Steam World: Issues 100-199

First Floor, 2 King Street, Peterborough, PE1 1 LT

The Editors of this magazine, which does not set out to be profound, have been highly successful in capturing material both from professional locomotive engineers (who very sadly are a shrinking breed), from senior railway managers, and from people like Andrew Dow who enjoyed priviledged access to railways at an early age. Unfortunately, the magazine neither provides volume numbers nor consecutive pagination. and this makes it slightly more difficult to cite, and this has inhibited progress in providing fuller coverage. This is a pity as some of its content is of lasting value, although that based on shed bashing is usually trivial and  will not be abstracted in depth. Amongst the greatest gems are the long series by R.H.N. Hardy which have extended from the Great Central to Great Eastern sections of the LNER and onto the Southern Region. Over the years Philip Atkins has also provided much food for thought. Thus the entries are highly selective. Back issues are available from Tower Publishing Services Ltd., Tower House, Sovereign Park, Market Harborough, LE16 9EF.

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Number 103 (January 1996)

Alan Earnshaw. Black week. 34-7.
Accidents at Northwood on 31 December 1945 and at Ferryhill on 5 January 1946 covered in detail. In both passengers were killed.

Thomas 'Qou' Vardy. Those were the days. 38-40
Memories of journeys between Huddersfield and Sheffield (where he was a student at the University) in the 1930s by the many routes possible at that time.

R.H.N. Hardy. Attention to detail. 42-
Driver George Seaborne. Picture of Driver Dick Brock, Norfolk man, and ASLEF secretary

Number 104 (February 1996)

Black week. [of railway accidents in 1945/6]. Alan Earnshaw. 24-7.
Northwood on 31 December 1945; Lichfield Trent Valley 1 January 1946 and Browney signalbox, Ferryhill on 5 January 1946. All were fatal accidents; the first two were inter-train collisions and in the third a passenger train hit a derailed freight. At the first the primary responsibility fell on the driver of the train which ran into one ahead by driving too fast in fog and by placing credence on a message received from a poorly qualified porter; The failure of the fire extinguishers could be blamed upon WW2 shortages of rubber. Earnshaw is somewhat critical of Lt. Col. Woodhouse's Report which blamed the crew of the train which ran into the rear of another for misreading the signals, rather for blaming worn signalling and severe frost. The final accident was attributed to the failure of more than one signalman to act promptly on noting the freight train divide and derail to arrest the colliding passenger train. The real culprit, howver, was a poorly maintained drawgear in one of the wagons which allowed the freight to divide.

Number 106 (April 1996)

R.H.N. Hardy. Attention to detail. 26-30
The J39 were good engines but tended to fall to pieces in inconvenient places. Mentions how Driver Albert Southgare ran into the sand drag on a J39 at Shenfield due to colour blindness and the reaction of Rupert Vereker his boss at Norwich. Also mentions Bill Doughty who began his railway career at Melton Constable and then moved to Doncaster. Came into contact with Hardy via his activities on behalf of ASLEF. Eventually became the principal of railway staff training college...

Number 109 (July 1996)

Alan Earnshaw. Buried in the bog.24-6.
J39 No. 64880 hauled passenger train on Silloth branch derailed at Drumburgh Moss on 23 October 1950. Driver Jackson and fireman K.Pearson were killed. Colonel McMullen reported and criticed the high speed limit and inadequate maintenance of the track.

Number 110 (August 1996)

Andrew Dow. A journey to remember. 8-11
Footplate journey made on 31 August 1961 from King's Cross to Doncaster. Had hoped for trip on an A4, but was on A2/3 No. 60523 Sun Castle to Peterborough and thence on No. 60500 Edward Thompson to Doncaster. He eventually did manage a footplate journey on an A4: preseerved No. 4498 Sir Nigel Gresley between Crewe and Shrewsbury after its overhaul

John Clarke. West Coast engineman: Driver W.T. Starvis of Camden. 16-21.
Includes notes on Turbomotive (smooth riding but heavy on coal), rough No. 6257 (sparks seen on bogie when travelling at speed) and liked Patriot class

Richard Strange. The S&D 2-8-0s at large. 44-7.
Use of class north of Bath mainly on the former Midland lines to Mangotsfield, Bristol and Avonmouth; also for servicing at Barnwood and for overhaul at Derby (one assisted Pines Express through to Birmingham)

Frank Hornby. Glasgow: steam mecca of the north. 48-
Autum,n 1947 briefly, May 1953

Number 115 (January 1997)

Hardy, R.H.N. The freight locomotive which won both Wars! 8-11.
Considers the virtues of the O4 class as viewed by a young shedmaster at Woodford Halse. At the time, 1949 on, the class was being used on the tightly-timed minerals trains known by the staff as "Runners". Some comparison is made with the GWR 28XX which Hardy consdered to be poorly designed in ergonomic terms.

Clarke, John. An extraordinary 'Royal'. 16-19.
Extracts from Bill Starvis Diaries: working The Grove (Royal train) on the night of 26/7 June 1961 with No. 46245 City of London when it was delayed by a failed diesel electric and diverted by civil engineering works.

The 'Battle of Britain' 4-6-2s: origin of their names.D.C. Syme. 50-3.
Notes that some choices appear (possibnly in retrospect) appear to have been odd. Some omissions may be explained by geography (Hornchurch was in Essex) but Gravesend and West Malling were firmly on Southern Railway territory. Author does not note the wing shape of the nameplates except to note that 34090 had a different shape, but does note sky blue background for nameplates. Illus.: 34056 Croydon (rebuilt) at Salisbury on 22 June 1964 (John Clarke). Nameplates: 34071 601 Squadron; 34059 Sir Archibald Sinclair; 34090 Sir Eustace Missenden, Southern Railway; 34064 Fighter Command.

Number 120 (June 1997)

Langridge, E.A.LMS 4-6-0s on and off the drawing board. Part 1. , 36-43.
Development of the Patriot class from the Claughton and Royal Scot classes including the possible retention of the 4-cylinder layout with either Caprotti or Lentz poppet valves. Author clearly lists the LNWR features which were retained on the first two engines (such as the Claughton bogie). The remaining members of the Patriot class were really new locomotives: the coupled wheel base was now identical to theRoyal Scot class. Langridge was critical of the taper boilers fitted to the reamining 5XPs - the Jubilee class: they had less firebox volume and heating surface and were much more expensive to build.

Number 121 (1997 July)

Langridge, E.A. LMS 4-6-0s on and off the drawing board. Part 2. 36-40.
The prime topic is the poor boiler performance of the Jubileeand the various means sought to rectify this and the alternative solutions proferred by Sanford and Coleman, and the ascendancy of the latter. The involvement of a replacement boiler design for Fury was  a contributory element in this design process. The hooters for the original locomotives failed to hoot due to condensation.

John Clarke, Bill on 'Royal Scots'. 42-5.
Bill Starvis Diaries: entries on Royal Scot clss both rebuilt and unrebuilt. During 1950s many in very poor condition. Starvis questioned their utilty on Euston to Carlisle workings and wondered why there were insufficient Pacifics, Clarke's commentary is somewhat at variance with the diary entries

Number 123 (1997 September)

Earnshaw, Alan. Making a full recovery. 8-13.
On 20 July 1952 the driver of a Southampton to Waterloo semi-fast misread the signals (which applied to a Southampton Docks to Waterloo boat train) and failed to stop at the end of the slow road at Shawford. The locomotive, a Lord Nelson, No. 30854 Howard of Effingham ran through the sand drag and ended up at the foot of an embankment. Fortunately, the train remained on the track and few of the passengers were hurt. Recovery of the locomotive was hampered by the business of the main line at that location and the difficulty of recovery by crane. Thus a ramp was constructed, then the locomotive was brought upright by jacks and then wiched up the ramp on temporary track. S.C. Townroe was present to record the rescue by colour photography. (13 colour photographs)..

Leslie, Bob. Darkroom discoveries. 14-15.
Colour photo-feature based on colour negatives: Rebuilt Scot No. 46160 Queen Victoria's Rifleman at Gretna Junction with a Kingmoor to Hurlford freight on 27 June 1964; 4F No. 44399 at Cummersdale with freight from Currock Yard, Carlisle for West Cumberland; No. 46450 City of Lichfield passing Wreay on up Royal Scot on 22 December 1963; No. 46136 The Border Regiment and No. 46225 Duchess of Gloucester on Carlisle Upperby mpd. 

Langridge, E.A. LMS 4-6-0s on and off the drawing board. [Part 3 ?]. . , 16-21.
It is difficult to cite this messy journal (but this appeared to be Part 3 and certainly ends on page 21. The article certainly covers the Class 5 and its origins as an improved Prince of Wales. This project began under Beames and involved T.G. Lightburn, the draughtsman at Crewe. Caprotti valve gear was proposed with inside cylinders and the poppet valves outside the main frames. A 2-8-0 with outside cylinders and inside poppet valves was being developed at the same time. Some consideration was given by "JH" to alter the wheel base of the "improved Prince of Wales". The frame spacing was different from that adopted for the 5XP Jubilees and Langridge stated that neither Whale nor Drummond would have tolerated such a lack of standardization as it reduced the number of parts common to the two classes. The Vulcan Foundry lot emerged as a typical "contract shop" design in the shape of the cylinders, the high running plate and the exposed valve gear. The effect was not new: Urie had introduced it in 1913 and Finlayson was a "contract shop" man. The Kings Arthurs (N15) and  class 5 were very similar. Several Swindon features of the class 5 were unsatisfactory, notably the brake hangers and the pressed in oiling rings. The class suffered from a very high level of knock.

Lawrence, Alan. Ship to shore. 24-9.
Black & white photo-feature of Harwich train ferry terminal with MV Suffolk Ferry and MV Norfolk Ferry, the link span, trains at Dovercourt Bay and Harwich Town stations in September 1959 and train ferry wagons.

Number 125 (1997 November)

Memories of the 'Humpies'. Neville Hill. 28-32.
Similar to the NER X class (LNER T1) 4-8-0T, both in overall design, and in operation. From 1943 an improved boiler was fitted and this sub-class was known as A7/1. This work continued after the formation of British Railways. One locomotive spent some time at Northwich prior to WW2. Latterly many of the class worked from Hull Springhead mpd. The author workerd with the class which tended to have leaking tanks which caused slipping which aggravated the problem.

R.H.N. Hardy. 'Atlantic' stars - 2. 32-41.
Ivatt C1 4-4-2, but mainly as recorded by Nock on the Yorkshire Pullman workings.

Number 129 (March 1998)..

Number 132 (June 1998)

Holmes, David. Station Master at Elland. 36-40.
Took over on 14 March 1963.

Number 138 (1998 December)

A nightmare of numbers. J.R. Walker. 22-5.
LNER renumbering which took place mainly in 1946, although some temporary moves had been made earlier. It was extremely complex and involved long chains to avoid duplication. The most difficult classes were the F4 and N15 tank engines and the J3 and J4 0-6-0s from the GNR. Illus.: D49 234 Yorkskshire as built on 24 March 1928 and near its demise as 62700 on 25 September 1958; J3 4036 pre-WW2 and as 4107 post-renumbering and J4 4107 pre-WW2 and as 4121 post-renumbering.

Hardy, R.H.N. The 'Poggy' log. Part 2. 40-3.
Footplate experience: B4 during WW2 from Bradford to Doncaster with Driver Ted Hailstone. Assisted up to Dudley Hill by a N1, then down to Batley, up to Ossett and down to Wakefield. With C4 on 18.20 Marylebone to Bradford 55 mile/h was attained at Beaconsfield and 88 at Haddenham.. Portrait (self-portrait) of Driver Stan Hodgson.

Number 141 (1999 March)

Hardy, R.H.N.The 'Poggy' log. Part 5. 36-40.
Boyhood pre-WW2 trips to London to inspect the locomotives in the mainline terminii were completed by return on the 6.26 fast to Amersham headed by a Woodford 4-cylinder B7. He loved the full regulator work including the dash down to Willesden Green and the final blast away from Chorley Wood following the Chesham's delay as it left the mainline. He records "I gather that an LNER senior mechanical engineer said that neither the 'B7s' nor the big-wheeled 'B3s' could run downhill. I have never heard such rubbish; they would run like the wind. Certainly, they burned a lot of coal." The original cylinder rings were replaced by Knorr heads during the 1930s: these were highly successful on the A1 Pacifics and Royal Scots. They were easy to fire, but like the Kings, they needed a big fire, and if this was not provided they failed to produce steam. The Great Central men prefered them to the K3 class as they gave a far smoother ride. Includes an account of a footplate trip on a B7 by George Barlow of the RHDR in 1934 on a return overnight excursion betwween Leicester and Manchester where he noted the big fire and smooth ride. On the B3 class hot axlebox and big end bearings were rare. Hardy was convined that inappropriate driving methods "had much to do with heavy coal consumption. Johnny Goodhand had all D11, including most of those in Scotland, fitted with J39 cylinder blocks D11 5505 had been fitted with long travel valves in 1937. Illus.: 6165 Valour passingg Basford with boat train for Immingham in 1927 (T.G. Hepburn); B7 5038 at Doncaster Carr in 1939; 6166Earl Haig (Caprotti-fitted) at Norwood on Sheffield train (C.R.L. Coles); 6165 at Nottingham Victoria in 1930/1 (TGH); GCR 462 at Newton-le-Willows in 1921..

Number 142 (April 1999)

John Crawley. Down, diddley-um, down. 8-13.
Photographs (mainly in colour) of filming Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines on the Bedford to Hitchin line using the preserved Highland Railway Jones 4-6-0 No. 103 to imitate a French train and even carried "NORD" on its tender and condemned coaches painted in French period livery.

Hardy, R.H.N. The 'Poggy' log. Part 6. 36-40.
Memories of the B3 class both in their original condition and with Caprotti valve gear working very hard between Rickmansworth and Amersham especially on 02.32 newspaper train. Notes Kuretchka, an Austrian, who described the economics of the Caprotti valve gear in the late 1930s. Also mentions Ralph Rhodes..

Number 143 (1999 May)

Leigh, Chris. Going places: comment. 4-5.
Had edited 84 Issues since arrival in Peterborough in June 1992, but was leaving to edit Model Rail.

Leigh, Chris.  Call attention. 6-7.
Double columns at Crianlarich. Jim Sherriff.
Class 5 and K2 Loch Morar taking water on Bridgeton Cross to Fort William excursion.

Leslie, Bob (phot.). North-West steam. 10-13
Colour-photo feature based on colour prints from colour negatives: Class 2 2-6-0 No. 46491 at Carlisle on 23 February 1963; No. 46225 Duchess of Gloucester in pink livery leaving Carlisle with Glasgow to Birmingham express on 14 April 1964; No. 46132 The King's Regiment Liverpool on up parcels train passing Brisco on 11 May 1963; Britannia leaving Carlisle with an Edinburgh to Birmingham express on 15 April 1963; Class 5 No. 45118 (lining shows up very well) on up freight at Armathwaite on 19 April 1963; No. 46238 City of Carlisle (red) in evening light at Carlisle Upperby on 13 June 1964, and Class 5 No. 44677 with self-weighing tender (shoen in superb detail) on Durranhill to Stourton fitted freight passing Cotehill on 2 February 1963.

Yorkshireman. Requiem for the J21s. 24-9.
T.W. Worsdell C class; majority originally built as two-cyliner compounds. Long associated with passenger traffic on the Stainmore route. Could achieve 60 mile/h notably on non-stop Hull to Withersea and Hornsea seaside expresses. Also worked the Eyemouth branch and military traffic to Woodburn on the Scotsgap to Reedsmouth line. Illus.: J21 No. 65061 and Class 2 2-6-0 No. 46478 at Tebay with Northern Dales Railtour on 21 August 1954; No. 874 at Deepdale viaduct on 25 September 1938 with a Darlington to Penrith express; 65078 at Frosterley station with last passenger train to Wearhead on 27 June 1953; 65033 at Barnard Castle with RCTS last J21 over Stainmore special on 6 May 1960; No. 65061 at Stanhope; Nos. 65064 with 77004 on South Shields to Blackpool express at Tebay on 14 July 1956; 65082 passing Staward station on freight to Allendale on 20 November 1950.

Hardy, R.H.N. The 'Poggy' log: central questions about GCR locomotives answered. Part 7. 36-40.
The Caprotti-equipped locomtives: during WW2 there was a drastic shortage of spare parts until Heenan & Froude started manufacture. Arturo Caprotti, with a background in automobile engineering, insisted on a single exhaust cam, but the last two LMS class 5 4-6-0s were fitted with an extra exhaust cam and this vastly improved performane: this modified valve gear was fitted to BR class 5 4-6-0s and to Duke of Gloucester. His anecdotes describe a run on a very rundown Caprotti-equipped 6167. In 1940 Gresley had told Col. Kenneth Cantlie that he intened to fit further GCR 4-6-0s with Caprotti valve gear. Also tells of the excellence of the D9, J11 and A5 (supplied to North Eastern area) which had been equipped with J39 cylinder block with long travel valves. The D9 class were used successfully on the M&GNJ section. Queried the reason for fitting O4 class with Gresley boilers but had high opinion of O1 class with 100A (Gresley-derived boilers). The O4 class was the simplest, most rugged and indestructible heavy freight lcomotive this country has known; the O1 was fast, strong, a good ride, a good brake, grand engines, and another of Edward Thampson's successes. Q6 also commended for simplicity, ruggedness and lack of frills..

Leavens, Paul. Decline of steam at Swindon Works. Part 2. 46-53.
Twenty eight visits made between 1954 and 1965.

Atkins, Philip. It had already been done! 54-7.
Atkins considers that J.F. Harrison's claim made in 1961 that the A1 class achieved a mileage of 202 miles per day has not withstood close scrutiny and was probably nearer 184.9, as compared with 184.7 achieved by Duchess class. The class 91 electric locomotives achieve 740 miles per day. The NYR 4-8-4 Niagara class were designed for 800 miles per day, but failed to achieve that. The J class of the N&W Railway achieved 3 million miles. In 1936 Princess Royal Pacifics 6209 and 6210 did achieve over 100,000 miles, as did  70036 , 70039 and 70040 in 1953/4. The Webb 2-4-0 955 CharlesDickens achieved 267 miles per day and 2m miles in service. The R class 4-4-0 No. 202 achieved 220 miles per day on the Newxastle to Edinburgh run.

Dow, Andrew. All things considered. 58-9.
Travelling Post Offices were still extanct, rather than extinct, then. Colour illus.: ex-works Post Office sorting van No. M30216M in empty stock train at Stafford on 9 March 1963 (Alec Swain).

Number 144 (June 1999)

Atkins, Philip.Dear Mr Stanier, you don't know me but... 21-4.
In 1965 the author wrote from his home address to several of the retired CMEs to ask them fairly specific questions about their design policy: Atkins was successful and some of his replies are reproduced as received, including a hand written response from Bulleid and part of one from Chapelon. Typed replies from Riddles, Hawksworth and Riddles are also reproduced. Hawksworth denied any work on a Pacific and the 47xx boiler was solely intended for that class. Riddles noted that he had contemplated a 4-8-0 with a shallow firebox for use in Scotland.

Number 146 (August 1999)

Walley, B.H. A spanner in the Works at Crewe. 8-13.
Crewe Works received harsh treatment by the LMS: the workforce was reduced from 10,000 in 1930 to 6520 in 1939. The new company switched a considerable amount of new construction to outside manufacturers, although certain standard designs, such as the 4F, were constructed at Crewe. Boiler construction continued where it "scored handsomely over Derby" and Stanier considered its output to be comparable with that at Swindon, but cheaper. The belt system was introduced both for repairs aznd for new construction and this led to a 20% reduction in staffing and a reduction in engine pits from 256 to 72. The Works had an excessive number of non-core activities and much of the machinery was old. A new steel plant was opened in 1925 and a new erecting shop was also opened. The General Strike caused a total closure of the Works which did not reopen for several months. The Works were poorly heated and lit and accidents were frequent and severe. Steel-making ceased in 1932, but was restarted during WW2. The need for the Royal Scots to be rebuilt and the high cost of the class 5 during WW2 is questionned: an Austerity version with a simpler B1 boiler is suggested.

Stretton, John. Last steam at Leicester: 1956-66. 19-23.
Leicester Central, Midland, West Bridge and Belgrave Road.

Brodribb, John. Swing bridges and swinging platforms. 24-7.
East Suffolk line: first part opened from Haddiscoe (on Norwich to Lowestoft line) to Halesworth in 1854. The East Suffolk Act of 1854 authorised lines to Woodbridge, to which the Eastern Counties Railway had been authorised to construct a line and to Yarmouth, and from Beccles to Lowestoft (where a terminus south of Lake Lothing was envisaged). There were swing bridges at Beccles and St. Olaves, but they disappeared when the line to Yarmouth South Town from Beccles closed on 2 November 1959. The swing bridge at Oulton Broad remains. The line from Lowqestoft to Ipswich remains open. None of the bridges are illsutrated, but further references are suggested.

Hardy, R.H.N. Go east, young man. Part 1. 32-7.
Appointed Progressman at Stratford running shed in August 1945 under E.H. (Teddy) Ker. Hardy remained within the wages grades until 1948. Brief pen portrait of Archie Harper, a 'countryman' who had been apprenticed at Melton Constable. When sacked at 21 he joined LBSCR as a boilermaker, moved to the GER at Stratford, had a spell at Norwich in the 1950s and retired in 1957 as District Boiler Foreman st Stratford. The other boiler foreman was Harry Bull, and the mechanical foremen were Charlie Greenwood (a comic and humourous slave-driver) and Fred Lucas. Mentions that D9 No. 6040 was tried on the Southend service with Driver Marriott (an ex-GCR man), but it was no better than a Claud. Hardy found the GER types shy for steam and had to learn to cope with a different firehole door and the Westinghouse brake (which enabled very rapid stops). His experiences with Worsdell Gobbler (F6 class No. 7007) with Driver Alf Holland are described in detail. The name Gobbler stemmed from the Joy valve gear fitted to the early locomotives which led to high coal consumption. Driver Hollaand followed the L.P. Praker disctate of driving on full regulator..

Somers, A.J. The shedmaster's tale. 38-41.
Shedmaster at Northwich, CLC, from 1948 to 1950. The Ivatt C12 class was greatly disliked. Some of the locomotives were in a very poor state due to lack of maintenance: a C13 in this state is described. The N5 when in good condition could be fast on passnger services and regain lost time. The L3 class were modified locally with steam sanding. A 4F had a boiler in very poor condition which Springs Branch failed to repair and this, against the rules, was repaired at Northwich.

Page, David. Great days at 'Nottingham Vic'. 42-6.
Nottingham Victoria: The Metropolitan Railway 4-4-4Ts were known as 'Luftwaffes' and were considered to have difficult steam brakes and an unusual form of Walschaerts valve gear.

Leavens, Paul. The Kent connection. Part 3. 48-51.
Observations on train services between 1954 and the end of steam in 1959. Notes the fracture of a side rod on 70004 William Shakespeare whilst hauling Golden Arrow near Headcorn in late summer of 1951 and axle fracture on Merchant Navy 35020 in May 1951 and the use of B1 class as replacement locomotives.

Dow, Andrew. All things considered. 52-3.
The ageing of railway enthusiasts is having an effect on preserved railways and on clubs and societies.

White, Les. Eastleigh apprentice. Part 2. 54-8.
Mainly a description of his progress through the works, although he did note the dirty and hazardous task of refitting superheaters and noted the repair of fractures on rear covers for cylinders of BR-type class 5s.

Number 148 (October 1999)

Hardy, R.H.N. Go east, young man. Part 3. 43-7.
N7 class with short and long travel valves and their use on suburban services from Liverpool Street. How K.J. Cook ordered the cessation of overhaul of the class and how this was rescinded by T.C.B. Miller. Problems of N7 class on fast Bradford to Wakefield workings which were rectified by David William Harvey by modifying the diameter of the blast orifice by inserting a steel ring.and by altering the arrangement for the ehaust from the Westinhouse pump. .

Number 150 (December 1999)

Cadmore, John. From MR to BR... pre-grouping to post-nationalisation. Part 1. 16-22.
2P 4-4-0s (Johnson/Deeley/Fowler); 3P 4-4-0 (Johnson); 4P compounds (Johnson/Deeley); 3F 0-6-0 (Johnson/Deeley); 4F 0-6-0; Johnson 1P 2-4-0s (allocated BR numbers 58020-2, but scrapped as 20155, 20185 and 20216) and Fowler 0-10-0 No. 58100, Kirtley 1F/2F Nos. 58110-113 (only 58100 actually received this number) and Johnson 2F 0-6-0s.

Boocock, Colin. Clangers on the ND&S. 24-7.
At the end of his apprenticeship at Eastleigh writer had a short spell of footplate work: firing a standard Class 4 2-6-0 and 2251 0-6-0s. His worst misdemeanours were dropping the token and following an over anxious driver's instructions which resulted in a loss of steam.

Pollard, Arthur. Sheer grit and a bucket of sand. 34-9.
Firing fully fitted freight northbound from Wigan to Carlisle with a class 5 4-6-0 in excellent condition and return on a partially fitted freight with a Royal Scot with a dirty fire and partially blocked tubes, cleaned with a shovel-full of sand.

Hardy, R.H.N. Go East, young man! Part 5. 40-4.
The D16/2 Super Clauds; the locomotives used for Royal train working at Lynn. It is noted that some were erratic steamers due probably to the 5in blastpipe. They needed careful fiiring, but could be fast. Many still had only one water gauge glass. When Hardy was at South Lynn in 1946-8 the D9 class were displaced by two Super Clauds and four D16/3. Notes on the involvement of Edward Thompson, Albert English and L.P. Parker in the development of the D16/3 with long travel, long lap piston valves using J39 cylinders and motion parts (at Gresley's insistence: KPJ once again showing Gresley's true approach to standardisation). Later locomotives retained some of the Stratford motion parts.

Dow, Andrew. All things considered. 54-5.
Notes on couplings: few references in Ottley (only five); the screw coupling invented by Henry Booth; the Buckeye invented in the USA which improved shunting safety and was adopted by the PullmanCo., the GNR and for the ECJS. The adaption needed for high speed push & pull working and the automatic Scharfenberg coupler and its lack of compatibility.

Jaggers, Keith. LSWR steam from Staines and Feltham. Part 3. 56-60.

Number 160 (October 2000)

Leavens, Paul. A southerner on the scent of white rose steam. 8-12.
When aged 16 Leavens joined a group visit to York and Grantham sheds on 14 May 1949. At Grantham he was fortunate to see Atlantic No. 62822. He fell for Y8 shed pilot (still there when KPJ made his first visit to an engine shed) and the foxes on the D49 nameplates.

Woods, Eric. The railway gateway to the Golden Mile [Blackpool]. Part 2. 14-18.
Memories dating back to the 1930s of the Fylde Coast. First visit was made from Spalding in a train of green & cream tourist stock behind a K3 as far as Sheffield, but Blackpool was reached very late behind a Horwich Mogul. Needed a permit then to photograph trains on the platforms. Sand clearing train at Lytham St Annes.

Phillips, K.R. and Townsin, R. A key 'Jubilee' No. 45658 Keyes. 28-32.
Always allocated to Leeds Holbeck. It achieved a mileage of 1,728,870 miles by June 1961. Includes logs of two runs in which speeds in excess of 80 mile/h were achieved between St Pancras and Leicester..

Sweet, Gerry and Stead, Neville. Making history on the Quakers' line. 38-41.
Text: basic history of Stockton & Darlington Railway and its original locomotives. Photographs of 2 July 1925 Centenary Cavalcade (GWR Castle No. 4082 Windsor Castle on Royal Train; Fletcher 2-4-0 No. 910; decorated Q5 0-8-0 No. 130 hauling tableaux and ex-SDR 0-6-0 No. 1270). A table lists the full membership of the Cavalcade which included GWR 2-8-0T No. 5225 and 2-8-0 No. 4700 and Hughes 4-6-4T No. 11112.

Platform. 42-
Why was Biggin Hill at Stratford? Geoff Courtney.
Richard Strange noted the brief loan of 34059 Sir Archibald Sinclair to Stratford in 1949, followed by 34057 Biggin Hill on 17 May 1951 which remained on the Esatern Region until 4 May 1952 due to the temporary withdrawal of the Britannia class.

Hardy, R.H.N. Putting down roots in the 'Plant'. 44-9.
Collection of photographs taken during WW2, one or two of which include Dick Hardy: perhaps the most interesting is one on page 47 of a group of premium apprentices alongside Mallard with Hardy accompanied by Peter Townend, Bill Taylor (who became a very senior electrical engineer at Derby, Jack Taylor, Henry Steel, Alan Coggon and David Sandiland. Several locomotives feature including Q1 0-8-0T No. 9925 in workshop grey..

Armer, Ned. No brief encounter at Carnforth. 50-5.

Number 164 (February 2001)

George Dow: a doughty railwayman. Part 1: 21 years on the LNER. Andrew Dow. 14-20.
Andrew tells us that his father was born in 1907 and was brought up in Watford. He had hoped to become a premium apprentice at Crewe, but the death of his father in 1922 forced him to become a Grade 5 clerk in the Chief General Manager's Office of the LNER. Here he showed his initiative by studying for an external degree and by designing the Dowagrams used to show the routes displayed in the carriage panels, initially for the Great Northern suburban services.In 1931 he joined the Press Section. Notes period at The Hoo, Whitwell and the employment of photographers: K.A.C.R. Nunn and Roy Vincent. Illus.: portraits of George Dow and his wife/mother of writer: Doris Soundy (on press run of Coronation 30 June 1937).

Topping, Brian J. Radical radial: the 2-4-2 'Lanky' tanks. 22-7.
Introduced by Aspinall in 1887. Ten locomotives constructed in 1888. Horwich Works Number 1 (running number 1008) cost £2182. Topping gives a full and coherent desription of the radial axlebox. The driving wheels were 5ft 8in in diameter and the outer wheels 3ft 7in. 17½/18 x 26 inch cylinder were fitted. Gravity sanding was employed. Slide valves and Joy valve gear were fitted. Vacuum brakes were fitted to the locomotives. Later locomotives were fitted with Belpaire boilers. Wear was experienced on the slide valves and Richardson slide valves and balanced slide valves were fitted in attempt to reduce this. Performed work previously handled by Barton Wright 0-4-4T and 0-6-2T locomotives. Hoy introduced on 3 October 1898 modifications including larger bunkers. Six locomotives were adapted with Duritt-Halpin Thermal Storage Heaters which brought 12% fuel savings when used on stopping trains. Vauum controlled water scoops were fitted. Some locomotives were fitted with push & pull gear worked by compressed air and bell codes.

Hall, Stan. Second in command at 'The Cross'. Part 2. 28-35.
There were far fewer trains in 1961 than in 2001. There were only seven Anglo-Scottish trains and nine for Leeds/Bradford. The Queen of Scots was non-stop to Leeds in 3 hours 30 minutes. There were a further four trains to Newcastle, two to Hull and two to Cleethorpes. There were through carriages to Hull, Harrogate, Scarborough and Sunderland. Roof boards were fitted to most trains and this was a complex operation. There were many named trains. Sleepers still ran to many destinations and there were through services to Ripon. He arrived at 08.15 to inspect the commuter arrivals and the working day as such began with morning prayers accompanied by silver service coffee from the refreshment room.

Dow, Andrew. All things considered. 52-3.
ECML journeys have changed their character since the replacement of the lattice girder bridge at Newark. On this the track was fixed directly upon the bridge whereas the new bridge has ballasted track in a trough. Thus the memorable rumble across the Trent has gone which used to interupt sleep. Also notes the death of Jack Simmons and provides a sympathetic obituary, noting in particular his aim to integrate railway history with that of social change, his magnificent history of St Pancras station, his private library, superb memory and sadly his failing eyesight.

Platform. 60-2.
When a 'Duchess' chatted to my father the fireman... Martin J. Ramsdale.
James Edward Ramsdale fired 46232 Duchess of Montrose with Driver George Finney during the period 1945-8.
When a 'Duchess' chatted to my father the fireman... Stephen Gordon.
46232 was painted green in November 1951. 46226 Duchess of Norfolk did not get painted green until September 1956, but had been painted blue in May 1949.
When a 'Duchess' chatted to my father the fireman... Terry Webb.
46232 remained in crimson when it received smoke deflectors in February 1945 and was still red when it entered Crewe Works for overhaul on 3 January 1948. On 3 May 46232 and 46224 left Crewe in Ivatt lined black livery and lettered BRITISH RAILWAYS. Both were then recalled to Crewe to be painted in BR blue. 46232  was repainted Brunswick green in October/November 1951. 46226 did not receive green livery until 14 May 1954.
One 'Claud', 15 coaches - and London-Ipswich in 85 mins. Victor W. Coles.
The 15.40 Liverpool Street to Norwich conveyed through carriages for North Norfolk and was non-stop to Ipswich. D16/3 Nos. 8809 or 8837 were regular performers on this train which on summer Saturdays could weigh nearly 500 tons.
92079 and that 'double' chimney: the definitive answer. Richard Strange. 62.
See letter by Jim Hockley (January issue): 92079 left for repair at end of March 1959 and was replaced on Lickey banking duties by double chimney 9F No. 92231 for remainder of 1959.
92079 and that 'double' chimney: the definitive answer. Neil MacGregor.
States that both Ian Allan ABC for 1962/63 and H.C.B. Rogers book on 9Fs claim that 92079 had a double chimney.
TV cameraman 'hung on' for the best shot of TPO! Derrick Hasted.
Notes that Harry Watt's Don't look at the camera (London: Elek, 1974 checked BLPC) gives details of filming Night Mail and notes from his own memories that windows at Crewe station were deliberately broken by permanent way man to stop reflections spoiling filming. He also notes how the cameraman being held by Harry Watt took pictures of mailbag apparatus from train. On a different topic John Kersley Fowler's Recollections of old country life (Longmans, 1894: checked BLPC, not in Norfolk booklet collection) stated that Fowler's father had met George Stephenson when he leased a plot of land for a coal wharf to Stephenson. Hasted wished that someone would build a database for these obscure references: here it is.

Number 165 (March 2001)

The Waterloo way to the West. Part 1. John Skinner . 8-13.
Travel by Atlantic Coast Express on 18 April 1957 behind 35018British India Line as far as Salisbury.

George Dow: a doughty railwayman. Part 2: 20 years on BR. Andrew Dow. 14-20.
Final duties for the LNER included writing the words for the plaques fitted to Mallard in January 1948. He also participated in selecting the names for the A1 Pacifics. In 1949 (Oxford Companion) he moved to become PR&PO for the London Midland Region where he promoted Vic Welch's work, vastly improved the signage on LMR stations; replaced the dreary LMS sepia carriage panels with colour work, including that by Hamilton Ellis of locomotives, and by Kenneth Steel and Claude Buckle of railway civil engineering structures. He was involved, mainly without success, in suggesting names for the Britannia Pacifics and Clans.Before retirement he was responsible for the Birmingham Division and then the Stoke Division of the London Midland Region. There is interesting comment upon the design of the new stations at Coventry and New Street, and the views aof architects. Dow senior was invloved in the creation of the Historical Model Railway Society. There are also interesting comments on how the three volume Great Central impinged upon domestic life. For a time the Dows lived in a rented former GCR house in St John's Wood:KPJ is tempted to contrast this life style with his own deposition in the Pennines.

A stranger strolls down Stewarts Lane. Part 1. R.H.N. Hardy. 32-7.
Introduction to Gordon Nicholson, District Motive Power Superintendent.

Number 170 (August 2001)

Baxter, Peter: Gresley's giant: first of a fleet?. 24-7.
U1 2-8-8-2T: writer claims that two locomotives were orginally planned, and that these were intended to be based on O4 design. Writer refers to the erosive soft water of Mexborough and Barnsley.

Hardy, R.H.N. A 'stranger' strolls down Stewart's Lane. Part 6. 28-31
N15 King Arthur class on Dover trains; including note on Driver Percy Tutt; also note on preserved No. 777 Sir Lamiel working from Holyhead to Llandudno Junction

Herbert, Ron. The 'Furness Railtour': 40 years on. 34-8.
Visited Coniston and Hodbarrow branches.

Number 172 (October 2001)

Hardy, R.H.N. A 'stranger' strolls down Stewart's Lane. Part 8. 34-9.
The Merchant Navy class had to be withdrawn for tests following a crank axle failure on 24 April 1953 and this led to the Southern Region borrowing locomotives from other Regions, including Thompson B1 4-6-0s. Some drivers responded well by using full regulator coupled with short cut-offs. Others did not respond so well. This led the author tgo consider the other B1s and F1 4-4-0s which had been modified by Wainwright and Surtees with larger boilers and smaller cylinders. They had a reputation for being rough, but capable of both fast running and heavy haulage. In 1924 Maunsell arranged tests to compare the F1 and T9 classes with ex-LBSCR Gladstone and B2X classes. The F1 4-4-0s displaced the LBSCR locomotives and the former LCDR M3 type. The F1s were known as 'Flying Bedsteads'. Includes two personal reminiscences: he encountered Driver Arthur Aubrey Dolman when he was rescued from a "big Sulzer" which had been involved in a collision between two fly ash trains south of Peterborough, and was saved from further serious injury or death by the skilled use of breakdown cranes. Hardy discovered that Driver Dolman was from Burton, when he was visited in hospital. Hardy asked him about the F1 class locomotives lent to the LMS during WW2, and was told that they were rough, but could haul. Whilst a boy at school  in Seaford in 1935 Hardy had been given a footplate ride on an F1 between Lewes and Brighton London Road..

Steam on the seafront: 'the Sands Express'. Barry Shaw. 40-2.
A standard gauge light railway was constructed to link an extension to the promenade adjacent to the Metropole Hotel in Blackpool with a source of sand two miles to the south. The railway laid directly on the promenade ran parallel to the street tramway and was in use for three months. Four locomotives were associated with the line: all 0-6-0STs. Reliance (owned by Rigby Shaw) shows works number 1616/1903; Horbury, Netherton and Alice (the last was a Hudswell Clarke product. Princess Parade was opened by Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, on May Day 1912.

Number 173 (November 2001)

Hardy, R.H.N. A 'stranger' strolls down Stewart's Lane. Part 9. [Brighton Atlantics]. 33-7.
Hardy compared he H2 class with the Ivatt Atlantics and with Fairburn 2-6-4T No. 42066. The 08.24 ex Forest Row and the 18.10 to Uckfield were used by the Lord Mayor of London in about 1953 and failures in punctuality were liable to be reported directly to Sir Brian Robertson. The H1 type had 200 psi and slide valves and air-assisted screw reverse and were capable of rapid acceleration. The H2 type had 10 in piston valves and lower boiler pressure but this was increased to 200 psi from 1936 and Maunsell superheaters were fitted wwhich gave a high degree of superheating. Illus.: H2 No. 423 alongside No. 38 on-shed at Littlehampton: 423 was on trial run from Brighton Works in presence of John Pelham Maitland; H1 No. 41B Peveral Point on Newhaven boat train at Victoria; H2 2426 St Albans Head. See also letters from Philip S. Evetts and Paul Leavens on page 41 in Issue 174.

Number 174 (December 2001)

Call attention. Barry McLoughlin. 6-7.
At last – a steam picture of tragic Ladbrooke Grove HST Driver Brian Cooper. R.G. Barnes.
Brian Cooper was killed at Ladbrooke Grove on 5 October 1999: he had started work at Old Oak Common in 1962 as a cleaner. His brother, Gerald Cooper, had hoped to find some link with his brother's love of steam locomotives: here it is: Brian at High Wycombe alongside preserved A4 Pacific Sir Nigel Gresley in 1970.

Hall, Stan. Second in command at 'The Cross': a sequel. 8-13.
Mentions meeting new Board member Philip Shirley when he arrived off Sheffield Pullman: wanted higher rolling stock utilisation to be achieved by cleaning trains whilst at platforms at King's Cross. Celebreties included regular railway travel by Harold Macmillan (picture by author of him speaking to footplate crew of 60133 Pommern on arrival from Stockton), an the arrival of Sir Alec Douglas-Home by sleeper en route to Queen, who wished to avoid publicity and train was brought into Platform 1. Weaseling by porters. Strike action gave opportunities for walking through tunnels. "Operating difficulties", "incidences" and other euphemisms.

The Potter portfolio. Bill Potter (phot.).
Colour photographs by the deceased photographer with generous captions by Bernie Holland: former Crosti 9F 92029 with long freight of vans from South Wales passing through Gloucester Central on 31 October 1964; Class 4 2-6-4T 80135 waiting to depart Gloucester for Hereford on 31 October 1964; 8F 48056 passing through Cheltenham Lansdown with miner empties on 27 June 1965; Hughes 2-6-0 No. 42823 passing Ashcurch on 14 September 1963 with long southbound passenger train, and 4F No. 44092 about to follow in same direction on same day with a freight.

Maidment, David. At the heart of Old Oak. Part 3. 20-4.
Experience of driving 5986 Arbury Hall between Reading and Didcot on a slow passenger train; footplate experience with 4704 on Paddington to Bordesley fast freight which climbed Hatton bank well in spite of being checked at foot (critical of spartan cab and lever reverse, however). Highly critical of NBL Warships for fume-filled cabs. Unfortunate in his King class footplate journeys due to poor fuel or leaking superheater tubes..

Hardy, R.H.N. A 'stranger' strolls down Stewart's Lane. Part 10. 26-31.
Footplate journey on LBSCR Atlantic No. 2425 Trevose Head on 18.10 to Uckfield (on which Philip Evetts was a regular traveller). Found firing difficult as shovel was too big for GNR type of firehole. Hardy considered that performance was not as good as GNR type. Also quoted C.J. Allen run on up City Limited made in 1929 (Rly Mag) when No. 40 had to be worked very hard to just fail to keep time with a 390 ton train. Also an appreciation of the E2 class shunting locomotives (two of which had been intended to work six-coach push & pull services sandwiched in the middle. Comment on steam reversers and direct action brakes (Westinghouse type), and very brief comment on the C2X 0-6-0.

Spinks, Neil. An enthusiat's year: 1951. 32-6.
Black & white photographs taken in year: E1/R No. 32610 arriving at Halwill on mixed train from Torrington (22 August); ex-Metropolitan Railway 0-6-2T No. L.49on permanent way train between Amersham and Chalfont Latimer (28 Ocotber); Castle No. 5082 Swordfish passing through Slough – Home of Horlicks (as per station name sign) on up express (30 June); rebuilt Patriot 45525 Colwyn Bay on up Ulster Express approaching Watford Junction (21 July); 90516 passing Denham with down mineral empties (27 June); Beattie 2-4-0WT 30586 at Wadebridge (20 August); A5 69827 descending towards Aylesbury with 14.30 ex-Baker Street; 70017 Arrow on 11.10 Sunday for Birkenhead passing Denham (7 October).

Platform. 38
Crossing swords over level crossing semantics. D.J. Wood.
Occupation crossings: Andrew Dow should have used term "private vehicular crossings"
Crossing swords over level crossing semantics. Neil Wooler.
Residential crossings; accommodation crossings: if crossing keeper provided then full public crossing
When the Guv'nor fired an 'Atlantic'. Philip S. Evetts. 41.
See Issue 173 page 33: anecdote about evening R.H.N. Hardy fired an Atlantic on 18.10 Oxted line train. Also notes how I3 class were thrashed to death on Oxted suburban service: Evetts had been a premium apprentice at Swindon
When the Guv'nor fired an 'Atlantic'. Paul Leavens. 41.
See Issue 173 page 33: errors in caption relating to Selsdon station

Farr, Keith. A 'Castle' in Cumbria. Part 2. 42-5.
Performance of No. 5000 Launceston Castle between Crewe and Carlisle in November 1926. Critical of E.S. Cox's account. Cites C.J. Allen's accounts in Rly Mag (1927, March) and C.P. Atkins' West Coast 4-6-0s at work. Illus. of Castle on arrival at Euston in 1926.

Dow, Andrew. All things considered... 46-7.
Station clocks: illus shows North British Hotel with clock tower above Waverley station. Caption is very wrong: cannot be 1957 as trams ceased in November 1956, therefore date is probably summer 1956. Comment prompted by lack of clock and Bristol Parkway, and describes several famous station clocks.

Crawley, John. Ford steam fiesta. 50-3.
Steam locomotives employed at Dagenham Works. Complete list of locomotives (with Works Numbers) employed thereat. Superb colour illustrations: No. 8 (Peckett 0-6-0ST 2154/1954) and No. 7 (Peckett 1938/1937). In black & white: Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0ST No. 8 (1508/1924) and Peckett No. 5 (1890/1936); Peckett No. 6 (1908/1937) and No. 1 Alice (Avonside 0-6-0ST 1460/1903) acquired secondhand and subsequently sold by Ford.

Brown, Tony. The 'Grand Tour' of Scotland. Part 2. 56-60.
In 1960 "armed with a new colour camera" and some prone to fade colour film: class 5 No. 44957 heads freight through Monesie Gorge on 20 July 1960; Kentallen station with Loch Linnhe behind on 22 July, and B1 No. 61134 arriving Fort William on 21 July

Reviews. 62-3.
Microsoft train simulator. software. DS
Expensive, but fun
The Rocket: an account by the driver of the famous locomotive. James W. Bancroft. House of Heroes. BMcL
Reprint from The Royal Magazine of article by Briton Edward Entwhistle written when he was living in Iowa and aged 94: sounds utterly improbable: he claimed to have driven the Rocket!..
Paddington and the West. Cinerail. AMacf.
Video
Track. Jim Pike. Sutton. HJ
Permanent way
Scottish byways, Archive series No. 9. Cinerail. AMacf
Video
An historical survey of selected LMS stations. Vol. 1. R. Preston Hendry and R. Powell Hendry. OPC. BMcL
Eighty stations featured
Steam in the sixties. DD Video. BMcL
Shot by Kenneth Oldham
Railway tales. John C. Jacques. ANJR. HJ
Fiction

Mathison, Phil. Fired up. 64.
Mcabre short story

Number 176 (February 2002)

Hardy, R.H.N. A 'stranger' strolls down Stewart's Lane. Part 12. 40-4.
H class 0-4-4Ts: worked very hard when introduced on suburban services by SER. One roster extended from Cannon Street to Woolwich, Dartford, Maidstone, Paddock Wood, Tonbridge, Edenbridge, Redhill and back to London Bridge. Describes an incident where an over-filled boiler on an H class banker led to severe priming as the locomotive banked a boat train out of Victoria. Illus.: Fred Pankhurst, Chief Running Foreman with his grandson Brian with Hardy and son on footplate of 31552. Also card drawn by Hardy and sent to Pankhurst. Mentions the spectacular stalling which took place on climb to Tulse Hill when locomotive overcome by gravity rather than by adhesion.

Platform (correspondence). 47 et seq
Sir Nigel Gresley's other greyhound. David Hayward. 47.
Writer's interest is in vehicle registrations: GWR purchased ten 21.7hp Chevrolet one ton truck chassis for use as charabancs in 1924. Herbert Nigel Gresley acquired a Chevrolet Model 490 Touring Car in 1921, registration C 2302, whilst resident at Avenue Road, Doncaster. The writer naively states that he had not thought that locomotive engineers needed a private car. Most were eager motorists: not least Churchward.
The Great Western and Westinghouse brakes. Peter Treloar. 51.
See No. 173. Westinghouse brakes were fitted for hauling "foreign stock", mainly that from the GER and LBSCR. At least one Atbara: 4138 White and Bulldogs: 3390 Wolverhampton (illustrated with Westinghouse pump); 3394 Albany; 3407 Madras; 3429 and 3434 Joseph Shaw were so fitted. Guesses that Saints arrived as far west as Truro when Saltash to St Germans deviation was opened in 1908, but they may not have reached Penzance until 1921 when the timber viaduct was replaced. Cites Nock painting and includes photographic illus. (which may have been taken by Nock) of 2937 Clevedon Court leaving Penzance on up postal.
The Great Western and Westinghouse brakes. Keith Farr.
See No. 173: 6332 was not the only locomotive to be fitted with the Westinghouse brake: it was fitted to No. 6000 King George V for its North American tour. For the arrival of Saints in Cornwall writer cites Nock's Great Western 'Saint' class 4-6-0 (1983) which Farr calls "definitive" (Ossie's knowledge was baed on family hols in Penzance).
The Great Western and Westinghouse brakes. Peter Chesson.
See No. 173: see Rutherford Great Western 4-6-0s page 247 illus of 6332 fitted with Westinghouse pump and note that two or three GWR were so fitted at anyone time..
The Great Western and Westinghouse brakes. Francis O.J. Otway.
See No. 173: notes a journey made behind 2935 Caynham Court (with rotary cam valve gear) between Swindon and Shrivenham on 4 September 1943 when the performance was considered to be "inferior".

Number 178 (2002)

One day in the life of the ECML. Part 1. Gavin Whitelaw . 20-3.
Data assembled by Mr Jehu, an Edinburgh schoolmaster? from guard's logs: selected day is 26 July 1948.

A stranger strolls down Stewart's Lane. R.H.N. Hardy., 30-3.
Recollections of C class 0-6-0 type, notably on enthusiast special to Crystal Palace HL and a reminder that experiments with Kylchap exhaust were made on this class.

High-wire act on the railway! Part 3. Ron Herbert , 50-4.
Telegraphist at Lancaster Castle: relief work at Rose Grove and Accrington c 1958: sounds more like a century earlier.

Number 180 (June 2002)

Harrod, Peter, Burning up the oil miles on the GWR! 26-8.
Conversion to oil burning of twenty 28XX 2-8-0s between October 1945 and August 1947; five Castle class from October 1946 to January 1947; eleven Hall class from June 1946 to May 1947 and one 63XX converted in March 1947. In 1949 several oil-burning locomotives in store. GWR renumbered locomotives (except Castles) when modified: e.g. 28XX became 48XX. Notes on operations from Railway Observer. Illus from J.N. Maskelyne (who was known to author).

Hardy, R.H.N. A stranger strolls down Stewart's Lane. Part 16. 32-5.
Cleanliness and orderliness of shed and its locomotives. Bill Thorburn, Chargeman Cleaner. Weaver steam cleaner. Early encounter with Reg Coote. Reminiscences of the Lord Nelson class; their maintence and firing techniques from Tom Banton and Sam Gingell (shown on E853 in 1928/9) and drivers Percy Tutt and Alf Murray.

Number 182 (August 2002)

Reed, Gordon. Boilersmith: a high-pressure job. Part 1. 18-23.
Lived in Bishop Aukland prior to WW2, but moved to grandparents at Bellingham during WW2, where he encountered Redesmouth or Reedsmouth where his Uncle Bob worked in the Booking Office and writer had run of place including the engine shed where Gladstone (LBSCR), Columbine (LNWR) and a very old colliery engine had been stored for saefty. He was apprenticed as a boilersmith at Stooperdale Boilershop in Darlington. And following this and two years National Service in the Royal Engineers on the Marchwood Military Railway he applied for a vacancy as a boilersmith at Bishop Aukland and got it in 1956. The Shedmaster was also the Stationmaster. He was Mr Middlewood, a JP, Leader of Bishop Aukland District Council, Chairman of the highly successful football club and Honorary Colonel of the Durham Light Infantry. The Mechanical Foreman was bill Abbott. The NUR was the main union but Reed was a member of the Boilermakers' Union. Jack Todd had formerly been the Boilersmith Examiner, but the newly qualified man had to be accommodated. The boilerwasher, Walter Thompson, also ran the Nag's Head public house, and his working hours tended to meet the needs of both jobs. As it was easier to find leaks whilst the boiler was still hot much work of tightening fusible or washout plugs was performed with 60 or 70 psi on the pressure gauge. Washing out was performed with cold water in the shed. He noted that most LNER boilers were trouble-free: "you cannot beat a round-toped boiler with a copper firebox and stays". The J39s were a boilersmith's dream. The new BR designs with steel or monel stays were a constant source of trouble. On the climb to Stainmore the stay nuts used to burn off in no time.

Hardy, R.H.N. A stranger strolls down Stewart's Lane. Part 18..24-7.
The two pampered Britannia Pacifics Nos. 70004 William Shakespeare and 70014 Iron Duke used on the Golden Arrow Pullman service were kept in spotless condition. Hardy regarded the class as first class engines in every way. Hard work did not disturb the firebed or darw the fire up to the tubeplate. He did not consider the locomotives to be prone to slipping. They were light on coal, water and oil. Some trouble was experienced with wear and breakage of piston and piston valve rings. The locomotives tended to be hard riding. One minor problem was that the head lamps tended to extinguish and this led to the train being delayed (a serious problem on the Southern) and the problem was solved by Horace King, the Foreman Fitter by fitting extra-long lamp-irons (the illustrations show these non-standard items and the French and British flags carried.

Number 191 (May 2003)

Minding our 'As' and 'Bs' on the SMJR.. 7.
A class 0-6-0 No. 14 (Beyer Peacock 4496/1903)

Skinner, John. 'Britannia' 4-6-2s: good and bad. 8-15.
Locomotive performance: Liverpool Street to Norwich, 1959: St Pancras to Manchester Central, 1960.

Alcock, William. The long march. 20-49.
The writer attended the Royal Naval Engineering College in Plymouth between 1945 and 1949 and his home was in Dumbarton. At that time train services were sparse and liable to delay between Crewe and Glasgow. Most routes were explored, but the Birmingham to Glasgow sleeper became a popular option northbound, rather than the Severn Tunnel route (which tended to dominate southbound journeys). One problem was the Glasgow/Edinburgh to Birmingham day train which suffered from poor locomotive performance by the rebuilt Royal Scots. Fortunately this fed into a guaranteed connection for Bristol at Crewe where the Great Western drivers with their Castle class provided a far higher standard of performance. By 1949 it beacme possible to accomplish the journey by day on the 07.15 to Paddington which got to London in time for the 13.00 to Glasgow. In Issue 220 the same author analyses post-WW2 locomotive performance on the GWR/Western Region..

Heavyside, Tom. From the footplate. 30-3.
Illicit footplate journeys: 14XX Brixham to Churston and 8F No. 48053 on freight between Millers Dale and Chinley.

Loader, John. Having fun at the number jumble! 34-41.
LNER locomotive renumbering of 1946 (and the partial renmbering of 1942 is also mentioned). Chains of locomotives were renumbered to avoid duplicates. But main thrust of this article is engine-spotting at that "difficult" time.

Hardy, R.H.N. A stranger strolls down Stewarts Lane. Part 26. 42-7.
How the E class was rebuilt with a larger grate and 10 inch piston valves (many of the parts came from the Maunsell 2-6-0s) to produce a light yet powerful locomotive. Locomotives were constructed to haul boat trains over porly constructed LCDR mainline. No. 1504 was called upon to bank (whilst hauling its own train) a Pacific-hauled boat train which had stalled on Sole Street bank: this was managed with ease.

Collyer, Michael. A Collyer on the coal shovel... Part three. 56-9.
In early BR days describes a train loaded with basic slag running away down Brentwood bank behind J20 64386 with failed brakes and how the locomotive was put into reverse with regulator fully open. Turning a J15 on the turntable (which had not been used for a long time) at Haughley Junction; taking a shower on a cold night from a water column at Ely; colliding with fish vans on L1 in bay platform at Ipswich; B2 1615 Culford Hall in attrocious condition and very poor fuel on Ipswich to Yarmouth Southtown working with twelve coaches: between Melton and Wickham Market had to stop for a blow-up..

Szwejkowski, Steve. Coasting along  in North Wales. 60-4.
Reminiscences of engine spotting in the early 1960s.

Number 192 (June 2003)

Boocock, Colin. Victory on a 'Nelson'. 16-20.
Boocock was an apprentice at Eastleigh and as part of his training he was allocated six weeks of footplate experience. The primary theme was on the way to fire the Lord Nelson class which called for a particular skill to cope with the long, narrow, and partly sloping grate. Like many 4-6-0s the class could be rough and this was violent through the crossovers at Pirbright Junction.

Number 193 (July 2003)

Calling in at Tewkesbury. 6.
Shed on Sunday 17 July 1960, with 3F 0-6-0T 47506 and 4 2-6-4T 42137.

From VC... to 'WD'... to BR. 7.
8F built during WW2

No. 511 scrapped at Cairnryan in 1959. 501 named Lieutenant W.O. Lennox VC and painted blue at Longmoor.

Clarke, John. Great Northern goes East! 8-14.
Lincolnshire loop line through Spalding, Boston, and Louth to Grimsby.

Skinner, John. Smoke, steam, sulphur and grubby notebooks. 16-23.
Home was in Dartford, but spotting took place at London termini in early 1950s.

Collyer, Michael. A Collyer on the shovel... 48-51.
Provision of bib-and-brace overalls, serge jacket and LNER soft-topped hats (more functional than LMS/BR type). Moved to express work with Driver Jack Leaning and B1 No. 61058. Experience of B14 61601 Holkham on 02.02 mail to London: emergency stop due to broken sanding pipe causing severe clanking and banging. Another B17 61645 The Suffolk Regiment was so rough that both of footplate crew were bruised. Commented upon contrast between working three-cylinder O2 class with two-cylinder WDs. Winter work could be very harsh. Picked up many pheasants off track near Diss after passge of Norfolkman. Notes loss of traffic: Ipswich to Felixstowe passengerb trains used to run every twenty minutes. Loss of freight: sugar beet, even goose specials.

Davies, David. The anatomy of a railway enthusiast. 52-3.
Flow-chart classification

Hayes, Mick. Recollections of a 'Canklow crow'. Part 2. 54-7.
Accidents: Driver Wilf Johnson had nickname Flipper as he used "flipping" to swear rather than darker words. He was responsible for 3F 0-6-0 No. 43664 going through the shed wall. A more serious accident on 21 November 1957 invloved 4F 43978, Driver Tommy Green and Fireman Ken Busby who neglected to stop at the top of a 1 -n 47 incline on the Silverwood branch and ran away. The guard and the fireman leapt off, but Green remained with the locomotive until the last minute until the locomotive plunged into a brick wall protecting an old ventilation shaft at the Coliery. Driver Green accepted responsibility for the accident.

Dow, George. All things considered. 58-9.
J70 class tram locomotives were fitted with bells; GWR pannier tank locomotives fitted with bells for working to and on Weymouth Quay, gong in tunnel on approach to Snow Hill Station in Birmingham (Reginald Gardiner 78 prm recording), locomotives visiting USA, Viscount Garnock's The Great Marquess and 4489 Dominion of Canada (illustrated in colour in late 1930s with bell).

Number 194 (August 2003)

Atkins, Philip. New boilers for old... 8-14.
On 1 January 1948 19,680 locomotives and 1759 spare boilers were inherited by British Railways and in that first year 4198 boiler changes were made. Some locomotives received several new boilers within a short period: BR bugetted for 2785 new boilers betwen 1949 and 1953, including those for approximately 1600 new locomotives. 70021 Morning Star received a new boiler in June 1953 having been in service for only 22 months, but no second-hand boilers were yet available.. 7019 Fowey Castle received new boilers in January 1953, October 1954 and July 1956; yet 7020 Gloucester Castle never received a new boiler. Some locomotives were built with secondhand boilers and a few classes were built around secondhand boilers, notably the Lemon 0-4-4Ts of the LMS. Duchess Pacifics 6245/7-8 were constructed in 1943 with secondhand boilers. The main accent of this feature is the 2800 replacement boilers constructed under British Railways between 1948 and 1962. St Rollox built new boilers for the Pickersgill 4-4-0s and McIntosh 0-6-0s; Cowlairs built NBR-type boilers for the 4-4-2T and 0-6-2T classes; Stratford built boilers fot the Claud Hamilton, B12/3 and Holden 0-6-0s; Gorton constructed boilers for the A5 4-6-2Ts and under the LNER built boilers for the B2 (GC type), B3, B7 and B8 classes, all of which had been withdrawn by December 1949. Crewe built boilers for the LTSR 4-4-2Ts, one of which (41966) was reboilered at Bow in January 1949 and then placed in storage for four years. At Darlington ten new boilers were construced for the Q6 class in 1960 and Table 5 shows the locomotives to which these were allocated. Notes that the preserved B12/3 No. 61572 retains the most recently constructed boiler of its class. During 1959-60 Crewe constructed boilers for the "Fowler" Class 4 2-6-4Ts and in 1958 had started on a batch of five boilers for the class 3 2-6-2Ts until ordered to stop, but not before 40020 had been fitted with a new boiler. Table 4 lists boilers constructed at Darlington in 1960-2 for the V2 class and the locomotives to which they were allocated. In 1960 Doncaster was still building A4 type boilers although some of these were fitted to the A3 class (a typical example of standardization at Doncaster) and in 1961 five A1 boilers were constructed and one was fitted to A2/3 60520 Owen Tudor. In 1959 new boilers were still being built for the K3 and J39 classes. Atkins contrasts the 244 boilers constructed for the V2 class of 184 locomotives with the 204 constructed for the 184 LMS Jubilee class (the last of which was manufactured in 1937). The Southern Railway constructed very few new boilers and some of the boilers lasted for forty years. The sixteen members of the Lord Nelson class shared eighteen boilers. No new boilers were constructed for former LSWR locomotives. Notes that double chimneys stayed with the locomotives, not with the boilers. A 1956 plan to rebuild eight Kings with new frames and roller bearings was abandoned although the bearings were ordered. Nevertheless, new front ends, frames and cylinders were fitted to most of the class by 1958. Another Swindon eccentricity was to construct ten No. 7 boilers for the 47XX class in 1951/2, although some of the original boilers were to last for a further ten years.

Redwood, Brian. Tales of a [Bristol] Barrow (Road) boy. 16-22.
Firing

Lorriman, Dennis. More on the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway 'Dreadnoughts'. [letter]. 32.
Cites Cox's Modern locomotive history paper: piston valves were fitted with an intrenal ball and cone pressure relief valve. Ball movement led to damage and to leakage. The exhaust connections from the outside cylinders were also defective and this led to leakage which affected the draughting and steaming. Some Dreadnoughts were fitted with six-ring piston valves as applied to the Hughes 2-6-0 type and this greatly reduced coal consumption.

Johnson, Ian. Spearmint – now that really was a special engine. [letter]. 33.
The writer saw Spearmint at Newcastle when he was fourteen and the locomotive was still in apple green. The writer was invited onto the spotless footplate by the slightly built Driver Norman McKillop who signed a copy of Locomotive Express for him with a fountain pen. He was impressed by McKillop's clean overalls and collar and tie.

Taylor, Charles. "You should have signalled... I would have stopped. [letter] 35.
Letter title relates to anecdote:  Crewe draughtsmen, Fred Birks and Kevin Mayne, were travelling bedind an indicator shelter on the front of 6170 British Legion when it collapsed in Linslade Tunnel on a down train in 1936. They held on to the steam pipes and when the train reached Wilmslow the driver is reported to have said what is quoted in the title. 6170 was considered to be a good engine but rough.

Hayes, Mike. Recollections of a 'Canklow crow'. Part 3. 38-41.
Includes a photograph of shed football team.

Hardy, R.H.N. A 'stranger' strolls down Stewart's Lane. Part 29. 42-7.
Notes that the term "stoker" was used rather than fireman st this shed. Includes brief contribution via Roy Saberton who had been a fitter at Stewart's Lane and who became shedmaster at Basingstoke. One of his tasks was fitting the new nameplates to City of Wells (formerly Wells) in March 1950: this caused minor damage to the lettering on the new plate, involved drilling holes in the cladding and getting behind the cladding to fit the bolts. Taking off a side panel involved the removal of 64 bolts and erosion of the pipework was usually found next to the chicken wire used to hold the boiler lagging in place. Another episode involving the Bulleid Pacifics included the mechanical-stoker equipped Merchant Navy class No. 35005 when he was called upon to fix the stoker feed only to find the steam-operated valves had been incorrectly fitted. H.I. Andrews was in-charge. Repairs were made to small engines in the Longhedge shop where he experinced changing the rubber rolling rings fitted in the vacuum brake cylinders of old LCDR locomotives. The article also includes some notes on the Neilson-Reid (1881) 0-4-0CT which was nicknamed Pluto and used to shunt milk tank wagons (from 1938) at the CWS Milk depot. In 1948 it was called upon to haul the empty stock of the Bournemouth Belle which (with a great deal of fuss and smoke) it managed to do. Later it was replaced by a P class 0-6-0T. The crane tank (No. 1302/234S) and the P class No. 31557 are illustrated. Called the P4 class (Fairburn 2-6-4Ts) excellent engines spoiled by terrible injectors.

Number 198 (December 2003)

800 miles for 70 new pence. Arthur Nicholls. 26-33.
School trip (Clapham Central School) from Euston to Glasgow Central, and then on to Ibrox, on 1/2 July 1938 to attend the British Empire Exhibition in Bellahouston Park. Describes the overnight train journeys, which were over an hour late in each direction, and the locomotives seen, which were "new" to the writer.

2009-04-26