All Our Yesterdays – 50 Years Ago –May 1960

[johnw1]

Extracts from the RCTS Railway Observer from 50 years ago.

 

Diesel building was in full swing and ac electric locomotive building for the West Coast electrification was just starting with British Railways workshops at Darlington building class 08’s and class 24’s, Doncaster building class 03’s and class 71’s dc electric locomotives, Derby building class 08’s, and class 24’s, Crewe building class 08’s and class 24’s and Swindon building class 03’s and class 42’s. Locomotive contractors were also in production with English Electric building at Vulcan Foundry class 40’s, British Thompson and Houston were building class 15’s and class 81 electric locomotives, Beyer Peacock at Manchester had just commenced delivery of class 82 ac electric locomotives, Brush were building class 30’s (31’s) at Loughborough, North British Locomotive Co. at Glasgow were building a batch of 0-4-0 diesel hydraulic shunters, class 21’s, class 22’s and class 84 ac electric locomotives, the Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Co. were building class 33’s, Drewry were building class 04’s at the Robert Stephensons and Hawthorn works Darlington and Andrew Barclay were building class 06’s.

 

New locomotives:

Unclassified – D2755/56/57/58

Class 03 – D2089/90/91/92/93, D2141/42/47/48/49

Class 04 – D2290/91/92

Class 06 – D2437/38

Class 08 – D3881/82/83/84/85/86/87, D3956/58/59/60/61/62/63/64/65/66, D4028

Class 15 – D8225/26/27

Class 21 – D6147/48

Class 22 – D6326

Class 24 – D5086/97/98, D5116/17/18/19

Class 30 – D5612/13/14/15/16/17/18/19

Class 33 – D6507/08/09

Class 40 – D273/74/75/76/77

Class 42 – D820 Grenville, D821 Greyhound

Class 71 – E5019

Class 81 – E3005

Class 82 – E3046

Class 84 – E3037

 

The first Great Western castle class 4-6-0 built 4073 Caerphilly Castle was withdrawn after a career of almost thirty seven years. It would enter preservation and is still in existence fifty years later.

 

0-6-0PT 5764 was withdrawn and sold to the London Transport Executive thus prolonging its life and leading eventually to its preservation.

 

The transfer of the Hornsey allocation of class 26 locomotives (D5300 – 19) to Scotland continued during May 1960 with D5304/05/07/08 transferring to Haymarket. Also Finsbury Park MPD opened with Hornsey’s allocation transferring to the new depot.

 

The diesel facilities at Haymarket MPD were completed and main line diesel locomotives no longer used Leith Central MPD for fuel, servicing or maintenance.

 

Class 40 D210 was named Empress of Britain at Euston on the 12th May 1960.

 

A number of the above were photographed later in life and can be found in this collection. As always feedback and comments welcome

 

http://pics-by-john.photoblog.org.uk/c1848969.html

http://pics-by-john.photoblog.org.uk

[Allegheny1600]

That's just over five years before i was born and yet fills me with sadness to think of what has been lost since then.

John E.

[PhilH]

I'd just started trainspotting then - at aged 10 1/2 my mates and I were catching trains to London from Eastleigh and tramping round the London termini and bunking sheds. I don't think we'd be allowed to do that today!

[trisonic]

I'd just started trainspotting then - at aged 10 1/2 my mates and I were catching trains to London from Eastleigh and tramping round the London termini and bunking sheds. I don't think we'd be allowed to do that today!

I was 9.

Unfortunately still putting "real" pennies on the track at Shenfield (environs) for Britannia to flatten out (sigh, the follies of youth).

 

Best, Pete.