Peterborough North

[great northern]

I'm nearly out of images to show you, but I shall have time to take some more today, as my back has strongly advised me to forget about playing more golf. Here then we have Chamossaire now at the head of the 0743 Sunderland, while Sir Vincemt Raven is backing down to New England for servicing. Possibly the most flattering viewpoint for a Thompson Pacific?

[Fenman]

Highlight of today was a charity challenge to hit a shot closer to the hole on a par three than the very nice young lady assistant professsional. Fortunately my best shot of the day chose that moment to arrive, and I succeeded. Don't know what I've won yet. Meanwhile the 0743 Sunderland is arriving at Platform 2 behind Heaton A1 Sir Vincent Raven, a rare sight this far South.

126 1.jpg

 

Lovely photos, as always.

 

The Cravens in this shot has a blind for King's Cross York Road: is that really where it was off to?

 

Paul

[great northern]

Lovely photos, as always.

 

The Cravens in this shot has a blind for King's Cross York Road: is that really where it was off to?

 

Paul

I asked the driver, and he said "What ****** blind? These ******* new fangled *******. Nothing like that on my B1. If the ***** passengers want to know where its going, they can look at the timetable, or listen to the announcements". Or words to that effect.

[great northern]

It turns out that I have  whole file of other stuff that I took on Wednesday, but that's a long time ago, so no wonder I forgot.

In among all these expresses the timetablers have found a path to get the lunchtime pick up to Hitchin through the bottleneck. Every photo I've seen of this train has a WD in charge, so here one is. 60023 in the background is running tender first down the engine line. When the WD has passed it will make its way across into the Down bay, and wait to take over the 1100 Glasgow.

Where it now simmers.

[chaz]

No prizes for guessing the allocation of No. 23! If anything your model is a bit too clean....

[ben pez]

Lovely weathering on that wd! & the a4 as well,two very different types of weathering and just as they were back then.

 

Great pics

 

Cheers

 

Ben

[great northern]

No prizes for guessing the allocation of No. 23! If anything your model is a bit too clean....

Its almost a cliche, isn't it, the filthy Gateshead Pacific? But most of them actually were that bad, most of the time. Tom Wright weathered 23 for me some years back, and I couldn't get over to him well enough how dirty it should be. Before he did the next 52A loco I found and showed him a colour photo of an A3 in a terrible state,and even then he found it hard to make it as bad as that. I have to admit that I haven't yet been able to bring myself to have an A4 in such an awful state. Not that I need any more A4s of course.

[great northern]

After the WD had clanked through and got onto the slow line the other side of Crescent Bridge, signals cleared again for the non stop passage of the 1000 ex Leeds. This was the return working of the engine off the down Yorkshire Pullman, and was normally an A4, as it is today.

Number 21 in fact. And a shot taken a bit further on sums up the difference between 34A and 52A attitudes to engine cleaning.

[rockershovel]

Regarding engine cleaning, and the Q1 being supposedly able to go through a carriage washer - were there no thermal shock issues? Don't envy the crew, either..

[chaz]

Its almost a cliche, isn't it, the filthy Gateshead Pacific? But most of them actually were that bad, most of the time. Tom Wright weathered 23 for me some years back, and I couldn't get over to him well enough how dirty it should be. Before he did the next 52A loco I found and showed him a colour photo of an A3 in a terrible state,and even then he found it hard to make it as bad as that. I have to admit that I haven't yet been able to bring myself to have an A4 in such an awful state. Not that I need any more A4s of course.

 

That last sentence is absurd. Really, how could you? Clean or dirty the postwar limit is 34, any of which could turn up at PN. Let's have no more of this nonsense!

 

Have you got a model of no. 25? If not, get out your copy of "Top Shed" and look at pages 80 & 95 - if they don't persuade you - I give up!

 

ATB

 

Chaz

Edited July 3, 2016 by chaz

[chaz]

Regarding engine cleaning, and the Q1 being supposedly able to go through a carriage washer - were there no thermal shock issues? Don't envy the crew, either..

 

was it ever done?

[great northern]

That last sentence is absurd. Really, how could you? Clean or dirty the postwar limit is 34, any of which could turn up at PN. Let's have no more of this nonsense!

 

Have you got a model of no. 25? If not, get out your copy of "Top Shed" and look at pages 80 & 95 - if they don't persuade you - I give up!

 

ATB

 

Chaz

25 was in pieces in the Crimpsall during August 58, which is really the only reason it isn't on the layout. Its rather absurd, I know, but even though I run Deltic, which didn't arrive until Feb 59, and a B17 ot two which went in July 58, not to mention the J3, I can't bring myself to have Pacifics which weren't in service in that August.

[great northern]

I have one more image of the two A4s together, taken this time from the Up platform.

It needed something on the Down slow to create a horizon really, and that platform signal to be seated properly. After Wild Swan had left, the 1100 Glasgow arrived, and is seen at Platform 3.

I'm determined to get this shot right, but it isn't going to happen till we get Spital Bridge in the right place, and I find a better way of reducing glare from the windows.

[Clive Mortimore]

But I don't have any to glaze.

Not even the broken ones from that bloke who was having a bad golf day. :scratchhead:

[The Stationmaster]

Regarding engine cleaning, and the Q1 being supposedly able to go through a carriage washer - were there no thermal shock issues? Don't envy the crew, either..

 

Apart from quantity a cwm would create no more thermal shock than heavy rain or snow.  The air-smoothed were reputedly built that way to enable them to be machine cleaned although I don't know if they ever were but at least one US 'road reportedly ran its modern steam engines through washing machines.

 

Not that either would have made any difference at Gateshead I would imagine because it turned filthy engines into an art form.

[great northern]

 This is as near to perfection as a steam locomotive ever got in appearance terms, in my opinion at least. Minoru has come off the Glasgow, and is heading for New England.

Edited July 3, 2016 by great northern

[lanchester]

It turns out that I have  whole file of other stuff that I took on Wednesday, but that's a long time ago, so no wonder I forgot.

WD and 23.jpg

In among all these expresses the timetablers have found a path to get the lunchtime pick up to Hitchin through the bottleneck. Every photo I've seen of this train has a WD in charge, so here one is. 60023 in the background is running tender first down the engine line. When the WD has passed it will make its way across into the Down bay, and wait to take over the 1100 Glasgow.

23.jpg

Where it now simmers.

Hum - tender first. May not be the right place to ask this, but I'll have a go any way - and if anyone knows it will be Great Northern or one of his followers.

 

According to the RCTS Green Books, corridor tenders only had two lamp brackets (bottom left and right). That's OK for light engine movements, but in the, admittedly rare, event that a corridor tender pacific was required to handle traffic tender first, what did they do about lamp codes?

 

Just asking - does anyone know?

[Mallard60022]

 This is as near to perection as a steam locomotive ever got in appearance terms, in my opinion at least. Minoru has come off the Glasgow, and is heading for New England.

62.jpg

Only as far as the LNER goes dear fellow!

My contender for the SR is one of these

(tasty tender IMO).

Queeny G.

[great northern]

Hum - tender first. May not be the right place to ask this, but I'll have a go any way - and if anyone knows it will be Great Northern or one of his followers.

 

According to the RCTS Green Books, corridor tenders only had two lamp brackets (bottom left and right). That's OK for light engine movements, but in the, admittedly rare, event that a corridor tender pacific was required to handle traffic tender first, what did they do about lamp codes?

 

Just asking - does anyone know?

 Our Scottish expert Merlin will know better than I, but I think A4s may have worked ECS tender first to/from Corstorphine? How that would have been dealt with, I don't know, but presumably there would have been a local arrangement.

[chaz]

Hum - tender first. May not be the right place to ask this, but I'll have a go any way - and if anyone knows it will be Great Northern or one of his followers.

 

According to the RCTS Green Books, corridor tenders only had two lamp brackets (bottom left and right). That's OK for light engine movements, but in the, admittedly rare, event that a corridor tender pacific was required to handle traffic tender first, what did they do about lamp codes?

 

Just asking - does anyone know?

 

An A4 running tender first in traffic was almost unheard of. In fact you will struggle to find photos of any LNER Pacific doing so. So the problem did not arise in steam days. Of course it often happens now on the preserved lines - and doesn't it look wrong?

[60027Merlin]

Re the A4s running tender first.

 

I recall seeing some of Haymarket's A4s running tender first on the Corstorphine Branch which was passed for RA9 running. Pacifics were regularly seen on the branch as a few of the Haymarket diagrams involved a light engine movement commencing from the Shed to Corstorphine to pick up coaches to take to the Waverley. The branch left the ECML just west of Haymarket Shed at Balgreen Halt so was a convenient start for some workings.

 

From memory of the A4s, the locos faced west, as the diagram then involved a working from the Waverley northwards on the Aberdeen line for either Perth, Dundee or onward to Aberdeen. This meant that the loco was facing the correct way for the north. Empire of India and Commonwealth of Australia are two which I vividly remember seeing at Corstorphine station. There are quite a few photos of A3s and A1s on the branch including some from Heaton or Gateshead. When trainspotting at Saughton Junction on the north side of the ECML it afforded excellent clear views across the golf course of the branch between Pinkhill and Balgreen and whilst the loco numbers could not be read the class of loco was easily identified including some other A4s as well.

 

I have a photograph of Kingfisher taken in the mid 50s leaving Pinkhill Station on the branch running tender first with one lamp fitted to the left hand tender side lamp bracket.  

 

Wonderful days!

 

Eric

[ROY@34F]

Re. tender first running,

We had a job at Grantham tender first to Newark with empty coaches, run round and set off back KX, calling at wherever. Now this would involve lamps on the middle and left buffer of course for empty coaches to Newark. I can only recall A3s on the job, but an A4 corridor tender wouldn't obviously be able to do that. At KX mainline tender engines 

reversed in both directions to and from Top shed and an A4 corridor tender could'nt have the correct light engine head code. Three signal boxes were involved in that move, but So long as there was a lamp at both ends it didn't matter where they were.

 

Regards, Roy.

[great northern]

Re the A4s running tender first.

 

I recall seeing some of Haymarket's A4s running tender first on the Corstorphine Branch which was passed for RA9 running. Pacifics were regularly seen on the branch as a few of the Haymarket diagrams involved a light engine movement commencing from the Shed to Corstorphine to pick up coaches to take to the Waverley. The branch left the ECML just west of Haymarket Shed at Balgreen Halt so was a convenient start for some workings.

 

From memory of the A4s, the locos faced west, as the diagram then involved a working from the Waverley northwards on the Aberdeen line for either Perth, Dundee or onward to Aberdeen. This meant that the loco was facing the correct way for the north. Empire of India and Commonwealth of Australia are two which I vividly remember seeing at Corstorphine station. There are quite a few photos of A3s and A1s on the branch including some from Heaton or Gateshead. When trainspotting at Saughton Junction on the north side of the ECML it afforded excellent clear views across the golf course of the branch between Pinkhill and Balgreen and whilst the loco numbers could not be read the class of loco was easily identified including some other A4s as well.

 

I have a photograph of Kingfisher taken in the mid 50s leaving Pinkhill Station on the branch running tender first with one lamp fitted to the left hand tender side lamp bracket.  

 

Wonderful days!

 

Eric

Thanks Eric. I hoped you would pop in and confirm that. Perhaps my memory isn't quite so bad after all. Having said that, a photo of an A4 running tender first with a long rake of stock in tow really should stick, shouldn't it?

[great northern]

Re. tender first running,

We had a job at Grantham tender first to Newark with empty coaches, run round and set off back KX, calling at wherever. Now this would involve lamps on the middle and left buffer of course for empty coaches to Newark. I can only recall A3s on the job, but an A4 corridor tender wouldn't obviously be able to do that. At KX mainline tender engines 

reversed in both directions to and from Top shed and an A4 corridor tender could'nt have the correct light engine head code. Three signal boxes were involved in that move, but So long as there was a lamp at both ends it didn't matter where they were.

 

Regards, Roy.

 Thanks Roy. Would that have been the early morning duty where the Nottingham and Newark coaches were added to a few more at Grantham, and then as you say off to KX?

[great northern]

I have a couple more photos of Golden Eagle to complete that set of images. First one from the Up side, causing the usual light problems, and so converted to monochrome.

The camera was then switched to the other side for a conventional rear three quarter view.

which I had forgotten to photoshop, but as you see, it is done now.