Locos in odd/rare corners of the network.

[brushman47544]

19 hours ago, adb968008 said:

aside the NBL built hydraulics, how far north did WR Hydraulics they get in normal service ?

 

This has been discussed before. I think the answer was the D800 Warships and Crewe.

[Rugd1022]

5 hours ago, brushman47544 said:

This has been discussed before. I think the answer was the D800 Warships and Crewe.

 And in the early days the Westerns went as far as Chester.

[MidlandRed]

7 minutes ago, Rugd1022 said:

 And in the early days the Westerns went as far as Chester.

 

1962-63 on Paddington - Birkenhead or Chester passenger - LMR took over north of Banbury in 1963, and the trains between Paddington and Shrewsbury generally went over to new Brush Type 4s in the D1682 onwards number range from later in 1963 - so quite a short period of Western operation. 

[andy stroud]

In 1974, a blue class 31 on the Hemyock branch in Devon. Usually pictures of diesel trains on this branch show class 22 or 25.

Picture on the Hemyock page of the Cornwall Railway Society.

 

http://www.cornwallrailwaysociety.org.uk/the-hemyock-branch.html

 

[MidlandRed]

On 20 September 2019 at 09:39, br2975 said:

"Trick or treat ?"

.

Hallowe'en 1970, finds an AL4 locked in the Cardiff, Canton load bank compound.

.

My photo.

 

On 20 September 2019 at 11:36, keefer said:

The 83s and 84s were laid up due to poor reliability (Mercury rectifiers I think), combined with a general surplus of AC locos. When the final stage of WCML electrification was approved, only 35 new locos were authorised ( the 87s) so the stored locos were refurbed with new silicon rectifiers and dual brakes and put back into traffic.

 

As a postscript to this, late 1970 must have been quite late for E3044 prior to going to Doncaster for refurbishment and fitting with silicon rectifiers. 

 

Having seen some of the photos of the stored electrics at Bury, and the lists shown on Flickr (I concur with the suggestion made that there was quite a lot of movement) I thought it might be interesting to mention the list I took, when visiting the Manchester area on 28/8/69 - at Bury (9M) were E3024-3035, 3098 and 3099 (AL3); E3036-3042, 3044 and 3045 (AL4); E3055 (AL2); E27000, 1, 3, 5, 6 (EM2); DB975042 (ex W55019) (class 122).

 

Of the missing locos:- 

E3100 - not stored as was an experimental loco with different control system and silicon rectifiers - thought to still be in service. 

E3043 - at Rugby for tests 

E26000 - possibly reinstated temporarily

E27002, 4 - seen at Reddish later the same day - involved in demo for the Netherlands - who bought the whole class later in 1969. 

Also noted as grounded hulks at Reddish were 26035 and 26042. Listed as withdrawn in March 1970 they clearly hadn't worked for a very long time (in Aug 69) and were in faded green. 

 

Of the AC electrics, only E3044 was in rail blue (full yellow ends and symbol as a white transfer). One or two had full yellow ends - at least E3028. 

Edited September 27, 2019 by MidlandRed

[jonny777]

I'm not sure this counts as odd corners of the network, but (to me anyway) 37906 was a loco associated with South Wales and so a photo of it at Manchester Piccadilly would not be a common item. 

 

I'm not sure why it was there, unless it was on rail tour duty - but the loco doesn't appear to have been cleaned up for the occasion if it is.

 

 

 

 

[johnofwessex]

On 27/09/2019 at 14:52, jessy1692 said:

................... also im sure iv seen a pic of some kind of Southern steam loco on the Ripon line during one of the wars? I think some were loaned to NER or Lner? Or iv miss remembered it!

Cheers

James

 

Some King Arthurs were loaned to the LNER for use in the York area during WW2

[65179]

18 hours ago, jonny777 said:

I'm not sure this counts as odd corners of the network, but (to me anyway) 37906 was a loco associated with South Wales and so a photo of it at Manchester Piccadilly would not be a common item. 

 

I'm not sure why it was there, unless it was on rail tour duty - but the loco doesn't appear to have been cleaned up for the occasion if it is.

 

 

 

 

 

After the end of Speedlink for a while there was a regular duty for a Canton RF Metals 37 to the north west taking in places like Trafford Park and Metalbox at Westhoughton. The loco could often (usually?) be seen stabled at Manchester Victoria. From memory 37/7xxs were more common, but I do remember a few 37/9s.

 

Simon

[65179]

On 26/09/2019 at 20:06, adb968008 said:

Class 26s used to make it south for opendays like Coalville, or Manchester (Network North west rail days).

 

I saw a 142 at Inverness once, of course 142049 went to Vancouver.

 

aside the NBL built hydraulics, how far north did WR Hydraulics they get in normal service ?

 

I remember 45106 at Winchfield once, together with an EM1..

taken in the days before I could use a camera...

 

 

Presumably this is Winchfield 150 on 24/5 September 1988, marking 150 years of the LSWR? Green 45106 sadly went up in flames in Feb 1989 so that line up with EM2 Electra after restoration was only possible in a pretty narrow timeframe.

 

Simon

[adb968008]

On 29/09/2019 at 08:41, 65179 said:

Presumably this is Winchfield 150 on 24/5 September 1988, marking 150 years of the LSWR? Green 45106 sadly went up in flames in Feb 1989 so that line up with EM2 Electra after restoration was only possible in a pretty narrow timeframe.

 

Simon

Correct, this is it not long afterwards...

 

 

Edited May 9, 2021 by adb968008

[Halvarras]

On 27/09/2019 at 20:18, andy stroud said:

In 1974, a blue class 31 on the Hemyock branch in Devon. Usually pictures of diesel trains on this branch show class 22 or 25.

Picture on the Hemyock page of the Cornwall Railway Society.

 

http://www.cornwallrailwaysociety.org.uk/the-hemyock-branch.html

 

Good point, I've seen that too. Reminds me that there are photos of Hymek D7003 also on this branch on the milk tanks. Searching 'Hymek D7003 Hemyock' will find 'em. Dated 9/11/71 suggests lack of both class 22s and class 25s in the vicinity, for different reasons! This and the class 31 must confirm some bridge-strengthening work was undertaken on the branch, but how worthwhile was it in the end....?

[Rugd1022]

Given that the 25s had only arrived in the South West the previous month and there were only a handful of 22s left operating, it's no surprise that a Hymek was used on the branch.

 

[Halvarras]

Yep, those were the different reasons! And many of those 25s which did turn up were not in the best of health, which led to some class 22s remaining in use beyond their stated withdrawal date (e.g. 6330/4 still being seen in Truro yard up to 14/10/71 despite reportedly being 'laid up' on 3/10 - D7676 finally arrived on 21/10, although 5179 got there first for remodelled yard clearance tests - wish I'd recorded the date, must have been late Aug, maybe early Sep). 

With classes 22, 25 & 35 being a similar weight perhaps the use of D7003 was no surprise, although I seem to recall Hymeks having a weight issue on one of their inner axles? If so, clearly no handicap on the Hemyock branch.

 

[luckymucklebackit]

On 26/09/2019 at 20:32, adb968008 said:

I’ll offer an ARC 59/1 at Shap on a steel train too..

 

Are these the BBAs Cavalex are making ?

 

It went a lot further north than that, I photographed it at Motherwell prior to those test runs!

 

 

[luckymucklebackit]

Already mentioned is the class 31 at Fort WIlliam, but also I have seen photographs of class 45s on Glasgow Buchanan Street to Inverness services

[62613]

On 28/09/2019 at 14:18, jonny777 said:

I'm not sure this counts as odd corners of the network, but (to me anyway) 37906 was a loco associated with South Wales and so a photo of it at Manchester Piccadilly would not be a common item. 

 

I'm not sure why it was there, unless it was on rail tour duty - but the loco doesn't appear to have been cleaned up for the occasion if it is.

 

 

 

 

 

Footex off to Old Trafford?
 

[Pandora]

In about 1965   Southern Region Standard 5 73083 Pendragon,  ( (still carrying nameplate) observed working  northbound freight trains  from Belmont /Decoy sidings in Doncaster  over several days,  does anyone have any knowledge  as to how 73083 was working diagrams so far from home? 

Edited October 4, 2019 by Pandora

[TheSignalEngineer]

I've also seen mention of Pendragon at Oxley for a week around that time. It was not unknown for Standards to work through on dated trains and not go back until the balancing working the following Saturday, although they usually changed somewhere like Oxford or Banbury.

[65179]

23 hours ago, 62613 said:

 

Footex off to Old Trafford?
 

 

I think it's a VAA or similar behind the loco.  Bluebirds have to put up with a lot, but making them travel in vans is going a bit far.

[Halvarras]

Sulzer-powered 16-wheelers were a common sight (to put it mildly) at St Pancras in the 1960s and 1970s, but Russell Saxton tells me that the EE variety were extremely rare there, so I picked the right day (28/9/74) to record 40028 in front of that well-known gasometer....... (I hope this works, it's my first RMweb image upload!)

 

 

D0280 Falcon didn't spend its entire time between Bristol and Paddington, it did occasionally break its routine and there are three occasions it's known to visited Paignton in 1969. The first was on 23rd May when it worked a down ECS and up 1E50 Paignton - Sheffield relief. A bunch of us from Truro just happened to pick that day to visit Exeter St Davids and needless to say this was the monster of all monster cops! (We didn't reach Bristol until two months later, but didn't see it there.) It was back again on 3rd & 4th September working 1Z17 0900 Bristol TM - Paignton & 1Z17 1805 return, this was a Mondays to Fridays school holiday special (1Z17 info courtesy of Sean Greenslade).   

[jonny777]

All I can say to that photo Neil is, Wow!. 

 

I think I would have completely lost it had I witnessed that event (not that I went to St P much in the mid 1970s - there was too much going on elsewhere). 

 

As to Falcon and 1Z17, I believe it was a regular on that train throughout August 1969 as well. I have posted this photo before I think; but here is my poor Instamatic shot of the return working at Exeter on 26th August 1969. 

 

I did try to sharpen the image, but that seems to have made it extremely grainy. 

 

 

 

 

[Halvarras]

I know what you mean, I used to do the London termini every 3-4 months in the early 70s - Kings Cross for a while, pop over to St Pancras for 5 minutes, back to Kings Cross for another while.....I saw 329 on one KX visit in 1973 I think, LMR split-box 40, how common was that? I have an instamatic colour photo but it's not great, dull weather. 

 

That's interesting, Falcon worked that train more than twice then. Even Sean G says he wasn't there all the time, for some inexplicable reason (!!) but he did log this train on 14 dates between late July and early September  (with a gap in late August....)  and apart from these two dates it was mostly Westerns and Class 47s with one Hymek (D7098) on 15/8. Instamatic cameras were very convenient, but limited - I had mine on me at Exeter on 23rd May and had lined it up on Falcon at the east end when D813 Diadem came along l/e and parked right in the way, forcing me up the platform to take a panned shot at it left, and instamatics were particularly useless at left-to-right panned shots. I got the front half of the loco on the left and a large expanse of the side of the goods shed! Fifty years later D813 is still my least favourite Warship because of this!! My friend Simon Howard had the good sense to capture it arriving from the west instead and took a shot similar to yours, which can be found on the Cornwall Railway Society website under Devon Galleries / Exminster Excl to Exeter, but you'd need to scroll down a long way! B&W shots of Falcon departing Dawlish Warren on the down 1Z17, and also parked on ECS in Paignton's Goodrington Sidings, do exist.

No prizes for guessing which version of Heljan's model I purchased!

[lapford34102]

Hi,

Hymek at Cambridge on a Football special 1965  - about 2/3rd's down page.

 

http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/c/cambridge/index16.shtml

 

Stu

[MidlandRed]

I saw Falcon on 18th August 1969 at Goodrington sidings, having arrived with empty stock - it was mid morning so I'm guessing it was off the same Bristol - Paignton school holiday special working. 

 

I recall thinking at the time this seemed very unusual (I was on holiday in Devon at the time) as previously it had appeared every time I visited Bristol TM or Paddington - on the same London - Bristol and back workings - possibly including the down Bristolian (mostly XP64 stock also). 

Edited October 5, 2019 by MidlandRed

[Pandora]

In the mid 1960s. a small number of Peaks and EE 40s were still at work on the ECML,  saw an LMR EE4 "namer"  still carrying the namelates on a down passenger through Doncaster