&YR route from Halifax through Low Moor. At the Queensbury end, a mechanical gong was installed to warn engine crews that they were approaching, as smoke often obscured the signal for the south junction positioned inside the tunnel.

Thornton to Keighley

Trains were used for transporting milk as farmers who had not got a milk round sent their milk on the railway to Bradford. They would push their carts over the cobbled road twice a day, first thing in the morning and again at around 4.30pm.

The final section to be constructed was the £282,000 Thornton to Keighley section. John Fraser was still the appointed engineer, but he died suddenly at his home in Headingley in 1881 and did not, therefore, live to see final completion of the line. It was never going to be easy for his son, Henry, even with around 1,500 men working on the project as there were four tunnels to construct of nearly 2,500 yards in length in addition to two substantial viaducts.

Passenger operation commenced on 1st January 1884. Like Clayton and Thornton, Denholme was an island station, its 50 feet long footbridge requiring passengers to descend 22 steps to the platform. Passenger usage was never high as it was up to a mile from most of the village down a steep, dark lane. After passenger services ceased in 1955, the goods station continued to be busy, handling coal and considerable quantities of timber traffic.

14th May 1955 • Class N1 0-6-2T No. 69434 heading for Wilsden station with a train from Keighley.

Photo: Neville Stead Collection © Transport Treasury

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Above: Class N1 0-6-2T No. 69474 about to call at Wilsden station with a train from Keighley in 1954.

Below: An unidentified N1 0-6-2T departing from Wilsden station with a train to Keighley from Queensbury is seen from the bridge in the above photo. Photos: Neville Stead Collection © Transport Treasury

arches. These required substantial buttresses at both sides, beyond which wing walls pushed into the cutting face. The segmental arches comprise six brick rings, springing off high vertical sidewalls, whilst below the trackbed, brick inverts were constructed to complete the boxes.

Wilsden On 1st July 1886, the GN opened an attractive little station of this name midway between Denholme and Cullingworth, even though the village of Wilsden was two miles away.

However, it did serve the hamlet of Harecroft which was only ½ mile distant. Passenger use was minimal but the yard had a busy coal trade and, in 1908, a siding was laid to serve a nearby stone quarry.

The station is shortly followed by the monumental 123 feet high Hewenden Viaduct, built in stone from nearby Manuel Quarry (now known as Manywells). Justifiably Grade ll listed, it strides majestically over the valley on a sweeping curve. With 17 arches, each of 50 feet, it is in three sections, separated by two block pieces 20 feet thick, making the end sections six spans each and the centre five. The foundations had to be sunk 24 feet below track level due to extremely difficult ground conditions.

Upon leaving Denholme, the line turned north-east and ran through Doe Hill Tunnel, the intention having been for the line then to pass through a series of cuttings. However, the persistence of earth slips on unstable ground forced the engineers to construct two brick-built box sections, one of 33 yards and the other 112 yards, known as inverted 34

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facing westwards, but emerged having turned virtually at right-angles to face north towards Keighley. Just under a mile long with this sharp blind curve, the navvies worked in appalling conditions, with a spring having been tapped during construction resulting in three-quarters of a million gallons of water pouring in each day.

Cullingworth As the line approaches the village it passes over the ninearched 150-yard Cullingworth viaduct, the smallest of the three such constructions which epitomise this section of the network. Cullingworth was a bigger village and, with the passenger station being located very close to the centre, it enjoyed better use than most, especially for Keighley trains. There were two platforms connected by a footbridge, the main building being on the Up side, as was the station house. It also benefited from a sizeable goods yard, which had a lengthy loading dock and a weigh office which stood at the entrance off Station Road. It was approached by a wide access road; the freight facilities being well used by local businesses. There were many sidings extending to a goods shed (demolished in 2006) and coal drops.

Furthermore, the tunnel was constructed without ventilation shafts and, after opening, was intensely disliked by footplate crew who named it the Hell Hole. Ironically, after the line closed, tests were conducted in conjunction with cancer physicians from St. Bartholomew’s hospital in London to analyse whether the effects from diesel fumes in confined spaces were more toxic than the sulphurous emissions from steam locomotives.

Remarkably, one of Neville Hill’s Gresley A3 Pacifics, No. 60081 Shotover, made several daily trips to Lees Moor in January 1958 for these experiments, along with brand new Class 20 diesel locomotives D8010 and D8011 which had been specially brought up from London.

Their respective emissions were carefully measured and analysed, although the results of the tests are not known.

As everybody knows, it’s grim up north, and it has been stated that the two diesels struggled with the Pennine weather and suffered from frozen radiators and cooling systems.

During World War 2, it was used extensively for war-effort traffic including machinery for Russia. In 1941 Grippon set up a concrete works in a nearby quarry where, in later years, huge concrete beams and pre-cast sections were produced and transported by rail to be used in construction of the M1 motorway.

Remarkably one of the old 1925 LNER concrete station nameboards, 16 feet long and weighing ¾ ton, has survived, being rescued from undergrowth near Turf Lane, restored and returned to the village on 6th July 2013 where it is on display in the grounds of the school.

Leaving Lees Moor tunnel, the line emerged into, and ran more or less parallel with, the Worth Valley, not far from the Midland Railway’s branch to Oxenhope and visible therefrom.

After Cullingworth trains ran on a falling gradient northwest to Ellar Carr, and then entered the Lees Moor tunnel

6th June 1954 • N1 0-6-2T No. 69474 stops at Cullingworth with a train for Keighley. Photo: Neville Stead Collection © Transport Treasury

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Ingrow

Keighley

More heavy engineering, including a succession of bridges and cuttings (now infilled) and a 46-yard tunnel took the line to Ingrow which was finally reached on 7th April 1884.

The passenger station had two platforms, connected by a footbridge, each with canopied buildings facing each other, access being by staircases from the Haincliffe Road overbridge. To avoid confusion with the Worth Valley line, it was renamed Ingrow East by BR on 2nd March 1951.

In 1880, the GNR applied to Parliament for agreement to reduce its financial liability by dropping its plans for its own independent station. To this end it approached the Midland Railway with a proposal for a new joint station in Keighley. Perhaps surprisingly, the MR were amenable, with formal agreement made on 1st June 1881. In return, the GNR granted the MR some concessionary traffic from Keighley to Halifax.

Ingrow was, however, significant as the location of the GN’s engine shed for this end of the line – principally because there was nowhere else to put it. The dead-end two-road shed was long and narrow (155 feet x 38 feet), but large enough to hold eight tank engines, being located on the Down side, north of Ingrow station. The yard also benefited from a 45 feet turntable and a combined coaling stage and 50,000 gallon water tower.

Ingrow East signal box was situated by the Up line opposite the entrance to the goods yard, north of the station.

A very attractive design with a brick base and timber upper, it displays wonderfully ornate barge boards, but had obviously seen better days than depicted here.

Photo: © Transport Treasury

Clearly, business on the line was not as brisk as had been hoped for, as the allocation was down to four locos by 1896, and further reduced to two in the early 1900s – a Stirling Class G2 0-4-4WT and a J15 0-6-0ST. By 1936 Ingrow shed no longer had any loco allocation at all, meaning that engines arriving with goods trains had to do their own shunting at Keighley.

Various 4-4-2 tank types were tried on the line which, in turn, gave way to the Ivatt N1 0-6-2Ts around the First World War. The N1s continued to dominate passenger haulage until closure, being preferred by footplate crew to N2s and N7s which had also made appearances.

26th June 1966 • Ingrow East engine shed 30 years after closure. For many years this found alternative use for industrial purposes, but has now been replaced with much bigger premises.

Photo: Neville Stead Collection © Transport Treasury

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The new, re-sited, joint station, firmly welcomed by the local council, opened on 6th May 1883 incorporating much improved facilities for Midland passengers. Leaving Ingrow, GN passenger trains forked to the west to join the Worth Valley line at GN Junction, at which point the Midland had doubled its tracks into Keighley. The station proved a well located and very convenient interchange for passengers on the GNR route, the MR’s main line from Leeds to Carlisle and the Worth Valley branch.

testament to the prowess of its impressive engineers, John Fraser, his son, Henry, and the hundreds of hard-working navvies who daily battled against, at times, dangerous and frequently almost intolerable conditions.

Services and Decline The initial service from Keighley was 18 departures on weekdays and four on Sundays. Excursions to Boston, Lincoln and Skegness were an early and welcome feature.

During the first 25 years of operation the Queensbury lines generated much passenger traffic, peaking at the turn of the century but, by 1901, Bradford trams were running to Queensbury and the advent of buses from Halifax and Bradford in the 1920s accelerated the downturn.

Goods trains from Ingrow East, however, carried on under Park Wood Street to dive under the Worth Valley line, thus allowing the GNR access to its sizable goods depot at Keighley near East Parade. Re-titled Keighley South by BR, in 1951, the depot was bigger than its Midland neighbour across the road, which became known as Keighley North.

The GNR’s goods yard comprised several warehouses plus stables for 24 horses and only closed on 15th July 1961, although its large two-storey warehouse building survives in private use.

Though the four-wheel and six-wheel coaches had been superseded by bogie stock, passenger fall-off continued at an ominous rate. Even so, the line was used as a starting point for the LNER’s West Riding Pullman in 1925, leaving Halifax at 11.08 via Bradford to Wakefield Westgate where, joining a portion from Leeds, it ran non-stop to King’s Cross. LNER experiments with an Armstrong Whitworth diesel railcar in 1935 and a 1936-built GWR railcar – W14W in 1944 – were tried without success. Although the West Riding Pullman aspect had ceased by 1937, there was still an 11.45 a.m. departure from Halifax in 1946 conveying through carriages to King’s Cross with a return working arriving back at 11.22 p.m.

Opening throughout did not occur until 1st November 1884, over 11 years after construction was first authorised. The section between Holmfield and Keighley is probably the most engineered stretch of railway in West Yorkshire, at one time thought impassable. In conquering that challenge, the GNR constructed one of Britain’s great railway routes.

Featuring long tunnels, spectacular viaducts, impressive cuttings, and earthworks of grand scale, the HT&KR stood

The incongruous sight of a GWR railcar, W20W, at Bradford Exchange. A couple of these early GWR railcars, introduced in 1934, were trialled by the GNR in 1944, W14W being tried on the Queensbury line without success. Photo: © Transport Treasury

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Class N1 0-6-2T No. 69459 has just arrived at Platform 4 in Keighley station. Both the station canopy and the first class carriage compartment look in need of serious attention. Photo: Neville Stead Collection © Transport Treasury

At nationalisation, there were still 24 trains a day leaving Bradford Exchange for Halifax and Keighley. Motive power came from Hammerton Street depot in Bradford which, in 1951, had an allocation of six B1 4-6-0s, seven J6 0-6-0s, twenty J50 0-6-0 tanks, and thirteen N1 0-6-2 tanks – four of which were fitted with condensing apparatus, having first been used on the London Kings Cross and Moorgate suburban services. Although N1s dominated the timetabled services, B1s became the principal choice for excursions and longer trips.

June 1954. Despite support from members of neighbouring constituencies, it never came to fruition.

In May 1956, the Holmfield-Queensbury and the Cullingworth-Ingrow sections were closed to freight traffic.

The track remained in place though, with a section on the Down line between Lees Moor tunnel and Ingrow being relaid by BR in spring 1957. This was to evaluate Dowmac concrete sleepers, which were innovative at the time.

Here, deliberate derailing tests were undertaken with Class G5 0-4-4T No 67338, two coaches and a bogie bolster wagon to learn what damage might ensue.

It was, though, a loss-making line and, although this was some years before the 1963 Beeching report, British Rail (BR) judged it could save £49,000 per annum by axing the passenger services, which it moved quickly to do. The last passenger train from Halifax, headed by N1 No. 69471, running on Saturday 21st May 1955, although excursion trains continued to operate throughout the summer from all stations. Furthermore, one of the eight pioneer Derby Lightweight DMUs was seen at Keighley on driver training in 1955, as BR found the near deserted route ideally suited for giving steam footplate staff driving tuition on diesel railcars. The claimed reason for closure was said to be the condition of Queensbury tunnel, but the rationale was dubious causing much local controversy, exacerbated by the continued running of excursion trains.

Further tests took place on the lines when Derby Research Centre experimented with short-wave radio signals through the tunnels whilst a prototype ballast cleaning machine built by Hunslet of Leeds was evaluated at Great Horton station in 1959.

August 1958 saw the Down line close between Wilsden and Thornton, which was then used to store mineral wagons awaiting repair or disposal. Goods traffic from the concrete works at Cullingworth continued to grow, but the non-availability of 50-ton wagons and the general lack of enthusiasm and unreliability of the BR service forced the company to switch to road haulage. The goods yard closed on 11th November 1963, leaving the freight service from Bradford to terminate at Thornton.

On 16th December 1955, the MP for Shipley proposed in Parliament that the passenger service be reinstated by using diesel railcars which were proving very popular between Bradford and Leeds, having been introduced in

Even then, use of the infrastructure was still taking place as, from July 1969, an early prototype of an invar wire strain meter was installed in Queensbury tunnel as part of 38

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13th May 1956 • Class B1 4-6-0 No. 61267 is shown here standing outside its home shed of 37C (Bradford, Hammerton Street), where all Queensbury line locos were stabled at this time.

Photo: Eric Sawford © Transport Treasury

Early 1950s • Class N1 0-6-2T No. 69456 in light steam at Ardsley depot to which it was transferred from Hornsey. Despite now being based in Yorkshire, the condensing gear, fitted for working the Metropolitan tunnels in London, is still in place. Photo: © Transport Treasury

a seismological station operated by Cambridge University.

Recording equipment was housed in a hut, which members of the geophysics department sometimes slept in, and which was able to detect earth tremors from as far away as the Middle East. Following the project’s conclusion, the facility was retained and not finally closed down until November 1979.

to backfill the seven shafts and fill in sections from both entrances of the tunnel with concrete, estimated costs for which by 2018, and using differing schemes, have ranged between £3.5m. and £5m.

Since closure much of the line has vanished, particularly so on the Bradford arm. Traces of the railway at Queensbury can still be found, including a pedestrian overbridge on the eastern side and the station master’s house, which is occupied. The station site has largely disappeared as part of a landfill scheme but the remaining viaducts at Thornton, Hewenden and Cullingworth stand as formidable reminders of what was a magnificent, but very expensive railway. As these are all now public rights of way, they are well worth visiting.

The steadily deteriorating Queensbury tunnel was announced as one of the Victorian Society’s Top 10 Most Endangered Buildings in 2019, who said that it “symbolised the irreplaceable infrastructure legacy left to us by the Victorians.” An active Queensbury Tunnel Society is campaigning for the tunnel to be restored as a cycle path and walkway, whereas the Department for Transport wants 39

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of the oldest and most financially secure preserved steam railways in the UK.

The last rites Recovery of the redundant track from the line and yards on the High Level and the remaining North Bridge to Holmfield sections started 2½ years after final closure.

It proved to be a big operation which took many months and required daily use of one of Sowerby Bridge’s allocation of WD 2-8-0s, these engines having the necessary braking power to cope with the heavy trains of track panels on the downhill gradient towards Halifax. Also, in attendance was one of the small number of Class 10 0-6-0 diesel shunters, D3151, which was temporarily transferred to Bradford Hammerton Street from Thornaby-on-Tees for short trip and shunting work in connection with track recovery.

Historically, this route itself was, in 1845, proposed to be part of a grander plan known as the Hebden Bridge & Keighley and Leeds & Carlisle Junction Railway. However, having to bore through the South Pennines at a projected cost of £350,000 in those days, this was never likely to gain sufficient investment.

The KWVR was reopened in its entirety in June 1968 and, with the last remnants of the GN line to Queensbury by then closed, it was able to have unrestricted access into the branch platforms of Keighley station, unfettered by conflicting movements on the national network with which it propitiously shares the station today.

Ironically, little Ovenden is the only intermediate station to survive on the entire network, outliving all the other much more substantial ones. The two-storey station master’s house on the Down side remains as does a short section of the (replacement) concrete Queensbury platform.

The station building is now used as an office and stores for the owner’s scrapyard. The Railway Inn at Ovenden is still open, albeit its location is about half a mile from the station of that name.

The Great Northern Railway Trail The trail, thanks to the efforts of Sustrans and Bradford City Council, opened in stages between 2007 and 2012, following much of the line between Queensbury and Cullingworth, but with significant gaps still to take up beyond Thornton. The route is just under six miles on a reasonably flat trajectory passing by, under, and over a series of interesting bridges, embankments and viaducts, creating a pleasant rural leisure route for walkers, cyclists, and horse riders.

North Bridge station was formally closed to passengers on 23rd May 1955 at which time the ticket stock in the booking office still included some which were so old as to have been printed for the “H. & O. Joint Ry.” – a gift for ticket collectors! The station buildings were demolished in May 1960, and the goods station closed in 1964. However, North Bridge continued as a coal yard until 1st April 1974, following which the entire infrastructure from Halifax Town station was abandoned, albeit that the massive Winding Road and Old Lane retaining walls display the classic stone block railway architecture with which we are so familiar.

The author would like to thank Chloe Gough, Russell Moore, John Brooke, and Francis Hellawell for their help in compiling this article.

The following page contains modern day photographs taken by the author of some of the structural remains of The Alpine Route.

Bibliography: The Queensbury Triangle (1979): Alan Whitaker, Crown Press (Keighley) Ltd.

The area is now occupied by a Sainsbury’s supermarket, local authority sports centre and accompanying car parks.

Railways of Keighley (1979): J. M. Bairstow, Dalesman Publishing Co. Ltd.

Keighley & Worth Valley Railway

Pennine Branch Lines (1993): Alan Earnshaw, Ian Allan Publishing

On a more positive note, it was the closure of the Queensbury lines which inspired charismatic Keighley MP Bob Cryer to found the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway Preservation Society in 1962. He called the first public meeting, overcame many obstacles, and negotiated an incredibly good package with British Railways for the purchase of the line at a cost of £45,000 on a low fixed rate of interest, thus inspiring creation of what is now one

The Great Northern Railway in The West Riding (1999): Martin Bairstow, Amadeus Press Railway Memories No.11 – Halifax & The Calder Valley (1998): Jack Wild and Stephen Chapman, Bellcode Books Lost Railways of South & West Yorkshire (2007): Gordon Suggitt, Countryside Books The Queensbury Lines (2015): Martin Bairstow, Amadeus Press Railways of The West Riding of Yorkshire (2021): Bernard Warr, The Crowood Press

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Cullingworth station nameboard

Ovenden station booking office and waiting rooms

Wheatley viaduct

The gravestone of Coates and Elliott at Clayton parish church

The Ten Men memorial at Queensbury tunnel

Farmer’s access bridge by Queensbury station.

Hewenden viaduct plate

Hewenden viaduct

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RETURN OF STEAM TO SCOTLAND

J

BY IAN LAMB

ust over fifty years ago on a fast rail run from Dundee to Edinburgh, headed by a Class 47 diesel locomotive, as the train thundered through Inverkeithing on the approach to the Forth Bridge I could have sworn that the ghost of Gresley was in that engine, such was its performance. Little did I think then that in mere weeks my supposition would become reality when one of Sir Nigel’s pride and joy, complete with the unusual yet unmistakable horn sound, emerged from Inverkeithing South junction once more at the head of a train for Dundee, as it so often had done in days long gone by.

Union of South Africa was one of 34 engines classed A4 by the London and North Eastern Railway. This locomotive’s design was regarded as Sir Nigel Gresley’s masterpiece, easily identified by their unusual streamlining. They were built as high speed machines for the purpose of hauling the fastest and heaviest express trains on the East Coast as far as Aberdeen.

Introduced in 1935 and weighing over 165 tons, they produced a tractive effort of 34,455 lbs. A sister engine, Mallard (now preserved in York’s National Railway Museum), achieved the world record for steam traction of 126mph in 1938. Nevertheless ‘No. 9’ (as she was known to many) need not have played ‘second fiddle’ for it has had a most distinguished career. An outstanding performer in action, and selected with four sister engines to head the famous ‘Coronation’ express in 1937.

This was the return of steam to Scotland – as far as British Rail metals were concerned – for A4 Class No. 60009 Union of South Africa regularly provided passenger service on the Lochty Private Railway in East Fife.

Through the efforts of a local farmer, John Cameron, and a band of very enthusiastic helpers, the last mile from the Lochty terminus became Scotland’s first working standard gauge steam passenger line under private ownership in 1966. The short distance was merely ‘convalescence’ for this great locomotive when thinking of the many long journeys it once covered.

It is well known that many of Gresley’s designs and locomotives were sorely tested during the Second World War with heavy supply and troop trains. 60009 in particular hauled a record load of 26 coaches on one journey. My next door neighbour, Jock Ross, was in the top-link at 64B Haymarket MPD and from time to time drove Union of South Africa. He was a fireman when war broke out and assured me that on one specific journey between Newcastle and Edinburgh whilst in the cab of L.N.E.R. Class A3 4-6-2 No. 2598 (BR 60087) Blenheim, that locomotive hauled 22 coaches on a troop train returning home. I was informed that his engine was well over the Newcastle Central ‘diamonds’ when he connected the tender up to the train!

‘No. 9’ setting off from Lochty terminus.

Photo: Jerry Beddows

In 1954 ‘The Elizabethan’ covered the Edinburgh to Kings Cross run of 393 miles in 385 minutes – five minutes under schedule. At that time it was the world’s longest non-stop run. The driver was Mr. James Paterson from Edinburgh, and like ‘No. 9’ was allocated to Haymarket shed. There was no doubt in railway circles that a remarkable affinity developed over the years between Union of South Africa and Jim Paterson.

During the late 1940s this engine – and its sister No. 60024 Kingfisher – completed the longest non-stop journey in the world for steam traction when East Coast trains were diverted over the ‘Waverley’ route because floods had 42

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At Ladybank Union of South Africa is cleared for the main line south for the second steamed part of the journey.

Photo: W. A. C. Smith © Transport Treasury

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washed away the railway near Berwick-on-Tweed. Jim Paterson was considered a most competent driver, and his resourcefulness was fully tested during these disastrous conditions when his prompt action prevented a serious mishap. For this effort he received a special award and certificate.

In a final blaze of glory, this magnificent locomotive hauled the last regular passenger trains in the early sixties out of Kings Cross before being finally withdrawn from BR service in 1966. At that time this engine was being used to operate the three hours express services between Aberdeen and Glasgow (Buchanan Street). British Rail arranged a special farewell to steam excursion in 1967 at which the demand was so great that the train had to be built up to eighteen coaches. To provide the crowning touch this railway entourage then completed the 89 mile stretch from Perth to Aberdeen over the Strathmore line in a record time of 87 minutes!

Alas, the ‘Waverley’ route is currently no more beyond Melrose, but I wonder what would happen if such severe floods occurred again? On the recalled occasion, provision had been made at Galashiels for water and additional engine assistance for the climb up Falahill, but twice these two named engines had no need of these facilities.

W. A. C. Smith is best known for his remarkable photographic collection, but in many ways he was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time simply because he worked in BR’s Scottish Region Train Planning Department, so knew where and when to obtain the best images, and for that we will be eternally grateful.

I interviewed Jim Paterson in 1973 regarding his railway experiences. Aged 83, he was a most able and fit person, and his home was affectionately adorned with mementos of HIS Union of South Africa. He joined the North British Railway in 1908, and his two loves were engine-driving and lay-preaching, excelling himself at both. Although becoming a driver immediately after the First World War, he really belongs to the Gresley era. His last assignment was the Royal Train when the late Queen travelled to Doncaster for the St. Leger in 1955.

On Saturday 5th May 1973 this Scottish Steam Special, a nine coach train with 350 passengers on board, was hauled by Haymarket’s ‘English Electric’ 2000hp diesel locomotive Class 40 No. 269 for the non-steam part of the route. Perhaps a ‘taken-for-granted’ means of power, yet this locomotive was in regular operation in the early 1960s before gradually taking over the express routes of the former steam engines.

He recalled, “I have had a few thrills and many an anxious moment, but there is nothing compared with the unspeakable joy in controlling such a ‘steed’, and having the care and responsibility for thousands of lives.

Never did I step on the footplate without first seeking God’s blessing and committing to His care, myself and the passengers”.

The weather was dull and damp on departure from Edinburgh’s Waverley station just after 9am. The ‘Union Flag’ above the castle fluttered proudly in the cool air,

25th March 1967 • Perth (63A) Stanier 4-6-0 No. 44997 double-heads Gresley Pacific No. 60009 Union of South Africa with the ‘Grand Scottish Tour No. 1’, on its epic run through Strathmore.

Photo: W. A. C. Smith © Transport Treasury

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5th May 1973 • Setting off from Inverkeithing to Dundee, indeed a sight to remember. Photo: W. A. C. Smith © Transport Treasury

trying hard to put some brightness on the morning scene.

However, excitement and anticipation was felt on the train, and soon we were on the Forth Bridge and approaching the Fife coastline.

the smell of engine smoke and hot oil was like a rare aroma. Children on the train were extremely excited, rushing from window to window for a momentary glance of Union of South Africa as she careered round the severe curves. This must have been quite an occasion in their young lives.

What a reception at Inverkeithing! Surely no locomotive could ever have had such adulation. The Class 40 diesel locomotive came off the train to give access to the A4.

Groomed like a true thoroughbred Union of South Africa slid across the points in ‘prima donna’ fashion to take her rightful place at the head of this historical train, and in so doing received a long overdue accolade of admiration and nostalgia. How can one put such emotions into words?

With the sun breaking through at Leuchars, all was set for a final run into Dundee well within the allocated time.

In long accustomed fashion the outward journey across Fife was completed in a most competent manner, and this engine with its train crossed the Tay estuary as if it were still a routine matter of course. The welcome at Tay Bridge station had to be seen to be believed, and indeed fit for royalty.

At almost every conceivable place along the line people stood, waved or took photographs. Indeed a personal salute and tribute to the attraction and affection of the steam locomotive – or was it just curiosity? Many children, particularly the very young, stared in awe and misbelief as this graceful engine and its train rushed across central Fife. There was no mistaking the staccato of ‘No. 9’ as she effortlessly ran along the coast, often engulfed in a mass of steam and smoke. Oh, the glory of it all!

In what seemed ages because of platform adulation for ‘No. 9’, Class 1Co-Co1 diesel-electric locomotive No. 269 was soon connected up at the other end of the train before heading off westwards over the former Caledonian line to Perth. What a change of atmosphere, leaving the platform ‘spotters’ to witness the A4 heading off to the local engine shed for turning and servicing, before heading ‘light engine’ back to Ladybank.

I could feel my pulse race as the journey increased; and 45

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Rapturous scenes at Leuchars as the passengers disembark for a break.

Obviously ‘Health and Safety’ regulations were not in force in the 1970s!

After all, this is the main railway line between Edinburgh and Dundee.

Photo: W. A. C. Smith © The Transport Treasury

Union of South Africa made a spectacular and memorable exit from the scene. The train – once more diesel hauled – headed fast to Edinburgh, so bringing to a close a genuinely remarkable experience.

The tour then continued as a scenic run to Pitlochry and returned to Perth before heading over the North Fife freight route (the main line today) to Ladybank where the train would once more be coupled up to 60009 Union of South Africa. En-route would be a stop at the closed station at Newburgh, the first passenger train to do so for many years.

This wonderful occasion had obviously fired the imagination, and caught the enthusiasm of young and old throughout the country as a whole. Or could it be that the original love and concern Jim Paterson had for his ‘old lady’ still lives on? Maybe it is steam in the blood, but what a transfusion!

Uncoupled again at Inverkeithing where No. 60009 triumphantly headed tender first to its then current home at Markinch. Amidst a final flood of smoke and steam 46

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After the ‘Scottish Steam Special’ had headed off to Perth, ‘No. 9’ was cleared for the line to turning and servicing at the nearby engine shed whilst many onlookers still remain to see this glorious sight.

All photos: W. A. C. Smith © The Transport Treasury

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Above: Preparing to change places with No. 269 at Ladybank Junction.

Left: Final stop at Dunfermline before leaving its train at Inverkeithing. As with every location, crowds turned up to witness this amazing ‘day-out’ in appreciation of steam motive power.

Both photos: W. A. C. Smith © The Transport Treasury

13th July 2024 • An invite to ‘No.9’s’ final resting place in East Fife enabled Ian Lamb to sit in that revered cab and contemplate the power and magnificence of this incredible steam locomotive.

Photo: Jim Hamilton

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THE G.N.R. STIRLING SINGLES

R

BY DAVID CULLEN

ailway engineer Patrick Stirling was born in Kilmarnock in 1820, the son of Reverend Robert Stirling, inventor of the Stirling engine.

So destined for an engineering career, this began with an apprenticeship at the Urquhart Lindsay & Co. foundry in Dundee. From there he progressed to become foreman at Neilson’s Locomotive Works in Glasgow. In 1851 he was appointed Superintendent of the line running between Bowling and Balloch which was later absorbed into the North British Railway.

In 1853 he progressed yet again to become Locomotive Superintendent of the Glasgow and South Western Railway.

high speed. In addition, these were intended for handling the crack expresses on the G.N.R’s London Kings Cross to York route. Further, they needed to be up to participating in the legendary ‘Races to the North’ against the Great Northern’s rivals, the Midland Railway and the London & North Western.

Improved upon from his 1868 2-2-2s, one such locomotive was the now legendary G Class ‘Stirling Single’, the prototype No. 1 appearing in 1870. Doncaster works undertook construction. A total of fifty-three Singles were built in three series in 1870, 1884 and 1892-95. Design improvements were made as construction advanced. The last of them was built in the year of Stirling’s passing.

They became referred to as the Gs, G2s and G3s. It seems however these were the perceptions of one George Frederick Bird and not formally endorsed by the company.

In 1866 he moved to the Great Northern Railway, where he remained until passing away in office in 1895. During his early years at the Great Northern, he set out to standardise the company’s rolling stock. He also acquired, to study, a Great Eastern Railway locomotive having a 2-2-2 wheel arrangement. This had a single middle pair of driving wheels with a 7ft 1in diameter. Highly impressed, Stirling created two comparable 2-2-2 engines for the G.N.R. in 1868.

Of the 4-2-2 wheel arrangement, the engines were regarded as an art form, elegant in design with attractive lined livery and eye-catching tall brass safety valve shrouding.

Given striking 8 foot 1 inch (97 ins) diameter driving wheels, they earned the nickname ‘Eight Footers’. These would move the locomotive some twenty-five feet four and a half inches with each revolution (taking the value of pi as 3.14), ideal for express workings. In addition they provided effective rail grip and imposed less stress on

At this time the company needed a new fleet of locomotives for lines still under construction. To accommodate, Stirling’s remit was to create powerful engines capable of 11th September 1938 • No.1 entering Peterborough station.

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In 1938 the preserved ex-Great Northern Stirling Single 4-2-2 ran a special from Kings Cross to Cambridge with six-wheeled Victorian stock. This was organised by the RCTS. Photo: A. W. Mace © Transport Treasury

associated moving parts. The locomotives were intended to be capable of hauling as many as 26 passenger carriages at an average of 47 mph.

to the 18 x 28 inch cylinders, these larger by some 30% than on previous engines. This glitch had resulted from considerable guesswork used during the design stage.

Despite this, No. 1 commendably ran 32,000 miles during its initial eight months service. The steaming issue was rectified in the locomotives constructed later. Grate area was a modest 17.65 sq.ft. Maximum steam pressures were 140, 160 and 170 lbs per sq.in. respectively for the three versions constructed.

Locomotive No. 1 entered service in April 1870. This was powered by two cylinders of 18 ins diameter by 28 ins stroke. The final series of 1894-95 were given cylinders with an extra 1½ ins diameter. In this era, cylinders set within the main frames were the norm. However, Stirling gave the Singles units set outside. Due to their large driving wheels, the fitting of inside cylinders was not at all practical. They would have required the boiler mid-line to be at a height of 8ft to clear the necessary cranks in the axles, potentially endangering locomotive stability at speed. Further, the wheel flanges would have been subjected to excessive forces and the crank leverage could have led to potentially catastrophic breakages.

No. 1’s driving wheel diameters already having been covered, the four leading bogies were of 3ft 11½ins diameter.

These provided lateral front end stability on curves and points. The trailing pair were of 4ft 1in for the 1870 engines and 4ft 7½ins for the subsequent two versions. No. 1’s overall length was 50ft 2ins. Operational weight was 66 tons. Tractive Effort, a theoretical figure indicating hauling capability, was 11,129 lbs for the 1870 series, 12,720 for the second of 1884 and 15,860 for the 1894-95 series.

Tractive Effort is calculated using the formula:

Further benefits reaped from the outside cylinders were a higher horsepower output. Plus, this arrangement left adequate room for the valve chests to be set inside, above the bogie truck. The valves were of the ‘slide’ type, operated

by Stephenson link motion.

D2 x S x P W in which D = cylinder diameter, S = piston stroke and W = driving wheel diameter, all expressed in inches. P = 85% of maximum steam pressure, this allowing for an estimated drop of 15% in flowing from boiler to cylinders.

Their noticeably domeless boilers were one of Stirling’s trademark features. However, with the design being so innovative, an issue soon made itself apparent with No. 1. The boiler evaporative surface was just 968 sq.ft, comprising 175 tubes of 1⁵/₈ inch diameter providing 875½ sq.ft. and the firebox surface of 92½ sq.ft. This proved inadequate for supplying the optimum quantity of steam

No. 1’s six-wheeled tender held 3½ tons of coal and 2,500 gallons of water. It is interesting to note that at one time a feature of No. 1’s tender was a gong on the right hand side 50

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Unfortunately, accidents are a common aspect of everyday life. So it is that railways are highly vulnerable. Regrettably, the Stirling Singles were not unaffected. On 21st January 1876 engine No. 84 was hauling a ten-carriage Special Scottish Express from Edinburgh to London in blizzard conditions. A train of coal wagons was in the process of being shunted out of its way into a siding at Abbots Ripton in Huntingdonshire. Unfortunately this manoeuvre was not fully completed. The express ran into it at speed, the wreckage spilling onto the line alongside, over which a Leeds-bound express was fast approaching. Unable to be stopped in time despite efforts, minutes later this train crashed into the debris.

over the leading wheels. This was the sounding device of an early emergency communication system. It is also interesting to note that when fully loaded, the large tenders attached to the third series of Singles would weigh more than their locomotives.

Despite only having two wheels providing rail grip, these locomotives were capable of handling 275 ton trains at an average speed of 50 mph. An incredible 85 mph could be attained with lighter loadings. When participating in the ‘Race to the North’ in 1895, locomotive No. 775 covered the 82 miles between Grantham in Lincolnshire and York in 1 hour and 16 minutes, a speed average of 64.73 mph.

They proved more than adequate for hauling fast passenger expresses, including ‘The Flying Scotsman’ service between London Kings Cross and Edinburgh. It must be remembered that in those days, trains were assembled with six-wheeled non-corridor carriages of a modest, manageable weight.

When heavier eight and twelve wheeled carriages and dining cars began to appear, plus longer trains being needed to accommodate passenger numbers, heavier and more locomotives were called for. These necessary replacements were Locomotive Superintendent Henry A. Ivatt’s 4-4-2 Atlantics, constructed and pressed into service in the late 1890s. Ivatt subsequently rebuilt a number of the Singles, giving them domed boilers, these distinctly non-Stirling.

On 10th November 1895, engine No. 1006 was hauling an overnight Scottish express consisting of eight various vehicles. It derailed after encountering a damaged rail at St. Neots in Huntingdonshire.

On 7th March 1896 a train pulled by No. 1003 derailed at Little Bytham in Lincolnshire. This was following the early lifting of a speed restriction in place during track renewal work. Tragically all three incidents resulted in loss of life.

Just one of their number has survived into preservation, the one of course being locomotive No. 1. Withdrawn in September 1907, it had covered 1,404,663 miles during thirty-eight years of service. In 1938 the locomotive was restored to running order, participating in a news report about the introduction of new rolling stock for ‘The Flying Scotsman’ service. Reflecting history, the train was made up of six-wheeled Victorian carriages.

So it was, the superseded Singles were withdrawn from express workings and allocated to secondary operation.

Withdrawals from these duties commenced in 1899, the programme being completed in 1916.

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While doubtlessly loving the Singles for their capabilities, I can’t help feeling footplatemen might have found working conditions on these locomotives less than ideal. Particularly when standing the whole time covering long distances in freezing winter weather or driving rain.

However, in conclusion I must add how well-liked their designer Patrick Stirling was by G.N.R. employees. For his 70th birthday they had a fountain erected in his honour at Doncaster. Further, after his passing, some 3,000 men turned out in a heavy downpour to follow his funeral procession.

Information sources: Classic British Steam Locomotives – Peter Herring.

The Great Book of Trains – Brian Hollingsworth and Arthur Cook.

Model Steam Locomotives – Henry Greenly. www.chasewaterstuff.wordpress.com www.collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk www.huntshistoryfest.com www.lner.info www.locomotive.fandom.com/wiki www.preservedbritishsteamlocomotives.com

Stirling Single No.1 at York Museum in the 1980s.

Clive Farr on the left and Bob Meanley on the right.

Photo: Richard N. Hardy © Transport Treasury

www.steamcommunity.com www.steamindex.com www.wikipedia.org Facebook – Sir Nigel Gresley

In 2008–09, No. 1 featured as the centrepiece in a stage production of The Railway Children performed at York’s Theatre Royal. The production was moved to the disused Waterloo International Station in 2010–11.

At the time of writing No. 1 is a star exhibit in the York National Railway Museum. Unlike many Singles which had solid driving wheel valances, No. 1’s are truly artistic.

Each has eleven slots in the form of elongated tear drops and a gold-coloured upper border. These features, plus graceful contours, brass safety valve bonnet, impressive tall black chimney and red and gold linings to livery, add an aesthetically pleasing finish to a piece of British railway history. Nevertheless, a personal thought, one additionally raised by authorities greater than I. While the footplates of earlier locomotives were completely open to the elements, a prime example being Rocket, No. 1 does have a cab. It is however just a few feet in depth with much of its space occupied by operational controls.

The short roof segment gives minimal weather protection and the small tender provides scant shielding behind the cab. There is a sizeable gap between the rears of the cab sides and the fronts of the tender. There are no seats for the crew.

8th May 1982 • No. 1 ‘Stirling Single’ approaches Quorn with the 16.50 from Loughborough to Rothley.

Photo: W. A. Sharman © Transport Treasury

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G.N.R. No. 5 at York in 1890 • The sixth-built GNR Stirling 8 foot Single wheeler, No. 5, entered service in August 1873. In September 1886, it was rebuilt with a larger boiler, as seen here in about 1890 at York, heading a southbound express. Its original tender has been replaced with a more modern inside framed variety and the splasher slots have been plated over and painted black, lined with white. Of the 53 engines of this type, eight were later fitted with domed boilers but No. 5 was withdrawn in January 1904 without being so treated. The class became extinct in February 1916 with the withdrawal of No. 1006 which itself had only seen 21 years of service.

Photo: © David P. Williams Colour Archive; Monochrome image courtesy of P. Tuffrey

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RETURN TO RIPPLE LANE DIESEL DEPOT, BARKING

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BY DAVE BRENNAND

he growth of freight traffic on the former London, Tilbury & Southend lines known as the North Thameside area in the 1930s necessitated a new marshalling yard to cope with the number of freight trains overwhelming the existing facilities at Little Ilford and Plaistow. By 1940 the first yard at Ripple Lane opened with 14 sidings grouped either side of the main line.

servicing, exams and fuelling took place at Ripple Lane, but any heavier maintenance and exams were carried out at Stratford depot. Ripple Lane was a busy depot in its heyday with several dozen daily freight trains originating from Tilbury, Thames Haven oil refinery, Purfleet and the giant Ford factory at Dagenham Dock. A Freightliner depot opened adjacent to the diesel depot in 1972.

Some of my earliest childhood memories are of sitting at the foot of the access road in the early 1970s to watch the procession of freight trains and the movements of light engines in and out of the depot. It was just a twenty minute bike ride from home in Manor Park. Visiting diesels would come from the Western, Midland and Southern regions.

I have recollections of seeing Class 52 diesel hydraulics, Class 25s, Peak Class 45s, Class 73 Electro-Diesels and Class 40s on inter-regional services; happy days.

This proved woefully inadequate by the early 1950s with continued growth, so a giant marshalling yard was built slightly further east. This took several years to construct and opened in 1958. Further improvements took place in the following three years and a short-lived hump shunting mound was added at the London end of the new yard, opening in 1961. This proved to be rather a waste of money and was abandoned by 1968 with the hump being levelled.

Alongside the hump area a new diesel depot and office building was built between 1958 and 1959 with the official opening taking place on the 2nd November 1959. This was a covered four-road shed for just eight locomotives, but the loco sidings would hold up to 30 engines. Light

The working conditions for depot staff were not ideal in the winter months or windy days as there was little protection from the elements. In the early 1980s a new roof was installed and roller doors, along with paved

January 1981 • Looking east towards Dagenham Dock just as work on dismantling the original 1958 roof is about to commence. Two Class 37s and a pair of Class 47s occupy one of the two available roads, whilst the two roads on the right are cordoned off.

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23rd July 1981 • Two views looking west towards Barking. Several Stratford (30A/SF) allocated locos are present.

Ripple Lane never had an allocation of its own main line locos or diesel shunters.

walkways outside the shed. A notable event took place on the 17th October 1987 when the depot was opened to the public. The event was almost cancelled as it was only two days after the Great Storm of that year. A shuttle service from Barking to Ripple Lane depot using a DMU was a most welcome bonus for visitors, as the depot was midway between Barking and Dagenham Dock, thereby saving a lengthy walk. However, at least one of the DMUs, supplied at the last minute by the Western Region, was a Parcels Service unit and had no seats! Exhibits included Class 40 D200 alongside Classes 08, 20, 31, 37, 47, 56, 58 and 59, plus

Electric loco 86235. The two steam locomotives present were 8F 2-8-0 No. 48151 and a former LTS allocated BR Standard 2-6-4T, No. 80080. The Ford Motor Company also loaned one of their internal use diesel shunters for the event. The depot closed in 1994 and the few remaining drivers transferred to Stratford depot. There are no remains of the depot today and a new flyover for the diverging Barking Riverside branch occupies the site.

The 1981 photographs of the rebuilding work were kindly donated by Rodger Green and Peter Kay, all others are from the author’s collection.

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7th July 1966 • The inaugural Dagenham Dock to Halewood (Liverpool) Fords CARTIC train leaving the Up Road sidings at Dagenham Dock (the station is behind the photographer). The Brush Type 4 (Class 47) 2,750hp Co-Co locomotive D1758 (30A) worked as far as Willesden, where an AC electric loco would have taken the train north to Liverpool.

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27th August 1981 • A view of the new roof at Ripple Lane. Supporting girders for the new roller doors are being installed. One of Stratford’s Brush Type 2 ‘Toffee Apple’s’ (D5500-D5519/31001-31019) awaits its next turn of duty. These were always synonymous with Stratford and thankfully D5500 was saved for the National Collection. All the other members of this small class were scrapped.

17th October 1987 • Just two of the many exhibits at the Ripple Lane Open Day were preserved 8F 2-8-0 No. 48151 in steam, alongside English Electric Type 1 (Class 20) 1,000hp Bo-Bo No. 20095, which I recall was idling away – music to my young ears!

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8th July 1961 • The extensive marshalling yard of Temple Mills near Stratford, which opened in 1958, is the location of Bo-Bo D8403 on a Hither Green transfer freight surrounded by what appears to be a group of railway dignitaries. The Type 1 diesel was the first of the class to be noted by Geoff at Ilford, on a Down goods on 30th November 1958, four months after it had entered traffic. The North British-built class (later Class 16) comprised just 10 locomotives, all of which were allocated to Stratford, and within a decade all had been withdrawn, their brief careers being a sharp contrast to many of the steam locomotives that passed through Ilford every day. Photo: © The Transport Treasury

MY TRAINSPOTTING ODYSSEY 1958 (continued)

BY GEOFF COURTNEY 59

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I

n the first two parts of my Ilford trainspotting odyssey in Eastern Times issues 3 and 4, I wrote of my logs in 1957, followed by the first eight months of 1958. In this issue I complete my 1958 logs covering November and December, during which time diesel traction was gaining a foothold. As if to emphasise this changing of the guard, a third new class of diesel made an appearance in these latest logs, following the sightings earlier in the year of the Brush Traction Type 2 (D55xx, later Class 31) and English Electric Type 4 (D200 on, later Class 40).

comeback, and I feared the worst when D204 powered through the station and onward to Liverpool Street with an ex-Cromer express.

Those fears worsened when I logged my first Type 1 diesel at Ilford, D8403 (later Class 16) working a Down freight, to be followed not long after by classmate D8407, then just two months old, running light, and again D8403 light engine on the Up line, presumably returning to Stratford, but that was it, there were to be no more diesels passing by on that visit. Two other Brits, however, entered the notebook, No. 70008 Black Prince on an Up Norwich and No. 70010 Owen Glendower heading to Yarmouth, and so too 1928-built No. 61608 Gunton, then the oldest B17 still in service, on a Down Clacton train.

My first 1958 late autumn/early winter visit to my favourite trainspotting perch in Mill Road, on the Liverpool Street side of Ilford station, was on Saturday 30th November, for an all-too brief stay of just under 90 minutes. First past the post was the Down ‘Broadsman’ express with Type 4 D205 at the helm, followed two minutes later by an Up Yarmouth in the hands of B1 No. 61001 Eland and a minute after that by Britannia No. 70030 William Wordsworth on a Down Yarmouth working.

And talking of elderly, three pre-Grouping locomotives I saw that afternoon on either freight work or running light comprised J15 class Nos. 65455 and 65463 and J19 No. 64669, built at Stratford respectively in 1906, 1912 and 1919. Such longevity of up to 52 years – and counting – was in stark contrast to D8403 and D8407, members of a class of just 10 that all found a home at Stratford (30A) but were all gone by September 1968, just a decade after entering service.

Sixteen minutes later another Brit sped through, No. 70012 John of Gaunt in charge of a Down Clacton train, meaning that in very short order steam was in the lead 3-1. Not even being half-time I suspected the newcomers would make a

10th August 1958 • The Stour Valley Line station of Haverhill in Suffolk is a hive of activity following the arrival of J15 No. 65440 with a Railway Correspondence & Travel Society railtour. Geoff logged this 1899-built veteran four months after the photograph was taken, on 18th December, during a pre-Christmas trainspotting visit to Ilford. The 0-6-0 was to see service for nearly another two years before being withdrawn from its long-time home of Stratford (30A) in October 1960. Photo: Stephen Summerson © The Transport Treasury

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Gresley-designed B17 4-6-0 No. 61608 Gunton, seen here at its home depot of Stratford, was logged by Geoff at Ilford heading a Down Clacton express on 30th November 1958, at which time it was the oldest member of the class still in service.

Photo: Roy Edgar Vincent © The Transport Treasury

1959 • Stratford 1919-built J19 class 0-6-0 No. 64669, which was logged by Geoff at Ilford on 30th November 1958, looks in fine fettle as it awaits its next call of duty at its home shed of March (31B). Photo: Neville Stead Collection © The Transport Treasury

1951 • No. 63890, seen here at Stratford shed, was a locomotive with a varied history. It was built in 1919 by North British for the Railway Operating Division, became an LNER locomotive in 1927 in the O4 class, was loaned to the GWR in 1940, returned to the LNER in 1942, and was rebuilt and reclassified O1 in 1946. The March (31B) 2-8-0 was logged at Ilford on 19th December 1958.

Photo: Roy Edgar Vincent © The Transport Treasury

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A couple of weeks later, on 16th December, I was back for another afternoon visit of just under 90 minutes, and what leaps out of my page of notes is firstly, during that time I logged just one named locomotive – B17 No. 61625 Raby Castle, on a Down Yarmouth train – and secondly, I saw no Up working until an hour after my arrival.

locomotives built at Stratford in the GER era that I logged that afternoon, the other two being J20 No. 64681, which entered traffic in September 1922, and the oldest of the trio, J15 No. 65440, a July 1899 veteran that gave 61 years service before withdrawal from Stratford in October 1960. It is a fascinating thought that a locomotive built when Queen Victoria was on the throne was rubbing shoulders with Pacifics from the 1950s and also modern diesel traction.

There was, though, a welcome variety of motive power in comparison with the visit a few weeks earlier. Yes, there were repeat performances by Type 1 and 4 diesels, the latter including class pioneer D200 on the Down ‘Broadsman,’ but the line-up also included, as well as the customary B1 class 4-6-0s, pre-Grouping J68 class 0-6-0T No. 68647, ex-LMS Class 3F 0-6-0T No. 47312 on freight duty, Standard Class 4MT 2-6-0 No. 76037 of Neasden shed (14D) on similar work, and WD 2-8-0 No. 90498 hauling empty electric stock.

And talking of those Pacifics, Britannias that entered my logbook were Nos. 70003 John Bunyan and 70010 Owen Glendower on Down expresses, and No. 70040 Clive of India on a Norwich-Liverpool Street working, while others to enter the fray were four B1s on expresses and a fast freight, Standard Class 4MT No. 76031 on a parcels train, and ex-LMS Class 8F No. 48624 of Willesden (1A) heading to Goodmayes yards with a goods train.

Two days later I returned for another afternoon’s trainspotting of around 90 minutes, with early entries being steam duo J39 No. 64965 running light and J68 No. 68639 on a Down freight. The 1912-built J68, which was just four months from withdrawal, was one of three

What of diesels, I hear you ask. Well, they had a bit of an off-day, for during this stay I logged just Type 4 D200 on the Down ‘Broadsman,’ classmate D203 on an Up Cromer, and Type 1 duo D8406 and D8409 both running light.

Two trainspotters overlook Liverpool Street station and Britannia No. 70007 Coeur-de-Lion in the company of B17 No. 61659 East Anglian. The Brit, which Geoff logged at Ilford on 19th December 1958, awaits departure with a Down express, probably to Norwich, but the tender appears to be devoid of coal, although the footplateman looking out from the cab is seemingly unconcerned. Photo: Ken Coursey © Transport Treasury

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1954 • With an express headcode and ‘The Norfolkman’ headboard, Britannia No. 70009 Alfred the Great is primed for action at Norwich shed.

Geoff logged this Pacific twice at Ilford during the afternoon of 19th December 1958, firstly on an Up Clacton express and two hours later on the return working. No. 70009 was withdrawn from Carlisle Kingmoor (12A) in January 1967, at which time the railwayana movement was beginning to gather momentum, and the smokebox numberplate and at least one of the nameplates were removed prior to the engine being cut up by J. McWilliams of Glasgow, and both are now in private collections. Photo: Roy Edgar Vincent © The Transport Treasury

The following day, 19th December, was my final visit of the year, for nearly three hours in the afternoon, and once again steam mounted a strong defence on behalf of the previous order, led by three Brits on either Norwich or Clacton trains. On the former were Nos. 70003 John Bunyan and 70007 Coeur-de-Lion, and on the Clacton service, No. 70009 Alfred the Great, which was logged on an Up express from the resort and a little over two hours later was noted returning to the Essex coast.

was loaned to the GWR in 1940, returned to the LNER in 1942, and in July 1946 was rebuilt with a B1 boiler and reclassified O1. It was withdrawn from 31B in March 1963 and cut up at Doncaster.

Others noted that afternoon included pre-Grouping J69 No. 68612 and J20 No. 64694 – the latter built one month before the end of the GER era – and from the days of the ‘Big Four,’ K3 Nos. 61849 and 61926 and N7 No. 69696, while diesel traction offered just Type 4 D204 on the Down ‘Broadsman’ and D202 on an Up Cromer express.

In the space of just half an hour mid-afternoon I logged five B1 class 4-6-0s – Nos. 61005 Bongo, 61045, 61280, 61363, and 61378 – on three expresses, a parcels train, and the namer of the quintet on an express freight, having earlier logged two other members of the class on an express and a parcels.

And so the curtain was brought down on my 1958 logs.

Christmas beckoned, and 15 months were to pass before I returned to Mill Street, in March 1960, and these will be the subject of Part IV of my Ilford odyssey in issue 6 of Eastern Times.

Another engine to enter the log was No. 63890 of March (31B), a 2-8-0 with an interesting and varied history. It was built by North British of Glasgow in May 1919 for the War Department’s Railway Operating Division, became part of the LNER stable in November 1927 in the O4 class,

Although the reasons for such an absence have been lost in time, I suspect 1959 O-level exams and my growing ability and confidence to pursue my trainspotting passion further and wider than before, may have been the cause.

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19th March 1955 • Standard 2-6-0 No. 76037 is in the company of a breakdown crane at its home depot of Neasden (14D). Although just nine months old, the Doncaster-built Class 4MT, which was noted heading a freight train through Ilford on 16th December 1958, is already looking care-worn and in need of some TLC. Photo: R. C. Riley © The Transport Treasury

Class K3 No. 61849 makes an impressive sight as it passes over – but apparently doesn’t use – the water troughs at Halifax Junction, south of Ipswich, with an Up express. This 2-6-0 was one of two members of the class logged by Geoff Courtney at Ilford on 19th December 1958. Photo: Roy Edgar Vincent © The Transport Treasury

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Running light engine at Peterborough East is No. 61005 Bongo, a B1 class 4-6-0 that was logged at Ilford by Geoff on 19th December 1958 in charge of an express freight. The first members of the 410-strong Edward Thompson-designed mixed traffic class were given the names of antelopes that baffled steam era trainspotters and were in a number of cases unpronounceable to adolescent tongues. Photo: Mike Mitchell © The Transport Treasury

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L.N.E.R. Locomotive Mileages and Availability in the War Years

BY SIMON A.C. MARTIN PART 2: GRESLEY V2s and HOLDEN J70s

Gresley Class v2 2-6-2 (1936)

T

NUMBER BUILT (L.N.E.R.) – 184

he V2 came out of the desire for a more powerful version of Gresley’s K3 2-6-0 locomotive in 1932. Early studies included a version with a bogie between the locomotive and tender, thus articulating the two together. This was somewhat reminiscent of work already done by Gresley on one of Vincent Raven’s Atlantic locomotives and would have been a 2-6-4-4 arrangement.

The design incorporated a monobloc, in the Darlington style and similar in setup to that used on the Gresley P2s with the cylinders, steam chest and passages all incorporated into the one component. This allowed for greater streamlining of the internal steam passages, however the monobloc if damaged through cracking was difficult and expensive to repair, with a crack in any of the cylinders rendering the block unfit for use.

These issues would put members of the class out of service for lengthy periods. By the mid-1950s, the decision was made to replace cracked monoblocs with separately fitted cylinders. Locomotives with this change were identifiable by outside steam pipes fitted, indicating the fitting of the separate cylinders. This change made the V2s look much closer to the Gresley A1s and A3s in appearance.

Only 71 members of the class ended up being fitted with the separately fitted cylinders.

No further development was undertaken on the articulated version, instead the design team opted for a 2-6-2 wheel arrangement and conventional tender. With the added advantages of being able to fit a wide firebox arrangement above a cartazzi, as with the existing Pacifics and Mikados. By 1934, this had morphed into a 2-6-2 version of the P2 arrangement, complete with sloping smokebox, smoke deflectors, Lentz valve gear and an ACFI feed water heater (Figure 1).

The prototype, Green Arrow, was named for the L.N.E.R.’s express freight service, reputedly by R. A. Thom, one of the mechanical engineers working under Gresley. No. 4771 impressed from the outset and the general reputation of the class was of excellence: equally at home on fast fitted freight or deputising for the Pacifics on expresses.

By 1935, there was an order on the books for fourteen V2s and the design had changed again to resembling the new A4 Pacifics externally (Figure 2), also fitted with Walschaerts valve gear and the conjugated 2:1 motion.

Surprisingly, unlike the Gresley B17s that had been streamlined to work the East Anglian, the tender would not be streamlined.

The V2 quickly became the L.N.E.R.’s ‘go-to’ mixed traffic locomotive. Engine crews loved them, and by 1944 over 184 V2s had been built in 11 batches between Doncaster and Darlington, the latter V2s when outshopped sporting green cylinder covers.

Roll forward to the October of 1935, and the streamlined casing had been discarded in favour of a more conventional layout (Figure 3).

The 2-6-2, or ‘Prairie’, arrangement for tender locomotives was well known and familiar on the continent and further abroad, but in the United Kingdom was virtually nonexistent. Save for Paget’s sole sleeve valve fitted 2-6-2 of 1908, the Gresley V2s were the first built for standard gauge in the country.

One issue of the class was its high axle loading of 22 tons, which restricted them to around 40% of the L.N.E.R.’s lines. They were allocated across the Scottish, Eastern and North Eastern regions but were barred from working in the Great Eastern area for this reason.

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Figure 1: The original concept for the V2 locomotive, like the A4 Pacific before it, was intended to draw on the family resemblance based on the Gresley P2. Note the double chimney that matches the P2s closely. Drawing courtesy of the R.C.T.S.

Figure 2: The V2 design enters its streamlined phase. Interestingly the double chimney of the P2s has been retained, its set up closely aligned to the double chimney fitted P2/2s and P2/3 Wolf of Badenoch. Drawing courtesy of the R.C.T.S.

Figure 3: The V2 design is almost complete. The only major change would be to the tender, with a higher coping fitted on the final design. The locomotive has now been given a single chimney, as per the A4 Pacifics. Drawing courtesy of the R.C.T.S.

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During the Second World War the V2s were sometimes given loads well in excess of the official maximum, particularly on evacuation and troop trains at the start of the war. This when combined with the poor maintenance standards of the locomotives and the permanent way, and the double swing link pony truck fitted, led to some incidents including derailments throughout the war, culminating into several serious accidents in 1946.

Class pioneer No. 4771 Green Arrow joined Mallard in preservation and was a regular main line performer for the National Railway Museum until its withdrawal, for the last time, in 2008. At the time of writing Green Arrow is on loan to the Doncaster Museum and Art Gallery, on display alongside a fellow Doncaster built steam locomotive, Ivatt’s prototype C1 Atlantic, No. 251.

The original design was replaced with the type used on Thompson’s L1s and K1/1 designs, itself based on that used on Stanier’s 8F 2-8-0 (L.N.E.R. Class O6). By 1947, all of the V2s had their pony trucks replaced.

The V2 class in some L.N.E.R. secondary sources are described as one of the engine classes which “won the war”, and its annual average mileages and availability suggest that it was indeed one of the L.N.E.R.’s best performing classes. A further 66 V2s were manufactured under Edward Thompson’s auspices, the dip in overall average mileages in 1944 due in part to these examples being released to traffic during the year and therefore having less time in which to run.

Wartime Mileages and Availability

Concurrently with the changes being made to the Gresley A3 class in terms of the double Kylchap chimney, some V2s underwent testing with a range of blast pipe arrangements, some based on that used in the L.M.S.’ Royal Scot class. The V2s used, No. 60817 and No. 60963, did not produce the results expected and by January 1961 No. 60817 had been converted to the Kylchap cowls together with No. 60881. The improvements were impressive and a further six V2s were converted.

This improvement came quite late in the day and no more conversions happened before the first withdrawal in February 1962. Withdrawal of the entire class happened in the next four years, with No. 60831 being the last in service with British Railways, dropping its fire and being withdrawn on 6th December 1966.

Year

Mileages

Availability

1942

40,248

71%

1943

41,276

75%

1944

38,560

76%

1945

39,497

71%

1946

42,226

70%

Figure 4: V2 mileages and availability statistics

Although one of the classes criticised in E. S. Cox’s report, the availability of the V2 class to do work during the war

22nd July 1960 • Gresley V2 7P6F 2-6-2 No. 60948 at Selby.

Photo: Robert Anderson © Transport Treasury

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September 1949 • LNER Class V2 No. 844 on an Edinburgh Waverley express at Craiginches.

Photo: Sandy Murdoch © Transport Treasury

was always in line with, or above, the 70% average for the entire L.N.E.R. fleet. Bearing in mind its mixed traffic role, and its versatility throughout the war, the criticism in the Cox report in relation to the V2 class should be understood in the strict context of the causes of failure within the class and not necessarily a criticism of its performances out on the road.

of the train was somewhere in the region of 850 tons, very much more than the normal stipulated maximums of the class.

100%

60000

90% 50000

80% 70%

40000

The excellence of the V2s during the war can perhaps be summed up with the singular exploit of No. 4800 of New England Shed on 31st March 1940. With a train of 26 vehicles, picking up the train from Peterborough to head into London, No. 4800, under the hand of its driver Mr. Hensy, took the heavy train into London and lost only nine minutes on the total schedule allotted. The gross load

60% 50%

30000

40% 20000

30% 20%

10000

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0 1942

1943

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Figure 5: V2 mileages and availability graph

Bibliography All table and graph figures: Use of Engine Power document by Simon A.C. Martin. Originally published in ‘Sir Nigel Gresley: The L.N.E.R’s first C.M.E.’, available from Strathwood Publishing Limited.

Publications: ‘Locomotives of the L.N.E.R.’, Volumes 1-11, The Railway Correspondence and Travel Society (R.C.T.S.) (1963-1971).

National Archive Materials: The L.N.E.R. Board, Emergency Board and Locomotive Committee Minutes: File RAIL 390.

The L.N.E.R. Assorted Archives (1923-1948): File RAIL 394.

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23rd June 1962 • Gresley Class V2 7P6F 2-6-2 No. 60941 at Rotherham Masborough. Photo: Robert Anderson © Transport Treasury

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HOLDEN Class J70 0-6-0 (1903)

T

NUMBER BUILT (G.E.R.) – 12

he Holden J70 tram locomotive had an interesting genesis. Wilson Worsdell had designed the older four wheeled Y6 trams for the Wisbech & Upwell Tramway prior to 1883 and that class’s introduction.

The boiler pressure was increased, with controls duplicated at both ends for ease of driving. There was a change to the wheelbase from 0-4-0 to 0-6-0, albeit using smaller driving wheels incorporating an only slightly longer overall wheelbase.

These locomotive classes were unusual in the United Kingdom: being some of the few locomotives running requiring the fitting of cow catchers and side-plates. This was due to the amount of railway that either ran directly on, or alongside, open roads. Ten of these locomotives were built initially, four of them being withdrawn between 1909 and 1913 when the newer J70s started to enter traffic.

The steam trams were used from the outset on passenger services for the Wisbech & Upwell Railway lines until the withdrawal of services in 1927. The J70s were however stationed around the East Anglian region.

There were two engines (Nos. 135 and 136) working at Ipswich Docks, with Nos. 137 and 138 working at Vauxhall and Yarmouth respectively. The rest of the class were divided with three each working at Wisbech and Yarmouth, and the final six locomotives were allocated to Ipswich.

The basic outline of the Y4 was taken by James Holden and stretched out to a slightly larger 0-6-0 with outside cylinders, this being the most obvious clue when looked at side on, as to whether you were looking at the inside cylindered Y4 or the latter. The other visual clue was the inclusion of a recessed step at each corner of the locomotive.

The Wisbech allocation was increased to five locomotives, despite the loss of passenger services, after 1927. This was to cover the freight traffic, which persisted with additional trains being put on for the harvest season each year.

Pre-1940 • L.N.E.R. Class J70s at Wisbech shed with No. 7137 on the right.

Photo: Neville Stead Collection © Transport Treasury

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7th June 1950 • Class J70 No. 68217 loading up at Elm Bridge.

Note the ‘passengers’ in the second guard’s van.

Photo: Neville Stead Collection © Transport Treasury

Between 1943 and 1944, two of the J70s were put on loan to cover the poor availability and derailments of Y6 locomotives on the Wissington Light Railway. This loan continued until trackwork repairs were complete.

Wartime Mileages and Availability

Post-nationalisation, two Drewry 0-6-0 diesel shunters were purchased, and converted to be able to run on the open lines by way of the addition of similar cow catchers and side plates to the trams. By the time of their introduction in 1952, the twelve J70s were down to ten examples with No. 7138 having been withdrawn in 1942, and No. 7137 in 1949.

The drop in average mileages in 1945 and 1946 can be explained by the withdrawal of one engine in 1942 and two others on loan to the shorter Wissington Light Railway.

The war years were not kind to the J70s, and the, at times, gruelling work asked of them came with a slump in availability towards the end of the war.

In 1952, No. 7125 was withdrawn, and in the following months Nos. 7130, 7135, 7136 and 7139 were also withdrawn, leaving just four of the trams in service. The final survivor was No. 7129, by then numbered 68226, being withdrawn from service in the August of 1955.

Year

Mileages

Availability

1942

12,070

71%

1943

13,158

64%

1944

12,597

64%

1945

8,716

54%

1946

7,877

51%

Figure 6: J70 mileages and availability statistics 100%

60000

90%

In preservation, there have been several contraptions (almost exclusively diesel powered) put together to represent the fictional J70 tram from the Reverend W. Awdry’s Railway Series – Toby the Tram Engine.

50000

80% 70%

40000

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30000

On the Nene Valley Railway, there remains in the shed the mortal remains of a Belgian steam tram that was in the process of being converted into the similar 0-4-0 type, the Y6. The last update on this new build’s progress was given around 2019 and the locomotive remains in the shed at Peterborough, partially built.

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0 1942

1943

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Figure 7: J70 mileages and availability graph

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MALCOLM ROOT

E

BY GEOFF COURTNEY

ssex-born Malcolm Root, one of the country’s most highly-regarded transport artists and an enthusiastic fan of all things G.E.R. has spoken to Eastern Times about his earliest memories, including one of the sparks that led him as a youngster to a lifelong interest in railways.

scene? The sun shone on a procession of Pacifics, the likes of which I had never seen before. I was of course familiar with the Britannias, but the sight of an A4 at speed was something else, and Thompson and Peppercorn Pacifics put on an equally fine show.

“This was the year production Deltics were introduced, and I will never forget that hum as we were lucky enough to see several that day.”

It was in the summer of 1961, just weeks before his 11th birthday, at which time trainspotting was a popular hobby enjoyed by schoolboys everywhere. To Malcolm’s delight, his parents had planned for him a whole day beside the East Coast Main Line just north of Hatfield near a road bridge on the A414 not far from the Lone Star factory and the massive de Havilland complex.

At the time Malcolm owned a little Coronet 4x4 camera that was using colour film, and photographs he took that day of speeding trains were of poor quality, although they provided a record of the day. One such image, however, was more successful. “Capt Bill Smith’s preserved J52 passed us on a special, and as it was the slowest locomotive of the day it produced the most acceptable picture!” This 0-6-0ST, which was withdrawn as No. 68846 in May 1959 and saved by Captain Smith to become the first locomotive to be privately preserved, is now part of the National Collection.

The family’s transport from home in Halstead was dad’s mid-1940s Hillman Minx bought locally for £30, which carried Malcolm, his parents, brother Richard and friend Jim to their destination. “It was a long journey in those days and we set out at about 6am. We parked in a grass field next to the gentle sweeping curve of the six-track main line,” he reminisced. “By luck the weather was glorious and the grass remained dry.

From streamlined A4s to state-of the-art Deltics, and postNationalisation Pacifics to a slow-moving saddle tank, it was, says Malcolm, “a wonderful day that will always stay in my memory.”

“While the Great Eastern main line will always be my favourite, who couldn’t be impressed by this wonderful

A3 Pacific No. 60063 Isinglass on the East Coast Main Line at Hatfield depicted by leading railway artist Malcom Root, who recalls the scene from a visit he made to the location in the summer of 1961 just before his 11th birthday.

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The balanced lines of Gresley’s L.N.E.R. V2 class are highlighted by the sun in a Malcolm Root painting of No. 60900, a wartime product built at Darlington in March 1940. The painting was an award-winner in an exhibition held in 2011 by the Guild of Railway Artists, of which Malcolm is vice-president and a Fellow.

Moving on from that warm summer’s day in 1961, Malcolm recalls another railway episode of his life a decade later that involved not a line-up of majestic steam, but of a single and slightly more humble locomotive, Southern Railway S15 class No. 30841. This 4-6-0 was sold to Woodham Brothers after its withdrawal by BR in 1964, was rescued by the Essex Locomotive Society in 1972, and restored at Chappel & Wakes Colne station carrying its SR No. 841 and the name Greene King after the local brewery.

frames were found to be out of alignment and were replaced by those from another Essex Locomotive Society S15 at the NYMR, No. 30825.

No. 841 retained its boiler, tender, and most other parts, but steam locomotives are traditionally numbered from their frames, and so it re-entered traffic as No. 825 without the Greene King name. As a result No. 841 was no more, and today the only reminder of it ever existing are its misaligned frames in the undergrowth near the NYMR shed at Grosmont.

In its new guise it took part in the Shildon 150 cavalcade in August 1975 and, after a spell at the Nene Valley Railway, was moved in 1978 to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, where it operated for a number of years before being taken out of service for a major overhaul that started in 1994 and was to lead to a change of identity. During the work its

Malcolm was one of the volunteers who spent many, many hours in the early-1970s helping to restore the engine at Chappel & Wakes Colne, and even half a century later it is clear that he still regrets its demise. Indeed, other volunteers who worked on the 4-6-0 at that time feel the same, and in 74

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Ex-G.E.R. 1912-built J15 class 0-6-0 No. 65465 passes a Halstead Town v Stowmarket football match in the mid-1950s with the Saturday afternoon freight train on the Chappel & Wakes Colne to Haverhill line.

September 2022 a group of 40 people rode behind No. 825 on the NYMR to mark the 50th anniversary of when the restoration of No. 841 started.

Standing at Pickering station after that journey beside No. 825, which was carrying a ‘Remembering those who worked on 841 50 years since leaving Barry’ headboard, Malcolm echoed the sentiments of all by saying: “As far as I am concerned, No. 841 lives on.”

Since the early days of teenage trainspotting and his subsequent involvement with No. 841, Malcolm has gained a reputation for his unsurpassed skills at painting many forms of transport, especially railway scenes. He became a full-time Right: Malcolm with a selection of his B.R. station totem signs from the Colne Valley & Halstead Railway that ran from Chapple & Wakes Colne to Haverhill via his home town of Halstead.

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Left: Malcolm Root takes a pause from one of his recent works, which depicts J15 class 0-6-0 No. 65447 at Laxfield in Suffolk with a train for the Ipswich-Norwich main line station of Haughley.

The 19-mile branch line was opened in 1904 and was closed by BR in July 1952.

Below: A 2-4-2T brings warmth to Earls Colne station on the Colne Valley & Halstead Railway.

The line, which ran from the Essex station of Chappel & Wakes Colne to Haverhill in Suffolk, remained independent until becoming part of the L.N.E.R. network in the 1923 Grouping. It was closed by B.R. to passengers in 1961 and to freight four years later.

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professional artist in 1981, is one of three Fellows of the prestigious Guild of Railway Artists and its vice-president, and his works are in demand throughout the UK and beyond.

“That painting sums up my youth,” he said. “We used to live just off to the right of the painting, and we often went to the football, sometimes looking over the fence for free.

I did the painting from memory, an aerial photograph, and Ordnance Survey maps.”

He is married to Meryl and has two daughters, Georgina and Josephine, and has lived in the Essex town of Halstead all his life. It is therefore no surprise that the Colne Valley & Halstead Railway, which opened in stages between 1860-63 and ran from Chappel & Wakes Colne to Haverhill, is at the heart of his passion for East Anglia’s railway history.

Among Malcolm’s favourite heritage lines are the North Norfolk Railway and Mid-Suffolk Light Railway, and he is also a member of the GER Society, Bulleid Society, and the B17 Steam Locomotive Trust, and the proud possessor of a selection of BR station totem signs from his beloved Colne Valley & Halstead Railway route.

The line was closed by BR to passengers in 1961 and to freight four years later, and one of Malcolm’s classic works of art depicts J15 class 0-6-0 No. 65465 on the line in the mid-1950s pulling the Saturday afternoon freight train past Halstead football ground, where a match between Halstead Town and Stowmarket is in full flow in front of a packed grandstand. In the painting, which is wittily titled ‘Playing to the Whistle,’ the goods train is heading towards Sible & Castle Hedingham station, where the heritage Colne Valley Railway is now based.

Away from the East Anglian railway scene, Malcolm is a long-standing member of the Campaign for Real Ale, while another interest is football, particularly Colchester United.

It is tempting to think that his idea of a perfect afternoon would be sitting in a football grandstand beside a railway with pint in hand watching Halstead Town or Colchester beating the opposition.

July 1952 • Former G.E.R. Class J15 No. 65447 and its crew await departure from Haughley on the Ipswich-Norwich main line with a train to Laxfield, shortly before the line, which is identified on the station’s large running-in board, was closed. Part of the route is now home to the heritage Mid-Suffolk Light Railway, of which artist Malcolm Root is a keen supporter.

Photo: Roy Edgar Vincent © The Transport Treasury

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STRATFORD TO FENCHURCH STREET – THE FAILED 1500 VOLT DC PLAN

BY DAVE BRENNAND

W

hilst the LNER 1935 New Works plan to electrify the Liverpool Street to Shenfield line was hugely successful, albeit unavoidably delayed by the Second World War, the same cannot be said of the expensive Fenchurch Street to Stratford 1500 volt DC scheme.

diverge northwards to Stratford via Bow Road, a station which officially closed on the 7th November 1949. The last services to call at Bow Road were steam hauled by N7 0-6-2T locomotives. Another decade would pass before the London, Tilbury & Southend line was fully electrified.

The overhead wires between Bow Junction and Fenchurch Street had to be kept clean in case electric trains used the route, and empty AM6 (306) stock was occasionally seen running into Fenchurch Street purely for this purpose.

The link came in very useful however in 1953, as these views prove. This was a consequence of the terrible flooding that occurred along the Essex coast on 31st January 1953. An emergency shuttle service ran between Shenfield, Ilford and Fenchurch Street via Bow Road (but not calling at the station) because of severe disruption to services on the Tilbury, Southend and Shoeburyness lines. Leigh-on-Sea station was completely submerged in flood water, which stopped all through trains for several days. Benfleet was partially submerged and the bulk of the line’s steam motive power and coaching stock was stranded at Shoeburyness. Canvey Island suffered the brunt of the flood and over 300 people died along the East Anglian coast in total, with 58 victims being Canvey Island residents. Over 30,000 people were evacuated from their homes in what was one of the worst peacetime disasters to hit the UK.

The original plan was to augment the G.E. scheme with a shuttle service to Fenchurch Street via a cross-platform interchange at Stratford. Two bay platforms were constructed at Stratford for this purpose and photos of these can be seen in my previous article in Eastern Times 2. After the cessation of hostilities in 1945 the Stratford to Fenchurch Street plan could easily have been dropped to save on the cost, but all the overhead structures and catenary were installed over the five miles of track via Bow Road and Gas Factory Junction, as it was believed that the route could be used in emergencies if Liverpool Street was closed. Strangely, no track was ever laid in the bay platforms at Stratford. Even the dark blue enamel signage at Stratford briefly showed ‘Change for Fenchurch Street’ but this was hastily painted over after installation to avoid confusion for passengers!

All this gave rise to the unusual sight of 1950s LTS steam services in and out of Fenchurch Street running underneath the energised overhead wires from the City terminus to Gas Factory Junction, where the electrified line would 78

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All photos: J. R. Mann © Transport Treasury

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

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 L.N.E.R., 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.

9th July 1960 • Gresley Class V2 2-6-2 No. 60982 shortly after arrival at Marylebone station.

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THE TRANSPORT TREASURY FOR HIGH QUALITY DIGITAL IMAGES TAKEN FROM OUR ORIGINAL NEGATIVES AND TRANSPARENCIES CAPTURED BY THE CAMERA OF RAILWAY ENTHUSIASTS THROUGHOUT THE YEARS. The Transport Treasury collection of railway photographs is a privately owned archive of images comprising over 500,000 items (growing all the time) and is operated by Robin and Sarah-Jane Fell who make railway, bus and tram photographs available digitally to publishers, authors and enthusiasts.

Many famous railway photographers have chosen The Transport Treasury to care for their collection of photographs e.g. Dr. Ian C. Allen, A. E. Bennett, Hugh Davies (Photos from the Fifties), Colin Garratt, Richard H. N. Hardy, George Heiron, Roy Hobbs, David Idle, Alan Lathy, Mike Mitchell, R. C. Riley, John Robertson, Eric Sawford, W.(Bill)A.C. Smith, Alec Swain, Roy Vincent to name but a few.

If you have negatives or colour slides of railway subjects then we would like to hear from you. We welcome donations of material to our archive and we also accept collections on loan, or purchase material in certain circumstances.

16 Highworth Close, High Wycombe, Bucks. HP13 7PJ • Telephone 01494 708939 • Mobile 07572 104250 www.transporttreasury.co.uk

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Stirling Single No.1 alongside Class A4 No. 4468 Mallard which is minus its streamlining and asbestos lagging on the boiler and firebox.

“I wondered if Asbestos Annie was still alive: in Doncaster Crimpsall during the war, she put the asbestos blocks on the boilers and firebox and was covered with the stuff morning, noon and night yet I dare say she lived to be a hundred for she was as tough as any man in the Crimpsall, and that is saying something.” Photo and quote: Richard H. N. Hardy © Transport Treasury.

Published by Transport Treasury Publishing Ltd.

£12.95

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