From Thanet through North Kent with Britannia
Bill Warriner was originally from Rugby, but like all the steam drivers - both from WCRC and DB Cargo - he had a very wide route knowledge. Curiously, the run in Table 3 was on the LCDR, a line with which he was not familiar, so a route conductor was provided. On this 2011 run, which actually started from Canterbury West, No. 70000 Britannia was hauling 13 coaches weighing 470 tons gross. I am grateful to my friend David Sprackland for supplying these details. The log shows the section between Margate, passed 8 mins late at low speed, and the stop at Bromley South. There are some sharp undulations in the short distance to Birchington, then a descent at 1-in-140/90 to level track at Milepost 67, which enabled speed to rise to 72mph. A more pronounced ‘hump’ to Milepost 64½ meant speed fell to 61mph up the 1-in-96/115, but during the ensuing descent Herne Bay was passed at 73mph. Whitstable was reached in a fraction over the tight 17-min allowance. After more undulating topography there is a brief descent at 1-in-95 to level track at Milepost 55, where the maximum was 66½mph. After the speed restriction through Faversham, a similar speed was reached downhill to Teynham, before a heavy signal check approaching Sittingbourne.
Over the hump
No. 70000 recovered to 44mph at the top of the sharp climb to the minor summit at Milepost 42¾, an excellent effort up gradients varying between 1-in-95 and 120. From Newington to Gillingham the line is virtually level, but progress was again impeded by signal checks. In Table 3, I have included as a comparison a run I timed on the Up ‘Night Ferry’ in 1964 with one of the relatively short-lived Bo-Bo electrics, later to become Class 71 (unfortunately, no pairing of a 4-4-0 piloting a ‘Spam Can’ by this time!) The locomotive carried its original number, E5007. The ‘Night Ferry’ was at this period, I believe, the heaviest passenger train on BR, regularly loading to over 650 tons. While the Down working was routed via Tonbridge, the Up train was always pathed via Faversham so it would arrive at the end of the morning peak, with a scheduled arrival in Victoria at 9.10am. On this occasion, the consist was 16 vehicles, including the usual two four-wheeled SNCF vans immediately behind the engine, plus
seven Wagons-Lits sleeping cars and seven coaches. Passing Faversham at speed 1¾ mins early, the train suffered a permanent way slack at Teynham, but E5007 recovered well through Sittingbourne and fell only to 50mph on the climb to Milepost 42¾.
On the Up
The section through the Medway towns is heavily restricted but, once past Rochester Bridge Junction, Up trains are faced with Sole Street Bank, 5½ miles at 1-in-100, save for a short easing to 1-in-132 near Milepost 31. The climbs by both locomotives were excellent, considering their respective loads, with No. 70000 attaining 46mph on the brief stretch of 1-in-132 and falling only to 43mph at the summit, which is just short of Sole Street station. Meanwhile, the electric, with its substantially heavier load, reached 45mph on the 1-in-132 and topped the bank at 40mph, possibly eased slightly.
The climbs by both locomotives were excellent, considering their respective loads
My colleague, David Pawson, calculates that the respective power outputs exerted on Sole Street Bank were continuously 1,830edhp (2,000ihp) for No. 70000 and 2,300rhp (at the wheel rim) for E5007. Over the 6.1 miles from Rochester Bridge Junction to Sole Street, E5007 had an advantage of 17 secs, but had passed Rochester Bridge Junction at 33mph, compared to Britannia’s 25½mph. From the summit, the line descends to a pronounced dip at Farningham Road, mainly at 1-in-100 with a couple of short uphill intermissions. There follows a broken climb to the next summit at Swanley, again at 1-in-100, then a sawtooth profile of ups and downs, mainly at 1-in-100 before a final descent from Bickley to Bromley South at 1-in-95. Both trains ran well onwards from Sole Street, achieving speeds in the mid-70s on the downhill sections, though the ‘Night Ferry’ was signal checked before and after Swanley.
On behalf of timers everywhere, we thank them for some of the most memorable performances of recent years. I wish these gentlemen of the footplate a long and happy retirement. The current roster of steam drivers have a lot to live up to!
Gordon Hodgson
David Wilcock focuses on Gordon Hodgson’s remarkable footplate career next issue.
Acknowledgements
I am grateful to the following correspondents who have supplied comments, details of recent runs, or interesting runs from the past - Malcolm Lawn, Chris Magner, David Sprackland, Bill Long, Andy Taylor, ‘Dauntsey’, Sandy Smeaton, Alastair Wood, Doug Landau and David Pawson. I am always pleased to receive such details so they can be considered for inclusion in future ‘Top Link’ columns. They can be emailed to me direct at