LNER A1 Class

The Peppercorn A1 Pacifics were powerful locomotives with the same classification, 8P6F, as the A4s. There were fifty in the class, when including Thompson’s rebuilt No. 60113 Great Northern, which headed the list. New build No. 60163 Tornado was subsequently added in recent time, as none of the original engines had escaped scrapping. Designed in 1945 for the LNER, the A1s were not turned out from Doncaster works until 1948 and 1949, by which time BR had taken over from the Big Four companies.

My most distinct memory of an A1 on the ECML was at dusk on Bawtry viaduct in the spring of 1963. Northbound No. 60157 Great Eastern had been stopped for a signal check some way south of the viaduct. We had climbed up to the edge of the ballast from the swing park adjacent to the line. Great Eastern accelerated right past us. Her firebox door must have been open as the whole cab area was glowing brightly, as was the smoke and steam that temporarily enshrouded her, as she gradually gained speed from a standing start. As darkness had descended by then, we wandered back to Bawtry youth hostel for a good night’s sleep, prior to a bus trip to Retford the next day, for a few hours spotting on the station.

John Dyer photographed No. 60125 Scottish Union at York in the summer of 1956 and Nos. 60128 Bongrace and No. 60157 Great Eastern, both in Doncaster sheds, in August 1964. The A1s carrying the names of the former companies that made up the LNER in 1923 had particularly attractive nameplates, incorporating the old company crests.

Gresley's A3s

These Pacifics were introduced for the LNER in 1927, as a development of the GNR Class A1. There were 79 members of the class and all had been withdrawn by 1966. Flying Scotsman is the sole survivor, preserved since 1963.

Such an elegant and well-proportioned design, a lot of discussion has been given as to whether they are more pleasing aesthetically with or without German-style smoke deflectors. I prefer them with, partly because they were unique in this country and very different from what we were used to seeing on the LM Region, so it made them very distinctive.

I could not have had a more dramatic introduction to the class. Our train from Liverpool - probably on a school railway society trip to York, in 1961, pulled onto the four-track ECML at Church Fenton at the same time as No. 60036 Colombo, light engine, and also travelling north. We ran parallel to her and then gradually overtook her. I read somewhere that she was a regular stand-by engine at York.

John Dyer’s excellent photographic record of those times includes No. 60037 Hyperion at Edinburgh Waverley on 30/7/60, No. 60062 Minoru at York on 12/4/62, No. 60081 Shotover At Leeds Neville Hill on 12/8/62, No. 60086 Gainsborough also at Neville Hill on the same date, No. 60092 Fairway at Carlisle on 5/8/60, No. 60093 Coronach in Doncaster works on 30/4/62 and No. 60112 St Simon at York in August 1956.

 

The Streaks

Gresley’s streamlined A4 Pacifics were introduced in 1935. An iconic design, I much prefer them in the changed condition that did away with the valances over the wheels, still sported by Mallard, for example, in her original state at the NRM. Without was how we were used to seeing them, of course, and their overall graceful lines surely flow better as they appeared in BR days. There were 34 in the class, of which I saw 20, thanks to the temporary repatriation of No. 60008 Dwight D Eisenhower. I also underlined No. 60024 Kingfisher in my combined volume, which was obviously a bit of wishful thinking on my part. It has had a little red cross next to the line for the last fifty-nine years to show that that was a mistake and with no hope of it ever being removed.

John Dyer’s archive is comprehensive. He photographed all the types of steam locomotives that he came across, from the most easily recognisable main line express classes to the most obscure and humble tanks. These pictures of perhaps the most famous of all designs were taken between 1960 and 1962.

No. 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley was on Doncaster sheds on 30/4/62, No. 60013 Dominion of New Zealand was at York on 26/7/60, 60016 Silver King was passing through Wakefield having been diverted off the ECML on 12/8/62, No. 60027 Merlin was at York on 26/7/60 and 60030 Golden Fleece was seen leaving London King’s Cross on 24/8/61.

Those were the days

In the summer of 2019, I celebrated that year’s big birthday. The family kindly dished out for a special train ride. No idea where they got the idea from that I might have enjoyed such a thing. The English Riviera Express took us from Bristol to Kingswear and then by ferry to Dartmouth. It seems a world away at present, but we certainly look forward - patiently and positively - to similar days out in the future.

The Drummond Caledonian Class 2F 0-6-0s

Introduced in 1883, all 244 locomotives were absorbed into LMS stock in 1923. Almost all survived to be taken over by BR in 1948, though they had all been withdrawn by the end of 1962 and none of the class were preserved. I did not see any of them, but John Dyer found these examples at Perth sheds – Nos. 57252 and 57345 on 31/7/1960 and No. 57232 at Dunblane on 1/8/1960. As always, I’m grateful to John for allowing me to use his photos on my blog and for increasing my knowledge of some less well-known locomotive classes along the way.  

 

February 1965

We only went train spotting on one day in February 1965. There were no namers on the shed at Birkenhead but I copped 42856, 47272, 92089, 48611 and 42705. It was not even a Sunday, which was very unusual for us, so it was probably half term. Luckily, my memories of those times are often less hazy than my photographs.

There were many demands on our time. Park football commitments were relentless as our individual games improved. Being with, and talking about, girls provided all the other intoxication we needed. The music scene was providing a procession of young talent, and now You’ve Lost That Lovin Feeling by The Righteous Brothers had made it to number one.

We eagerly awaited every new Beatles LP, and the near future would bring Pink Floyd’s See Emily Play, The Beach Boys Good Vibrations, prog’ rock and the rest, but before all of it, in ’65, we had the Wall of Sound and it provided me with all the mind-blowing experience that I could comfortably cope with. I hope that Phil Spector can now find the peace that so clearly eluded him throughout his lifetime.

 

The Caledonian Railway’s Class 2P tanks

Two more related classes that did not “trouble the scorers” in my 1962 combined volume were these McIntosh designed tanks of 1900 and the subsequent 1925 LMS version. 92 of the original Class 439 were constructed, of which 74 made it into BR ownership, numbered between 55159 and 55236. The 10 LMS locos were numbered 55260-55269. No. 55189 was preserved by the Scottish Railway Preservation Society and resides on the Bo’ness and Kinneil Railway. John Dyer photographed No. 55208 on Perth sheds on 31/7/60 and No. 55223 at Polmadie on 4/8/60.