50 Years since the end of BR Steam!

[Andy Louch]

Hi Trevor,

 

I'm replying to your picture of Stanier Five No. 44806, because I really like this shot and it brings back memories of the night of August 1st, 1968.  I spent a few hours around midnight and the early hours of August 2nd sitting in the cab with the crew and somewhere I have a battered pencil sketch looking along the boiler.  It was scribbled around 2am, whilst 44806 was engaged on station pilot duties.  Later we caught the train up to Carnforth, arriving on shed about 05:30 hours.

 

Memories of Speke Junction

 

Unfortunately, some of us only have a few notes from the time and have to try and paint some pictures with words.  Looking back fifty years ago today (the week after Easter in 1968), I see that I went to Speke Junction shed (8C) for the third and last time on 17th April 1968. 

 

On the previous occasions, I'd been accompanied by my school-mate, Peter and the first time was an atrociously cold, damp and foggy day, the 19th February 1968.  We stood at the boarded crossing entrance to the shed for the better part of half an hour, whilst a Black Five struggled to lift its train from Garston Docks around the curve of the triangle (in which the shed was situated) and onwards towards Edge Hill.  Luckily, the photographer, Colin Gifford, was at Edge Hill sorting sidings that day and took a photograph of the locomotive arriving.  It is picture 8, in the album 'Each a Glimpse', 44906 (8A) shrouded in steam in the gloom of the fog-bound reception sidings.

 

I'd only just acquired a Phillips cassette recorder and I think it was the first time I'd ever tried to use it.  Anyway, we heard a locomotive in the fog, somewhere way down to our right beginning the climb from Garston Docks; maybe a mile away?  I turned my new little machine on, but to get the needles to move I had to turn it up to near full.  The engine had started away in the distance (bark . . .  bark . . bark . .  bark . . bark . bark) and then slipped violently to a standstill.

 

Silence in the thick damp fog, then lots of hissing and the driver tries again (bark . . . bark . . . bark . . bark), followed by another bout of terrible slipping.  Silence again and then another repeat performance.  Time and time again the engine attempted to get the train on the move on the gradient.  Every time it was moving the train a little closer towards the lower junction before losing its feet on the greasy rail.  As it approaches the boarded crossing, occasionally we heard the deep bellow of its Stanier hooter, warning shed staff clocking on or off that it's not too far away from the entrance to the shed.

 

Eventually it's upon the curve right by us and the front end of one of Stanier's best pokes out of the swirling thick fog as it creeps towards the crossing.  And then as it drew level with the crossing, the locomotive loses grip on the greasy rails yet again.  The noise was absolutely deafening.  A crescendo of power, with the exhaust rocketing skywards, connecting and coupling rods furiously clanking and flailing, and the six foot driving wheels spinning around right in front of us.  'Hells flippin' bells' happening less than ten feet away!  The needles on the recorder were pushed hard against the stops.  Then, with regulator shut, there was an eerie hissing, groaning and creaking as tons and tons of very hot metal subsided to dead stand.

 

The driver nodded as the heat from the engine surged around us.  More hissing and then another attempt to move the train a little further towards the upper junction on the main line to Edge Hill.  As the tender disappeared into the fog, the train of four wheel vans noisily bounced, squealed, banged and clattered along over the crossing timbers.  After a couple more bouts of slipping the Five eventually made it onto the main line and struggled on towards Liverpool. However, even as the exhaust faded into the distance, it was still making very hard work of the task, leaving us with ears ringing and 50 year  memories.

 

We easily bunked the shed in the fog: 15 Stanier Fives, 7 Eights (four of which were Heaton Mersey's) and 14 Nines (ten of which were withdrawn and all from Birkenhead shed, closed in November 1967).  A surprise on this foggy day was Britannia, 70024, stopped here at Speke in December, when Carlisle Kingmoor was closed and awaiting towing to the breakers' yard.  Speke also had a locomotive dump, a little further away from the shed yard, where another 17 9F 2-10-0s, withdrawn from Birkenhead (8H), Warrington Dallam (8B) and Speke (8C) were rubbing buffers with 14 more Fives and 5 Eights.

 

We returned to Speke on the 9th April, to find many of the Nines had been towed away from the dump and their places taken by more life-expired Fives.  It was surprising to see so many visiting locomotives from Stockport in the running shed on this Tuesday afternoon and 45395 from Carnforth (10A).

 

My last visit was on Wednesday 17th April 1968, with Peter and my old friend Frank, who had borrowed his Dad's motor.  It was a fine sunny day, so we climbed the ashplant, to look down upon 70024 'Vulcan' for the last time and the usual collection of Fives, Eights and Nines. 

 

On the running shed were: 8 Fives, including 44663 (9F) and 45200 (9B), 13 Eights, nine of which were from Heaton Mersey!  plus 7 Nines, including 92077 down from Carnforth (10A).  Lots of withdrawn engines were scattered around and in the dump; 19 Fives, including the heroic 44906 from February, 9 eights and 8 Nines, including the last Crosti-boilered example that I recorded, 92024.  On the February visit there had been six examples of this unusual type of locomotive.

 

Apparently one of the drivers, gave me a run up and down the yard on 92218 and this was the day upon which Frank took the photograph which I use for my Avatar.  I wish I had that double-breasted reefer styled jacket now, although I'd still look a twit in it.

 

Happy Days, More from the last weekend at Stockport and the Belfast Boat Express next time.

 

All the very best,

John.

 

Good day John, wonderful reminiscences, thank you so much for posting. I do remember steam on BR in the West Midlands (just!) but was too young to be allowed to head to the North West for the 'last rites'. 

One thing I've noted, although I may be 'jumping the gun',  is that few heritage railways seem to be planning to mark the 50th anniversary in some way? I believe the GCR is planning a gala and that's about it unless I'm mistaken?

Thanks again, Andy

[The Lurker]

This is a great thread; wonderful photos and now Old Gringo's reminiscences. I am too young to remember steam (I was born in the summer of 67) but these are very evocative memories of the last days

[Trev52A]

@John(OldGringo)

 

Wow! - they say a picture is worth a thousand words but you have captured the occasion at Speke Junction brilliantly. I checked out the Gifford photo (I have several of his super books) to give it context. Sadly I never made it to that shed, so thanks for posting.

 

Regarding your time in the cab of 44806 - did you see my earlier upload of 18th February (post #414)? It shows this loco in the early morning of 29th July presumably on the same duty you saw - it was steam heating some coaches at Preston (sleeping cars if I remember correctly).

 

 

Here's a page from my notebook of 2nd August 1968 when I went to Lostock Hall shed (10D) for the first time. I started to write down the numbers then changed my mind and made a plan of the shed, showing all the locos in context. It includes all the dead locos round the back. It might be of interest to readers. (The record of 45305 on the track nearest the bottom is wrong - it was definitely in the same row as 44888 on the next track up).

 

 

I've already shown a couple of pics from that occasion, but here's a third. 45260 was in steam (one of only four, as per my plan) with 45110 beyond

 

 

Regards

Trevor

Edited April 18, 2018 by Trev52A

[lmsforever]

I wonder if any of you ever went spotting at Bounds Green on the footbridge if you turned round Aly Pally filled the horizon and the racecourse at the foot of the hill.Many expresses were hauled by A4,s did not see to many diesels only rattly Cravens units, interestingly not many lads liked the Peppercorn designs general opinion was ugly front end a streak was the best loco to see plus the long freight trains added an extra dimension to the day.Occasionally we would take a bus ride up to the top of the hill and a cup of tea in the café if it was open ,spotting was fun then no problems and the sun always shone! Liverpool St was our main base for trips and a position beside the turntable good to see B17,S Brittanias and B1,s here we sometimes headed to Stratford for a change as freight appeared here .

[Steamysandy]

I've mentioned already that I was on Grand Scottish Tour No5 of 1/6/68 but I have an interesting link with the sheds at Edgley, Heaton Mersey,Normanton and Patricroft via the TVP company.

Some years after 1968 I met a chap from Lancashire and we kept in touch for ten years till he died in1983.He appears at the first two sheds on the Steam on Shed vol1 programme .At Normanton next to the cameraman on Vol2 and at Patricroft on the remake of the 1968 programme.

I only found these many years later.

Thank you Colin. R.I.P.

[LNER4479]

One thing I've noted, although I may be 'jumping the gun',  is that few heritage railways seem to be planning to mark the 50th anniversary in some way? I believe the GCR is planning a gala and that's about it unless I'm mistaken?

Settle & Carlisle is the place to be apparently - three different steam-hauled railtours planned for 11.8.18!

[jonny777]

@John(OldGringo)

 

Wow! - they say a picture is worth a thousand words but you have captured the occasion at Speke Junction brilliantly. I checked out the Gifford photo (I have several of his super books) to give it context. Sadly I never made it to that shed, so thanks for posting.

 

Regarding your time in the cab of 44806 - did you see my earlier upload of 18th February (post #414)? It shows this loco in the early morning of 29th July presumably on the same duty you saw - it was steam heating some coaches at Preston (sleeping cars if I remember correctly).

 

 

Here's a page from my notebook of 2nd August 1968 when I went to Lostock Hall shed (10D) for the first time. I started to write down the numbers then changed my mind and made a plan of the shed, showing all the locos in context. It includes all the dead locos round the back. It might be of interest to readers. (The record of 45305 on the track nearest the bottom is wrong - it was definitely in the same row as 44888 on the next track up).

 

 

Regards

Trevor

 

 

 

D1874???

 

An ER class 47. I wonder what it was doing there?

[Phil Bullock]

Worked over from Healey Mills perhaps?

 

Phil

[jonny777]

Possibly, but my Locoshed book has it as a Finsbury Park loco at that time. 

[jamie92208]

Possibly, but my Locoshed book has it as a Finsbury Park loco at that time. 

 

Could it have been working back from Crewe after works attention.

 

Jamie

[Chris Turnbull]

Mention of Colin Gifford has reminded me of the following.  Some of you may remember the inspirational cover photographs of the Model Railway Constructor of the mid 60s when Alan Williams was the editor.  The photographer was never credited and it wasn't until I met Alan Williams some years later that I found out that the shots were taken by Colin Gifford.

 

Chris Turnbull  

[Enterprisingwestern]

D1874???

 

An ER class 47. I wonder what it was doing there?

 

 

Worked over from Healey Mills perhaps?

 

Phil

 

 

Possibly, but my Locoshed book has it as a Finsbury Park loco at that time. 

 

 

Could it have been working back from Crewe after works attention.

 

Jamie

 

Bear in mind that, back in the day, there were a lot of cyclical diagrams which had diesel locomotives away from their home depots for up to a week at a time. In this period they would work turns from different depots and finish up all over the place. Some of 41A's diagrams had loco's at Cleethorpes, Edinburgh Waverley, Kings Cross and Severn Tunnel Junction as part of the cycle, so a 34G loco could quite easily have worked up the ECML to the Doncaster/Leeds area and worked a train over Copy Pit as part of it's diagram.

 

Mike.

[locoholic]

Apologies if this has been answered elsewhere, but can anyone explain why almost-new 9Fs were withdrawn whilst much older Black Fives and 8Fs soldiered on to the bitter end? Surely 9Fs would have been handy on the Healey Mills coal trains over Copy Pit?

[bike2steam]

Luck of the draw, there was a cut-off point after which steam locos weren't repaired at works if they failed for one reason or another. If it wasn't too serious, some locos could be repaired on shed by cannibalizing parts off other locos that were already withdrawn, but not sent for scrap. But there wasn't any rule over which some were saved, and others not. There was a move to 'pool' certain classes to make spares( and cannibalizing)  more easily accessible, such as 9F's at Birkenhead, Standard 5's at Patricroft, and WD's at Wakefield.

Edited April 19, 2018 by bike2steam

[Phil Bullock]

You might wonder if some 9fs ever received a main works visit given their short life....

 

Allocations at the end were probably based on a historic basis - it wouldn't be worth moving spares for a particular class to new depots for short term usage

 

Phil

[great central]

You might wonder if some 9fs ever received a main works visit given their short life....

 

 

 

Phil

It's not impossible that even if they had they would be condemned anyway. There are quite a few recorded incidences of locos very recently out of works being condemned only a few weeks later

[bike2steam]

You might wonder if some 9fs ever received a main works visit given their short life....

 

 

 

 I must admit that aroused my curiosity, so had a quick look in my copy of the Irwell book on the 9F's, and looked up the works visits of those built after the beginning of 1959 (92203 - 20), yes there was one that didn't go to works, 92210, possibly one of the shortest lived examples at just over 4 years - sad or what !? My excuse is I'm a 'fan' of the class.    

[Alcanman]

When I photographed 92006 at Wakefield in 1966 it looked ex-works.

 

Certainly the cleanest 9F I saw in the last years of steam

 

 

Edited April 20, 2018 by Alcanman

[Trev52A]

 I must admit that aroused my curiosity, so had a quick look in my copy of the Irwell book on the 9F's, and looked up the works visits of those built after the beginning of 1959 (92203 - 20), yes there was one that didn't go to works, 92210, possibly one of the shortest lived examples at just over 4 years - sad or what !? My excuse is I'm a 'fan' of the class.    

 

No, I don't think you're sad at all (if that is what you are implying?) - I do think it's sad that 92210 only lasted just over four years, though!

Actually the RCTS book on the 9Fs says it was to traffic August 1959 and withdrawn November 1964, that's just over five years - but hey, either way that's far too short a working life!

 

Keep smiling!

Trevor

[bike2steam]

Yep, sad on both counts, and the math(s?), well my excuse is senility.

[jamie92208]

There were quite a few moves of that last batch and several ended up at Kingmoor though tenders were swapped for LMR type tenders.   How do I know, look at my moniker, 92208 was the only BR steam loco that I ever had a cab ride on, in my case from Blea Moor to Settle.   It's interesting that several of that batch are preserved, 92203, 92212, 92219 and 92220 off the top of my head.

 

Jamie

[Phil Bullock]

There were quite a few moves of that last batch and several ended up at Kingmoor though tenders were swapped for LMR type tenders.   How do I know, look at my moniker, 92208 was the only BR steam loco that I ever had a cab ride on, in my case from Blea Moor to Settle.   It's interesting that several of that batch are preserved, 92203, 92212, 92219 and 92220 off the top of my head.

 

Jamie

 

Plus 92214 & 92240 - not sure what current status of 92245 is

 

Phil

[jamie92208]

Plus 92214 & 92240 - not sure what current status of 92245 is

 

Phil

 

That's nice to know that at least one of the last Crewe built batch survived. However The others all seem to be from the Swindon batch.

 

Jamie

[jamie92208]

That's nice to know that at least one of the last Crewe built batch survived. However The others all seem to be from the Swindon batch.

 

Jamie

 

A trawl through the internet shows that 92245 is still in the Barry area but it's boiler is at Crewe.   The plan (As at 2015) was to section it as some sort of display. It makes 2 from the last Crewe Batch, 7 from the Swindon batch and a odd one out 92134 that has also survived.

 

Jamie

 

Jamie

[Northmoor]

A trawl through the internet shows that 92245 is still in the Barry area but it's boiler is at Crewe.   The plan (As at 2015) was to section it as some sort of display. It makes 2 from the last Crewe Batch, 7 from the Swindon batch and a odd one out 92134 that has also survived.

It was nearly two more - 92232 was only scrapped at Woodhams in 1973 and 92085 (another single chimney one) survived until 1980, both succumbing to a lull in wagon scrapping contracts.