WITH FULL REGULATOR
LOCOMOTIVE PERFORMANCE THEN AND NOW
Don Benn looks at the two runs over the Fells – No. 46115 Scots Guardsman over Grayrigg and Shap in 2014 and No. 70000 Britannia going south over Ais Gill in 2019– plus a very rare run with No. 35007 Aberdeen Commonwealth from Brighton to Victoria in 1964 and two high speed runs with Brush Type 4 Class 47 diesels from 1976 and 1987.
THE recent long spell of hot weather, with little or no rain in the south, in July and August continues as I write this – with little or no‘pure’steam for the timing fraternity. An exception was the Railway Touring Company’s‘Cumbrian Mountain Express’behind No. 35018 British India Line in the then-wet North West on August 6.
DUE to the reduction of train services on all three Train Operating Companies which I need to use to get to the ‘CMEs’, I wasn’t on this, and though my correspondent
Graham Southway has kindly sent me details, I have gone back a few years to look at a couple of runs not previously reported in my column.
And so early in the morning of Saturday, February 22, 2014, we joined a group of bleary-eyed fellow excursionists on the platform at Watford Junction to see No. 86 259 arrive with its 11 coaches. On a cold and clear morning (a miracle in itself in that winter of record rainfall), we settled into our seats in the nice warm train as the steam-age electric
locomotive whisked us north at high speed.
Soon the buffet car attendants came through, offering very welcome bacon rolls. We eagerly consumed ours as by now we had been on the go for nearly four hours. For once I had a window seat on the right side for the mileposts, so I would not need to find a suitable place to stand and set up my GPS.
After picking up many more passengers at various stops en route, we pulled into the down goods loop at Carnforth a couple of minutes adrift. Here our worthy Class 86 was replaced by Royal Scot Class 7 4-6-0 No. 46115 Scots Guardsman plus its support coach, bringing the train up to 12 coaches of heavy mainly Mk.1 stock with a tare weight of 437½ tons tare or 475 tons gross as the train was completely full. This is a very big load for a Class 7 engine to take unaided over Grayrigg and Shap. The previous week the same engine had coped well but before that, Class 6 Jubilee No. 45699 had struggled somewhat. The train is very tightly timed on to Carlisle to fit in with the high speed service trains and would be more suited to a Class 8 engine, though I was very pleased to have No. 46115 as my last run with this engine had been in July 1965.
Over the Fells
We were away nearly four minutes down, being held for a late running Euston to Glasgow express to pass. Perfect, I thought, as we should now have a clear run and we were not late enough to be looped to stay out of the way of the following Pendolino. It was now a blustery day with rain showers and I wondered how Gordon Hodgson and Chris Holmes would cope with this big load over Grayrigg and Shap. Table One shows the excellent performance that No. 46115 turned in, especially the climb to Shap summit, which was top drawer. Right from the start driver Gordon Hodgson showed that the engine was master of the job and we passed Oxenholme spot on the schedule after speed got up into the 60s before hitting the long 1-in-131 and 1-in-106 climb to Grayrigg summit, topped at a good 35mph. Then I wondered whether there were problems up front as we ambled along through the Lune Gorge with speed just reaching a mile a minute. Perhaps the locomotive wasn’t steaming too well and the crew was harbouring steam for Shap. Tebay was passed at just 61½mph and I wondered if this was a prelude to a struggle up the hill but no, No. 46115 was opened up nicely and we hit the 1-in-75 at Milepost 33 at just over 55mph, falling steadily to 36 at Scout Green. I was sitting six coaches back and even so the beautiful three-cylinder roar from Scots Guardsman became very evident as speed dropped slowly to 32mph at
“...the booked time of 58 minutes demanded a crisp pace among the service trains on a line that even then was a busy route.’’
Milepost 36 and then to a minimum of 30.7 before an even greater effort was made – with the decibel level increased again – as we actually accelerated to 32mph at the top of the 1-in-75. I calculate that this wonderful climb had required about 1700 to 1730 equivalent drawbar horsepower (edbh) over the final couple of miles, which is very high for a Class 7 steam locomotive.
Sandy Smeaton’s superb image portrays the final moments of the climb more than any words can. The previous week the speed at the summit with the same engine and load was 23mph after passing Tebay at 71mph, which rather puts our climb into context. A fast run down to Carlisle with a couple of minor checks saw us arrive six minutes late, having dropped just two minutes overall on the impossibly tight booking, which is now normally 76 or 77 minutes.
Some years later, on Wednesday July 17, 2019,
Rare run
Sandy was on a Crewe Carlisle special behind No. 70000 Britannia, and Table Two shows the first part of the return run on the 3.45pm Carlisle to Crewe.
Sandy writes: ‘’On the return trip was driver Pete Sheridan, fireman Jim Cooper, and Inspector Bob Hart. The start was punctual and the booked three-minute operational stop at Petteril Bridge Juncxtion was not required.
“Appleby was reached in 44½ minutes, 1½ within the schedule.
“After watering, the restart was on time. A maximum of 59 was reached after Ormside, falling to 39½ at Griseburn. At the top of the easier gradient to Crosby Garrett, speed recovered to 53½, falling to 41½ at Kirkby Stephen, after which the engine was not pushed – probably to avoid slipping in the damp conditions. After 43½ at Mallerstang, the minimum before Ais Gill Summit was 33.’’
Moving back to 1964 now, Table Three shows a very rare steam run from Brighton to Victoria behind Merchant Navy Pacific No. 35007 Aberdeen Commonwealth. Bulleid light Pacifics were no strangers to Brighton or the Brighton main line as until about 1963 they worked west from Brighton to Bournemouth and north via Lewes and Oxted to Victoria, plus Victoria to Newhaven on the boat trains, but the Class 8s were very rarely if ever seen.
Alan Rawlings was on the 1964 run and describes the day: ‘’The impact of Beeching was felt across the nation’s railways but perhaps more than one might have expected in the populated areas of the south. Sussex was one such example, where it was decided that the county only needed a coastal route and a couple of through lines from the coast to London. Consequently, a number of railtours were arranged at different times to cover the network of lines due for closure that used to crisscross the county and its neighbours.
“One such trip was the ‘Midhurst Belle’ in October 1964. This visited the former line through Cranleigh (that is now, ironically, a sizeable area of population), Midhurst, and via Littlehampton, the short Kemp Town branch at Brighton that lost its passenger service in the 1930s but at the time retained occasional freight traffic. The selected motive power was diverse, to say the least, comprising a S15, USA tank, and Q class. But the best was saved for last with a return to London from Brighton non-stop behind No. 35007 Aberdeen Commonwealth.
“Not only was this unusual, but the booked time of 58 minutes demanded a crisp pace among the service trains on a line that even then was a busy route. The Brighton to Victoria line is a switchback that modern traction takes in its stride. However, in a remarkably consistent engineering achievement it was originally constructed with the three main summits at Clayton Tunnel, Balcombe, and the Quarry line at Merstham, approached from both south and north on a ruling grade of 1-in-264.
“The tour itself was restricted to eight vehicles and so the load was hardly a challenge for an
8P, but the timings were tight and a right time departure gave Driver Finch of 73A a clear path ahead. The climb to Clayton Tunnel was steady but we then swept down the other side, touching 80 in the dip beyond Wivelsfield before cresting Balcombe at 61 and then hurrying towards Gatwick and the third climb to Quarry Tunnel. By Gatwick we were three up on schedule and just inside even time, although this pace would not be possible to maintain as we approached the suburbs. Nevertheless, Merchant 7 had a clear road throughout and London was reached in well under the hour. A rare non-stop run for steam on one of the classic main line routes in the south.’’
High Speed Class 47s
For some time I have wanted to put into print some of my many runs behind the long-lived Brush Class 47 diesels. These were cursed when they first appeared on the Southern to help steam through its final years and I now do not like them being attached to the rear of steam-hauled trains for whatever reason, but in their own right they are my favourite class of heritage diesel traction. For this column I have picked a very good run with a 47 standing in for an HST and an extraordinary high-speed run on the Southern. Table Four shows No. 47499 on eight coaches for 280 tons standing in for a High Speed Train on the 6.42am Paddington to Swansea on a cold and damp Wednesday, December 1, 1976.
I made a number of visits to South Wales in the 1970s to see the remaining steam locomotives at work in the collieries. My journey started on the 5.24am Orpington to Charing Cross and then across to Paddington for the 6.42am to Swansea. The running was excellent throughout but spoiled as far as Swindon by checks, the one at Tywford from a van train and approaching Swindon by an up train, though the Class 47 would have struggled to keep time to Parkway including station stops. I think the driver was holding back to 100mph at times and a check on averages confirms the accuracy of my stopwatch work in the dark and drizzle. The table shows net times and start-tostop averages. The very fast start to pass Acton at 75mph is particularly worthy of note.
We were on time at Swansea. From there, South Wales Transport bus service 101 got me to Pontardulais for 40 pence and I walked to Graig Merthyr Colliery, arriving at about 11am. Here were four 0-6-0STs but only one was working, which was 1944-built Bagnall 2758. Hunslet 3846 (1956) was out of use and Robert Stephenson Hawthorn No. 7170 from 1944 (ex 71516) was a new arrival but also out of use. Finally Hunslet No. 3770 Norma, built in 1944, was under repair in the small shed. At 12.20pm, No. 2758 worked a trip from the exchange sidings up to the colliery and then took a loaded train back at 12.45pm. I then adjourned to the local public house with the engine crew for much-needed refreshment, during which the enginemen invited me to accompany them on their afternoon shift. Unfortunately I politely declined as I had heard steam working in the next colliery, Brynlliw, and I wanted to visit it during the afternoon.
Last trip
So I caught South Wales Transport Bus Service 105 for the short journey to find Peckett 0-6-0ST No. 2114, built in 1950 for this colliery, in steam at 2pm. I had heard four trips from the exchange sidings while at Pontardulais but all was quiet, and as dusk fell and the rain fell heavily I wondered if my luck was out. But no, at 3.15pm the little Peckett ran down to the exchange sidings and returned 10 minutes later struggling uphill with a train of empties. There was enough light to get a couple of shots before I called it a day and caught the bus back to Swansea for the 5.05pm HST to London and home. This was to be my last visit to South Wales for steam, which finished soon afterwards.
Finally, Table Five shows the detail of the highest speed I recorded with a Class 47 – 107mph, just
west of Headcorn. As with many good runs, this extraordinary performance came as a complete surprise as anything much above the line limit of 90mph was pretty rare, although I had previously timed 99mph at Staplehurst going down. It was a fine summer evening and the low glare from the western sun made the mileposts even more difficult to pick up than usual, but there was no doubt about our rapid progress – as borne out by the averages between various passing points. We were four late away from Ashford but only managed to pick up a minute on the very fast timing for this train. Net time would have been under 20 minutes which, at that time, was unprecedented. We had gained two minutes and 27 seconds to passing Paddock Wood. There was a slight easing at MP43 and power was shut off for a few seconds before Paddock Wood. The 107 max was my top speed with a Class 47, although I had quite a number of excesses over their rated maximum speed of 95, including a 104 at Radlett on the MML, of which more in a future column.
Grateful thanks to Sandy and Alan for their contributions and to all my correspondents.
“A rare non-stop run for steam on one of the
classic main line routes in the south.’’