With Full Regulator
LOCOMOTIVE PERFORMANCE THEN AND NOW
In his latest column, Don Benn covers some runs with the recently-retired ‘King of Sapperton’ driver Ray Poole.
In his latest column, Don Benn covers some runs with the recently-retired ‘King of Sapperton’ Ray Poole featuring ‘Black Five’ 4-6-0 No. 44871, GWR Castle 4-6-0 No. 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe and LMS Pacific No. 46233 Duchess of Sutherland, plus the record-breaking run from Waterloo to Salisbury behind Merchant Navy No. 35023 Holland- Afrika Line in 1966.
AT the same time as Ray Churchill retired, one of the other footplate greats also hung up his greasetop hat.
Ray Poole, also known as‘the King of Sapperton’, has given me many good runs over the last 10 years or so, and therefore it is appropriate to include details of three of his runs this time. I will start with the last run of his that I timed, which was the Steam Dreams trip to Worcester on Thursday, May 23, 2019.
In my view it was one of his finest efforts, coaxing a performance from LMS‘Black Five’4-6-0 No. 44871 which was well above its power classification, and giving me the highest power figure I have ever recorded with a Class 5 locomotive.
The whole day was a delight as Ray was prepared to run the engine up to its revised rated maximum speed of 65mph wherever possible, giving some very good section times helped by storming starts. I am, though, concentrating on the performance over Sapperton (Table One), which shows the running from passing Stonehouse to the Kemble stop on the return 6pm Worcester Shrub Hill to London Victoria.
Sapperton
Our train was over three minutes late away from the Cheltenham stop and so did not take the booked pathing stop in Gloucester Yard, but paid the price by being stopped by signals after Standish Junction as we had caught the 6.33pm Cheltenham to Paddington service, which was making its Stonehouse call. This would also stop at Stroud, so I was not optimistic about getting a clear road up Sapperton bank, but fortunately I was unduly pessimistic, as Table One shows.
Ray said he took it fairly easily from the signal stop so as not to catch adverse signals from the train in front, but
then really let fly at St Mary’s. It was a truly superb climb and certainly in the top few recorded in recent years.
Fireman Chris Birmingham was clearly supplying enough steam to enable Ray to use full regulator and 60% cut off over the final mile of 1-in-60 to the tunnel.
The noise was deafening and speed only fell from 38 to 36mph on this stretch, which I calculate was worth 1690 equivalent drawbar horsepower (edbh). This is a very high figure for a Class 5 locomotive – it’s up in the Class 7 category and possibly an all-time record.
When I talked to Ray at Reading after he had been relieved, he told me how the engine was being worked and that he was pleased with its performance. He added: “Mr. Churchill does it with the‘green one’(No. 5043) and I do it with the‘black one’(No. 44871).”
Earlier, the westbound climb to Sapperton was also very good, producing 1,480edbh, the high-end figure normally expected from a LMS Class 5.
Table Two shows Ray Poole with‘the green one’, No. 5043 Earl of Mount Edgecumbe, on the Vintage Trains ‘Cotswold Explorer’of Saturday, October 8, 2016, on nine coaches – plus the water carrier for a total of 385 tons full.
Ray had Alistair Meanley firing, and the pair had a good path from joining the main line at Abbotswood Junction, so turned in an above par performance, running at or around the 75mph limit until the then new speed limit at Ashchurch. The Castle could be heard from nine coaches back, giving me my best steam run over this stretch and gaining seven minutes net to passing Standish Junction.
My photograph on page 64 shows No. 5043 Earl of Mount Edgecumbe storming along in fine style at a foot crossing just south of Ashchurch in May 2013.
The continuation up the Golden Valley to Sapperton and on to Swindon will be covered in my next column.
The Vintage Trains‘Whistling Ghost’trip on Saturday, June 17, 2017, combined a run with Princess Coronation
No. 46233 Duchess of Sutherland with the West Somerset Railway, and the prospect of a heavy train being hauled over that line’s fierce gradients by a big ex-GWR locomotive. There were some concerns ahead of the trip as the weather had been hot for a while.
In fact, though we didn’t know it at the time, Gresley A4 Pacific No. 60009 Union of South Africa caused a series of eight lineside fires on the day of our trip due to being fired slack while running light engine, as the coal was well back in the tender and this resulted in sparks from the chimney. The reports in some quarters that the cause was a brake or lubricator fault were incorrect.
Traction
This resulted in the‘Torbay Express’of Sunday, June18 running with a diesel pilot, and with hindsight it was surprising that the return run of our train was allowed to operate with pure steam. There had also been speed restrictions imposed on some lines in the south.
Therefore, with some trepidation we boarded the 6.27am Cross Country train from Southampton Airport to Banbury to make a comfortable connection into the 6.56am from Solihull‘Whistling Ghost’to Minehead.
This rolled in early with the Pacific on 10 coaches and REG, the water carrier, total about 415 tons gross and not a diesel in sight! Ray Poole and Alistair Meanley were in charge up front again. We settled down to time the first section to a water stop in the up loop south of Oxford (Table Three). We were on time away, and gained three minutes to the stop.
Ray soon had No. 46233 Duchess of Sutherland running easily into the seventies which got us better than even time by Kidlington, just 17.06 miles from the start. Although we heard the Pacific working from four coaches back, soon after the start Ray appeared to be exercising great care not to push the engine on this
“It was one of his finest efforts, coaxing a performance from LMS ‘Black Five’ 4-6-0 No. 44871 which was well above its power classification, giving me the highest power figure I have ever recorded with a Class 5 locomotive. The whole day was a delight as Ray was prepared to run the engine up to its revised rated maximum speed of 65mph wherever possible, giving some very good section times helped by storming starts.”
stretch or indeed anywhere else, no doubt with the fire risk in mind.
Now for a very special something from the 1960s, but one which for family reasons I had to miss. Derek Winkworth was one of those closely associated with Southern steam and he arranged a special trip from Waterloo involving a 78-minute timing for the 83.7 miles to Salisbury with an eight-coach train.
This took place on Saturday, October 15, 1966, and Derek was on the footplate with driver Bert Hooker, fireman Alan Dedman and inspector Arthur Jupp.
It’s not clear whether the high speed achieved on the run had been pre-planned, but Derek comments in his account of the run in his book‘Bulleid’s Pacifics’that the fireman mentioned that this would be a‘special run’and Bert had replied, saying‘that he wouldn’t go down to Salisbury any faster than on that particular day’.
Table Four sets out the detail of this extraordinary run, timed by my old friend Terry Jackson. The loco was modified Merchant Navy Pacific No. 35023 HollandAfrika Line and the load was eight coaches for 280 tons full. There had been a problem with loading the coal at Nine Elms, and clearing the mess on the footplate resulted in the locomotive not arriving at Waterloo until five minutes prior to departure.
Start
The start was very slow, no doubt due to the footplate crew sorting themselves out, so much so that time was lost to passing Clapham Junction.
A normal start with this load would probably have taken no more than six-and-a-half minutes, and even the recovery to Surbiton was no better than was expected to keep time.
Cut-off was set at 20% with only 105lbs of steam being used, so the regulator was about one third open, but increased somewhat to lift speed to 83mph in the Byfleet dip prior to a severe temporary speed restriction.
From this, cut-off was set at 25%, but with still only half regulator, speed reached 72mph at the summit of the mainly 1-in-314/298/304 climb from Byfleet and then 86mph after Fleet on mainly level track before another severe temporary speed restriction.
By comparison, I have looked out a very good run of mine on the down‘Atlantic Coast Express’on April 18, 1964, behind No. 35016 Elders Fyffes.
Salisbury driver Cox had 12 coaches for 435 tons gross to contend with and, coincidentally, the inspector was Arthur Jupp.
We took just six minutes 53 seconds to pass Clapham Junction and 15 minutes 21 seconds to Surbiton, where speed was 70mph. Reaching 77½mph in the Byfeet dip was a prelude to 62½mph over milepost 31 and a very good 79mph after Fleet.
Back on the high-speed run, Bert Hooker now set about some time recovery and with the cut-off set at 25% again and with 200lbs of steam, the most of the journey, accelerated from a restricted 66 through Basingstoke to 68½mph up the 1-in-249 to Worting Junction and then, like lightning, to 92mph after Overton on the gently falling 1-in-550 down gradient.
Here the regulator was eased to reduce the steam being used to 120lbs in the Hurstbourne dip, where
“Here the regulator was eased to reduce the steam being used to 120lbs in the Hurstbourne dip, where speed peaked at 95mph before being reduced to 89mph over the 1-in-275 up to milepost 62½. The regulator was then pushed up further so that 140/150lbs of steam was being used to achieve the magic ton just before Andover.”
speed peaked at 95mph before being reduced to 89mph over the 1-in-275 up to milepost 62½.
The regulator was then pushed up further so that 140/150lbs of steam was being used to achieve the magic ton just before Andover.
What a thrilling experience this must have been, dashing down though the curves before the change of gradient before Andover – and what a sight it must have been from the platforms.
That race down through Andover is still one of my best-loved steam experiences on modern-day steam trips.
To quote a comment from a passenger in Derek Winkworth’s book when comparing with specially picked and prepared engines on another high speed trip where the engines failed to reach the 100mph mark: “The Southern just did it quietly with an ordinary engine.”
Record
Yes, they did, but the Bulleid Pacifics are not ordinary engines. With boiler pressure at a steady 240lbs, more steam was then taken to top Grateley at a minimum of 80mph and then with the regulator at about a quarter open to reach 98mph down Porton bank.
The finish into Salisbury was quite slow due to using a platform unfamiliar with the crew. The time from Worting Junction had been just 25 minutes 21 seconds for the 33.36 miles, surely an all-time record and the overall net time just 71 minutes or 69 minutes allowing for a normal start and finish, also an all-time record with steam.
On my 1964 run we had checks at Hurstbourne and Tunnel Junction, so the overall time was 81 minutes and 2 seconds and the net time 76 minutes; very good with 12 coaches. Although I missed this 100mph run, I was on six others between 1965 and 1967, and all are set out in my book ’The Twilight of Southern Steam’, published by Pen & Sword.
Without in any way wishing to downplay that breathtaking run behind No. 35023, my run on the up ‘Club Train’5.30pm from Weymouth to Waterloo two months later on December 12, 1966, with 375 tons on a dark, damp night required the engine to be worked harder with the same cut-off to reach 103mph on 1 in-337 and level track compared to the 1-in-178 down to Andover.
This, for me, makes it number one in the Southern high speed and power output stakes as it required not far short of 3,000 indicated horsepower. Detail over the Worting Junction to Farnborough stretch is show in the table.
Next time I hope to include another run with Ray Poole in charge, plus one with No. 61306 Mayflower from 2015, something from the 1960s and a West German Pacific on an international train in 1971.