Contributions of the group UK steam : British Railways - 1960s

GWR 2-8-0 2822 - Highbridge - 18.3.1962

nobody@ipernity.com (Phil Sutters) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 23:11:56 +0000

Phil Sutters has posted:

Class 4F 0-6-0 ex-SDJR No 60 at Burnham 26 7 61

nobody@ipernity.com (Phil Sutters) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 21:49:31 +0000

Phil Sutters has posted:

2-6-2T 82001 approaching Highbridge Summer 1961

nobody@ipernity.com (Phil Sutters) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 21:48:29 +0000

Phil Sutters has posted:

Newton Heath Manchester Lancashire 29th June 1968

nobody@ipernity.com (Loose_Grip/Pete) — Mon, 14 Aug 2023 12:17:43 +0000

Loose_Grip/Pete has posted:

It takes years of real neglect to get as filthy as this unidentified Stanier Black 5.

The cleaners (if there were still such things at Newton Heath loco shed in 1968) hadn't been near the cylinder and wheels of this example & no doubt it went to its grave with the accumulated grease & grime. The scrap men (and look away if you're sensitive) would set fire to the grease before cutting the engines up. This would burn away everything first so that their torches didn't start fires while they worked.

Lostock Hall Preston Lancashire 1st August 1968

nobody@ipernity.com (Loose_Grip/Pete) — Thu, 10 Mar 2022 07:48:32 +0000

Loose_Grip/Pete has posted:

A reworked & re-cropped version of an earlier post.

Ivatt 4MT 2-6-0 43106 darkens the skies over Lancashire while filling its tender from the archaic looking water column. Her blower is hard on to lift the smoke & get up steam ready to depart the shed for the Severn Valley Railway at Bridgnorth and a new life in preservation.

Stanier 8F Class No 48476 had its day of fame on 4th August double-heading 1L50, the RCTS 'End of Steam' tour with Standard 5 73069.

Bowling Railway Tunnel

nobody@ipernity.com (Joe, Son of the Rock) — Sun, 07 Mar 2021 14:45:40 +0000

Joe, Son of the Rock has posted:

The Lanarkshire and Dumbartonshire Railway was a railway company in Scotland. It was promoted independently but supported by the Caledonian Railway, and it was designed to connect Balloch (on Loch Lomond) and Dumbarton with central Glasgow, linking in heavy industry on the north bank of the River Clyde. From Dumbarton to Balloch the line would have closely duplicated an existing railway, and negotiation led to the latter being made jointly operated, and the L&DR terminated immediately east of Dumbarton, trains continuing on the joint section. Quoted from Wikipedia

Bowling… is a village in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, with a population of 740 (2015). It lies on the north bank of the Firth of Clyde, between the towns of Clydebank and Dumbarton. It is 1 1⁄2 miles (2.5 kilometres) west of Old Kilpatrick which is at one end of the Antonine Wall and therefore represents the extreme limit of the Roman Empire on the west coast of the island of Great Britain. Quoted from Wikipedia

National Cycle Route 7

… the trail proceeds west along the north of the River Clyde, through Dumbarton to Loch Lomond at Balloch. Quoted from Wikipedia

Manchester Newton Heath Lancashire 21st June 1968

nobody@ipernity.com (Loose_Grip/Pete) — Sun, 21 Feb 2021 08:46:55 +0000

Loose_Grip/Pete has posted:

It's near the end for Newton Heath steam shed in Manchester. Stanier 8F 2-8-0 48529 catches the light streaming through the holes in the roof into the gloom of the shed interior.

This image was used on the cover of "Steam's Last Apprentice" by Victor Penketh published by Wibble Publishing in 2013. An excellent read about Victor's life on the railway from 1959 to the end of steam in 1968 .

Lostock Hall Preston 1st August 1968

nobody@ipernity.com (Loose_Grip/Pete) — Thu, 15 Oct 2020 13:27:02 +0000

Loose_Grip/Pete has posted:

Lostock Hall engine shed near Preston three days before the end of British Railways steam in August 1968.

This is the view from Watkin Lane over the allotment fence. On the steam locomotive dump the engines on view are mainly Stanier Black 5s but the nearest is an Ivatt 4 2-6-0.

The coaling plant dominates the centre with the water tank to its right & the engine shed itself to the right of that.

HFF & have a great weekend.

Hogwarts Express

nobody@ipernity.com (Joe, Son of the Rock) — Mon, 28 Sep 2020 17:38:48 +0000

Joe, Son of the Rock has posted:

Fujifilm XT-1 with Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM and Viltrox EF-FX2 0.7x.

Harry Potter's famous Hogwarts Express train visits Glasgow today - here are the stations and times. Quoted from Glasgow Live

More information about this locomotive can be found on David L Quayle's website Preserved British Steam Locomotives

Manchester Patricroft Lancashire 5th June 1968

nobody@ipernity.com (Loose_Grip/Pete) — Thu, 23 Jul 2020 15:26:43 +0000

Loose_Grip/Pete has posted:

As well as the Caprotti-valved BR Standard 5 4-6-0s Patricroft also ran the Walschaerts versions of the Standard 5. This example, 73010, captures the sun in the entrance to the 1885 London & North Western Railway Old shed flanked by two Stanier 8Fs, 48374 on the left.

My visit was well timed because the shed closed at the end of June 1968 and these engines went for scrap.

Preston Station Lancashire 9th June 1968

nobody@ipernity.com (Loose_Grip/Pete) — Sat, 11 Jul 2020 10:29:44 +0000

Loose_Grip/Pete has posted:

Stanier Black 5 4-6-0 44971 taking water at the platform end of Preston station early on a Sunday morning near the end of BR steam.

Myself & a friend had arrived at Preston station at approx. 05.00 in the morning after trying & failing to sleep on the footplate of a Black 5 at Lostock Hall shed, on a park bench in Leyland & at the cop shop in Leyland. We didn't really sleep in the waiting room at Preston either because this engine was pottering about. Later that morning we took the train to Carnforth to check out the shed before returning to Sheffield in the evening.

An everyday scene about to disappear for ever.

Manchester Victoria station 8th June 1968

nobody@ipernity.com (Loose_Grip/Pete) — Mon, 28 Oct 2019 14:07:44 +0000

Loose_Grip/Pete has posted:

Manchester Victoria station and Black 5 4-6-0 45076 stands on the banker's road waiting to give a push to the next freight train up the I in 47 max. gradient to Miles Platting.

The atmosphere of a large UK city station with steam was still a daily reality back in early June 1968 but by the end of June the last Manchester sheds at Newton Heath & Patricroft were closed to steam.

Newton Heath Manchester 21st June 1968

nobody@ipernity.com (Loose_Grip/Pete) — Sun, 12 Apr 2015 20:08:38 +0000

Loose_Grip/Pete has posted:

Deep inside Newton Heath steam shed 8F 48529 simmers in the shadows.

Burnley Rose Grove Lancashire 1st August 1968

nobody@ipernity.com (Loose_Grip/Pete) — Mon, 27 Feb 2006 18:09:32 +0000

Loose_Grip/Pete has posted:

Burnley Rose Grove, Lancashire outside the steam shed. Stanier 8F 2-8-0 48348 is on a coal train heading west, 1st August 1968.

Note the gaggle of enthusiasts on the cutting side in the background enjoying the view before the final end of steam on BR 3 days later when Rose Grove shed (one of the last 3 steam depots - out of sight to the right) closed.

Rosebay willowherb is forever associated with August 1968 in my mind and its alternative name of fireweed is very appropriate.

Todmorden/Burnley Copy Pit, 1st August 1968

nobody@ipernity.com (Loose_Grip/Pete) — Wed, 08 Jan 2020 07:09:33 +0000

Loose_Grip/Pete has posted:

The End of Steam on British Railways. A few days before the end at Copy Pit signal box , between Burnley and Todmorden.

LMS Stanier 8F 2-8-0 48519 had just banked a diesel hauled freight westwards from Todmorden. There is only one Brownie b/w photo of its progress because my 35mm film had run out. This shot is taken at the summit of the climb after the freight had dropped away down to Burnley off to the right. The mountainous nature of this part of the Pennines is obvious in the background.

I had taken a day off from working in the labour pool at Lysaughts steelworks in Scunthorpe, borrowed my dad's car & drove for hours from South Yorkshire over the Pennines - no M62 in those days - & caught this banker before visiting Rose grove and Lostock Hall sheds.

A reboot of an early posting to celebrate Happy Fence Friday while we can't upload any new images! Have a great weekend and stay safe.

Burnley Rose Grove Lancashire 1st August 1968

nobody@ipernity.com (Loose_Grip/Pete) — Mon, 27 Feb 2006 18:09:32 +0000

Loose_Grip/Pete has posted:

Burnley Rose Grove shed. Various Stanier 8F and Black 5 steam engines including 48237 & 45110 near the pits in front of the shed building, 1st August 1968.

A gaggle of spotters observe a white-shirted, and hence not a railwayman, cleaner working on 45110 - now preserved at the SVR - while other engines move about the yard near the shed entrance. The road bridge in the distance spans the Rose Grove station platforms.

Only three more days to go before the end of working BR steam but all the atmosphere of a large shed was still there. The motorway now runs through this scene.

See where this picture was taken. [?]

Lostock Hall Preston Lancashire 1st August 1968

nobody@ipernity.com (Loose_Grip/Pete) — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 13:28:45 +0000

Loose_Grip/Pete has posted:

Ivatt 4MT 2-6-0 43106 darkens the skies over Lancashire while filling its tender from the archaic looking water column. Her blower is hard on to lift the smoke & get up steam ready to depart the shed for the Severn Valley Railway at Bridgenorth and a new life in preservation.

The only life Stanier 8F 48476 can look forward to is a short one before withdrawal in 3 days time & scrapping in December 1968.

Although on this day there were two other Ivatt 4s on Lostock Hall shed this is the only one to survive & in fact now is the only one of its class in existence.

Todmorden West Yorkshire 1st August 1968

nobody@ipernity.com (Loose_Grip/Pete) — Thu, 04 Sep 2014 06:09:59 +0000

Loose_Grip/Pete has posted:

The last steam banker on British Railways. 8F 2-8-0 48519 prepares to run forward onto the rear of a diesel-hauled train of coal empties to bank it up to Copy Pit summit.

Stockport Edgeley Engine shed 28th April 1968

nobody@ipernity.com (Loose_Grip/Pete) — Sun, 16 Mar 2014 08:25:32 +0000

Loose_Grip/Pete has posted:

A Sunday afternoon visit to the loco shed a week before the end of steam. Not that I knew that at the time. Stanier 8F 2-8-0 48745 by the coaling conveyor belt was withdrawn when the shed closed.

Manchester Victoria Lancashire 8th June 1968

nobody@ipernity.com (Loose_Grip/Pete) — Thu, 15 Dec 2016 09:27:23 +0000

Loose_Grip/Pete has posted:

Totally rebuilt since this view Manchester Victoria station was an impressive place in 1968. British Railways steam finished in the Manchester area at the end of June 1968 and Black 5 4-6-0 45076, seen here in the banker's road, was sent to the scrapyard.