WCML class 50's

[10000]

Going from Crewe to north they occasionally paired a 50 with a 47

[Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71]

...two lots of traincrew is a bit wasteful and would only be to maintain specific timings.

 

Dave

[45125]

....and overhauls at Crewe works kept them in the vicinity until Doncaster too over, towards 1980.

 

Dave

I can remember working on one of the first D400s at Doncaster when I was an apprentice and that would be around 1978...

 

Al Taylor

[keefer]

Recently read the 1969 RO, where mention is made of starting to use 2 x 50s on the top end of the WCML due to there being no single loco of about 4000hp available.

Presumably this is when the accelerated electric timings were coming in and was the only way of achieving them off the wires.

As an aside, this all prevented the 50s being considered further for the upgrade of the Edinburgh-Glasgow push-pulls. I believe some timing trials were done (hauling stock only) but the 50s were needed for the WCML.

[10000]

...two lots of traincrew is a bit wasteful and would only be to maintain specific timings.

 

Dave

Maybe it was wasteful but it was after the timetable was accelerated and double heading out of Crewe to Glasgow became common.

 

So I guess that if a second 50 was not available it was either waste a crew (which in those days the unions would be happy about) or have a late train.

 

 

[stovepipe]

I can remember working on one of the first D400s at Doncaster when I was an apprentice and that would be around 1978...

 

Al Taylor

 

First one in for refurb was 50006 in Sept. '77, the second was 50003 in Feb. '79.

[stovepipe]

It's not often mentioned but 50s still came down well south of Crewe while the changeovers were gong on, on overnight liner trains or other workings driven by Crewe men, when the booked electric wasn't available for whatever reason - not exactly rare, but not too common either. There's the odd mention in traffic reports in magazines of the day but alas photographic evidence is pretty scarce, I'd imagine this is because of the lack of photographers about in the hours of darkness.

 

Here's a night shot from late in the 50s WCML career...

 

A night at Crewe, 1975; 50031 by robmcrorie, on Flickr

[vitalspark]

I can remember travelling from Carlisle to Glasgow behind double headed 50s and they were a revelation.

We were used to single 47s or even 40s then and the acceleration and hill climbing took your breath away.

The change over was as you say May 1974..I have a photograph of a full size mock up of a Class 87 moored on a barge on the Clyde advertising the new service.

Around the same date I travelled to Carlisle and the train loco was a Class 50 with a class 87 inside with the pantograph down.

At Carlisle the 50 came off and the pan went up and the 87 continued south under her own power.

Prior to the switch on to Glasgow crew training was taking place on the Glasgow to Gourock line with earlier generation AC electrics and empty stock running between the suburban Blue Trains.

 

Dave

[luckymucklebackit]

I can remember travelling from Carlisle to Glasgow behind double headed 50s and they were a revelation.

We were used to single 47s or even 40s then and the acceleration and hill climbing took your breath away.

The change over was as you say May 1974..I have a photograph of a full size mock up of a Class 87 moored on a barge on the Clyde advertising the new service.

Around the same date I travelled to Carlisle and the train loco was a Class 50 with a class 87 inside with the pantograph down.

At Carlisle the 50 came off and the pan went up and the 87 continued south under her own power.

Prior to the switch on to Glasgow crew training was taking place on the Glasgow to Gourock line with earlier generation AC electrics and empty stock running between the suburban Blue Trains.

 

Dave

 

Due to delays laying the paved track in Eglinton Street tunnel the very last stretch to be energised was between Eglinton Street and Newton.  As an alternative, BR upgraded the west arc of the Cathcart circle from 6.25kV to 25kVa allowing driver training runs from the WCML to enter Central Station via Newton, Kings Park and the Cathcart Circle.

 

Jim

[brushman47544]

First one in for refurb was 50006 in Sept. '77, the second was 50003 in Feb. '79.

 

I don't know about going "in" to DR works, but I thought the first ones "out" were 50006, 50017, 50013 and 50047, which appeared in all-over blue, with 50003 coming out later in large logo (the first large logo being 50023).

[DY444]

Further to the discussion about 50s on the WCML south of Crewe, the accident report for the Nuneaton Sleeper derailment in 1975 refers to a down motorail train from Kensington Olympia which passed Nuneaton just before the accident as being Class 50 hauled.

 

And the sound of 2x50s starting away from Oxenholme on the down with a "keen" driver is one of the great memories of my spotty faced youth days.

[keefer]

IIRC the 50s were used on Stirling and Perth motorail services, possibly some services to Inverness too.

These locos as well as any on Glasgow central trains would often do out and back fill-in turns to various locations, mostly goods/freightliners

[Rugd1022]

IIRC the 50s were used on Stirling and Perth motorail services, possibly some services to Inverness too.

These locos as well as any on Glasgow central trains would often do out and back fill-in turns to various locations, mostly goods/freightliners

 

I've already posted this in the other 50 thread but thought it appropriate to add here... D432 at Perth in June '69...

 

[Classsix T]

I don't know about going "in" to DR works, but I thought the first ones "out" were 50006, 50017, 50013 and 50047, which appeared in all-over blue, with 50003 coming out later in large logo (the first large logo being 50023).

BR Operations in the 80's (OPC) lists the shopping dates etc. in its Log refurb chapter, the first six out were in all over blue from memory. Where's Flood when you need him?!

 

C6T.

[stovepipe]

I don't know about going "in" to DR works, but I thought the first ones "out" were 50006, 50017, 50013 and 50047, which appeared in all-over blue, with 50003 coming out later in large logo (the first large logo being 50023).

 

I don't disagree - 50003 was on works for 18 months, coming out in Sep 1980. It was in for collision damage originally, then refurb. from Feb 1980.

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/96859208@N07/10019711705

[Downendian]

An interesting one here from Fray Bentos who has an uncanny knack for finding the unusual.

 

A late WCML class 50 ( dated 1975) on a MGR train at Stafford, looks like 50 011 to me.

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/fray_bentos/3752177313/in/set-72157594232286941

Edit : there's a good dialogue on LMR MGR trains hauled by 50s associated with that pic. Of course at that time they were SSC fitted before refurbishment when it was removed as it was unreliable.

Neil

[Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71]

...I've seen a few pictures of 50s on MGR workings to/from Ironbridge P.S.....which this could easily be...I'll check one or two books and list a few references:

 

The 'Power of the 50s' has a 1975 pic of 50022 working 6K38 11.35 Ironbridge to Silverdale MGR empties (source LMR WTT Sec. CR, Oct 76-May 77) on the Bushbury spur.

 

Whilst on the subject I remembered a couple of slides that had been given to me many years ago. I have no idea of the original photographer but am fairly certain that the location is the south end of Crewe Basford Hall yard pre electrification in the late 60s (May 69 date on slide mount). D400 is working 4M26 an anglo Scottish WCML Shell BP rake of bogie tanks. I've used Photoshop to sharpen the images/improve the contrast and cropped both pictures to exclude the excessive amount of track visible at the bottom of each.

 

 

 

Dave

[Rugd1022]

Two cracking shots there Dave but the location isn't Crewe - the wires were up almost a decade before the date of the photos. My guess is it may be Kingmoor Yard at Carlisle (stand to be corrected mind you!).

[Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71]

...I'm in agreement re Kingmoor Nidge.

 

Dave

[TheSignalEngineer]

An interesting one here from Fray Bentos who has an uncanny knack for finding the unusual.

 

A late WCML class 50 ( dated 1975) on a MGR train at Stafford, looks like 50 011 to me.

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/fray_bentos/3752177313/in/set-72157594232286941

Edit : there's a good dialogue on LMR MGR trains hauled by 50s associated with that pic. Of course at that time they were SSC fitted before refurbishment when it was removed as it was unreliable.

Neil

We used a Class 50 on the first MGR train through Silverdale Bunker. I think it may have been D401. The SSC had failed, or may not even have been fitted there at the time, so loading was a bit hit and miss, literally.

[Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71]

...we used to unload 38 2 axle PGAs by lamp, over a small pit at Hope St, Salford with 2 x unrefurb 37s, on a gradient and with instanter couplings & a wagon and a half of slack along the train...no slow speed then and yet we developed a technique for stopping accurately as the lamp on the shed went out.

 

Dave

[Ian Smeeton]

Pretty certain that the last photos are Kingmoor. Look at the military style buildings in the background, is that part of the Longtown complex?

 

Regards

 

Ian

[johnw1]

50034 1976 Preston

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/6374707359/

[stovepipe]

Another late 50 shot here:

Carlisle New Yard depot Jun75 by alzrint, on Flickr

[stovepipe]

And another at Edinburgh from the same collection

 

50017 Waverley a  Jan75 jpg_NEW by alzrint, on Flickr