On Shed April 2012 Edition

On Shed April 2012 Edition

"Preserving the steam locomotive legacy..and more..on film"

FRONT PAGE

A light load   (C) Nic Burden


Black Five 44871 approaching Moorgates (NYMR) with the final southbound service of the day.


CONTENTS:
Welcome, and site news...
Steam Tube Video Highlights
Steam Tube Photo Highlights
Tornado- The Story Continues
On This Day
Spotting at Peterborough in the Early Sixties (Dick Bodily)

New Build and Projects Updates...
UK Heritage Railways A - Z (N to S)
From Christian Wolmar....
Around The World in 80 Railways. No. 21. India
Introducing-WATTRAIN
INTRODUCING TEES TRAINS
A Railway Documentary.......
Welcome to April 2012 edition of "On Shed"- "Steam Tubes online magazine.

This has been quite a month for Steam Tube!
In the last two months, 100 new members have joined us (bringing our membership to 867 at 24th March 2012). Total photographic images ...18,662...and total videos....3,793, making for an extensive resource for the railway historian and enthusiast!

We really do welcome feedback...it helps us to improve the site, and make the experience of visiting Steam Tube all the more enjoyable...and educational!

You will have noticed a couple of recently added features.....

The  Steam Tube Media Link is designed to help locate the image you want to see more readily..

..and the Steam Tube Location Pin enables you to see where the best locations are for that definitive shot...(if the other members will let us in on their secrets!)..

..and you can now send GIFTS
We all like receiving gifts from people. Maybe, like me, you like giving gifts! If you can see someone’s doing great job, it’s nice to say “well done!”
We have some great steam photographers and videographers on Steam Tube, producing great work for us all to share! Wouldn’t it be great if we could say “Thanks!”, or “Well done mate – good shot!” Well now you can!
Steam Tube now has ‘Gifts’ . ‘Gifts’ can be sent, along with a message to other Steam Tube members. Choose a gift, write a message and send the gift! How nice!
Your account will start off with ‘credits’. You can buy more credits from the link on your Steam Tube ‘My Page’ Go to your page and click on the ‘settings’ link, half way down the screen on the left hand side, click ‘settings’. Scroll to the bottom of the settings page and there is a link to buy more credit!
Look for a link at the top in the main menu.  It’s nice to receive gifts from people, its nice to send them too! Get sending!
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No doubt you are all making plans for Railfest 2012.....

Take a look HERE to check out more details on this event. Perhaps we will see you there!!

Follow the countdown on THE RAILWAY CHRONICLE, along with the essential railway news from around the world.
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Thank you all for your continuing support...we have received some tremendous shots and videos...
And, as usual, we start off by bringing you a selection of recently uploaded photographic images and videos to enjoy........

Steam Tube Video Highlights







Steam Tube Photo Highlights






Tornado- The Story Continues



On This Day

01/04/1994
Railtrack takes over running of British Rail infrastructure.

01/04/1901 
The West Highlands Railway Mallaig Extension, operated by North British Railway, opens throughout to Mallaig on the West Coast of Scotland.

West Highland photo charter 2011. (C) Mark Walker on Steam Tube.

05/04/1969 The South Devon Railway at Buckfastleigh, reopens as a preserved steam railway, the Dart Valley Railway.

06/04/1927
Garratt locomotives introduced on the Toton - Brent coal trains.


Source unknown. ...

06/04/1992
First section of Manchester Metrolink opens.

09/04/1984
Saltaire Station,West Yorkshire reopens 20 years after British Railways closure

13/04/1771
Richard Trevithick, born this day in Cornwall(1771), patented his steam engine in 1802, and two years later designed the first railway locomotive. He died in 1833.

Sketch of replica Puffing Devil at Trevithick Day
(C) Stephen Bedser

14/04/1951
Southern Railway(India) created as the first zone of Indian Railways, by merger of South Indian Railway, Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway, and Mysore State Railway.

19/04/1916 
Ephraim Shay, invetor of the Shay locomotive, died.(Born 1839)

Cass Scenic Railroad Shay #11 sits at the depot. Note the gearing.
These locomotives were used in logging operations in the main.
(C) Sean Dunn on Steam Tube.

22/04/1913      

John Saxby, English Railway Signalling engineer dies.(Born 1821)

25/04/1997

Construction on Phase 2 of Manchester Metrolink project begins.

25/04/1983
Driverless trains on Lille metro opening.

28/04/1996
Gatwick Express,Midland Mainline and Great North Eastern Railway franchises begin...

30/04/1972
Brighton Belle service between London and Brighton is suspended.
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Spotting at Peterborough in the Early Sixties

I had wanted to go spotting at Peterborough but had been warned off because it was not allowed at Peterborough North station.  I had seen pictures in ‘Trains Illustrated’ of trains on the East Coast main line and also on the Peterborough East line passing the same car park. This car park looked like an ideal location to spot from if I could only find it, but where was it? There were no Google Maps to guide me in those days, but the car park is still there and can easily be found by that method nowadays.

Wednesday 18^th April 1962 found me at Northampton Castle about to board the 9.25am to Peterborough (East) comprising a 115ton tare 3coach load behind March B1 61171. The 44 mile journey including  7 stops would take 78 minutes. Before leaving I noted 46209’Princess Beatrice’ on a Rugby – Euston stopper, 61204 another March B1 arrived from Peterborough and a Northampton – Euston stopper had the usual Sulzer Type 2.

B1 at Annesley 1962-Taken on a TGS Railway Society trip (C) Dick Bodily

Leaving Peterborough East and unsure where to go I casually looked over the Flitton Road concrete bridge, which had been built to replace an earlier level crossing, back along the Nene Valley line in the direction from which I had arrived and there in front of me was THE car park, to the left of the Nene Valley line, with the East Coast main line crossing the Nene Valley line over two side- by-side brick viaduct and girder bridge combinations at the far end of it. Furthermore there was a shop, run by jolly old fellow who addressed each young spotter as ‘General’, where you could stock up with sweets, crisps, ‘crow pies’ ( blackcurrant and apple pies)and pop for the duration while keeping one eye out the window on the East Coast main line so that you missed nothing.

4F Crossing the Nene - April 2011 (C) Dick Bodily

What a mecca Peterborough was in the 60s. It wasn’t just the ECML that was busy, in addition there was about half as much traffic as using the East Coast line passing through Peterborough East. It was where the LNWR, Midland, Great Eastern and Great Northern traditions all met. In times gone by each railway had its own shed but by 1962 only the vast ex GNR New England depot remained in use. The ex LNWR shed visible from the Northampton line was still intact as was the Great Eastern shed tucked awaybehind Peterborough East though both were long since disused. How I wished I had visited just a very few years earlier when GER ‘Claud Hamiltons’ were ending their days on Northampton passenger trains, when the unique streamlined Baltic 60700 was still running between Doncaster and Kings Cross and when giant Beyer-Garretts turned up at Spital Bridge (ex-MR) depot. Still in 1962 steam was having an Indian Summer and there was a wide variety of LNER, LMS and Standard types to be seen along with various DMUs (through Peterborough East) and some interesting new diesel locomotive types on the East Coast not least the recently named ’Deltics’ and the ‘Falcon’. A five hour watch would produce about 80 trains, everything from Class 03 diesel shunters  to A4 Pacifics, from K3 Moguls to ‘Crabs’, from 4Fs to mighty 9Fs.

Britannia approaching Wolverton- December 2011 (C) Dick Bodily

Within minutes of arriving on the day in question two Deltics had passed, one on the Down ‘Flying Scotsman’, Brit 70038‘Robin Hood’ accelerated away from the Peterborough North ‘Dogleg’ curve with a Cleethorpes – Kings Cross express while a Black 5 trundled around the curve under the girders towards Crescent Junction.  There was a lot of freight to be seen in those days, not only on the ECML where New England’s Austerities and 9Fs turned the sky black as they blasted away from the ‘Dogleg’ but also on the Midland / Great Eastern Peterborough East route  8Fs, 4Fs and Black 5s passed with freights bound for Northampton, Leicester or March, while D2013 and D3440 busied themselves on local yards trip workings. One working that none of the spotters present seemed to know about was of a LMS Flying Pig (43094 on this day) on a short ECML ‘up’freight which would pass around about the same time as the Deltic hauled Down ‘Queen of Scots Pullman’ . On this occasion it was 43094 in charge.

Back to 18^th April 1962. Gresley Pacifics especially of the streamlined variety were in short supply. 60050 ‘Persimmon’, newly German smoke deflector clad, passed on an unidentified up express, 4 other A3s were seen that day. Type 4s of both variety (Classes 40 and 46) took expresses north and south, but A1 60158 was on the King Cross – Leeds, a total of four A1s were seen.  An ordinary  V2 passed on a down stopper, but 60880 one of the Peterborough Kylchap double chimney ‘Super V2s’ in fine fettle  was probably deputising for something more powerful that had failed on a Leeds -Kings Cross express.  A handful of New England’s V2s had been chosen for the Kylchap double chimney treatment and kept in good order so that they could stand on pilot duty (‘Thunderbirds’ in modern parlance)at Peterborough North once the accelerated diesel schedules came into play. Apparently the 60 ft turntable at Peterborough North was marginally too short for Pacifics and that’s why V2s were chosen so that they didn’t have to make a detour to the New England triangle if they had to be rapidly turned around. They proved extremely capable in this form, at least the equal to Peterborough’s not so well kept A2s and A3s.

60019 Bittern on The White Rose 4/7/09 (C) Dick Bodily

60033 ‘Seagull’ blew its chime then coasted majestically past with safety valves simmering as it slowed to take the severe ‘Peterborough dogleg’ with a Scottish express including through coaches for Glasgow. Next up was D0280 the ‘Falcon’ Brush Maybach prototype on its regular down ‘Sheffield Pullman’ (re-routed ex GC  ‘Master Cutler’ service). How splendid those East Coast Pullman sets looked in their brown and cream livery: as well as the already mentioned ‘Queen of Scots’ there were also the up ‘Tees Tyne’ and the up ‘Yorkshire Pullman’ to follow. Young spotters would team up to get down all the Pullman car numbers and  names.  ‘ Pete, you take the first two coaches, Geoff you take the 3^rd and 4^th, Malc, you take the next two and I’ll get the rest’. Little did they consider that the formations were usually kept the same.  (Funnily enough, the spotters at Banbury, even less necessarily bearing in mind its DMU type fixed formation, adopted the same tactics for the ‘Birmingham Blue Pullman’ every day.)  Some of the coaches were virtually brand new 1960s series stock and what evocative names they had, many named after precious jewels like ’Emerald, ‘Ruby’ and ‘Topaz’, even more impressive were the older Pullman coaches some with long oval door windows . These gems were often marshalled at the ends of the formations.  ’The ‘Tees- Tyne’ was headed by a really good cop, Gateshead’s A3 ’Night Hawk’ 60078, but much as I hated diesels the exit of Deltic D9019 from the ‘dogleg’ on the ‘Yorkshire’ with its engines’ revs rapidly increasing and accompanied by clouds of exhaust clag was somehow made even more impressive as the sun appeared from behind a cloud and caught on its bright two tone green body paintwork and its snow white window surrounds. Viewing from such a low angle below the bridge seemed to emphasise the inward curve of the bottom of the Deltic’s bodywork, p


On Shed April 2012 Edition