LNER A4 on Great Western in 1948

[MarshLane]

Evening guys,

I am trying to help a friend out with this one.  We know that Mallard was involved in the 1948 Locomotive Exchanges, working on 8th June 1948, on the London Waterloo to Exeter - Southern Railway route.  The loco was declared a failure at Exeter and did not undertake any more runs.

 

The question is, is there any documented evidence of how it got back to the Eastern?  The reason for asking is that I am struggling through my books and web sources to find an answer to this question.   We have a photograph of it at Taunton - captioned on the back as 'June 1948 on speed trials'.  Well it obviously wasn't speed trials on the Western, but I am wondering if the issue that failed it at Exeter was fixed, and rather than returning by the Southern, it worked back to London via the Western?  Can anyone help us out with any dates or known workings?

 

Any help would be much appreciated.

Rich

 

[roythebus1]

I'll copy this across to a couple of FB railway groups, see if anyone there is old enough to remember!

[Steamport Southport]

I would assume dragged to the nearest point where it could be given back to the Eastern Region. They would be two Top Link locomotives down seeing as they used Seagull to replace it.

 

Via the Great Central? Fits with it going via Taunton rather than going straight back to London by the SR.

 

 

According to the records it had a Light Repair at Doncaster starting on the 10th June. So it didn't linger about.

 

https://www.brdatabase.info/locoqry.php?action=locodata&type=S&id=600104028&loco=4468

 

 

Jason

[bécasse]

The most obvious reason for it returning north via Taunton would be that it was already facing in that direction. Finding a turntable big enough to turn it would probably have been a problem and I don't remember any triangles close by Exeter. A loco declared a failure for working a passenger service may well have been able to travel as a LE, albeit not at full speed, particularly after minor attention at a near-by loco depot (probably Exmouth Junction in this case). The fact that the loco was apparently at Doncaster Works for light repairs just two days later rather suggests that it got their under its own steam from Exeter rather than by being towed.

[The Stationmaster]

According to the article in 'Heritage Railway' (provenance unknown) 'Mallard failed at Salisbury on 09 June while working an Up train.  Unlike its failure at Savernake on 27 April (oddly also while working an Up train) the article says nothing about its route back to the ER.

 

As clearances would have been only carried out for the test and booked inter-Regional access routes it presumably was returned via London from its Salisbury failure as it had been from the Savernake event

 

https://www.pressreader.com/uk/heritage-railway/20201127/283386244450553

[MarshLane]

Thanks guys,

The interesting thing, I forgot to mention about the picture, is that it is working a train!  The picture shows it on Great Western stock heading north through Taunton - the photographer noted that the loco arrived with the chime whistle stuck on, and indeed it is blowing on the image! Given that its working a passenger train, it cannot have been a big failure - although I suppose it could have been empty stock.

 

There is a reference to Savernake on the image caption, but the text is not clear enough to work out what it is referring to.  Given @The Stationmaster reference to the 27th April, failure, I wonder if the date of June 1948 is correct?

 

Rich

[Harlequin]

CJ Allen refers to Mallard making the down run from Salisbury to Exeter Central on June the 8th and it failing sometime before his up run over the same line on June the 10th or 11th behind it's replacement, Seagull. So the date of failure tallies.

 

I Googled and this came up:

The caption is:

"Mallard broken down at Savernake Low Level c.1948"

 

http://www.swindonsotherrailway.co.uk/sav.html

 

But that may be a different failure...

 

Edited November 6, 2022 by Harlequin

[MarshLane]

Thanks Phil,

I think we are more convinced now that the June 1948 date is wrong on the image.  Looking at the heritage railway article that @The Stationmaster linked to, it looks like Mallard only worked on the Western for two days, 26th/27th April, one southbound and the second north bound.  Its runs in June on the Southern wouldn't have touched Taunton, and it appears it failed at Salisbury with an 'up' train, suggesting even if it had been sent back via Exeter for some reason (unlikely anyway) it would have been the 'wrong way round', and unlikely to be on GWR stock.

 

From what we have established on 27th April, it worked the 1.30pm Plymouth-Paddington to Savernake where it failed, and was removed, being replaced by a Prairie tank to Newbury, where Dumbleton Hall took the train forward.  Mallard ran light engine to Reading where it stayed overnight before returning to King's Cross the next morning.  Therefore we think the picture depicts the 27th April working to Paddington, at Taunton, which also explains the Savernake comment.

 

Thanks to all for the help.

 

Rich

Edited November 6, 2022 by MarshLane

[Harlequin]

Ah yes, I see. That all makes sense.

 

And CJ Allen says that while he was on the down run hauled by an SR Pacific on April 27th, he saw Mallard "standing forlornly at Newbury after she had 'run hot' at Savernake".

 

Edited November 6, 2022 by Harlequin

[The Stationmaster]

3 hours ago, MarshLane said:

Thanks guys,

The interesting thing, I forgot to mention about the picture, is that it is working a train!  The picture shows it on Great Western stock heading north through Taunton - the photographer noted that the loco arrived with the chime whistle stuck on, and indeed it is blowing on the image! Given that its working a passenger train, it cannot have been a big failure - although I suppose it could have been empty stock.

 

There is a reference to Savernake on the image caption, but the text is not clear enough to work out what it is referring to.  Given @The Stationmaster reference to the 27th April, failure, I wonder if the date of June 1948 is correct?

 

Rich

Somebody might have mixed up the two failures?  Savernake in April and Salisbury in June?

[The Stationmaster]

But it was working on this day, passing Ranelagh Bridge heading west - the well known illustration which even appeared on a postcard

 

[TravisM]

7 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

But it was working on this day, passing Ranelagh Bridge heading west - the well known illustration which even appeared on a postcard

 

Would the loco been in garter blue with it’s late LNER numbering?  It would be a interesting train to model with Mallard in garter blue and attached to GWR coaching stock.  Hard to see, but the words ‘British Railways’ on the tender been in the same font as the loco’s numbering?

Edited November 6, 2022 by jools1959
Typo

[Steamport Southport]

1 minute ago, jools1959 said:

Would the loco been in garter blue with it’s late LNER numbering?  It would be a interesting train to model with Mallard in garter blue and attached to GWR coaching stock.  Hard to see, but the words ‘British Railways’ been in the same font as the LNER 22?

 

Normal BR Gill Sans lettering.

 

Some good views of the participants here.

 

https://svsfilm.com/nineelms/coffin.htm

 

 

 

 

Jason

[rodent279]

8 hours ago, Steamport Southport said:

Normal BR Gill Sans lettering

Which I believe was effectively LNER Gill Sans?

[rodent279]

9 hours ago, jools1959 said:

Would the loco been in garter blue with it’s late LNER numbering?  It would be a interesting train to model with Mallard in garter blue and attached to GWR coaching stock.  Hard to see, but the words ‘British Railways’ on the tender been in the same font as the loco’s numbering?

Though to be pedantic,  GWR coaches behind LNER locomotives & v.v. would have been a regular occurrence,  given the through traffic between the GW & GC, and the Penzance/Plymouth-Aberdeen through portions.

[doilum]

Don't forget the modified tenders. Not obvious in this photo.