Michael Delamar Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 (edited) id like to hear recollections and see any photo's of Warships in the north west of England.around the Crewe and Chester area.heres a nice shot of warships and class 40's at Crewe north depot in the 1960shttp://www.flickr.com/photos/64353697@N07/5864261694/in/faves-45827152@N07/Mike Edited February 24, 2013 by Michael Delamar Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Delamar Posted January 5, 2012 Author Share Posted January 5, 2012 (edited) here's another nice one.. Crewe. by cabsaab900, on Flickr Edited May 20, 2012 by michael delamar Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pennine MC Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 (edited) Cracking pics Mike. There is some stuff on this in existing threads, couldnt tell you where to start looking though. I dont think they got to Chester so often, if at all, but as that caption says the 43s regularly worked to Crewe via Salop on North to West workings and I think occasionally got through to Piccadilly. At some point in the mid 60s they would have become 47s turns, then a bit later there was a batch outstationed at Bescot, in theory intended to take over Padd - New Street turns but that didnt last long. They did however continue on freights around the W Mids and still occasionally worked in the Crewe direction. Phil (Bartlett) is your man for this, he's a hub of info about diesel workings in the area. Edited January 5, 2012 by Pennine MC Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach bogie Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 All the North British built Warships, D833-D865 passed through the North West via the WCML and Crewe at least once in their short lives, on their delivery run to the WR from Glasgow. Regards Mike Wiltshire Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold beast66606 Posted January 5, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 5, 2012 Not heard of any at Chester, seem to remember a story about one getting to Garston though. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwitrains Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 (edited) Not the best of pictures but I took it around 1963 at Crewe Edited January 5, 2012 by kiwitrains 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold TheSignalEngineer Posted January 5, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 5, 2012 When i worked around Crewe in the late 1960s there was a regular Warship working in the afternoon on a NW-SW service. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
byron Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Warships were regular performers on freights to the Stoke area in the mid 1960's. I was power Controller at the time, pests they were as non of my Stoke traincrew "knew" them. Got a Western to York though when the Broad Gauge tried a fast one - they thought they would get it back 0Z00, but forgot some Crewe men k Mikenew them. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Delamar Posted January 5, 2012 Author Share Posted January 5, 2012 regards Birkenhead to Paddington expresses that used 2-6-4tanks as far as Chester, what was the diesels that took over, would it have been westerns or47's? Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold TheSignalEngineer Posted January 5, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 5, 2012 (edited) regards Birkenhead to Paddington expresses that used 2-6-4tanks as far as Chester, what was the diesels that took over, would it have been westerns or47's? Mike At Birmingham these had Westerns at the end of the Kings in 1962, then went over to virtually all 47s around 1964. Edited January 5, 2012 by TheSignalEngineer Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjnewitt Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 The Warships began to work over the North and West in the spring of 1962. For the first few months they worked the double home Castle turn from Newton Abott to Shrewsbury with trips to Crewe on driver training. I think it was with the commencement of the summer timetable in 1962 that they began to work regularly to Crewe on express duties. Indeed I'm pretty sure they were diagramed to work all the principal expresses from the North West to Bristol and the West Country after this point. This continued until the summer of 1964 when the duties were taken over by class 47s. I've never heard of them on the Chester line, the only diesel hydraulics I've heard of working that line were Westerns. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Delamar Posted January 5, 2012 Author Share Posted January 5, 2012 I've never heard of them on the Chester line, the only diesel hydraulics I've heard of working that line were Westerns. i think ive got mixed up with the westerns at Chester Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Delamar Posted January 5, 2012 Author Share Posted January 5, 2012 was it both the 42 and 43 that made it to Crewe regularly or just the north british 43? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Delamar Posted January 5, 2012 Author Share Posted January 5, 2012 (edited) not sure where this shot was taken but its a nice shot and the loco did get to Crewe, it appears in cine film there on cinerails Crewe to Carlisle video. D864 by Welsh Harlequin, on Flickr Edited May 20, 2012 by michael delamar 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjnewitt Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Having just had a quick rumage it would apear that both the Swindon and NBL locos worked through to Crewe. On page 68 of The book of the Warships there's a picture of D804 at Crewe. There's a picture of D809 on a North and West express at Hereford in the June 2008 edition of Steam Days. That was taken in March 1962 and would have been on the Castle diagram mentioned earlier so it may not have made it to Crewe on that trip. Having said what I did about the Chester line on page 69 of the aformentioned book there's a picture of D833 at Shrewsbury on a Birkenhead express. I'd forgotten that Warships were used for a short time during the Autumn of 1962 on the Paddington, Birmingham, Chester axis while the Westerns were having problems with their bogies sorted. So they did work to Chester abiet very briefly. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pennine MC Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 This continued until the summer of 1964 when the duties were taken over by class 47s. http://www.flickr.com/photos/david_christie/5642608423/in/set-72157625418636168 Interesting shot, spot on the time of the changeover 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Phil Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Sorry to bore those of you who have read this before but I am writing a book about Bescot, and the people who worked there. One chapter of the book covers the period August 1967 to March 1969 when the NBL warships had work in and out of the depot. There is stuff written here in RMweb already, which Google can find for you, but during the period I mention, there were diagrams taking the NBLs to Shrewsbury / Coton Hill Yard and Crewe, perhaps also to Dorrington. There was a job which conveyed empty vans from Wellington to Crewe via Market Drayton, which returned light diesel to Bescot via Stafford and Bushbury. None of this however should be confused with the "North & West" work between Crewe and the Western Region via the Marches. As for Warships to Chester - undoubtedly occasionally, but as I always say, and "byron" will corroborate, all sorts of things happened under cover of darkness which the camera lens very rarely saw !!!!!!. If the Control needed some traffic moving and there was power and a guard to move it, it didn't really matter who engine is was as long as it was half legal. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted January 5, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 5, 2012 If the Control needed some traffic moving and there was power and a guard to move it, it didn't really matter who engine is was as long as it was half legal. Question/comment from Control 'Do you know if they've been route cleared that way, they don't show in the Route Availability Book?' My reply 'I wouldn't worry if I were you this is the third one today that I've sent that way so if they weren't cleared before they are now.' 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Lewis Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 When I was a lad my uncle took me to Crewe station (and Crewe North) one afternoon in September 1963. It was memorable not only for the blue electrics but also for the three warships (D802, D822, D835), one western (D1006) and one Hall (6960), not forgetting Duke of Gloucester. I was too young to pay attention to what workings they may have been on, but a great days' trainspotting! 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Phil Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 When I was a lad my uncle took me to Crewe station (and Crewe North) one afternoon in September 1963. It was memorable not only for the blue electrics but also for the three warships (D802, D822, D835), one western (D1006) and one Hall (6960), not forgetting Duke of Gloucester. I was too young to pay attention to what workings they may have been on, but a great days' trainspotting! Interesting stuff Tim. Do you have any more notes for Shropshire such as Wellington or Market Drayton or Whitchurch maybe ? Cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
byron Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Phil How right you are - if it had a BR badge on it's side, it was used. Between the Stoke division and the Broad Gauge mob a state of war existed. Some of the tales regarding (mis?) use of resources would make your hair curl. Running the railway was hard work, but fun and fullfilling. Mike 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Delamar Posted January 7, 2012 Author Share Posted January 7, 2012 nice shot of D851 at Crewe in 1962 here http://www.davidheyscollection.com/page24.htm Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Lewis Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Interesting stuff Tim. Do you have any more notes for Shropshire such as Wellington or Market Drayton or Whitchurch maybe ? Cheers No, 'fraid not. I lived in Preston at the time, and was staying for a weekend at my uncle's in Manchester, from where he took us to Crewe. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Delamar Posted May 20, 2012 Author Share Posted May 20, 2012 (edited) just come across these of Western's at Crewe D1032 Western Marksman Crewe 3-1-64 by peterlrigby, on Flickr D1030 Western Musketeer Crewe 3-1-64 by peterlrigby, on Flickr Edited May 20, 2012 by michael delamar 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leander Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 Well found Mike! D1032 had just come off Crewe Works and was either about to be delivered to the WR or setting off on a test run. D1030 is on 1O35 which, I think, was a Liverpool/Manchester - Bournemouth. Going back to your earlier postings with regard to Warships. Both class 42 and 43 appeared at Crewe on the north and west route expresses via Shrewsbury and came off at Crewe to be replaced by AC electrics for the onward run to Liverpool or Manchester. In 1964, these became Brush Type 4 (class 47) turns. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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