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    Steam in the North West
    Steam in the North West
    Steam in the North West
    Ebook204 pages50 minutes

    Steam in the North West

    By Fred Kerr

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    About this ebook

    When BR ran its 15 guinea Special in August 1968 many believed that steam locomotives would quickly become a thing of the past and that future workings would be restricted to the heritage lines which had begun to appear. Initially that seemed to be the case with the only exception being the famed A3 Class Pacific 4-6-2 Flying Scotsman whose owner had signed a contract with BR that allowed the locomotive to operate beyond that date.Change came in 1971 when BR trialled the operation of King Class 4-6-0 6000 King George V, then based at Bulmers Hereford site, on a tour of the UK which confirmed the value of steam operation as a valuable aspect of publicity which the railways of the day desperately needed. Many locomotives operating on preserved lines had been bought with the hope of being able to operate on the main line at some future date and their owners began to use this success as a lever to further ease the restriction on steam locomotive usage on the national network.Over time BR identified routes where steam traction could be operated and the centres where steam locomotives could be based as part of the new ethos. It was fitting that, as the last bastion of steam operation in 1968, the North West of England still retained its affection for steam locomotives with Carnforth locomotive depot still available as a maintenance centre. The status of steam operation was fully realised in the 1993 Railway Bill which not only privatised the network but also enshrined the right of steam locomotives to operate on the main line subject to meeting the normal operating standards that were applied to all locomotive operations.The North West of England quickly proved to be the area which offered the best of operations with the stiff gradients of Shap on the West Coast Main Line and the Long Drag of Ais Gill on the Settle and Carlisle route providing a challenge to the footplate crews, an experience for the passengers and a sight to see from the lineside.The lineside view has been captured by the author who lives within the area at Southport hence has been well placed to record many of these workings within the area and the wide variety of locomotive types whose owners have finally achieved the ambition of their locomotives joining the unique club of Steam Locomotives Working in the North West.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOpen Road Integrated Media
    Release dateApr 30, 2018
    ISBN9781526717474
    Steam in the North West
    Author

    Fred Kerr

    Fred Kerr was born in Edinburgh in 1948 where he gained an interest in railway locomotives from both the LMSR and LNER companies whose services permeated the local network. When his parents moved to Corby in 1956 the local steelworks provided further interest from its mix of freight services, including seeing the last of the Beyer Garrets and the replacement Standard Class 9Fs whilst the industrial locomotives of the internal steelworks network offered further insight into the variety of steam locomotives. This was a time of change and during the 1960s the interest in locomotives included the new order of diesel and electric traction without reducing the interest in steam traction. While his interest in Diesel Traction led to his early involvement with the Diesel & Electric Group and its preservation activities during the 1970s, his move to Southport in 1982 restored his opportunities to return to his first love of viewing steam locomotives at work and this album records some of the locations that he chose to visit and the locomotives that he was able to photograph.Today his interest continues as a life member of the A4 Locomotive Society, Keighley & Worth Valley Railway and Ribble Steam Railway whilst he also support bodies concerned with preserving steam locomotives, diesel locomotives and infrastructure extensions.

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      Book preview

      Steam in the North West - Fred Kerr

      Section 1:

      London Midland Region (LMR)

      On 1 January 1923 the Transport Act 1922 became effective and grouped the railway network of the day into four separate companies, with companies in the North West of England becoming part of the London Midland Scottish Railway (LMSR). This grouping of railway companies included the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway (LYR) with its workshops at Horwich, the London North Western Railway (LNWR) with its workshops at Crewe and the Midland Railway (MR) with its workshops at Derby and these, plus many minor railway companies, were melded over time into the one company as LMSR.

      On 1 January 1948, when the railways were nationalised under the Transport Act 1947, the four Grouping companies became regions of the new British Railways with the LMSR then becoming British Railways London Midland Region (BR(LMR)) and its locomotive fleet adding 40000 to its fleet numbers as a result.

      DEELEY CLASS 4P 4-4-0

      BR = 41000–41044

      This class was designed by Johnson and introduced in 1902 then rebuilt by Fowler from 1914 with superheater, whilst (4)1000–(4)1004 were introduced by Deeley in 1905, as a development of the Johnson design, that was subsequently fitted with superheater. MR 1000 (BR = 41000) joined the National Collection when withdrawn from service in 1959 and was restored to running order in its 1914 MR condition. It formed part of the stock transferred to the National Rail Museum at York in 1977 from where it continued to operate on the main line. When withdrawn from service in the 1980s it became a display item that has since visited various heritage lines representing the NRM.

      One of the last runs of MR 1000 was on 28 September 1983 when it powered a York–Rochdale charter on behalf of the NRM; it is here seen climbing the approach to Hebden Bridge on its outward journey.

      STANIER CLASS 6P5F 2-6-0

      BR = 42945–42984

      This class was the first locomotive design from William Stanier following his arrival from Swindon as Chief Mechanical Engineer in 1932 and was created as an improvement to the Hughes/Fowler design of 42700–42944. The improvements included such features as a taper boiler and other features that were common practice within the Swindon workshops of the Great Western Railway.

      42968 was the penultimate class member to be withdrawn in December 1966, and was rescued from Barry Scrapyard in December 1973 to enter preservation with the Severn Valley Railway, where it is currently based as at December 2016. In December 1996 it made a rare return to main line operation when it worked the Crewe–Carlisle leg of a charter from Hitchin to Carlisle. The train is noted heading north through Winwick on 21 December 1996 with the locomotive bearing LMSR fleet number and Black livery with Red Lining.

      44871 pilots 45407 The Lancashire Fusilier through Oubeck curve on 28 January 2012 as they prepare for a water stop at Carnforth whilst working the outward leg of a Manchester Victoria–Carlisle charter.

      STANIER CLASS 5MT 4-6-0

      BR = 44658–45499

      This class of 842 locomotives was introduced by William Stanier in 1934 for mixed traffic duties, and construction continued until the appearance of 44697 as the final locomotive of the class when released from Horwich Works in December 1950. Construction had begun from (4)5000 but when the number series reached (4)5499, subsequent batch orders were numbered backwards from (4)4999. Some of these later batches were trialled with a variety of modifications such as the fitting of roller bearings, use of Caprotti valve gear, fitting of Stephenson link motion, steel firebox and combinations of the

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