The LNER Encyclopedia

As my postings probably make clear, my main interest in railways is definitely pre-1923, and certainly the big engines have never had much interest to me. Until a few weeks ago, that is. I was in York for various reasons, and was walking from the NRM to the Station as a shortcut towards the centre. Something unusual caught my eye... 4464 'Bittern' in steam, on its way to Shildon! I spent the next hour or so waiting for it to leave, soaking in the smell, sound and whole experience, the first time I've been up close to an A4 in steam. I've been well and truly 'Bittern' by the A4 bug and look forward to seeing Eisenhower and Dominion of Canada before they go home, and hunting out the opportunity to see one on the mainline....

There's no doubt the A4s have a "presence". Poetry in motion!

I recall that I wasn't originally convinced about the streamlined shape. The fact I have models of over half of the A4s says I don't have a problem with it any more!

Glad you've been "Bittern"!

On the subject of "bumping into" A4s, many many years ago a spotting/photography pal and myself were doing a tour of Scotland and had arrived on the road alongside Thornton Junction yard. We were hunting class 08 shunters before they were scrapped and there were a few in the yard, but obscured by lines of coal wagons and Mk1 coaches.

So, after a few minutes debating our next move and coming to the conclusion that there was no activity in the sidings we were interested in, we decided to do a bit of old fashioned "bunking".

We crept through a gap in the fence and found the correct track where the shunters had been abandoned and just walked casually along the line of them noting the numbers; that is until we came to something large parked in front of them but covered in tarpaulins. A slightly closer inspection revealed it to be 60009 Union Of South Africa.

That was enough to give us the "frights", as we thought there must be some kind of security associated with a loco of that stature, so we quietly but rather more quickly, retraced our steps to the car. However, it was a strange but awe inspiring feeling for a minute or two, standing on the ballast next to these vast driving wheels in the middle of a yard with, seemingly, no one else around.

Rlangham wrote:Something unusual caught my eye... 4464 'Bittern' in steam, on its way to Shildon! I spent the next hour or so waiting for it to leave, soaking in the smell, sound and whole experience,...

It's called the "magic of steam" once tasted never forgotten.

Sir Nigel Gresley will be at Didcot for the spring gala weekend of 5/6 April if you want to see an A4 close up in steam, tornado will also be there... I plan to go although not sure which day yet.

Pete

G'Day Gents

Been many years since I was thrilled by LNER Pacifics pounded through Wood Green station, I've never been able to get those scenes out of my memory, the closest I can get now is my models.

manna

manna wrote:Been many years since I was thrilled by LNER Pacifics pounded through Wood Green station, I've never been able to get those scenes out of my memory, the closest I can get now is my models.

I remember being a youngster in the early 1960s and being out in the London streets and occasionally when passing a railway station smelling the coal smoke left in the air of a passing steam train also i remember being at Crouch Hill station around 1965 when a BIG dirty black 9F 2-10-0 came rumbling through of a goods train plus on a holiday trip to the Isle of Wight in 1964 i remember the ex-L.S.W.R. O2 0-4-4T tank locos still at work on the Island.

Manna

My spiritual home for 5yrs and possibly the main reason i only got 1 O level

BUT i wouldn't have changed those times for the world. suffice to say that despite never going further north than Hatfield i managed to clear all but forty of the Pacifics ( although there is a disputed one)

They were 35/7/41/3/57/68/79/84/89/90/4/5/6/7/8/100/1/116/152/159/60/1/2/507/9/10/19/28/29/31/34/5/6/7

most days we could get there to see the Scotch Goods go through EXCEPT the day 68 was on it!!!
One of the lads brothersworked in the kitchen cars. his claim to fame was haulage by all 202 of them

G'Day Gents

Hi, Silverfox, i cannot remember the very early days when my mother pushed me up 'the trains' to watch them go past, but I would probably have been only 4 or 5, so from about 1955 to 1964, I would have been seen at Wood Green, Hornsey, FP, or Kings Cross, so it's quite possible that we've crossed paths somewhere, but what an education it was.........

manna

My very first recollection of thing LNER must have been in the very early 50's. Due to my bad milk teeth, i attended Eastmans Clinic in Grays Inn Road. Dad used to deviate via Holborn to show me Bassett Lowkes shop. In fact it must be pre April 52 as i can clearly recall travelling up to Manor House from the stop at Mildmay street ( where Gran lived) on the 33 Tram. He also took me via Kings Cross and then sometimes to the viewing platform in Finsbury Park. I can remember Blue A4's but they must have been BR blue as i would have been 3 1/2 at the end of 1950 when all were repainted from LNER blue, but it is nice to think i did see LNER blue albeit in BR days.
The one sad thing is that some of the locos that i needed were still working into London back then, only wished Dad was a spotter!!

Ay up!

I am post Steam - a 1966 job - so only got to know it in preservation. And yes, I've been making up for lost time ever since!

I never "got" Streamliners until I saw this image:

http://d240vprofozpi.cloudfront.net/loc ... erlink.jpg

Been a streamliner nut ever since. The Duchess was a dream come true. But here's something. For years, I preferred A4s without the valences when running, with them for static display, even after watching Mallard in 1988. But now, valences all the way!

My 1st LNER experience was the combined forces of Joem and 4744 at the Worth Valley and very poor they looked beside the Black 5s! My 1st loco "cabbed" was 46115. But then a visit to Neville Hill and an encounter with 4498 and 4472 put me right. My favorite LNER engine is probably a V2. Just right proportionally and boy, what a loco!

I too 'bumped' in to Bittern completely out of the blue on my way home from work a couple of years ago. The way home took in a bridge over Tyne Yard and one evening I was surprised to find an A4 in the yard. Close examination revealed it to be Bittern, the only one of the UK based A4s I'd not seen until then...



John

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Blink Bonny wrote:

My favorite LNER engine is probably a V2. Just right proportionally and boy, what a loco!

A man of impeccable taste !!!