Trev52A

If Carnforth was Black Five country, then Rose Grove (10F) was synonymous with 8Fs, as these two shots right at the end show: 48400 and 48773 at Rose Grove shed on 3rd August, the latter bearing the (unnecessary?) yellow cab stripe, unique to the Class, I believe. But see post#96 by LMS2698, below 48278 has just finished its final turn on BR on 3rd August, as evidenced by the chalked inscription on the smokebox door Trevor Edited to correct number quoted. Also adding extra info by LMS2698.

Hi Tony Thanks for getting back to me. Yes, I saw your post and sent you a Message on 10th January, rather than clog up this thread with questions for you. If it reached you OK you should be able to access it by clicking the little 'envelope' icon near your name at the top after you sign in. You can reply to me in the same way when you open it. Or click my picture (in the cab if 45608) to open my profile then click 'send me a message'. Hope this makes sense! Cheers Trevor

A couple of shots at Lancaster Castle station from July 1968: 45390 shunting at the north end on 15th July 45268 waiting to leave with a northbound parcels train in one of the bay platforms on 17th July Trevor

While on the theme of 'last steam-hauled runs', there were two 'Black Five'-rostered turns from Preston right up to the final weekend of normal steam workings, Saturday/Sunday 3rd/4th August 1968. The famous/(infamous?) '15 Guinea Special' of the following weekend doesn't count as a 'normal' working, of course. On Saturday 3rd August I was on the 20.50 Preston to Blackpool South behind 45212. At Preston the station was packed with enthusiasts, and a fake coffin with 'Death of Steam' (or some such) was paraded along the platform! The train was absolutely packed and at Blackpool the crew were giving away pieces of coal as souvenirs! Was any RMWeb reader on this train? Or on the actual 'last one', which amazingly left Preston not long after 45212 had gone, the 21.25 Preston to Liverpool with 45318? Actually, to quote the October 1968 Railway Magazine: ''On Sunday, 4th August, 45212 shunted the sleeping cars off the (previous night's) 23.45 Euston-Preston into the bay at Preston and this was definitely the last occasion on which passengers were steam-hauled by a BR engine in normal service, albeit a shunt move!'' Was anybody on that one? Trevor

A couple of shots of Black Fives at Carnforth shed (10A)... 44758, 44809 and 45206 on 18th July 45134 goes for a spin on the turntable on 1st August. An LMS fan has been busy on the tender, by the look of it! Trevor

@ Chris Turnbull Really enjoying seeing the colour shots, Chris. Re the view from the footbridge at Carnforth (post#61). A good view showing the correct size lumps of coal for those of us adding real coal to our models! I walked across that bridge loads of times but never thought of taking a pic in that direction. Re 45156 at Rose Grove. Shows the tastefully painted front number to replace the missing number plate. A staff member or an enthusiast's handiwork, I wonder. Keep 'em coming! Cheers Trevor

Were any other site members on the Williams Deacon's Bank Club steam special from Stockport on 17th March 1968? Actually two trains were run on the same day due to the ticket demand. The route it followed and the different locos involved was incredible. I was on the second train which ran as follows: 70013 Stockport to Bolton 70013+45110 Bolton to Accrington 45447+45110 Accrington to Skipton 70013 Skipton to Carnforth where there was a break for a shed visit 4472 Carnforth to Skipton 45447+45110 Skipton to Accrington 45110+4472 Accrington to Bolton 4472 Bolton to Stockport Train No 1 used the same two Pacifics but different Black Fives! Due to the bad weather and the final runs being in the evening I didn't manage to take many photos, but here are some of them: 70013+45110 between Bolton and Accrington. If anyone can identify the location I would be grateful! Mayhem at Accrington with a loco change - that's 45447 in the background 70013 waiting to leave Skipton on the leg to Carnforth I have already uploaded a shot (on post #1 of this thread) of 70013 leaving Carnforth later that afternoon, when the sun had come out, as it took its turn on Train no 1 (We followed on Train No 2 behind 4472) Amazing! Cheers Trevor

Great stuff, Chris! More please!! Trevor

Very true, Chris. I wouldn't imagine the site Administrator minding too much if you shared some of the 1968 steam pictures again on this thread - you have some super atmospheric shots in colour! Here's another of mine from the Special of 1st June 1968 - loco changeover at Hellifield Trevor

Thanks for that, David. I was using a second-hand (at least second-hand!) Kodak Retinette 35mm camera since January 1967, mainly using Kodal Panatomic-X film (very slow at 32ASA, but fine grain) which I developed and printed at home. The pics I have posted on this site are all scans from the negatives, not the prints. I travelled on a couple of steam specials in the final year. One was the 'Grand Scottish tour No 5', (so-called because it originated north of the border), on 1st June 1968 which I joined at Carlisle. This was diesel-hauled (D1773) to Carnforth where 70013 Oliver Cromwell took over for the tour via Manchester to Guide Bridge. Electric Class EM1 No E26052 Nestor​ ​was in charge over the Pennines to Sheffield and back where the 'Brit' took over again via Manchester to Hellifield, for the final run over the S&C back to Carlisle behind D1773... This is the train entering Bolton Trinity St. station behind 70013 on the outward leg. Crikey, I seem to be hanging out of the window even further than the chap in front! (Unless I was in the second coach.) No doubt this location has changed a bit since then. A bit off-topic on a steam thread, but this is Nestor ​at Sheffield Victoria station at the halfway point of the tour Returning to Manchester behind the 'Brit' we were passed at signals by this 8F on a train of wagons. I think this was on the way down between Miles Platting and Manchester Victoria, but I am happy to be corrected. What a great day out, with nice weather as well! Cheers Trevor

A couple more at Carnforth shed near the very end... D1809 and 70013 on 1st August D5010 and 45025 on the same day Trevor

The Youth Hostel I was staying at for two separate weeks in July and August 1968 was at Arnside, on the Carnforth to Barrow line. A parcels train which left Barrow at about 20.30, if I remember correctly, used to pass through Arnside just as the sun was setting, and I tried to photograph it several times. The most successful was probably this one (which would have made a nice colour shot!)... 44894 passing Arnside with an evening parcels train from Barrow on 17th July 1968 The next station west of Arnside was at Silverdale... 75048 heads west through Silverdale with a short goods train on 1st August 1968. Trevor

A couple of shots of more Black Fives, at Carnforth station: 44894 heads a parcels train in the Barrow direction on 20th July 1968 This one is a bit of a puzzle. A nicely cleaned 45017 in one of the bay platforms on the eastern side of the station, with a crowd and TV film crew and floodlights in attendance on 19th July. A young girl (?) is climbing out of the cab - perhaps the lady with the handbag was her mother? Any ideas welcomed. Trevor

. . not forgetting the Class J27 0-6-0s which lasted in North East England until September 1967, of course. Amazingly, there was still a handful of scheduled steam-hauled passenger trains right up until August 1968, mainly Saturday trains in the Preston area. So imagine my luck when a 'Black Five' substituted for a diesel failure on a Preston to Windermere train on 29th July when I was at Carnforth. Due to the lack of turning facilities on the Windermere branch it returned running tender first, and I travelled on the train to Preston, my penultimate steam-hauled run on BR... 45110 entering Carnforth with a Windermere to Preston passenger train on 29th July 1968 Trevor

Remember the footbridge which crossed the tracks just south of Carnforth station? These two were taken from there: 73069 and 45025 restart a northbound ballast train on 19th July Looking south this time as 45134 and 45342 pass each other on freights on 20th July Trevor

During the school summer holidays of 1968 I spent two separate weeks staying in the Youth hostel at Arnside, near Carnforth. Not having a car I was not able to reach the best photo spots for action shots and travelled around by train with RailRover tickets, contenting myself with views in and around stations which still saw steam activity. A favourite was Preston, which still had impressive semaphore gantries spanning the tracks Here are a couple of shots taken at Preston during my first week in the middle of July. 48340 tows a brake van south through the platforms on 17th July. This side of the station has been drastically remodelled since the 1960s with the closure of the 'East Lancs' line which turned east just beyond the far end of the platform. 45212 and D7577 wait between turns at the south end of the main platforms on 18th July. Trevor

Great stuff! some of your Carnforth shots from August 1968 look very similar to mine - I wonder if our paths crossed at the shed all those years ago? Here are a couple from a rainy Stockport Edgeley shed on 16th March that year. The two Pacifics were waiting to haul specials to Carnforth the next day - see my earlier post of 70013 at Carnforth station. 8F inside the shed Trevor

2018 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the end of normal BR steam workings. Congratulations to all of us who remember those sad/happy days of half a century ago (I was 17 at the time) and who have made it this far! Here's a chance to share some memories and photos of 1968, with a couple of mine to start, both taken at Carnforth on 17th March 1968... Black Fives 44897 and 45342 pose at the shed between turns 70013 Oliver Cromwell leaves the station with a Williams Deacon's Bank Club special bound for Stockport Over to you Cheers Trevor

Here's another one of mine from 16th December 1967, nearer to Shap summit. The train loco is a Standard Class 5, the banker is one of the usual Standard class 4s. If anyone else was there that day, perhaps they made a note of the locos, please? (Just as well to clarify these important details after 50 years, ha,ha!) Trevor

Love the videos! A chance to show some pics which didn't make it to the 'End of Steam over Shap' thread a month or two ago, both taken on a very sunny but cold 16th December 1967 ... 75037 banking D304 away from Tebay 75030 at the same spot on the opposite side of the line, with D7559 at the head of the train Trevor

Fortunately I didn't need to dismantle the motor - a few drops of oil in the likely places (having successfully treated the Bachmann chassis as per your earlier instructions I was feeling more confident at this stage!) and it runs great- not bad for a 40-year old mechanism. Now it goes without screeching it will be worthwhile me doing some basic weathering/detailing to the model. What a fabulous collection you have of Bachmann/Mainline examples! Thanks for sharing. If I need any more advice on their variations I know who to ask. Nice to see the model has the correct Fowler tender, as per your photo of the prototype. I saw about 30 Jubilees but don't recall any like that, but as a teenage spotter I wouldn't have noticed such niceties as tender types at the time! Kind regards to all Trevor

Further to my post earlier today, I have downloaded some diagrams and service sheets for my Airfix tender-drive 'Scot' from the Airfix and Lendons of Cardiff websites and will have a go at sorting it. Cheers Trevor

@ adb Grateful thanks for the advice - that's exactly what I needed, and why I showed the pictures. So I didn't need to take the motor apart at all! So I've oiled as you suggested and, while it still doesn't run like the proverbial 'sewing machine', (obviously with a mechanism of that age), there is a big improvement.and I'm very happy with the outcome. I also have an old Airfix tender drive rebuilt 'Scot' with a screeching motor .. but that's another story. Kind regards Trevor

@adb Thanks for your continued interest in my query. I look forward to seeing your pics in due course. I have now filed away the offending plastic on the underside of 45703 (as it now is) and it runs very well on the Bachmann 'Jubilee' chassis which came with my 'Royal Scot' 46115. As regards the Mainline chassis from 45703 which I want to use correctly on 46115, here are some pics to show my problem - I can't see any moving parts to oil and I don't feel confident of unloosening any screws without some advice, which I hope you might be able to offer. You mentioned the armature and white plastic housing - how do uncover those, for example? I have described the fireman's side as the RHS - is there a convention? (Hm, that wouldn't make sense if it was a GWR 'Castle', would it?!) Mainline motor for 'Royal Scot', RHS Mainline motor for 'Royal Scot', LHS Mainline motor for 'Royal Scot', bottom Hopefully your assistance will also be of help to others who may not be familiar with the internal workings of these mechanisms. Kind regards Trevor

Quite a lot of new posts since I last checked - thank you to everyone who has chipped in. That's interesting - might explain why my 46115 has no glazing either. It looks like an early one (with undersize front buffers as well, as far as I can tell.) All good information which explains a lot. As robmcg suggested earlier, I have a bit of a 'hybrid'! (Actually the tender which came with the model has 'Bachmann' stamped on the bottom of the chassis, but apart from the wheels (well, the axles, at least) and the narrower tension lock coupling, it looks identical to the Mainline tender which came with the second-hand Mainline 'Jubilee' 45691 Orion which I bought several years ago, as seen in the picture below.​)​ ​@ ​Silver Sidelines Thanks for the pictures of Mainline locos - great as references. Incidentally, when digging out my second-hand Mainline 'Jubilee' to compare tenders (in response to adb's input) I noticed it was sitting on a 'Royal Scot' chassis! (The smaller crescent-shaped coupled wheel balance weights give it away.) As per this photo: I have renumbered/renamed it from 45691 Orion to 45703 Thunderer, ​in memory of the first 'Jube' I ever saw back in 1964. What a great name for a steam loco! (although itself named after a warship, I believe?) I also added the cabside stripe, AWS bashplate and replaced the front tension lock coupling with a screw coupling and tried my hand at weathering for the first time. Oh, and I also removed the front steps (!) as they look awful when overhanging on curves. So, I have a Mainline 'Scot' body sitting on a Bachmann chassis meant for a 'Jubilee', and a Mainline 'Jubilee' body sitting on a Mainline chassis meant for a 'Scot'. What's the chances of that happening? So the obvious thing is to swap them round and everybody is happy - which I did, but the flanges on the Bachmann rear coupled wheels catch slightly on the bodywork of 45703 under the front of the cab. Shouldn't be too difficult to put right with a file, I expect. While I am in 'modelling' mode, could anyone please tell me if it is possible to add a drop of oil to the Mainline motor without having to take it apart too much? This has always made the occasional noises of protest as it moves, but I can't see how to get in to it. To sum up - the only unexplained part of the whole story now seems to be the misleading label on the Bachmann box my second-hand 46115 came in. I might try contacting Bachmann after New Year to see if it makes sense to them. Regards Trevor