Where was the last steam hauled freight on BR?

[DavidBird]

Around 1980 or thereabouts, I remember hearing about a 40 that had failed on a freight around Leeds area.  A "Jubilee" was pressed in to help out...

[Rivercider]

On 13/04/2022 at 10:08, 62613 said:

There was a photo in a long - ago Backtrack of a standard 2MT 2-6-0 at Ulverston, or Grange- over - Sands, on 3/8/68. I think Jamie 92208 also photographed it and put it in his 50 years since the end of steam thread

 

On Flickr there is a photo of 75019 on a Heysham to Carnforth van train on 3/8/68, which the caption claims as the last freight train (excluding ballast workings),

 

cheers

[montyburns56]

21 hours ago, Rivercider said:

On Flickr there is a photo of 75019 on a Heysham to Carnforth van train on 3/8/68, which the caption claims as the last freight train (excluding ballast workings),

 

cheers

 

Thanks, it's this one.

 

 

I also found this one at Spencer's Limeworks, Swinden End , 31st May 1968 by John Whiteley

 

 

[Enterprisingwestern]

 

I believe that 2 Lostock Hall 8F's were the last steam loco's working non passenger trains if ballast trains aren't called freight on the saturday, the second one being sent out to relieve a shunter to burn it's large fire down, but where Ayrshire Yeomanry had been until 4am Sunday morning is anybody's guess!

 

Mike.

[Dava]

On 15/04/2022 at 23:08, DavidBird said:

Around 1980 or thereabouts, I remember hearing about a 40 that had failed on a freight around Leeds area.  A "Jubilee" was pressed in to help out...

This or a similar rescue happened on the Settle & Carlisle.

 

Also 8233 took a turn with the Northwich limestone hoppers in the 1980s.

 

Dava

[nigb55009]

There is footage of Jubilee 5690 Leander rescuing a Class 40 on "Steaming through Yorkshire". I have the DVD somewhere.

[Covkid]

On 15/04/2022 at 18:20, colin smith said:

Presumably the Vale of Rheidol Railway was running steam-hauled ballast trains, etcetera, up until it was privatised in 1989.

They technically had No 10, an 0-6-0 diesel built at Swindon, but I think they had a lot of trouble with it and it wasn't used much, but then BR didn't do much with the track apart from rip up all the loops and let the PW degenerate. I was very pleasantly surprised to watch a couple of recent youtube videos and see how the line is in beautiful condition wit hall the loops and station buildings reinstated. 

[Marshall5]

12 hours ago, Covkid said:

They technically had No 10, an 0-6-0 diesel built at Swindon, but I think they had a lot of trouble with it and it wasn't used much.....

No.10 was assembled by the Brecon Mountain Railway in 1987 from Drewry/Baguley parts left over from a cancelled export order - Mozambique IIRC.

Ray.

[The Johnster]

And departmental work isn't really revenue-earning freight.  The VoR in it's current condition is exemplary, and unusually for a heritage line takes it's timetable seriously; it has a reputation in it's locality for being something you can set your watch by!

[Michael Hodgson]

Didn't steam breakdown cranes outlast ordinary revenue-earning steam-hauled freight traffic?

[Johann Marsbar]

5 minutes ago, Michael Hodgson said:

Didn't steam breakdown cranes outlast ordinary revenue-earning steam-hauled freight traffic?

...not to mention Engineering Department self-propelled steam cranes.......

 

 

Awful Instamatic photo of one (coupled to a brake van) on track renewal works at Derby Road Station in October 1978.

[Michael Hodgson]

You've done well getting that Instamatic photo into digital form.

[hmrspaul]

and a Permanent way crane steaming past https://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/brceecrane/e3f9624b8  in 1975

 

Paul

[Covkid]

16 hours ago, Marshall5 said:

No.10 was assembled by the Brecon Mountain Railway in 1987 from Drewry/Baguley parts left over from a cancelled export order - Mozambique IIRC.

Ray.

Apologies.  for some reason I was under the impression it was delivered to Aberystwyth as a BR loco.

Please disregard me !!! 

[Morello Cherry]

Straying a little from the OP - not BR but the Ffestiniog can give you a steam hauled revenue earning* freight in 2008.

 

 

*The load was revenue earning for the National Trust.

 

 

 

 

[melmerby]

On 12/04/2022 at 21:45, pH said:

Are you sure about that number? References I’ve seen say 3408 was withdrawn in 1962.

Indeed. None were left at that time

All of the 34XX had been scrapped by the end of February 1965

[Steven B]

Does industrial steam count?

 

Bold, St Helens UK  |  1981 by Keith Wilde, on Flickr

 

ANOTHER BOLD MOVE........ by Tom Derrington, on Flickr

 

Both taken at NCB Bold Colliery (St Helens). The steam loco would have run to exchange sidings, but whether or not they were BR metals is a different matter.

 

https://8dassociation.org/the-lancashire-coalfield/ncb-bold/

 

Steven B.

[H2O]

On 13/04/2022 at 21:43, Phil Bullock said:

31st August wasn’t the end of WR steam …. This was 31st December 1965 although depots such as Worcester and Oxford tried to ignore it and used steam on 1st January.

The WR had taken over the S&D line north of Templecombe in 1958 so the last WR steam services would be to at least when the S&D line closed on 7th March '66.

IIRC the plan was to close the S&D line at the end of '65 but a substitute bus service didn't materialise so the WR had to run a parliamentary service, apparently to their annoyance as it scuppered the plan to eradicate steam on their preferred date.

 

 

[Reorte]

On 13/04/2022 at 22:58, The Johnster said:

 

The ballast wagons were a 'fitted head' which was attached as far as Severn Tunnel Jc in order to allow the train to run at 40mph (line speed) on the relief lines as a class 7 or 8.  They were detatched at STJ, and the train made it's way to Kidderminster from there as a Class 9, probably visiting every loop on that route.  It arrived at Kiddy around midnight I believe. 

 

This was of course a demonstration train and not any sort of 'normal', revenue, or booked service or diagrammed working

Arguably more of a demonstration than anything else, but I can vaguely recall seeing some ballast wagons being moved by steam as part of the "here's the last bit of work of this major job" on the Settle-Carlisle at the start of this century.

 

Dug out a couple more details - 19th December 2000, loco was 48151 and some notes saying "Railtrack chartered 48151 to haul the final load of Catfish hoppers containing ballast used for extensive track renewal work on the Settle Carlisle line."

[Phil Bullock]

2 hours ago, H2O said:

The WR had taken over the S&D line north of Templecombe in 1958 so the last WR steam services would be to at least when the S&D line closed on 7th March '66.

IIRC the plan was to close the S&D line at the end of '65 but a substitute bus service didn't materialise so the WR had to run a parliamentary service, apparently to their annoyance as it scuppered the plan to eradicate steam on their preferred date.

 

 

Good thought …. Had not considered that! 

[Michael Hodgson]

21 hours ago, hmrspaul said:

and a Permanent way crane steaming past https://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/brceecrane/e3f9624b8  in 1975

 

Paul

The engineers' sidings are now a housing estate.

[montyburns56]

5 hours ago, Steven B said:

Does industrial steam count?

 

Bold, St Helens UK  |  1981 by Keith Wilde, on Flickr

 

 

I did mean on the main lines, but anyway that is a fantastic photo as I don't think I've ever seen a steam loco pulling some HEA's before!

[montyburns56]

75019 Heysham 3rd Aug 1968 by derekphillips1

 

 

[hmrspaul]

1 hour ago, Michael Hodgson said:

The engineers' sidings are now a housing estate.

I know. When passing it is possible to see where the entrance to the yard was as a break in the low embankment between the ECML and the estate. It was central - not at the ends and the yard had dead end sidings right up to the footbridge at one end and the road at the other - the railway was well above that road. 

 

Just some of my Hitchin photos https://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/?q=hitchin

 

Always very welcoming, although having my lady with me sometimes in quite a skimpy top may have helped. 

 

Paul

[dcordingley]

2 hours ago, montyburns56 said:

75019 Heysham 3rd Aug 1968 by derekphillips1

 

 

Another slight location error involving 75019!  The train is certainly coming from Heysham, but is actually entering Morecambe Promenade station. The train would reverse here (hence the second brake van marshalled behind the loco) and no doubt head off to Leeds with the oil tanks - probably behind a couple of Sulzer Type 2s at this late stage of the steam era. 

 

Sorry to be a little pedantic about these captions, but I grew up in Lancaster and spent a lot of time trainspotting in the area!  🙂