A2 Horror story

[LNER Fan 60008]

I've seen that video before. Regarding photos of the damage, I can't find anything.

Here's a video of maintenance being undertaken on Blue Peter in the early 90's. A bit off topic, but still neat.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6Bgr_cmD-M

[Bill Bedford]

I've found this, but there is another photo of the bend bit in situ, which I can't find.

[LNER Fan 60008]

Here's another finding, taken on the same day as the incident. This appears to have been taken before it stopped at Durham, though it makes for an interesting photo regardless.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/37028493@N07/8099417278/

Not much else has turned up, I'm afraid.

[markindurham]

There are a couple of photos of Blue Peter standing on one of the tracks under the roof at Darlington after she was dragged there, on her way to Thornaby, including a close up shot of the running gear on one side. To be found in "Durham Railways" by Charlie Emmett, I think. (Am away from home at present so can't check immediately, but I'm 99.9% sure of it)

Mark

[bristolflf]

I started my railway career in 1965 at a strategic MPD on the ECML and was on duty in the control room, when this disastrous event happened. I dare say there are people around, who really know what really happened on Blue Peter's footplate that night, but, as far as I know it has never been made public. I suspect confidentiality contracts were signed by those involved at the time following threats of legal action at the time.
Although priming was probably the initial reason for Blue Peter's failure, I feel footplate mismanagement, then blind panic, was probably the reason things ended up the way they did.
The driver was, I believe an employee of Regional Railways and based at Scarborough, so for quite a number of years his work would have involved little more than being in charge of DMUs. Fair enough, at one time he had probably worked on Gresley Pacifics when he was younger, but I believe this was in the capacity of fireman, rather than driver. "Blue Peter" did not have a Gresley type regulator, but an MLS type (widely known as a "ratchet regulator") later used in the BR Standards. It used a number of preset openings, unlike the Gresley regulator. The driver may have been unfamiliar with this.
The fireman was, I believe, also a Regional Railways employee, based at Darlington, also a DMU depot.
The locomotive inspector , who was actually in charge, was also, I believe based at Darlington and employed by Regional Railways.
This combination of footplate staff may have been adequate when things were routine, but ill equiped to deal with an emergency.
The locomotive can be heard whistling continuously as it crossed the viaduct, like a kid who has found a new toy, can be interpreted as "showing off", did not really create the right impression and can be said to reflect badly on the attitude of those on the footplate.
A Newcastle traction inspector, who had experience of the ex LNER Pacifics and the MLS regulator (the near identical 60538 Velocity had been based at Gateshead) told me all the driver had to do at the first sign of slipping, was to raise the regulator handle up about an inch, then he would have found he could close it, opening the cylinder cocks would also have helped. Whether the footplate crew were aware of this or even tried it is debateable.
Other than that, the reason why things were allowed to drift from a routine slip, to the destruction of the front end of the locomotive remains open to conjecture. I have little doubt someone knows the full story, but so far it has never really been factually explained. I hope one day it will.

[52H]

Hi all
When I was a fireman at Gateshead,the drivers would insist on no more than half a glass of water when starting away from Durham , because you were starting a stiff climb causing water to rise in the glass with a likely hood of priming. On reaching the top of the cut you would immediately whip on the injector to match the fall in water level caused by the falling gradient towards Browney. I suspect the fireman allowed the water level to rise when at Durham,with disastrous results.

52H

[bristolflf]

I suppose it should be recognised that , in BR days, most southbound steam hauled ECML EPs , which had stopped at Durham, were banked up towards Relly Mill, probably to help them cope with the problems that beset "Blue Peter".
52H: In a professional capacity I got to know a few Gateshead men, whom you may remember, and who were around in the days of steam. Funnily enough, they were nearly all called Harry.
The first was Harry Wootton, a driver from Gateshead with whom it was always a pleasure to talk to. If one rung the relief cabin (the gas chamber!) on the old platform fourteen at York, Harry would always answer the phone by declaring "city desk"!
Harry Friend, a traction inspector based at Newcastle, who had also been a fireman and driver in the age of steam. On his retirement, he wrote a number of articles for the enthusiast press. Unfortunately, I believe after retirement he had medical problems.
There was a running foreman at York also called Harry, but I have forgotten his surname. He had been a running foreman at Gateshead, also, but had moved to York, after it was alleged, several thousand gallons of diesel fuel had inadvertantly ended up in the River Tyne. Ouch!
There was also a running foreman at Gateshead called "Pat", who had a verbal delivery somewhat similar to a machine gun and always sounded a bit nervous, but I can vouch for the fact that he was very good at the job. Any arrangements you made with him were carried out without a hitch. He had a lot of photographs he had taken in the days of steam when he was a fireman, then later a driver. He always threatened to show me them, but I never did get to see them! Top man though.
There was another foreman at Gateshead, I have forgotten his name, who told me he was retiring to help his daughter run her hairdressing saloon ! He once said about the days of steam, that it rapidly lost its attraction, if you were working a heavy frieght train on a dark, wet and windy night with say a "Green Arrow" (V2) and the bl**dy thing wouldn't stop slipping.
One of the oddest episode I can recall involving a Gateshead driver came after the end of steam and well into the diesel age. His back working to Newcastle was running late, he was single manned and would incur overtime. He said he would still wait for it providing I could find him a second man. The only one of that ilk I could find was a Tyne Yard driver, who had worked a freight up to York Yard South and had no back working. However, on seeing who was going to be his second man, the Gateshead driver would not have him on the footplate and the train left for Newcastle, still late and still single manned. The reason might have been that Gateshead was an ASLEF depot and Tyne Yard NUR. NUR men had worked throughout the 1953 footplate strike and the fall out from this was very bitter and lasted a long time!