Class Q6

These 0-8-0 6F freight locos were introduced by Raven for the North Eastern Railway in 1913. Classified as Q6 by the LNER, 118 examples made it into my Ian Allan abc for Summer 1962 out of the original 120 engines built at Darlington works [70] and by Armstrong Whitworth [50]. Systematic withdrawals began in 1963 and they were all gone by 1967. No. 63395 is the sole preserved example and she operates on the North York Moors Railway.

John Dyer photographed No. 63352 at York on 26/7/60, No. 63436 in Neville Hill sheds on 12/8/62 and No. 63444 at Newcastle on 28/7/60. Thanks again to John for allowing me to use his photos here.

On Shed

Thanks again to Andy Mace for digging out some more photos of Sixties steam. The tanks are likely to be at Birkenhead c. 1966, in the company of another trainspotting friend, Brian Leay. The Black Fives may also be at Birkenhead but I have been unable to tie them down more accurately, as they don’t tally in my notes with the other shot.

Nevertheless, I love these grainy old b/w format pictures. We visited the sheds in all weathers and sometimes under some very heavy skies. They were not always the best circumstances for our relatively modest camera equipment, but we can relive the memory all the same.

Open Wide

According to my notes for 28/10/66, Stanier Class 5 No. 44987 of 10A was right next to No. 70050 Firth of Clyde on Carlisle Kingmoor sheds. She had been photographed in May, with a snowplough fitted, taking a freight over Ais Gill. That could have been one of her last duties.

The Brit’s withdrawal was in August, and both locos were on the 12A scrap line when we visited. Perhaps they had taken a look in the smokebox and decided not to bother cleaning her out. In any event, it provided an unusual shot, so thanks again to Andy Mace for providing it.

A Day in the Life

When Andy sent me some interesting old pictures he had recently come across, a bit of detective work was necessary to tie down the place and time. Between 1966 and the end of steam in 1968, Andy, Ian, Dave and Grah’ passed their driving tests [for cars, not trains] and this made things quite a bit easier in helping us to get to the places that we needed to be, as the remaining steam classes became conveniently concentrated in the north west of England.

It was the 28^th October 1966 and we had started our youth hostelling half-term break - as some of us were still at school - with a visit to Carlisle Upperby and Kingmoor sheds. Amongst the surviving locomotives were the green namers of the Britannia Class - old before their time, of course. There were 6 on 12B and 11 more on 12A, including 70025 Western Star, 70034 Thomas Hardy and 70050 Firth of Clyde.

With thanks to Andy Mace for the use of his photos and for providing another reminder of how lucky we were in our youth to have such supportive parents who encouraged our activities. This helped us to establish lasting friendships, have enough cash [one way or another] to travel around, thus providing opportunities to get to know our wonderfully varied landscape first-hand, to meet up with groups of girls at youth hostels, and make the most of our love of steam right up to the end - and beyond, if you get my drift! 

LNER Class D49

Introduced in 1927, these 4-4-0s were designed by Nigel Gresley and named after shires and fox hunts. There were 76 in the class, though all had been withdrawn by 1961, when the last survivor, No. 62712 Morayshire, became the only preserved example. She will remain as the only D49 I ever caught up with.

Once again, I am relying on John Dyer’s photographic archive for my illustrations of the class. John found two examples on St Margaret’s sheds on 30/7/60 – Nos. 62729 Rutlandshire and 62733 Northumberland. He had previously viewed No. 62746 The Middleton and No. 62763 The Fitzwilliam from the platforms at Harrogate station in August 1956.

The GCR Improved Director Class

There were 11 original members of the Gorton-built Robinson GCR Class 11F, constructed between 1919 and 1922. Known as Improved Directors as an upgrading of the GCR Class 11E Directors, the large driving wheels on the 4-4-0s were suited to fast passenger workings but not for hauling freight trains. The LNER then had a further 24 locos constructed in 1924 by Kitson and Armstrong Whitworth for use in Scotland. All 33 of the class, now re-classified as D11, made it into BR ownership.

Initially to be found at the head of Sheffield to London Marylebone expresses, in BR days they were used on shorter distance passenger trains on the former GCR routes across northern England, including Manchester to Chester and Manchester to Liverpool Central. All the engines were named, though No. 62685 Malcom Graeme was the only one to make it into my 1962 abc, before its withdrawal later on in the same year.

No. 62660 Butler-Henderson is the only preserved example of an original ex-GCR passenger loco. The somewhat obscure but intriguing names of some of the Scottish examples [to us as young spotters, at least], including No. 62671 Bailie MacWheeble and No. 62678 Luckie Mucklebackit, owed their origin to the Waverley novels of Sir Walter Scott.

John Dyer photographed Nos. 62661 Gerard Powys Dewhurst and 62667 Somme, both at Sheffield Victoria on 26/4/59 - in addition to Butler-Henderson, seen at an exhibition at Manchester Central station on 24/3/62 and then in Gorton works on 19/8/62.

The Thompson B1s

We regarded these ex-LNER 4-6-0 mixed traffic Class 5s as very much the ER equivalent of our LM Mickeys. Although only relatively few carried names, those that drifted to the western extremities of former LNER influence on the Wirral were often the ones named after the various species of African antelope, which made up the bulk of the first 41 of the class.

We were always on the look-out for a single example on our Sunday morning trips to Birkenhead sheds in the early 1960s. They worked freights in and out of Birkenhead docks and were therefore also sometimes spotted at Chester General station, as well as at Preston on the summer Saturday holiday-makers’ trains from Yorkshire to Blackpool.  

Introduced in 1942, and with some still being constructed when BR took over from LNER, there were 408 locos still listed in my 1962 combined volume, out of the original 410 built. Nos. 61264 and 61306 have been preserved. No. 61306 carries the name Mayflower, which in BR days was actually borne by No. 61379.

John Dyer’s photos show No. 61000 Springbok in Doncaster works on 30/4/62, No. 61015 Duiker at Wakefield in August 1962, No. 61059 at Derby Midland station also in August 1962, No. 61062 at York on 12/4/62, No. 61071 at Speke Junction on 29/10/61, No. 61122 in Sheffield Victoria station on 20/6/59, No. 61158 on Doncaster sheds on 30/4/62, No. 61165 at Chester General station on 18/3/64, No. 61221 Sir Alexander Erskine-Hill and No. 61240 Harry Hinchcliffe both on Edinburgh Haymarket sheds on 29/6/60 and No. 61339 at Wakefield in August 1962.

Gresley’s V2 2-6-2s

Designed for the LNER in 1936, all 184 class members were taken into BR stock in 1948. No. 60800 Green Arrow is the well-known, preserved survivor. Only 8 were named, though that included perhaps one of the best locomotive names of all – No. 60809 The Snapper, The East Yorkshire Regiment, The Duke of York’s Own.

John Dyer photographed three V2s - No. 60854 was at York on 26/7/60, No. 60872 King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry was at York in August 1956 and Doncaster on 30/4/62. No. 60939 was seen at York on 27/7/60 and Doncaster on 30/4/62.

   

The A2s

Introduced in 1946 and designed by Peppercorn, there were eventually 30 members of the class. The A2 Pacifics were notable - amongst other more technical stuff, no doubt - for their names. Apart from the nameplates recognising the contributions to the LNER by Edward Thompson and Peppercorn, himself, and like the A3s, they were named after racehorses. For me, the A2s got the pick - Steady Aim, Sun Stream, Ocean Swell, Pearl Diver and more. I only got to see 6 examples in total and that included the preserved No. 60532 Blue Peter, perhaps because a good number were Scottish-based. They had all been withdrawn before the end of 1966.

John Dyer photographed No. 60517 Ocean Swell at York in August 1956; No. 60523 Sun Castle, and Nos. 60528 Tudor Minstrel with No. 60522 Straight Deal, all on Doncaster sheds on 30/4/62. No. 60535 Hornet’s Beauty was at Edinburgh Waverley on 30/7/60 and No. 60539 Bronzino was seen both at York on 26/7/60 and Edinburgh on 30/7/60.