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Did a Merchant Navy ever get north of Oxford?


Andy Y

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Hi Andy

 

It's not being piloted, but there's a photo of Port Line at Banbury on 12 March 1966 on a returning Soton - Wolves football special in John Sagar's book "Steam in Action - Bulleid Pacifics". The caption indicates that it worked the train throughout. I'd have loved to have some MN thrash up Hatton, but I was only 1 year old at the time and might not have appreciated the rarity value!

 

David

 

Not a Merchant Navy Class but 2 Light Pacifics at Hatton on the way with Football Specials. For the Southampton Man U game in 1963 at Villa Park. - Law got the winning goal.

 

http://www.semgonlin...team/blp51.html

 

"On 27th April 1963 fifteen specials from Southampton took supporters to an FA Cup semi-final. Ten of the specials from Southampton ran via Basingstoke, Oxford and Leamington to Snow Hill, nine of them with Southern Pacifics throughout, one of which was 34028 Eddystone.

pictured here at Hatton.

 

This photo on Flickr gives details of the Light Pacifics used that day.

 

http://www.flickr.co...N08/3887209636/

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One of “Boscastle’s” more unusual trips took place on 27th April 1963, hauling a football special to Birmingham, when Southampton FC were playing Manchester United at Villa Park in the FA Cup semi-final. Several trains ran from Hampshire stations that day, the locomotives being serviced and stabled at Tyseley for the return run.

 

http://www.gcrailway...4039-boscastle/

 

Looks as no MN Class were used that day.

 

http://www.sixbellsj...s/630427br.html

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One of “Boscastle’s” more unusual trips took place on 27th April 1963, hauling a football special to Birmingham, when Southampton FC were playing Manchester United at Villa Park in the FA Cup semi-final. Several trains ran from Hampshire stations that day, the locomotives being serviced and stabled at Tyseley for the return run.

 

Only 3 went to Tyseley, those coming in via the OWW. The other 9 went to Oxley and Stourbridge

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Good to see our leader taking an interest in 'proper engines' at last :angel:

 

I don't have any evidence to hand but as shown above so far there were a number of special services that saw them run through further north than Oxford especially towards the latter days of steam. The often quoted six bells junction website is a good place to start.

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The WR and they were also permitted, with restrictions, over the West London Line 1963 Route Availability book shows them as permitted without any restrictions 'Oxford via Banbury to Wolverhampton'. However they were definitely a rarity on workings off the Southern to Oxford although - I think - not entirely unknown on the usual booked SR turns to Oxford.

 

(As an aside they were also permitted to run to Plymouth via Newton Abbott but were banned from all the ex SR lines in the Plymouth area including the route into Friary)

 

Tony's been following the topic with interest -

 

Would you thank Stationmaster for the clarification, please? His knowledge on SR route-availability is far superior to mine, and it's because the 'Kings' were restricted from the Oxford lines that I (erroneously) assumed that this might have applied to the MNs as well. That said, if any MNs did work into Oxford it was a very rare event,

 

I believe the V2s were banned from the Banbury to Oxford line (because of weight restrictions) on the workings from the NE to the South, though B1s were not uncommon. It's said that Oxford was the one place on BR's system where one could legitimately and regularly see locos from all of the Big Four and the Standards side by side, though not the largest.

 

All in all a most interesting discussion.

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Tony's been following the topic with interest -

 

Going slightly off the original topic of MNs the 1963 book shows V2s as authorised between Didcot and Aynho Jcn in an emergency (only) subject to an overall maximum speed limit of 55mph with restriction to 20mph over 3 nominated bridges enroute. They were authorised between Paddington and Saltney Jcn via Bicester but basically over Main, Relief, and Platform lInes only with severe restrictions on access to sidings. The restrictions on them appear to derive mainly from end throw as well as, presumably either axleweight or their Bridge Curve loading and were very severe speed wise off the lines already mentioned as cleared.

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See Wolverhampton Railway Album Vol. 2 by Dewey and Williams, plate 163, 34087 145 Squadron coaling up at Oxley shed having worked a summer saturday extra in 1965.

and Vol. 1 last page "Some visitors to Wolverhampton" 34064 Fighter Command just south of Low Level station with a Talyllin RPS special from Paddington to Towyn !!!! on 28/09/63 worked as far as Ruabon

with southern region stock.

Hope this is useful,

Bob Hughes

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Going slightly off the original topic of MNs the 1963 book shows V2s as authorised between Didcot and Aynho Jcn in an emergency (only) subject to an overall maximum speed limit of 55mph with restriction to 20mph over 3 nominated bridges enroute. They were authorised between Paddington and Saltney Jcn via Bicester but basically over Main, Relief, and Platform lInes only with severe restrictions on access to sidings. The restrictions on them appear to derive mainly from end throw as well as, presumably either axleweight or their Bridge Curve loading and were very severe speed wise off the lines already mentioned as cleared.

 

Thanks Mike, Tony's appreciative of the comments.

 

It looks like I was right about the V2s on the Oxford lines, so please thank The Stationmaster for that clarification, too. And thanks too to the person (MOW) who posted the picture of 35011 at Oxford, though Bournemouth -70F - where it was shedded isn't that far from Oxon, especially when compared with the other MN seen on Grayrigg. Speaking with a friend yesterday (a follower of the GWR) he told me that when the few bridges on the Bristol/West of England/Birmingham road of the GW were strengthened to accept the 'Kings', the link between Didcot and Aynho was not considered of sufficient status for its few bridges in need of strengthening to qualify. Economic sense, I suppose. Finally, when I mentioned Oxford as the place to see locos from all the regions together, I quite forgot Kensington Olympia as well.
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post-4697-0-79484500-1355505468.jpg

Apologies for the very poor quality of this photo which I took on 3rd July 1965 before I boarded this train, a Bournemouth-York working, to Banbury....a birthday treat!. Normally the locomotive would have been swapped for a Hall or Grange at Oxford and then exchanged for an English Electric Type 3 at Banbury for the rest of the journey to York. On this occasion, however, and quite frequently after that the Southern engines continued to Banbury and the change was carried out there until the advent of Brush Type 4's on the workings, which then worked throughout.

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  • 1 month later...

Not sure whether this was brought up in the discussion at the time, but it deserves an airing simply because it is just a couple of miles away from the legendary Trafalgar Sidings !!!!

Oh FFS, that's all Spams needs to start foisting battered Bulleids on everyone. ;)

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Oh FFS, that's all Spams needs to start foisting battered Bulleids on everyone. ;)

He's marked this as liked so he's already got the prototype, see last paragraph on this post

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/64884-black-country-blues-operations/page-6&do=findComment&comment=873342

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