1968 The End of Steam

[Mickey]

The year 2018 marks the 50th anniversary of the 'End of Steam' on British Railways when the fires were dropped for the last time on a small collection of grimy Stanier Black 5s & 8Fs still working from the last three remaining steam sheds in the north west of England at Lostock Hall, Carnforth & Rose Grove on the London Midland Region of B.R.

Sunday August 4th 1968 saw a number of steam hauled specials taking place around the north west of England culminating a week later on Sunday August 11th 1968 with the running of the '15 Guinea Special' which had the train reporting number 1T57. This train departed from Liverpool Lime street behind Black 5 no.45110 and ran to Manchester where there was a change of locos to Britannia no.70013 Oliver Cromwell where the last working Britannia left in B.R. service worked the train forward from Manchester to Carlisle over the Settle & Carlisle line with a planned photo stop at Ais Gill. The return trip south from Carlisle to Manchester was again a run across the Settle & Carlisle line this time behind two Black 5s nos.44871 & 44781 where on arriving at Manchester the two Black 5s came off and were replaced by a single Black 5 no.45110 for the last leg of the run from Manchester back to Liverpool Lime street.

Finally catching some people out was Britannia no.70013 Oliver Cromwell which ran light engine under it's own steam from Carlisle back to Lostock Hall shed before setting off light engine to Bressingham in Norfolk on Monday 12th August 1968 and on into preservation.

The countdown to the end of working steam finally ended on August 11th 1968 but soon after the clock restarted again this time on the rebirth of steam and the rise of the preservation movement in the UK.

[sandwhich]

Yes Mickey, it seems hard to believe its half a century since that time, it would mean that anybody under the age of probably 54 if not slightly older would not remember steam in the wild.

[Mickey]

Your right about that sandwhich and I am 61 now and only vaguely remember seeing 'steam in the wild' as a youngster at a few locations during the 1964-1966 period in the south of England.

1.A ex-LMS 2-6-2 Ivatt tank 'on the stops' at Waterloo in 1964 after bringing in a train of ECS from Clapham Junction carriage sidings.
2. Various ex-LSWR O2 0-4-4 tanks at several different locations on the Isle of Wight in the summer of 1964.
3.A re-built Bulleid pacific standing in a station on the southern region somewhere on the south western division again in 1964.
4.Maybe a B.R. 9F 2-10-0 working a cross London inter-regional freight train across the Tottenham & Hampstead line at Crouch Hill station heading east either in 1965 or 1966?. Anyway as a youngster back then and thinking about that loco again now I would like to believe the loco was a 9F because it was BIG and black and was loud and making a lot of smoke going under Stroud Green road bridge at Crouch Hill station so I would like to think it was a 9F?.

Also I knew that there was still some steam knocking about up in the north west of England back in 1968 but as an 11 year old 'kid' in the south of England at that time I was probably still a bit to young to travel from Euston down to Manchester on my own to do a bit of 'shed bashing' around somewhere like Stockport Edgeley or Heaton Mersey sheds or any of the other nine or ten sheds that still had steam back in the first half of 1968 but I did attend the 'End of Steam' on the London Underground at Neasden depot back in June 1971 when the last two ex-GWR red London Underground 0-6-0 pannier tanks were finally withdrawn. Anyway I was 14 years old by then and travelled anywhere I wanted to go on B.R. or London Underground back in the 1970s.

[strang steel]

I suppose that I was rather more fortunate, being born in 1953 and therefore aged 15 at the end of steam; although the locos I saw mostly towards that year were on scrap lines which became seriously depressing.

I couldn't afford the fare to Lancashire in those days, so did not witness the last months of decline.

However, I was lucky in other ways because my parents garden looked out onto the line between Sleaford and Boston, and my grandmother's garden backed onto the M&GN at Bourne. I do vaguely remember standing at the garden fence watching the occasional train pass by, but that must have been 1957/8 as the line closed (except for the daily pickup goods) at the end of February 1959.

My brother had a spell in Peterborough hospital in 1958 and as part of the hospital visit (by bus) I would be allowed a spell on North station if I behaved. I remember older boys there getting very excited when a loco with lots of noughts in the number arrived, and saw quite a few ER Pacifics amongst other locos.

Fortunately, the Boston line remains open to this day; and in the early 1960s there were many steam locos working freight and summer holiday traffic, plus a short cycle ride away was the GN&GE to/from Spalding. Diesels began to creep in during 1962/3, but did not fully take over on both lines until sometime in 1965, (I can't remember the precise dates).

Even more fortunately, my parents liked Bournemouth for holidays, and we went there three times in the first half of the 1960s. I managed to badger my father to take me to Central station when the weather was bad and my mother went around the shops, and I even managed him to go to Eastleigh Works Open Day one year; so I saw lots of Bulleid Pacifics.

I could have tried to 'encourage' a holiday in Blackpool during 1967 or 1968, but my mother said the weather was far too cold compared with Bournemouth; so I didn't push it.

[Mickey]

I like that idea John not that it actually happened to you as such because your parents were already going to sunny Bournemouth by the sea in 1967 which was very fortunate for you indeed but possibly unbeknowingly for them for seeing the last of the grimy Bulleid pacifics in action but the idea of being asked by your parents where would you like to go on holiday in England this year and thinking where would a good place to go to do some loco spotting be?.

Below Black 5 no.44781 stands on Carnforth shed in the final few days of B.R. steam in 1968. This particular loco took part in the '15 Guinea Special' double-headed run over the Settle & Carlisle southbound from Carlisle back to Manchester along with stable mate Black 5 no.44871 but unlike that loco which was preserved no.44781 was 'wrecked' in the British film Virgin Soldiers' and was cut up on site.

http://www.railscot.co.uk/img/33/564/

[Mickey]

Reputed to be the very last steam loco mishap or accident(?) on B.R. right at the very end of steam in August 1968.

Two rather clean looking 8Fs no.48773 & no.48666 with no.48666 and it's pony truck 'down in the dirt' in Rose Grove shed yard. It looks like a couple of the Rose Grove shed staff are busy 'packing' the sleepers in readiness to drag no.48666 back onto the rails.

http://www.rail-online.co.uk/p77103013/ ... #h8034f59d

[52D]

I was fortunate to be around and an enthusiast when the Alnwick branch closed to Steam in 1967, 3 K1s 62011/21/50 and special mystery guest loco i think arranged by John Bellwood, from Tyne Dock 9F 92099. I had hoped a deal might have been done with Ferryhill or Tay Bridge to bring one of the remaining LNER Pacifics but the 9F looked really well all buffed up and looking back i wouldnt have changed it. A bit of overkill for two coaches but who cares, It looked very Germanic crossing Cawledge Viaduct.

[Mickey]

Yes I've seen some of the film footage of that last run 52D made by that B.R.9F no.92099 over the 3 mile Alnwick branch and yes the loco looked nice and clean for the occasion. Also I've seen some other film footage of the K1s in action working the Alnwick branch service during the early winter (snowy weather) and summer of 1967 shortly before the end of steam in 1967 over the branch. Also I believe the Alnwick branch was the last steam worked branch at least in the north of England?.

That 3 mile Alnwick branch was originally double track but later on it appeared to have been singled after steam had finished in the summer of 1967 in some film footage that I've seen from the late 1960s.

[52D]

It was singled in 1964 ish with the general overhaul of signalling between Newcastle and Marshal Meadows, We lost a lot of boxes and some such as Stamford were converted to a crossing box only under the control of Littlemill.

[Mickey]

They must have lifted the redundant line after the summer of 1967 because the bit of film footage that I've seen of a K1 hauling a 3 coach train along the Alnwick branch looks like it's running on a double track route?.

I have been watching a dvd of the Waverley route between Edinburgh-Carlisle that was mainly filmed between 1964-1966 which featured several V2s and B1s along with a couple of A3s & A4s and a A2 plus a Royal Scot.

[sandwhich]

As regards Bournemouth, going back into the far off 1950s I used to spend several holidays with my parents in that resort and the Hotel we used was not that far from the Central Station and my Father used to take me onto the Down Platform on some evenings which at the country end was opposite the engine sheds I would be there probably around an hour, sheer bliss but unbeknown to us all steam would only go on for ten more years or so.

[Mickey]

Yes there was a good panoramic view of Bournemouth shed to be had from the station platform usually featuring a nice collection of Merchant Navy's, West Country's and Battle of Britain's, B.R. Standard 5s, Q1s and M7 tanks on shed along with the occasional visiting King Arthur, Lord Nelson, Maunsell Schools after being transferred from the south eastern division in 1961 and Maunsell 2-6-0 mixed traffic locos. The thing about Bournemouth shed was it didn't have a proper coaling tower like Nine Elms shed had and Weymouth shed had a GWR coaling stage being originally in GWR territory until 1958 before becoming part of the southern region so coaling on Bournemouth shed was done by a motor driven crane standing beside the loco digging into a wagon load of coal and filling the tender that way.

Bournemouth shed along with Nine Elms, Guildford, Salisbury & Weymouth sheds all closed on the same day on July 9th 1967 with the introduction of a full EMU service on the south western lines into & out of Waterloo.

The site of Bournemouth steam shed is currently a car park.

[Mickey]

With only 20 locos of the class being built by British Railways the B.R. Standard class 3 2-6-0 was a fairly rare loco indeed with all 20 of the class either going to the Scottish region or to the North Eastern region although this example found it's way down south and is seen on Guildford shed in Surrey on the Southern region near the end of steam on the Southern region in July 1967.

The text claims that this loco no.77014 worked the very last parcels train from Bournemouth to Weymouth on the last day of steam on the Southern region on the 9th July 1967.

http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2209691

[markindurham]

With only 20 locos of the class being built by British Railways the B.R. Standard class 3 2-6-0 was a fairly rare loco indeed with all 20 of the class either going to the Scottish region or to the North Eastern region although this example found it's way down south and is seen on Guildford shed in Surrey on the Southern region near the end of steam on the Southern region in July 1967.

The text claims that this loco no.77014 worked the very last parcels train from Bournemouth to Weymouth on the last day of steam on the Southern region on the 9th July 1967.

http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2209691

As I understand it, 77014 went South to run a special, although I'm not sure if that actually ran. In any case, for some reason she never headed back again. It is generally accepted that she did indeed do the last scheduled steam working; the parcels service that you mention.

[Mickey]

With only 20 locos of the class being built by British Railways the B.R. Standard class 3 2-6-0 was a fairly rare loco indeed with all 20 of the class either going to the Scottish region or to the North Eastern region although this example found it's way down south and is seen on Guildford shed in Surrey on the Southern region near the end of steam on the Southern region in July 1967.

The text claims that this loco no.77014 worked the very last parcels train from Bournemouth to Weymouth on the last day of steam on the Southern region on the 9th July 1967.

http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2209691

As I understand it, 77014 went South to run a special, although I'm not sure if that actually ran. In any case, for some reason she never headed back again. It is generally accepted that she did indeed do the last scheduled steam working; the parcels service that you mention.

It's a pity at least one of the class didn't get preserved because they look nice compact locos.

I like all the B.R. Standard classes.