All Our Yesterdays – 50 Years Ago –January 1961

[johnw1]

Extracts from the RCTS Railway Observer from 50 years ago.

 

Diesel and Electric locomotive building was in full swing although slowed during the period due to the Christmas holidays with British Railways workshops at Darlington building class 10’s and class 24’s, Horwich building class 08’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 and class 37’s. Also English Electric were building at the Robert Stephensons and Hawthorn works, Darlington class 40’s. British Thompson and Houston were building class, Brush were building class 30’s (31’s) at Loughborough, North British Locomotive Co. at Glasgow were building class 43’s, 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 Hunslet were building class 05’s.

 

New locomotives:

Class 03 – D2143/44

Class 04 – D2312/13/14

Class 05 – D2611/12

Class 08 – D3922/23/24

Class 10 – D4049/50/51/52/53

Class 15 – D8239/40

Class 24 – D5113

Class 30 – D5670/81/82/83/84

Class 33 – D6538/39/40/41

Class 37 – D6704/05/06

Class 40 – D315/16/28/29

Class 42 – D830 Majestic, D831 Monarch

Class 43 – D843 Sharpshooter

 

Class 03’s D2143/44 finally entered traffic eight months after D2142 and out of sequence. Why did deliveries from Swindon works in May 1960 jump from D2142 to D2147 (D2145/46 are still to be delivered). The most recent class 03 to enter traffic from Swindon works prior to D2143 was D2174 in December 1960.

 

D0226 the English Electric 500bhp 0-6-0 diesel electric shunter built for demonstration purposes was returned by British Railways to English Electric.

 

During January 1961 D11, D14 and D302 were on loan to Neville Hill MPD for crew training.

 

Class 124Trans Pennine DMU’s commenced operation between Hull, Leeds and Manchester, Liverpool on the 2nd January 1961. In the first week of operation passenger numbers on these services increased by 45%.

 

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/c1933269.html

[coachmann]

January 16th 1961 or therabouts I joined Oldham Corporation buses as a guard (conductor). There were still half-penny fares at the time (2½d etc) soon to be abolished thank goodness. First thing I did was wander around the huge garage in search of a prewar Leyland after hearing its distinctive sound while having a cuppa, but it turned out to be a cut-down bus used as tow-wagon.

[Penlan]

January 16th 1961 or therabouts I joined Oldham Corporation buses as a guard (conductor)....

And thus furthered your interest in Railways - because as an omnibus operative union member you would have been in the NUR. Yes the NUR

 

Or at least I was with the Hants & Dorset Omnibus Co., and a shop steward too.

 

BTW, when we did the runs to say Petersfield from Winchester, the money from some of the 'temp' farm workers always had a sticky feel to it, I can still sense it. Our bread and butter duties was Winchester to Southampton, although I did a bit of relief work in the summer on the Southampton to Bournemouth routes, smashing.

 

Penlan - KK 48658

[coachmann]

Penlan :

And thus furthered your interest in Railways - because as an omnibus operative union member you would have been in the NUR. Yes the NUR

Interesting. I joined two railway Unions in 1960 while on the footplate but I contracted out later so that none of my union dues went as polical levy to a party I did not vote for.