Departmentals

[Flamingo]

These locos don't get a lot of attention, perhaps because most were small engines and their locations were out of the way sort of places. No-one seemed really sure about whether to count them as proper 'cops' in one's spotting records. But the ABCs showed several classes with letter Y numbers so why shouldn't Departmentals count.

Here's a couple of examples:

Departmental 33 (ex 68129) seems to be undergoing running repairs at Stratford on 8 August 1959

Departmental 40 a class Y3 Sentinel geared loco on a day off at Lowestoft in summer 1960

[52D]

How dare you call B1s small locomotives. At the change over to Diesel traction several B1 4-6-0s were transferred to departmental stock for train heating at various locations, they were serviced at nearby sheds that still had a steam allocation. Numbered from 17 to 31 BR number and allocation below.

Dept No. BR No. Location
17 61059 Norwich
18 61181 March
19 61204 Norwich
20 61205 Norwich
21 61233 Cambridge
22 61252 Ipswich
23 61300 March
24 Not allocated was to have been 61323
24 61375 Kings Lynn
25 61272 New England
26 61138 Norwich
27 61105 Parkeston
28 61194 ?
29 61264 Norwich
30 61050 Canklow
31 61051 Norwich

All i can say is East Anglians must feel the cold more than us rough Northeners.

Sorry i dont know how to formulate a table on this forum so detail a bit wonky. Alteration made to correct number due to my typo, list of numbers is now correct, locations may not be. They are taken from the Modelmaster Publication British Railways Steam Allocations 1948 - 1968 Part four.

[Solario]

Sorry to be pedantic, I think you have made a slight typo, 52D, but just to put the record straight, Dept no 29 was 61264 and according to my information was based at Colwick. It ended up at Barry and happily survives.

I think that some K3s were used as stationary boilers at March and/or New England but I don't know if they were registered as Departmentals.

K1 62005 was also used as a stationary boiler on Teesside, was it at ICI? My memory fails me again; I doubt whether it was registered as a Departmental.

[stembok]

62005 was indeed used for a spell as as stationary boiler at ICI North Tees oil refinery as a stand in steam supply when one of the boilers at the works was shut down in around early 1968. It aroused much interest amongst the workers there, many of whom had of course been spotters in their youth and also one who was a BR fireman for many years at 51C West Hartlepool. 62005 became quite a celebrity as K1s went, with Royal workings, the last enthusiast's trip over various lines, as in the Whitby area and the industrial boiler role to her credit.
I believe that one of the Scottish Directors 62685 was also used around September 1961 to supply steam to the Caledonian Hotel at Princes Street, Edinburgh and D49 62712 was supplying steam at the BR laundry at Slateford, Edinburgh around the same time.

[52D]

Confirming Solario's statement that 62005 was not given a departmental number. She was stored at various places in the North East and initially kept as a spare boiler for The Great Marquess.

[Bryan]

62005 was indeed used for a spell as as stationary boiler at ICI North Tees oil refinery

That was one of the reasons for the run over the Seal Sands branch to Phillips petroleum on last years NELPG diverted railtour around the North East.