Need a brief rundown on 1968 steam operations

[eldomtom2]

I've seen plenty of videos and photos, of course, but they don't provide broader context. If I time travelled back to early 1968, what lines and services would I have the best chance of seeing steam on?

[Wickham Green too]

Rundown being the operative word .......... not much left other than the north west in '68 - and that was pretty rundown.

 

Heaton Mersey : 20/4/68

[Jeff Smith]

Red panniers on some LT lines......

[The Johnster]

In early ‘68, the best chance of seeing steam would have been within the Liverpool-Manchester-Preston triangle, on the WCML as far north as Carnforth, the Furness line out of Carnforth, and between Lostock Hall and Copy Pit (Burnley).  Passenger trains hauled by Black Fives ran regularly between Liverpool (Exchange) and Preston.  By the start of the summer timetable, steam operations were restricted to turns out of Carnforth, Lostock Hall, and Rose Grove, though the Black Fives on the Preston-Liverpool passengers kept running to the end, albeit frequently substituted with Class 25 diesels.  
 

Apart from that, the remaining steam locos were employed on parcels and goods work, and coal trains hauled by Stanier 8Fs.  IIRC the remaining locos that survived in service into 1968 consisted mostly of Black 5s and Stanier 8Fs, some BR Standard 4MT 4-6-0s at Carnforth for trip work over the Furness line as far as Barrow, Ivatt 4MT  mogul 43106, and BR 7MT 70013 Oliver Cromwell, the latter being in demand for the numerous enthusiast specials of the period and kept in clean condition.  Preston station pilot was usually a Black 5. 
 

I am happy to be corrected on this information.  I don’t think any 9Fs survived the end of the Summer’s Ore contract at the end of 1967. 

Edited August 29, 2022 by The Johnster

[LMS2968]

Pretty close, Johnster, but there was also a lot of trans-Pennine coal worked over Copy Pit by Rose Grove 8Fs, right up to 3rd August. The Liverpool - Glasgow combined with the ex-Manchester at Preston and was usually hauled there by a Class 40 (never saw a 25) except Mondays and Saturdays, when it was a Black Five turn. Since this departed at 9.0am, I was always late for work on Mondays! Then for one glorious week i, I think, April, the 40 died and it was steam hauled all week. That too went right through to August.

[Wickham Green too]

10 hours ago, The Johnster said:

.... some BR Standard 4MT 4-6-0s at Carnforth for trip work over the Furness line as far as Barrow, .... 

... not forgetting from Grassington !

 

( Consider yourself happily corrected  -  my 9F, above, obviously did survive into April '68 )

[Aire Head]

1 hour ago, Wickham Green too said:

... not forgetting from Grassington !

 

( Consider yourself happily corrected  -  my 9F, above, obviously did survive into April '68 )

 

I seem to recall some other bits around Skipton seemed to cling on into 1968 aswell. I think Ken Ellwood videoed a Black 5 shunting a pickup goods at Giggleswick in 1968

[br2975]

14 hours ago, The Johnster said:

I don’t think any 9Fs survived the end of the Summer’s Ore contract at the end of 1967. 

The last  9Fs in B.R. service were;

92091 & 92118, withdrawn on 25th. May, 1968 ,

92077, withdrawn on 22nd. June, 1968, and

92160 & 92167, withdrawn on 29th. June, 1968.

All were withdrawn from Carnforth.

.

The other last survivors, namely 92054, 92069, 92094, 92218 & 92249 had been withdrawn from Speke Junction on 4th. May, 1968.  

.

As a matter of interest, on January  2nd. 1968 there were 'officially' 359 steam locos still in B.R. service, working from 13 sheds, namely:

Bolton 9K, Buxton 9L, Carnforth 10A, Edge Hill 8A, Heaton Mersey 9F, Lostock Hall 10D, Newton Heath 9D, Northwich 8E, Patricroft 9H, Rose Grove 10F, Speke Junction 8C, Stockport (Edgeley) 9B and Trafford Park 9E sheds.

.

Kingmoor 12A, Tebay 12E and Workington 12D closed on 1st. January, 1968.

.

Brian R

Edited August 30, 2022 by br2975

[Jeff Smith]

Robert Adley has produced several books where he phographed the last years of steam on BR, eg In Search of Steam 1962 - 1968.

[CKPR]

Goods trains to Kendal remained steam hauled until April - May 1968 with occasional steam hauled passenger services through to Windermere as late as July (all worked by Carnforth engines). 

[The Stationmaster]

3 hours ago, br2975 said:

The last  9Fs in B.R. service were;

92091 & 92118, withdrawn on 25th. May, 1968 ,

92077, withdrawn on 22nd. June, 1968, and

92160 & 92167, withdrawn on 29th. June, 1968.

All were withdrawn from Carnforth.

.

The other last survivors, namely 92054, 92069, 92094, 92218 & 92249 had been withdrawn from Speke Junction on 4th. May, 1968.  

.

As a matter of interest, on January  2nd. 1968 there were 'officially' 359 steam locos still in B.R. service, working from 13 sheds, namely:

Bolton 9K, Buxton 9L, Carnforth 10A, Edge Hill 8A, Heaton Mersey 9F, Lostock Hall 10D, Newton Heath 9D, Northwich 8E, Patricroft 9H, Rose Grove 10F, Speke Junction 8C, Stockport (Edgeley) 9B and Trafford Park 9E sheds.

.

Kingmoor 12A, Tebay 12E and Workington 12D closed on 1st. January, 1968.

.

Brian R

The closure to steam of Kingmoor on 1 January 1968 coincided with the official end of booked steam working over the Settle & Carlisle Line the previous day. (which I subsequently found out explained why the DMU I was on over the route that day was so heavily loaded with 'steam chasers').

[br2975]

10 minutes ago, The Stationmaster said:

The closure to steam of Kingmoor on 1 January 1968 coincided with the official end of booked steam working over the Settle & Carlisle Line the previous day. (which I subsequently found out explained why the DMU I was on over the route that day was so heavily loaded with 'steam chasers').

.

Whereas I was at home, celebrating my birthday.

[Enterprisingwestern]

 

Manchester Victoria was a good place to see at the end of steam.

 

Mike.

[Pandora]

Rose Grove,  a  Colliery line with a steep gradient, ran past the shed into the station sidings, rakes of heavily loaded 16T mineral wagons, worked by  pairs of 8Fs , one as the train engine, the other as the banker, delivered  as fine a soundtrack  as any enthusiast could wish to  hear, mid-July 1968. 

[Steamport Southport]

13 hours ago, Jeff Smith said:

Robert Adley has produced several books where he phographed the last years of steam on BR, eg In Search of Steam 1962 - 1968.

 

Countdown to 1968 is the one that is probably most useful in that context as it was more aimed at enthusiasts rather than being a bit of a ramble aimed at the non enthusiast/coffee table book market like some of the others. Has more accurate information and is in chronological order. Cheap as chips.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Countdown-1968-Decline-Fall-Steam/dp/0860934926

 

 

For list of locomotives look here.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_British_Railways_steam_locomotives_as_of_31_December_1967

 

Some omissions as there was still a few used as heating boilers until at least 1969. 80002 was one.

 

https://preservedbritishsteamlocomotives.com/80002-2/

 

And 47564 lasted in Manchester until 1972.

 

https://preservedbritishsteamlocomotives.com/47564-lms-16647-lms-7564-br-47564/

 

 

 

Jason

[Chris Turnbull]

Here's a couple of links you may find of interest.  The first one is my photo thread and you will have to rummage through it to find steam related stuff.  The second is more related to your question.

 

Chris Turnbull

 

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/topic/91758-chris-ts-photo-archives/

 

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/topic/129814-50-years-since-the-end-of-br-steam/#comment-2988717

 

 

[The Stationmaster]

20 hours ago, br2975 said:

.

Whereas I was at home, celebrating my birthday.

Looks like you beat me by a few hours as far as arrival time was concerned.  I think that I'm ahead on counting the number of birthdays 😇

[Antony Jenkinson]

CKPR and Everyone,

Hello!

The Windermere branch had daily steam hauled freight trains right up until 'The End' on Saturday 3rd August 1968.

Mondays to Fridays until 2nd August there were two trains each day, one ('T47') running through to Windermere each day, the other ('T46') serving Kendal and Burneside. On Saturdays only 'T46' ran and only served Kendal.

Both trains were rostered for a Carnforth class 5 - 44709, appropriately a Carnforth engine for most - if not all - it's working life worked the last steam hauled trip to Windermere on Friday 02.08.1968. Rose Grove's 48665 (presumably 'on hand' at Carnforth) worked 'T46' on that last Friday but 44709 became the last steam locomotive to work the branch when it did 'T46' on 3rd August - returning from Kendal with just a brake van (and sporting Southern Region style route indicator discs on the front end for some reason) to bring down the curtain on steam operations on the branch. (Replacement motive power on the branch goods trains the following Monday were 'Clayton' Type 1 Bo-Bo D8500s).

Best Wishes from Tony (from Morecambe)

 

[John Besley]

Don't forget the Vale of Rheidol was BR and in blue ...

 

 

[The Johnster]

The first version of the VoR blue livery was unlined with white painted arrows of indecision, and I thought rather suited the locos and the stock.

[Steamport Southport]

ISTR they got the brass arrows and lining just before they adopted the "heritage" liveries in an effort to make them more attractive to tourists.

 

Now all in GWR livery without nameplates.

 

 

Jason

 

[e30ftw]

 

 

Edited September 2, 2022 by e30ftw

[e30ftw]

 

Not my videos but add some context

[D9020 Nimbus]

Many years ago there was a detailed article in BRM with full coverage of 1968, listing all the types of steam locos remaining and where they could be found, and on what workings. Unfortunately I don’t remember which issue, but it would be pre-2000.

[Simon Lee]

The last 2 9Fs were regulars on the Heysham - Neville Hill tanks usually piloted by a Sulzer Type 2, both succumbed to fairly serious defects with in the space of a week, and remarkably were replaced by 8Fs.