Kings Cross

[manna]

G'day Gents

What did surprise me the other day was a picture of Gresley Mainline stock at Farringdon St station (Ex, Snow Hill) up side behind a N1, on a special, I didn't know mainline stock was allowed down the drain/widened lines.

manna
PS I have re-found the picture, it's of 69470 with a headboard saying, "The Bernard Shaw Special" dated 2-10-55, and is part of the Mike Morant Collection.

[Hatfield Shed]

Any chance of picking up a coach number or other detail from the photo? I should have thought the 61'6" stock too long, but the GE section 52'6" vehicles would probably not cause a problem.

[jwealleans]

Picture is here.

I don't have diagram books to hand, but the second carriage has 8 large windows, which suggests 61'6" TK or TO to me.

[Mickey]

Certainly did run trains, including expresses, into Platform 1 off the Up Slow at York Road - a sleeper arrival in the morning was one regular but you had to pray the driver didn't stop short.

Yeah i could imagine that was the case John if the driver of a train of sleepers especially and there GUVs at the rear of the train overhanging platform no.1 if the driver stopped slightly short of the stops with the rear of the train either standing on the connection coming off the Up Moorgate in York Road station or the rear of the train still standing on a track circuit preventing the signalman normalising the points off the Up Moorgate.

Mickey

[thesignalman]

Well, that's what I said in fewer words.

If one didn't pull in clear it was a bit of a faff because the incoming driver would be away in a flash so not only did you need to find a driver but you had to get somebody to close all the doors. As the passengers had until about 8.30 to wake up, dress and scarper there was always somebody opening a door at the other end to the poor chap who was closing them!

John

[Mickey]

As the passengers had until about 8.30 to wake up, dress and scarper there was always somebody opening a door at the other end to the poor chap who was closing them!

In the meantime the loco on either 1-Shunt (usually a Brush type 2) or 2-Shunt (usually a 350hp shunter) would take the car carrying GUVs off the back end and take them across to the Milk Dock for unloading.

[terrym15]

Hi Folks.
I worked at KX as a secondman from about 1963 it is good to read all the remarks made by all of you about your experiences at the Cross in your times their, I started at the KX goods yard working as a van boy on the delivery trucks and would go to the canteen at the Top Shed and mix with the engine crews for our meals, I manged to transfer to the motive power side of things and was transferred to KX pass depot as Top Shed had now closed, I started as a cleaner progressed to secondman after doing my training in the classrooms on york road station platform and managed to get to no:3 link with Ron Kennedy as my driver for a time before they closed Hornsey depot then the chosen men arrived and my seniority took a backward step and quite a few of them progressed up the links in front of me.
I remember a few of the names that have been mentioned, Freddie Orr - Ken De'ath - Quigley & John Hill who lived near me and what you all say about Peter Green and Tommy Fee are quite correct, I met Peter Green when I went up to the Finsbury Park link for a short while and mentioned to him that I didnt remember him at KX at any time and he told me that it was his choice to not do the Lodge and stay in the Finsbury Park link.
I see from some of the comment that he did eventually become a driver and tease a few of the younger lads, I think that was he way and I never heard any bad rumours circulating about his habits.
Reading some of the comments on here bring back lots of memories of my time at KX and would like to say keep up the very interesting topics

[manna]

G'Day Gents

Welcome to LNER Encyclopedia.

manna

[rockinjohn]

Hi Manna &others their were excursions from the Northern Heights eg. High Barnet &possibly further afield as an orginating point in steam days, utilising the style of stock livered(blood &custard)as shown in the picture you posted,now the destination may well have been to the Eastern(GER)destinations,but possibly some went South via the "Widened Lines"?jj

[TX3]

Hi folks, I often get diverted to these pages whilst researching for something or other. Absolutely fascinating stuff and jogs so many memories of great times at Kings Cross in the early 70s. I'm Ray Coggin by the way, secondman from March 1971 and currently putting together a podcast of my experiences on the footplate during the 70's. I left the Cross in Feb 74 and transferred to Inverness where I spent a few happy years and qualified for driving there.
I would really love to hear from anyone that wouldn't mind a chat or being interviewed to talk about Kings Cross and the many characters that were there. the half century that has somehow mysteriously elapsed since those days sometimes blurs the memorie,s so to just get those names back has been an immense help as I put stories together. Ken Grieg bellowing out orders from the mess room door resplendent in his blue dust coat and clipboard in hand is a lingering memory. The noise of the West Indians playing dominos, banging them on the table to noisy shouts of glee at 3am whilst others were try to get their head down is another. I would particularly like to get in touch with Paul Chapman from Leicester who was there bit before I arrived. Does anyone knows of his whereabouts? Anyone even if you have no recollection of me, I would be very grateful for your recollections. What happened to Les French that wore his green uniform until it was about to fall off. I know he got a driving job at London Bridge around 74 maybe, but what after?
I just read some stuff on Archie Cowlard who during a work to rule once left a loco hauled passenger train with only the loco on platform 12(10) and the rest of the train full of passengers stranded across the station as he "Screwed it down" having run over his time. I observed it from the Passenger Loco foreman's office, where the foreman declared, "They've got him now!" But they didn't.
I have tales of Budgie Lester causing chaos on the 03.30? staff to WGC with my help. Walking through the tunnels at Welwyn North, Riding a horse in a field near Langley and lots of other mad tales. Some of the intriguing posts on here are also many years old but I would love to reply to some. This whole forum is a books worth. Please, please get in touch if you can share any stories.

[Mickey]

As far as I am concerned TX3 Kings Cross station to Gasworks tunnel in 2023 is a completely 'alien environment' compared to how I like to remember it from the late 1960s and the first half of the 1970s and personally I can't relate to any of it at all anymore. I went past it on a no.390 bus today along York Way and a massively tall building now sits on the site of the old passenger loco starting from Gasworks tunnel and continuing along the back of the two remaining suburban platforms and then it disappears further along. Also I never liked the 1977 'rationalised track layout' and the OHLE (25.000kv overhead wires) either plus also spotted were 'clumps of bushes' sitting off track in the between the points work just outside Gasworks tunnel it's a joke.

I use to virtually live at Kings Cross station between about 1969-1975 first as a railway enthusiast/train spotter then I worked as a 'box lad' at Welwyn Garden City box between July 1972-March 1974 and then as a secondman at Kings Cross loco between April 1974 and September 1975 before leaving the area altogether also my late mother once worked in The Ridings bar on the old no.10 platform at the cross from about 1971-1974 before transferring to 'the Midland' next door at St Pancras station and working in The Shires bar pulling pints of 'Shires bitter' until about 1980 ha ha

[giner]

Hear hear, Mickey. Apart from the two arches and the tunnel mouths, all of which are disgustingly clean now, you'd be pressed to realise it's Kings Cross. We know things 'move on', but . . .

[strang steel]

G'day Gents

What did surprise me the other day was a picture of Gresley Mainline stock at Farringdon St station (Ex, Snow Hill) up side behind a N1, on a special, I didn't know mainline stock was allowed down the drain/widened lines.

manna

I had a look at Six Bells Junction, and the special train did not go via the York Road Curve, but came from the SR via Snow Hill. Presumably the Hotel Curve was a larger radius curve, although I wouldn't have advised leaning out of a window.

[manna]

G'day Gents

What did surprise me the other day was a picture of Gresley Mainline stock at Farringdon St station (Ex, Snow Hill) up side behind a N1, on a special, I didn't know mainline stock was allowed down the drain/widened lines.

manna

I had a look at Six Bells Junction, and the special train did not go via the York Road Curve, but came from the SR via Snow Hill. Presumably the Hotel Curve was a larger radius curve, although I wouldn't have advised leaning out of a window.

G'Day Gents.

I can see it was facing KX, 'cos Farringdon Goods yard is in the background, Jonathan says that it's 61' stock, I don't think that would go around the Hotel curve, (but you never know) Brush 2's used to get around the curve, how long were they !

manna

[strang steel]

According to Wikipedia, the Brush 2s were 56ft 9ins long and could negotiate a minimum curve of 4.5 chains (300ft).

I