Chester General

Chester was a convenient destination for a day’s train spotting from our northern corner of the Wirral, getting there either by rail or on our bikes. Our favourite spot was on the stone steps leading down to the station approach from the Hoole Road railway bridge. We visited fairly regularly between 1961 and 1967 and witnessed the overall decline of steam from there, in microcosm.

From Castles, Halls, Granges and Counties to Coronations, Jubilees, Royal Scots and Britannias, we had initially been assured an invigorating GW/LM mix at Chester. Inevitably, with the process of dieselisation in full swing, the variety of classes gradually dwindled and the diet became more predictable and less exciting.

15/5/66 was the first time we had come away from a day at Chester without seeing even one former GWR engine. As a result, we went to Croes Newydd sheds at Wrexham on 27/5/66 to see if they had all gone from there, too. We found three panier tanks, 1600 Class No. 1660 and 5700 Class Nos. 9610 and 9669, but none were in steam and they had all had their smokebox and cab-side number plates removed.

On 21/8/66 and 26/8/66, we returned to Chester and Crewe, respectively, to photograph ex-LMS and Standard steam that was still working. Then, surprise, surprise, just before we left Chester on our way home on the 26th, one of Croes Newydd’s ex-GWR 1600 Class panier tanks, No. 1628, shot through in reverse on the middle road. It turned out to be the last time I saw a former GW engine in steam on BR, other than on a special train. I just managed to snatch a photo of her as she whizzed by. No. 1628 was withdrawn a month later [30/9/66] and Croes Newydd sheds closed just ten months after our final visit there [5/6/67].