The LNER Encyclopedia

Watching Micheal Portillos Great Railway Journeys this week, mention was made of these trains, although these workings had ceased by the 1960s I do remember an occasional working taking a van to the then sidings at Enfield Chase where it was loaded with baskets of racing pigeons, the van was taken to KX where it was attached to a night train working going north, Im not sure where it ended up. I remember covering this working in 1966. I beleive it quietly faded away not long afterwards.

I can remember seeing baskets of pigeons at Berwick which I believe were opened by railway staff at some agreed time.

I have no idea where they came from.

This would be in the mid-60s.

When i was on the B.R Y.T.S i did my platform placement at Morpeth. We had pigeons delivered by train for release on day. Due to the weather it was a few days before they were released, but one of the platform staff who i think kept pigeons made sure they were fed and watered. At night they were wheeled into the pacel shed.This didn't stop some do gooder phoning the RSPCA about the conditions they were kept in. They eventually got released with all of them fine. This was 1986.

I need to do a bit of searching for the link but there is one existant of pigeons being released at Berwick in LNER days bear with me chaps.

Found it http://www.britishpathe.com/video/pigeo ... ry/Berwick there are two clips 1938 and 1939.

Hi all
When i was a fireman at Gateshead,i remember working a pigeon special round the coast from Sunderland to Northallerton. We had class O loco and after passing Picton,there was a big bang and something flew past me,and the loco started to vibrate violently.We stopped and i recovered a large balance weight that was fixed with rivets. We proceeded slowly to Northallerton and backed the train into the bay platform.The station master approached with a clip board and watch. He asked the driver why we were late,he pushed his cap back and scratched his head,put it down to bad loading of the train.The station master said ,driver how can you badly load pigeons.His reply was ,at Seaham they loaded the pigeons facing backwards,so when they flap their wings they slow me down. Exit station master muttering under his breath.

52H

Pigeon Specials were certainly running up an down the GN main line in the 1960,61 era. I worked one of them. Travelled passenger KX to Doncaster, then what should roll up on it, 60010. We worked it to Dalston Junction, on the North London line, where two SR class N locos took over from us. I was led to believe that the train started in the Newcastle area and the SR men where taking it on to Dover. We then went light engine to Topshed.

I can remember in early diesel days riding with a driver on a Sulzer two D5110 (boiler fitted) working with Gresley pigeon vans from Saltburn and they being loaded at Redcar / Mbro then to Stockton and coupled behind a main line man who worked south.
Jim Brodie 67281.

Looking at the NER Special Traffic Notice for Friday 7th June 1963 on that day there were a number of pigeon specials which gives an idea of the complexity of the working for this traffic.

3X18 1820 Newcastle - Horley, a BK and 5 BPG form Newcastle to which were attached 1 BPG at Durham, 2 BPG at Ferryhill, 4 BPG at Northallerton and 2 BPG at York. These were for Up North Pigeon Traffic. (time allowed for attachment was 10min at Durham, 10min at Ferryhill and 11 min at Northallerton)

3D12 1935 Parcels Crook -Darlington retimed with 1 BPG from Crook and 1BPG from Bishop Auckland for the West Durham Amalgamation. These were then attached to front of 3B21 2048 Parcels Newcastle-York at Darlington.

3X13 Birmingham New Street- Fraseburgh, a more complex working as follows:
SK, 2 BG Birmingham-Berwick; BG Nottingham-Berwick; BG Burton-Berwick (detached at York and forwarded by 3Z03 P.Spl. dep 0735am under separate advice); 2BG Worksop-Fraserburgh; BSK,BG Nottingham-Fraserburgh; BG Northampton-Coupar Angus; BSK,2BG Leicester-Fraserbugh; 3BG Derby-Arbroath; BG Burton-Fraserbugh; Attached at York BG Lincoln-Fraserburgh; 4 BPG Peterborough-Perth.

3Z20 Delaval Sidings-Consett ECS; Consett-Newcastle Pigeon Special
BSK,2 BG. Conveys West Durham Amalgamation traffic, convoyers and equipment. To be attached to front of 3E02 (1912 exEdinburgh) at Newcastle and detached at York, To be attached at York to Special 3F57 to Letchworth.

There was a regularly, I think Sat' evening working from Sheffield Park sidings in the 50s where anything up to 10 vans of pidgeons were sent out usually B1 or V2 hauled.
Don't know which way the went after Woodburn Jcn.

The train was so long it was Marshalled in two roads with a J50 at the far end of the second half to bank the full train out when the first half was backed onto it.
Used to depart about 10pm ish.

Couple of time I was fireman on the J50.

Not pigeon trains, but baskets. In the late 70s at Stirling we had baskets of pigeons which came up from Inverness (Clansman I think), were unloaded, then sent on to Edinburgh, for a further transfer onto the East Coast route. I cannot remember where they went, but this was repeated a few times over the summer with fewer baskets each time. My understanding was that they went further each time, hence the smaller number as presumably only the better ones were sent further. Does that make sense to someone who knows about pigeons?