Steam World: pre-No. 100 Issues & key to all Issues

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

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 34 (April 1990)

Mayes, Frank. Did 'Number 9' ever reach 120 miles an hour? 7-11.
On an up working of the non-stop Capitals Limited hauled by 60009 Union of South Africa the locomotive had a faulty water pick-up scoop and a halt had to be made for water at Babworth. Driver Alf Smith attempted to make up the lost time by running very rapidly doen the bank from Stoke Summit and estimated that they reached 120 mile/h: the pen had been lifted off the flaman recorder by Inspector John Cunningham who was travelling on the locomotive on this day.

The Bath Green Park of Ivo Peters. 20-5.
Black & white photo-feature from photograph taken in 1925 by a ten year-old of S&DJR 4-4-0 through West Coutry Pacifics to No. 5523 on working to Bristol.

Glenn, D. Fereday. Fratton in focus. 44-7.
Memories from the 1950s until end of steam

W1 No. 10000 in original condition on Queen of Scots Pullman at Eryholme. Harry Dumas. 49.
Photograph acquired car boot sale.

Number 51

The 'Royal Scots' and their nameplates. David Anderson. 31-7.
Quotes from S.P.B. Mais book The Royal Scot and her forty-nine sisters on the origin of the Royal Scot name. The clarity of the illustrations is noteworthy: some of the more unusual include: 6161 King's Own (with badge below the name); 6127 Old Contemtibles; 6129 Comet(with engraved view of early locomotive carried beneath plate); 6161 suffering smoke deflection experiments in 1929; the naming ceremony for Sherwood Forester at Derby on 16 June 1933; 6125 Lancashire Witch (badge poorly displayed); 6138 The London Irish Rifleman; 6141 The North Staffordshire Regiment (both with crests above) and in colour:British Legion, The Prince of Wales Volunteers South Lancashire, Royal Army Service Corps, Civil Service Rifleman and Royal Scot in situ; also some preserved plates.

Barnes, Robin. Wartime service on Tyneside for SR Arthurs. 40.
Letter plus two reproductions of paintings: SR King Arthur No. 740 Merlin piloting C7 Atlantic passing through base of Cuxhoe signalbox with Q5 behind during WW2 and A1 No. 4470 Great Northern as rebuilt in dark blue livery with "N E" on the tender departing Grantham in October 1945.

Mike Thompson. Steam Railway Research Society. 50-3.
Hoped to collate and preserve records of locomotive operation obtained from lineside and within motive power depots. Richard Strange is mentioned at end of article..

Bob Essery. Rescuing the LMS engine history cards. 55
Describes how they were rescued from burning at Derby Works during the summer of 1966 or 1967 (both members of the LMS Society) by someone who was not named and with the assistance of Dr. W.O. (Bill) Steel who was an entomology lecturer at Imperial College and model railway enthusiast. Portraits of both Bob Essery and Steel who died in 1969 aged 51.

Number 52 (October 1991)

Number 53 (November 1991)

Number 54 (December 1991)

Taylor, Charles. Fore & aft: balanced running trials for the 'WD' 2-8-0s. 6-11.
Running trials on scheduled freight workings between Aintree and Leeds via Rose Grove and Copy Pit using No. 90527 which had been modified to give 40% balance in an endeavour to reduce the severe oscillation which limited their use. The writer worked at Crewe and the experimental modification of 1951 was Experiment M/C/L/1413. Footplate observations showed that the experiment was a success, but this did not lead to further locomotives being modified.

Hay, Peter. A peep at Penrhyn. 14-17.
Photo-feature

Harris, Nigel. The Ntaional Railway Museum portfolio: John G. Click. 18-24.
Biographical material used to augment John Click entry. Includes a portrait of his slight figure on the Leader class locomotive. Great admirer of Bulleid for whom he worked. Illus. (both black & white and colour) from Click's collection housed in the NRM.

The Suez Crisis, 1956: BR's biggest missed opportunity. Alan Earnshaw. 31-3.
Failure to hold freght traffic through lack of investment.

S.C. Townroe memorial colour feature. 48-9.
Stephen Collingwood Townroe: Colour-Rail collection: Eastleigh taken from a lighting tower during the ASLEF strike of 1955: 28 locomotives visible including C14 and H15; Lord Nelson 30862 at Medstead & Four Marks on troop train; 35024, as still to be named in blue livery with red bands in 1949; H15 30477 derailed at Chichester on 8 February 1956; LN 30854 being rerailed (feature with several colour illus. inBackTrack 1 page 20 ); 31624 leaving Southampton on train for Andover Junction in deep snow with carmine & cream stock.

Number 56 (1992 February)

Durrant, A.E. Should the 'Leader' have been a 'Garratt'? . 30-5.
Highly critical of many of the Leader design features, notably the boiler, the valve gear and the sleeve valves. Suggests, and reproduced as side elevation diagram a double-ended Garratt with a conventional cab in the centre. Several illustrations of Leader locomotives under construction and under test from John G. Click Collection at NRM and colour illustrations of 36001 being painted grey at Eastleigh (S.C. Townroe) and reproduction of Robin Barnes watercolour of locomotive at speed on test near Winchester.

Urie class H16 4-6-2T No. 520/30520. Philip Atkins. 36-7.
Photo-feature: 24 May 1922; summer 1935, c1948 and 1957: first two on freight; remainder on ecs

The National Railway Museum portfolio: John G. Click. Nigel Harris (captions) with John Edgington. 38-44.
The colour illustrations on pages 40 and 41, with captions by TJE, are the most interesting as these show locomotives on test at the Rugby Test Plant and show 92166 and 46225 Duchess of Gloucester outside the plant (but prepared for testing); the main control desk and 92013 and 73030 on test. Also in b&w: 46225 on test, 35022 Holland Amerika Line and 70025 Western Star being prepared for test.

Number 57 (1992 March) 

Essery, Bob. Genesis of the Stanier 2-6-0s. 6-12.
Author states that design was essentially that of modifying Horwich 2-6-0 with a high pressure Swindon boiler (and this enabled the cylinders to be repositioned). Original allocations and changes in boiler type (from partially conical to fully coned) and in cylinder type). Illus.: 42961 on passnger train leaving Chester (Eric Treacy); 2984 on two-coach stopping train (Eric Treacy); 13245 with GWR-style safety valve bonnet: colour: 42966 on freight at Bradley (Gavin Morrison); 42975 at Willesden (Colour-Rail) 42960 on express near Lancaster in August 1962 (Keith R. Pirt), and 42957 at Oxley on 30 January 1966 (Ken Cooper); 13245 with tapered boiler on rear section only and GWR-type safety valves (T.G. Hepburn); 13257 (as previous boiler but with pop safety valves above firebox and whistle (not hooter) clearly visible; 42954 at Derby on 10 July 1948

A.E. Durrant. Bulleid's turf burner. 22-7.
Would have been better as a small Garratt like those  built for Leopoldina Railway in Brazil designed to burn low grade fuel. John Click colour photographs

Number 59 (May 1992)

Hardy, R.H.N. Memories of Thompson. 6-12.
Gresley, Thompson and Hardy were all educated at Marlborough (and Thompson's father was a house master at the School).

Number 62 (1992 August)

Bullock, William. Swindon apprentice. . 30-3.
Acted as tour guide on visitors' days and greatly liked to show them locomotives on stationary testing plant. Moved to millwrights shop where he worked on a huge Dean Smith & Grace lathe under Alex Clissold. Sent to Kemble to measure water tank. Work in erecting shop ('A' shop). Note on how brass token was handed over on visits to loos (high up in building). Application of "streamlined" casing to 5005 Manorbier Castle and its test when 100 mile/h was achieved when approaching Swindon which was overshot. Train was met by Collett and Pole whilst Inspector 'Daddy' Dew was on footplate at controls (amazing how LNER always managed to stop unlike GWR & LMS). Apprenticeship ended by being sent to the Accounting & Tabulating C o at Thornton Heath to work on Power Samas (Hollerith) machines as a potaential fitter for GWR accounting programme, but after two years he left.

David Hepburne-Scott appreciation. Richard Ray. John Coiley. 34-8.
Obituary notice: subject was a superb photographer and physics teacher and housemaster at Westminster School. Portrait and illus. both colour and b&w. He was a perfectionist who demanded sunshine, and tended not to take pictures in winer. Neither writer nots that subject was murdered.

Hughes, Geoff. Talking to Thompson. Part 2. 50-3.
Notes and observations made of an "interview" made by Brian Reed in 1948 with Edward Thompson; the record of which is kept at the NRM. T. Worsdell was forced to retire due to the excessive patent royalties paid to him by the NER. Wilson Worsdell according to Thompson was lazy and spent his time fishing and on his estate in Norway, but he was a mechanical genius. Thompson recorded how the upopular Works Manager at Darlington, Ramsay Kendall, was engineered out of his position by deliberate bad workmanship on the R1 class when manufacture was transferred there from Gateshead. The locomotive was unworkable even by Driver Blades and on stripping down it was found that the coupling rod centre-to-centre lengths varied by up to a quarter of an inch and Kendall was asked to leave. He was replaced by Norman Lockyer formerly Works Manager, Gateshead. Thompson had a poor regard for Raven's engineering skills ("scarcely knew the difference between an engine and a tender"), but he got on well with him and married his daughter. Gresley was at daggers drawn with Raven. Thompson suggested rebuilding the NER Pacifics with two cylinders of 21 in diameter and with the smokebox tubeplate pushed back, but Gresley was not interested.  Thompson considered the J39 a failure compared with the NER P2 and P3 0-6-0s: the J39s were too powerful in relation to the size of the big end bearings. He noted that the difference in the boiler mountings made it difficult to interchange boilers between the D49 and J39 classes. The rebuilt S3 class eliminated six eccentrics on the crank axles and moved away from poor NER cylinder design. The rebuilt S3 (B16/2) were better than the K3 class. Thompson considered GCR frame and boiler design to be excellent, but most had poor cylinder layouts, especially the 4-cylinder types. New construction was concentrated at Doncaster (larger types) and at Darlington (smaller and medium sized locomotives). Boiler making (except for the wide firebox types) and iron casting were concentrated at Gorton where the castings were excellent. Cowlairs eventually had an excellent foundry, but Darlington lacked this ability as Lord Airedale, Chairman of the Locomotive Committee insisted on using Kitson's who supplied the monobloc and valve chest castings for the Z class Atlantics. The facilities at Stratford were cramped but Thompson increased productivity there. Whilst Works Manager at Doncaster he had prepared plans to concentrate all new construction there. The LNER followed NBR practice in having a separate Running Department. The GER had divorced running from A.J. Hill and given it to F.V. Russell, but he was a difficult man and Col. W.J. Galloway, a GER director insisted that it was transferred back to Hill. The author questions how the interview was conducted: was it face-to-face or by letter?

Number 64 (September 1992)

Chris Leigh. BR's blue period. 28-9
Colour-Rail colour photographs of Merchany Navy No. 35024 East Asiatic Company leaving Waterloo with train for Weymouth with HRH Princess Elizabeth travelling in Pullman in June 1949; No. 46231 Duchess of Atholl; A3 No. 60065 Knight of Thistle and No. 6000 King George V in July 1949

Number 65 (November 1992)

The enigma of the BR 'Clans'. Philip Atkins . 6-10.
Notes criticism by Bond of Riddles' proposed class 5 4-6-2 design and suggested increasing dimension to produce a class 6 4-6-2 which was really a Britannia class with a smaller boiler. Intended for Highland line but Atkins suggests that not sent there as required tablet catchers to be fitted which seems odd as some of the illustrations show locomotives fitted with brackets for working over Dumfries to Stranraer road (but do not show apparatus fitted). Article mentions proposed rebuilding of Patriot with 2A boilers at low cost and at reduced pressure in exchange for not building more Clans. Notes movement of coupled wheels on axles (a fault also evident on Britannia class), attempts to improve steaming, their sluggishness when sent to Haymarket and their appreciation on the "Port road". The class were clearly Riddles' P2 class.

Chris Leigh. More steam on the silver screen. 25-7.
Cinema films including The Ladykillers (Copenhagen Tunnel, King's Cross); Night of the Demon (1957); The Long Arm (1956); Two-way stretch; Left, Right and Centre (1959); The Rebel

Michael Harris. The British Caprotti story. Part 2. 31-4.

Number 67 (January 1993)

Hardy, R.H.N. The art and practice of rostering enginemen.  6-11
Experiences as young shedmaster at Kings Lynn. Also refers to young sahedmaster at Barnstaple Junction, Geoffrey Chrimes, and his encounters with Driver Squib.

Number 70 (April 1993)

Hardy, R.H.N. The art and practice of rostering enginemen. 6-11.
Experience at Woodford Halse

Earnshaw, Alan. The crane train. 50-3.
Includes table compiled by Peter Tatlow of 30 ton and 75 ton steam-powered breakdown cranes supplied by Cowans, Sheldon after 1960

Number 71 (May 1993)

Leigh, Chris. Crisis on the Southern: behind the scenes. 6-9.
On 24 April 1953 the crank axle of locomotive No. 35020 Bibby Line fractured whilst approaching Crewkerne Station at speed. This article is based on the official British Transport Commission report which showed that many of the Merchant Navy class suffered from similar flaws and the crank axle had to be redesigned and replaced.

Crisis on the Southern; from the lineside. David Anderson (phot.) and Richard Strange . 10-13.
Replacement locomotives included members of the V2 (used on some of the main services, notably the Bournemouth Belle), B1, Britannia and Standard class 5

Hardy, R.H.N. The art and practice of rostering enginemen. 41-5.
Experience as shedmaster at Ipswich, operation of B1 class and adventures on Mid-Suffolk Light Railway and the involvement Dr Ian C. Allen where Driver-in-Charge was George Rowse who had come from Barnsley to Laxfield. Line worked by J15 class 0-6-0s including Nos. 65459 and 65447. Six-whhel coaches used.

Number 72 (June 1993)

Alan Earnshaw. The train now standing in the booking hall... 47-51.
On 23 June 1958 empty coaches came off the Melthamn branch and into Lockwood station where they were diverted into the goods yard, but one ran into the booking office, fotunately without injuring staff on duty.

Number 74 (August 1993)

Harris, Michael. Fast fitted freight on the East Coast main line. 6-11.
The Three Forty Scotsman (15.40 King's Cross Goods to Edinburgh and Aberdeen) or 562 Down regularly ran at speeds up to 65 mile/h during the 1930s. Also mentions the Green Arrow fitted freights.

Jones, Peter. Steam's last week. 13-17.

Fitzgibbons, Richard. Signalboxes – the WR. 19-21.
Photo-feature (some colour): Newbury, Little Somerford, Hungerford, Savernake High Level, Chipping Norton on 3 October 1953, Penarth Town (colour: Hugh Ballantyne), Travellers Rest Crossing in July 1967 (colour: Keith Jaggers), Ellesmere with No. 2204 (colour: Richard Thompson).

Rixon, Geoff (phot.). Focus on the 'Crabs'. 22-23.
Colour photo-feature: 42884 at Carlisle Kingmoor in September 1962, 42707 at Willesden on 26 April 1963, and 42815 at Willesden on 1 August 1964.

Hardy, R.H.N. The art and practice of rostering enginemen. 34-8
Stewarts Lane shedmaster in 1953. Includes photographs of DriverGeorge King and fireman Steve Hudson on footplate ready to haul Royal Train from Portsmouth Harbour to Victoria with the Emperor of Abyssinia aboard and Driver Bill Andrews alongside Merchant Navy class No. 35026 on down Golden Arrow at Victoria. Also photographs of John Greenfield who rose from being a clerk at Stewarts Lane to Motive Power Officer of the Central Division with Driver Joe Brewerr

Number 75 (September 1993)

Number 77 (November 1993)

Essery, Terry. Working from Saltley. The Long Marston link. Part 1. 6-10.

Whittaker, NIcholas. Burton's brewery railways. 46-9.

Number 78 (December 1993)

Allsopp, S.G. Working with the crane reain. 13-18.
The steam crane at Derby in late 1950s/early 1960s recovered locomotives and rolling stock after accidents, assisted in the restoration of locomotives which had suffered hot boxes (by lifting the locomotive), and by fitting snowploughs. The crane was also involved in routine civil engineering work.

Taylor, Nicola. Playing with trains. 19-20.
Jigsaw puzzles originated in 1762 by John Spilsbury, an engraver and a railway scene was depicted on a c1830 puzzle which showed the Northumbrian locomotive on a Liverpool & Birmingham train, and were taken up by the Great Western Railway as publicity material (a picture of No. 4073 Caerphilly Castle was sold on the Company's stand at the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley in 1924). Card games included a game called Express which is illustrated and was marketed in the 1940s (KPJ was this the game with a golden A4?). Board games included Edward Wallis's New Railway Game or Tour through England and Wales which involved a race from Rochester to London; a GWR game called Race to the Ocean Coast and a disastrous Snakes & Ladders game which involved a train crash at 89 and a long descent down the snale to 9 where bandages are seen applied. Sadly an A4 featured in this game which KPJ trasured.

Leigh, Chris. Home is where the station is. 22-7.
Windsor, Great Western Railway and the influence of the Castle and Eton a school with silly garments, absurd games and old fashioned attitiudes.

Number 79 (January 1994)

Boocock, Colin. The rebuilt Bulleid 'Pacifics' – were they value for money? 6-11.
Short answer was "yes": based on a report to John Click and A.E. Hoare.

Number 95 (May 1995)

Ashcroft, Bill. The 'Patriots': I remember them well. 46-9.
Memories of class in Preston area. Locomotive Inspector, Paul Jamieson considered that the unrebuilt locomotives steamed well; they performed well on freight but were not as good as Class 5, and could haul heavy loads on passenger trains. The tenders were difficult as the water capacity was limited and overflowing led to soaking the driver.

Alan Earnshaw. Mystery at Beattock. 34-6.
Fire in coaches of 11.00 Birmingham to Glasgow express which took place at Harthope Viaduct on 8 June 1950.

Number 96 (June 1995)

R.H.N. Hardy. Attention to detail. Part 4. 27-30
Anecdotes about Earle Edwards, District Traffic Superintendent at Orpington who reported to S.W. Smart, Superintendent of Operation on the Southern Ragion and Philip Evetts and Driver Bert (Doggy) Hutton.

Alan Earnshaw. Mystery at Beattock. 38-

Philip Atkins. Better late than never, 46-50
the origins of the BR Standard Class 4 4-6-0 traced back to a proposed LMS 1933 antecedent

Number 98

Too little, too late. Alan Earnshaw. 40-3.
A historical examination which considers accidents caused by signals passed at danger which could have been prevented by some form of automatic warning system. Notes statistics quoted by Brigadier C.A. Langley following the Milton accident who noted that 69 out of 664 accidents might have been prevented, GWR involvement from 1908 following the accident at Slough in 1900, the two Committes involving Col. Sir Arthur Pringle, and a closer examination of an accident at Welwyn Garden City on 7 January 1957 when an overnight express ran into the rear of a commuter train from Baldock as it was accelerating away on the fast line. The driver (from New England) attempted to transfer responsibility onto the signalman, but the system of Welwyn Control exonerated him.