great northern

Back under the roof, with 60119 in the distance. and soon afterwards, back out in the fresh air.

I have read that by 1958 engine changes at PN had been considerably reduced, precisely because they were adding to already unacceptable delays, but I know there were still some, and I have seen accounts of Pacifics coming off E.Lincs trains here. I suppose in a way that might cancel out the minutes needed for watering and coal shovelling if there was no change of loco. I've looked closely at the WTT to analyse what went on at Grantham, where there were a lot more changes, and found that stops ranged from three to six minutes. I've assumed that the longer stops might logically be to give time for the change, and that does fit in with what I've discovered regarding which trains did change engine there. In the end it is probably all theoretical, as it seems that it was normal for the timetable to have gone out of the window by lunchtime at the latest. As to the last paragraph, I do know for certain that the locos on the regular Grimsby and Cleethorpes to KX services worked through, and came back the same day. At least one of them had a change of crew at Boston, which would have helped, no doubt. There were a lot more on Saturdays, of course, but I reckon the locos would have worked both ways on those too, as the logistics of getting them from Skeggy to where they would be needed next would have meant a lot of light engine movements. Again locos were worked up to KX on Friday afternoons/evenings to have them ready for the early Saturday departures, so those crews would probably lodged overnight and theoretically have had a night's sleep.

61204 now seen from Spital Bridge as it heads for the seaside. While Patrick Stirling is passing North box.

The B1 is on its way, as another A1 comes through on the Up. The reverse angle confirms that the A1 is Doncaster's Patrick Stirling, which will pass here non stop with an express from its home town to KX.

Well yes, but the guard's door is right behind the tender of the Compound, and he's getting on a bit and his back is giving him grief, so the young fireman got the job instead, as it was only a few steps further.

The fireman has just had to walk back to pick up the lamp which has fallen off the back of the rear coach, and that gave our man the chance to get this shot. 61204 meanwhile runs in and stops at Platform 6.

41157 has set off, but won't get far, as the 8.08 KX-Skegness on the Down main has to clear Crescent Junction first. It has eleven on, so the wait may not be a long one. The B1 comes under the bridge, and will stop at Platform 6 for four minutes. I wish I knew which of these Skeggy trains were Pacific hauled as far as PN. I suspect there were some, but that the stopping time would be longer if that was the case.

Seagull is now off on the way to Grantham. For some reason I did another very similar shot, and didn't fancy doing all the shopping again, so I cropped it and changed it to black and white. A very large black cloud must have obscured the sun just as the photographer took this.

Just a little nearer the stop, 41157 comes past North box.

The 9.43 arrival from Leicester brings that nicely cleaned Derby Compound. This will be the last Midland train we shall see on the Up for many hours, as our sole passenger platform will be overstretched in dealing with our own trains, so these Leicesters will pass by to the West, heard, but not seen, as those lines of wagons in the sidings obscure the view. Black 5s, plenty of those, many 4Fs, even the occasional unrebuilt Patriot, together with the usual 8Fs etc, but we shan't see any of them.

The man did turn up at the wrong time, but I delayed lunch, and made the most of the sun, so the image store is somewhat better populated. No time to shop new stuff yet though, so still one image this evening. A last look at Kittiwake, as it runs past the tranship shed.

From under and beyond the bridge, we see A1 and J6 both at rest. Wall to wall sunshine forecast today, so I should at last be able to run trains and get some more photos. Unless, that is, the man who is coming to do the annual burgar alarm check turns up at precisely the wrong time.

Back to Kittiwake now, running in past the resting C12. Not easy to photoshop, this one, so it is a bit ragged around the edges. In fairness though, would a photographer in 1958 have been able to get the whole image pin sharp? And why do I always type iamge instead of image?

The other thing to be taken into consideration, of course, is the condition of the locomotive. It may be high mileage, and being used on non express work until it gets called in for overhaul. Rough riding, not steaming well, or even running in after repairs on shed, any of those might apply.

Having seen what is behind it, back up front for another look at our A4.

When one looks at the article in the HMRS Journal, it becomes clear that this happened regularly, and not just on Saturdays. The 5.50 KX-Grantham had A3s on three days out of five, and the 6.40 two A3s, 60015 on the 9th July, and V2s on the other days. The 7.20 Down Peterborough had two A4s, 60010/15, and three A3s out of six days recorded. That was a steel five set, with a couple of added BGs. 60033 itself was on the 7pm Peterborough-KX on two consecutive days, 9th and 10th July. On 10th July the formation was PMV (southern) BCK TSOx2,BCK BG. These workings were commonplace, but I suspect rarely photographed. I suspect also that in almost every case either the previous or next working for the loco would have been on an express. I do have some Thompson BGs, and again have learned from the survey that what the CWN says often differed from what actually appeared, so they do get used in passenger trains as well as in parcels.

So here is what was behind the tender on a Saturday in July 1958.

Seagull runs alongside Platform 6, but still has a little way to go before finally stopping. This evening we shall have a look at what is behind the tender.

Seagull now arrives with the 6.40 KX-Grantham slow. As always, the next part of the diagram will be something more challenging.

Back to the other side, and to one of the most familiar views of an arriving Up train. One of the reliably good places to take a photo though, I find.

Opened the curtains to another cloudless sky, and the forecast said the cloud would take over by noon, so I changed my routine, and went to run trains at 1030. The clouds arrived at 1040. So one image at a time again, and this one is a rear three quarter view of Kittiwake slowing for the stop. Not taken today, of course.

Attention switches back to the Up, as another A1 approaches. It is another Copley Hill engine too, Kittiwake this time, bringing in an Up Leeds, which will stop here for five minutes.

Here is the 9.30 to Yarmouth, which has additional cars for anticipated Saturday traffic. That makes it too long for the bay, and so it occupies Platform 6 today. As always there is an Ivatt 4 in charge. Even an Ivatt looks quite good with that backdrop.

Aboyeur again, just a little futher along. and one from the other side. A much better impression of the length of the layout, a bit more light where it is needed, so why don't I stick with photos from this side? Probably because there are so many lattices to deal with, and the south end can be a pain when photoshopping if the light is less than perfect.

The A1 has now nearly passed through the station. and we are back to rationing, as most days recently have featured lovely early sun, but cloud filling in before it shines into my windows. It comes out again mid afternoon, too late to be of use to me.