Class 40/44/45/46 on secondary/tertiary services?

[puffernutter]

Did the Type 4's ever work on the secondary and tertiary services on branches and wayfreights - or were they like the Deltics, working mainline until withdrawl?

[RedgateModels]

I certainly saw the odd peak on coal runs past Linby Colliery (now Robin Hood line) instead of pairs of 20s. Very few and far between though but was a guaranteed a sprint across school fields from my home to "cop" it.

[Guest stuartp]

Plenty of them on unfitted coal trains around Yorkshire in the early 80s, I remember 3rd Carabiner and Lytham St Annes sitting in the exchange sidings at North Gawber Colliery at the bottom of our school field.

[Oldfield_Park]

Laurence Waters' book 'The Changing Railway Scene - Western Region' has a photo of a Class 46 working a Weymouth-Bristol turn in the mid 70s. Can't get much more 'wayside branchline' than that!

[60B]

The 40s found work between Inverness and Perth on freight and passenger but wern't popular in Winter as they were all non-heat.

[D826]

Yes - you run em on what you want-

 

Until they were banned west of Bristol in October 1985 45's and 46's both used to turn up on Newquay and more general north east - south west passenger and sometimes local trains, pre the HST takeover.

 

There's some cracking photos of 45's and 46's hauling proper vacuum fitted wagons, including clayhoods, on pages 116 to 117 of John Vaughans book, Diesel Days, Devon and Cornwall. Shows that a 46 with six presflos or 45 wagons is a prototypical train !

 

The same book shows its equally ok to hang 3 or 4 Mark 1 coaches and some vans off the back of a 45/46 and run it as a local.

 

Also used to make it up past Crediton to Meldon quarry - so what with Newquay etc, single track is perfectly reasonable.

 

Used to like the peaks, they really made the rails sing on the canted rails at Langstone rock, Dawlish Warren, before you could actually see them on the bend.....

 

 

all the best,

 

Matt W

[stadman]

Class 40's had a booked working to Exeter (Riverside) towards the end with tar tanks.

Only seen one photo being led by a class 25 leaving.

[D826]

and, before someone points it out - the 45's outlasted the 46's which I think had all gone by the end of 1984.

 

Matt W

[jonny777]

I saw a class 40 at Cardiff once. Its train consisted of 3 spares vans and a lowmac carrying what looked like a main generator, although it was partially sheeted over. I was rather gobsmacked at the time.

 

It was 40047, and the date was 3rd Aug 1984. Later that day I saw it again, stabled at Severn Tunnel Junction.

[Galtee More]

With the advent of the 45s and 46s, did not the original 'Peaks' (Class 44s) then become Toton-based freight-only machines ?

[puffernutter]

Thanks all for the responses, glad to see that I can get away with a little flexibility if the mood strikes. Any more general gist on the 40's?

 

With the advent of the 45s and 46s, did not the original 'Peaks' (Class 44s) then become Toton-based freight-only machines ?

 

Yes sir, I believe so - they're unique in that they didn't have any headcode boxes, just discs.

[Oldddudders]

I think the main point is that there were just 22 Deltics - they were very expensive machines by the standards of the time - do I recall a ticket price of £100k each? - hence the limited fleet that could be afforded. They were intensively diagrammed to maximise the return on that investment. The other classes you mention were far more numerous, and hence more "mixed traffic" in their usage - intensive diagramming is far more difficult to achieve when a multiplicity of routes and services is involved.

[Guest jim s-w]

Hiya

 

Some class 40 and 45 even went as far as receiving class 97 designations for use on infrastructure trains.

 

HTH

 

Jm

[RedgateModels]

 

 

Yes sir, I believe so - they're unique in that they didn't have any headcode boxes, just discs.

 

The 44s were almost before my time, only just managed to see all of them, the final one being partly cut up at a Derby works open day. 44009 number used to adorn my headboard at home, using real number stickers bought at the same open day

[jonny777]

And despite the 44s being relegated to coal trains during their later years, they did still get around a bit. There was a regular working from Toton to Whitemoor which they worked through the 60s and 70s.

 

However, I am not quite sure how this one arrived at Horton Road, Gloucester. But if you had one on shed with a couple of 22s on an exhibition layout you might get a few comments doubting your mental state:-

[DavidB-AU]

45103 on a freight

 

46051 on a freight

[Revolution Mike]

Class 40s used to get down to Whitehaven and beyond on freight:

 

http://davemacsrailtracks.fotopic.net/p52632294.html

http://davemacsrailtracks.fotopic.net/p52632536.html

 

Cheers

 

Mike

[jamie92208]

Hiya

 

Some class 40 and 45 even went as far as receiving class 97 designations for use on infrastructure trains.

 

HTH

 

Jm

 

IIRC there were just 4 40's that got reinstated with 97XXX numbers to work infrastructure trains dueing the rebuilding of Crewe station sometime in the 80's after the rest had been withdrawn.

 

certainly the 40's handled most of the general freight over the Settle and Carlisle in the 70's much of which came up from the preston direction via Hellifield after elctrification of the WCML. As far as I rmember the WCML had all it's catch points removed prior to electrification and so all the unfitted and semi fitted freight had to go via the S & C. I also remember seeing them along the Calder valley line on freight.

 

Jamie

[Rugd1022]

40s were used on local traffic as early as the mid 60s... as electrification of the WCML grew apace they would often be sidelined onto three coach stopping trains on the Rugby-Market Harborough-Peterborough line, as well as the Birmingham-Rugby-Northampton-Euston 'stoppers'. Right through the 70s and early 80s, the 40s and Peaks would be used on parcels workings, overnight sleeper services (often very long slow journeys these!) and 'fill in' turns between mainline jobs. You'd sometimes see them hauling dead DMUs on the Midland and Eastern Regions too.

Nidge

[Merfyn Jones]

A branch line freight. 45056 about to leave Llandudno Junction for Maentwrog Rd. with one van and 2 barriers on 23/7/1985.

Merfyn

[Merfyn Jones]

p s. The class 40s were regulars to Maentwrog Rd.

Merfyn

[D6975]

By the 1970s, class 40s were principally freight engines. They still had quite a few passenger turns though, particularly in Scotland, North Wales and across the Pennines.

They would occasionally substitute for Peaks on Inter-Regionals and came out in force on Summer Saturdays. Blackpool and Scarborough were favourites, but places like Skegness would see them too.

 

The best places for seeing lots of 40s were freight depots, Healey Mills on a weekend used to be stuffed with them, 20+ was normal.

[dave_long]

Class 45s were used in the West Mids as bankers often stabled at Stourbridge Junc. Plus many were used on freight trips into the mid 80s.

[brian daniels]

A couple of pictures of trip working I did at St Pancras. Fuel tanks from Cricklewood were triped to Willesden Brent and we also triped fuel to Marylebone with the peak. Whilst there one day I was asked if I could drag the A4 out of the shed as they thought the blast from it might take the roof off!. I duly obliged so long as I could get a pic.

[Allegheny1600]

Hi there,

I certainly had the impression that in their later years the class 40s were mostly used on freight trains or at least, parcels services. The obvious exceptions would be North Wales and the likes of Newcastle-Liverpool/Manchester runs.

Through the 70s up until the end, the proper "Peaks" i.e. the class 44s were indeed Toton based coal haulers - almost exclusively, now watch as people correct me on that!

The 45/0s were much like the class 40s as in mostly on freights/parcels with some cross country passenger exceptions.

the 45/1s were mostly passenger locos with some parcels thrown in at night, being ETH fitted they kept the MML expresses out of St. Pancras going until the HSTs took over fully (in about 1986 ish?).

The class 46 were a staple on the NE/SW expresses for many years, also i believe on secondary ECML services and in the South West - again until HSTs took over about 1984/5, i think! I've certainly seen plenty of evidence of class 46 working freights though.

HTH Cheers,

John E.