Euston suburban semi-fast trains

Andrew James takes a look at the suburban trains running between London (Euston) and Watford Junction and the performances of the variety of steam motive power used on these trains over the years.

Andrew James takes a look at the suburban trains running between London (Euston) and Watford Junction and the performances of the variety of steam motive power used on these trains over the years.

This is an arena where there have been a few tantalising glances in print, but not quite enough to form a body of evidence that can be assessed and measured. It was no less an authority than O S Nock who gave details of his daily journeys on the 8.53am Watford Junction to Euston service during the early/mid-1930s. Initially this represented the old order in the form of former London & North Western Railway ‘Precursor’ and ‘George the Fifth’ 4-4-0s and ‘Prince of Wales’ 4-6-0 class locomotives that ran well enough, reaching speeds in the midto high seventies in the twilight of their lives. Unfortunately, O S Nock only gives the gross load on his logs, and not the tare weight, and therefore due to the markedly different rolling stock configurations in this era it is very difficult to tell just how many coaches there are at the drawbar. One exploit that he did refer to on a number of occasions in his numerous books and articles was when the new breed came on stream in the form of the LMS Fowler 2-6-4 tank engines.

On 14 February 1935, Fowler 2-6-4T No 2387, with a six consist of 168 tons tare/185 tons gross, ran the 17½ miles between Watford Junction and Euston in 19 minutes. A maximum speed of 83½mph was attained at Milepost 7, which was at the foot of the 1 in 339 down grades, with the run subsequently ‘checked’ beyond Camden. A power estimate (carried out on an Excel

spreadsheet) reveals that between Bushey and Willesden Junction the Fowler tank was developing around 420/900 equivalent drawbar horsepower (edhp)/indicated horsepower (ihp). If working at the limit of the boiler one would expect around 1,150-1,200ihp from one of these locomotives, so it was still someway within its maximum capacity.

A little more light on these services can been gleaned from the online Railway Performance Society (RPS) archive/database with regard to the post-war era, and there is just enough data on hand to give some idea of what the daily commuter experienced on his or her way home from a day in the office. Motive power by 1952 consisted of the Fairburn/Stanier and Fowler variants of the LMS 2-6-4Ts that were augmented by the British Railways ‘4MT’ ‘80000’ 2-6-4Ts and ‘75000’ 4-6-0 classes. Any number of classes made odd appearances, especially the ubiquitous ‘Black Five’ 4-6-0s on selected workings, but less humble power in the form of the Horwich Hughes/Fowler ‘Crab’ 2-6-0s and the odd Fowler ‘4F’ 0-6-0 did appear from time to time if the evidence of the RPS archive/database is anything to go by.

This article will mainly concentrate on the section between Euston and Watford Junction in the down direction, but before looking at the logs, a little recounting of the line’s topography may be useful to readers. The start out of Euston is certainly steep, reflecting the use of rope haulage in the early days of operation, which sharpens to a short pitch of 1 in 70 towards Camden. After this, the line is level with a few undulations towards Brent Junction, from where it ascends on a 1 in 339 gradient to around Milepost 14½ just before Carpenders Park. The line then gently undulates to Watford, with a level section

between the latter and Bushey. According to my October 1960 Sectional Appendix, the maximum speed on the slow lines was 60mph between Euston and Roade. However, I suspect that many of these semi-fast trains did use the fast lines for at least part of their journey and the maximum speed on these was 90mph, well beyond what any steam locomotive could attain, with the exception of a ‘Duchess’ on ‘The Caledonian’ if one of these Pacifics was steamed to the limit of its boiler.

Presented in Table One, Run 1 represents the old order in the form of L&NWR ‘Prince of Wales’ class 4-6-0 No 25672 during the inter-war period. By this time this locomotive had lost its Condor name, in August 1933, and Stanier’s relentless ‘scrap and build’ policy was in full swing, with many of the former

L&NWR types disappearing at a rapid rate, despite being relatively modern. The last engines of this class were not constructed until 1924, but by the autumn of 1936, when Derek Barrie timed this effort, the class was eking out an existence on secondary work of this type. The 4-6-0 made a decent start and was doing relatively well until it was eased at Wembley where speed fell at a steady rate up the 1 in 339 gradient to Harrow, where it gradually ebbed to 50mph. However,

No 25672 kept the 25 minute allowance to Watford Junction with comparative ease and the running was redolent of a professional engineman who knew where to ‘push’ and where to ‘ease’ the locomotive.

Run 2 takes us forward to the post-war period and features a British Railways Standard ‘4MT’ 2-6-4T. These locomotives were introduced on the West Coast main in 1952, and two years later Mike Bland was on hand to time this very competent effort behind No 80081. The power output estimate reflects the maximum standard that these locomotives could attain on a daily, if not exceptional, basis, in other words, around 950-1,000 indicated horsepower in short bursts. This standard of work reinforces their credentials on the Southern Region, which was featured in the December 2018 issue of Steam Days magazine.

Table Two features successive generations of power, and both runs represent excellent efforts for their respective types. In Run 3, Richard Knight was on hand to time a superb effort behind BR Standard 2-6-4T No 80067. The quality of the work is graphically shown on the 1 in 339 gradient between Wembley and Harrow where the locomotive accelerated from 53mph at the former to 64mph at the latter. No doubt this was accompanied by a cannonade of an exhaust that would sharpen as the locomotive ascended the gradient in the most emphatic of fashions.

Run 4 features the new breed in the form of a Sulzer ‘Type 2’ (later class ‘24’). These locomotives were rated at 1,160 brake horsepower and on a daily basis were more than a match for a class ‘4’-rated steam locomotive. However, at the top end of performance envelope, the tank engine ‘had the edge’ over the new form of motive power, as the log testifies. The diesel was eased after Harrow due to an easy schedule, this reflecting ongoing engineering work on the West Coast main line electrification scheme.

Table Three features a run behind British Railways Standard ‘4MT’ 4-6-0 No 75039. The ‘75000s’ were theoretically the tender version of the ‘80000’ tanks but for whatever reason in single chimney form these engines always seemed to lack ‘punch’ when the opportunity presented itself. This was reflected in the eventual fitting of double chimneys, on the Southern Region where these engines worked the onerous Oxted line commuter services along with the ‘80000’ tanks amongst others. This treatment didn’t extend, however to the London Midland Region batch and perhaps the semi-fast duties out of Euston were the borderline case for re-draughting.

On the 6.37pm ex-Euston the crew of No 75039 coaxed a reasonable effort. An edhp/ihp of around 650/1,000 has been estimated on the 1 in 339 rise from Wembley to Harrow, which comfortably kept time to Watford Junction. This is one of very best efforts the author has seen behind a single chimney ‘75000’ in normal service, but is still someway short of what the class should have been capable of. Reference to the British Transport Bulletin for fellow class member No 75006 reveals that this locomotive produced 1,000 dbhp/edhp at 60mph when steamed to the limit of its boiler, which is very similar to the speed range of No 75039 between the two aforementioned locations. It is a salutary reminder of just how much of a chasm there was between maximum potential power and what you recorded in the hurly-burly world that characterized steam operation in the United Kingdom. The ‘75000s’ were certainly not alone in this respect, but as a general rule the better classes did occasionally replicate the findings of the test plant and controlled road testing in normal service.

Run 6 features a Stanier tank, and by contrast these always had a good reputation on the steaming front. The run behind No 2610 on 17 July 1947 is a timekeeping effort as opposed to a spectacular performance, but it is interesting in showing just how much power was required to run the schedules to time. As can be glanced from the estimates, only a modest level of power was required, but quite often, such schedules had to take into account faulty regulation or conflicting traffic movements, and also temporary speed restrictions. In the immediate post-war era the UK suffered more than its fair share of the last mentioned due to the arrears of track maintenance that had accrued during the six years of war.

Table Four features the Fairburn variant of the 2-6-4T. On 19 September 1950 locomotive No 2117 was obviously in fine fettle and was driven by an enthusiastic crew (Run 7). The gold standard for performance for a class ‘4’ rated engine was to sustain 57-60mph on the 1 in 339 grade between the outskirts of Brent Junction and Hatch End with a seven consist. The runs in this article underline this and would involve at least 950-1,000ihp for part of the distance between these two locations. The severity of some of the timings on these services was elaborated upon by A J Powell in his eminently readable Living with London Midland Locomotives. He cites the 14-minute allowance from Willesden Junction to

Watford on the 5.43pm Euston-Bletchley, which had a 7/205/230 consist (seven coaches, 205 tons tare, 230 tons gross). Unfortunately he doesn’t provide a log, but he did mention that on one occasion No 42589, a Fairburn example, required full regulator and 30% on the reverser to adhere to the schedule. This would require around 680/1,000 edhp/ihp, very similar to the estimates the author has made on the previous runs in this article, and provide corroboration to the best efforts timed by other recorders. Run 8 features one of the ubiquitous ‘Black Fives’ on the 6.37pm Euston-Bletchley service on 21 September 1955. Certainly No 44837 was not unduly pushed, for the simple reason that the schedule didn’t require it, and made it to Watford Junction comfortably within the 27-minute allowance.

Table Five (see overleaf ) features a run behind BR Standard ‘4MT’ 4-6-0 No 75036, which had a different stopping pattern to the

other services in this article. As will be seen, the schedules were surprisingly ‘tight’ on some sections. The most energetic part of the work was the gradual acceleration from Hatch End to Bushey, which rose from 39mph at the former to 58 at the latter. This was worth around 730/960 edhp/ihp, pretty respectable work for a class ‘4’ on a semi-fast stopping service I would guess anywhere in the UK during the steam era.

Looking at these runs in more critical light reveals there is nothing that couldn’t have been done by either a ‘Precursor’ or a ‘George the Fifth’ 4-4-0 in their prime, especially in the case of the latter. O S Nock’s numerous books and articles on L&NWR locomotive matters reveal this quite vividly,

but where these engines were top link locomotives on expresses, the later generation of motive power reflected the changing economic circumstances of the steam locomotive in the UK with an emphasis on economy in operation, and as an end result, moderate steaming rates. This policy manifested itself in larger locomotives being built to do the same job as replacements for the previous generation of motive power. By contrast, the L&NWR 4-4-0s were often ‘thrashed’, with the inevitable result that coal consumption rose exponentially, this wasn’t such a problem when the cost of coal and labour were relatively low, but after the Wall Street crash, in 1929, these conditions never returned.

Millbrook House/Kidderminster Railway Museum Photographed before July 1936 when its Thunderer nameplates would be removed around the time of renumbering as LMS No 25310, a Euston to Watford local service storms up Camden bank in the charge of LMS No 5310, formerly L&NWR No 1120 of January 1905. Built as one of the ‘Precursor’ class, Thunderer was not superheated until October 1921, when it was also fitted with piston valves. With five or six coach ‘locals’, Whale’s ‘Precursor’ and Bowen Cooke’s ‘George the Fifth’ 4-4-0s were sprightly performers on the semi-fast services and were preferred by some crews to the larger ‘Prince of Wales’ 4-6-0s. Regarded as better locomotives than the standard LMS ‘2P’ 4-4-0s, they nevertheless were deemed non-standard in the Stanier era and as No 25310 the pictured 4-4-0 would be condemned in August 1939.

H C Casserley Completed in October 1929 at Derby Works, on Saturday, 9 June 1945 Fowler ‘4P’ 2-6-4T No 2378 powers the nine-coach 3.20pm Euston to Bletchley semi-fast service up Camden bank and past two Stanier ‘Coronation’ Pacifics. The severity of the gradient is apparent as No 2378 has breasted the summit but the majority of the coaches are still on the bank. Allocated to Willesden shed at the time, along with classmates Nos 2354, 2372, 2379, 2389 and 2414, and as well as Stanier 2-6-4Ts Nos 2443, 2541 and 2610, No 2378 was one of the mainstays of the Euston outer-suburban services, however by 1947 it was transferred to Stoke-on-Trent; ultimately it would be withdrawn in November 1960 from Gorton shed.

H C Casserley British Railways Standard ‘4MT’ 2-6-4T No 80068 has arrived at Euston’s platform No 4 with an outer suburban semi-fast service from Watford Junction. These 2-6-4Ts were designed to be worked either chimney or bunker-first but most crews would rather run chimney-first as unless the coal in the bunker was thoroughly slaked to keep the dust down when running bunker-first, the cab could become a maelstrom of swirling coal dust. No 80068 was based at Watford Junction from August 1953 until December 1959, when transferred to Stewarts Lane. Sent to Brighton in September 1963, it was at Redhill three months later, before a final moved to Feltham shed in May 1965; it was withdrawn in October 1966.

H C Casserley A Watford Junction to Euston local service calls at Willesden Junction in the charge of Stanier ‘4MT’ 2-6-4T No 42598 of Watford Junction shed (1C) on Wednesday, 31 August 1949. The tank engine carries an early British Railways hybrid livery of ‘LMS’ on the side tanks along with the correct post-1948 running number. At the time 1C had an allocation of five of these locomotives but all would be transferred away in the summer of 1952 and replaced by new-built British Railways Standard ‘4MT’ 2-6-4Ts. Completed by the North British Locomotive Co and entering traffic in November 1936 as LMS No 2598, this 2-6-4T remained in traffic until November 1963 when condemned from Speke Junction shed, having been allocated to Brunswick from July 1952 until September 1961.

H C Casserley R S Carpenter Photos/Brightman Series When Stanier moved to the LMS in 1932 he decided to scrap the ex-L&NWR passenger classes as they became due for heavy repairs and replace them with his ‘Jubilee’ and ‘Black Five’ 4-6-0s, a process already begun with Fowler and his ‘Royal Scot’ and ‘Patriot’ 4-6-0s. As a result, those ex-L&NWR passenger locomotives that remained in traffic were cascaded down to local workings, primarily in the London, Birmingham and Chester areas. On an unrecorded date in 1936 we find Bowen Cooke ‘Prince of Wales’ class 4-6-0 No 25706 Canning (L&NWR No 504 of March 1919) in charge of a five-coach Euston to Watford semi-fast duty. Still capable of speeds in the 70mph range, No 25706 would be withdrawn in December 1936 after a working life of just 17 years. On the evening of Thursday, 12 September 1946 a very tired looking Bletchley-allocated ex-L&NWR ‘Prince of Wales’ class 4-6-0, No 25752 (L&NWR No 1557 of November 1919), has called at Watford Junction with an outer suburban service to Bletchley. Renumbered as LMS No 5752 in May 1927 and to No 25752 in June 1936, this 4-6-0 would not be taken out of service until May 1949, when on the books of Stafford shed. These trains were well patronised in the immediate post-war years and here we see over two dozen passengers waiting to join this working to Bletchley, while a number of railwaymen can also be made out on the platform.

Colour-Rail.com/19275 The BR Standard ‘4MT’ 2-6-4T featured in Table Two/Run 3, No 80067 of Watford Junction shed, is seen at Euston station while shunting stock in the 1950s. In the Euston to Tring run featured, No 80067 reached the highest speed for any of the recorded 2-6-4Ts, 64mph at Harrow & Wealdstone. May 1952 saw Watford Junction shed receive Nos 80034-38, and these were joined by Nos 80064-68 between June and August 1953. Used primarily on the Euston semi-fast workings, they could also be found (as here) working Euston empty carriage duties. All remained at Watford Junction until December 1959 when all ten ‘80000s’ were transferred away to the Southern Region in exchange for Brighton built Fairburn 2-6-4Ts. New in August 1953, No 80067 reached Stewarts Lane in December 1959, and after subsequent spells at Exmouth Junction and at Templecombe, by then a Western Region shed, it was transferred to Bristol (Barrow Road) in May 1965 and was withdrawn from there during the following month, although this may have been a paper move only.

Derek Cross The London Midland Region started to receive its allocation of the Derby- and Crewe-built Sulzer-powered ‘Type 2’ diesel-electric Bo-Bos in 1960. They were immediately put to work on the semi-fast passenger services into and out of Euston and Broad Street, as well as being employed on freight services. In June 1960 the Crewe-built No D5081, completed in the previous March, is seen near Kenton in charge of a semi-fast service to Bletchley and Northampton. The type ‘2s’ allocated to Willesden quickly took over all the outersuburban services from the 2-6-4Ts, leading to their withdrawal or transfer away from Willesden, Bletchley and Watford Junction sheds.

Derek Cross During July 1958 BR Standard ‘4MT’ 2-6-4T No 80041 of Bletchley shed is pictured working hard at the head of a seven-coach train of compartment stock while passing South Kenton en route from Euston to Tring, so about 2½ miles into the 1 in 339 climb that (after 7½ miles) levels off on approach to Carpenders Park. Whilst on these duties the ‘80000’ tanks averaged 35,500 miles a year, compared with 33,000 for the Fairburn 2-6-4Ts and 31,000 for the Stanier variants, with an availability of 79%, again slightly higher than the LMS tank engines. The members of the class allocated to Bletchley were also used on local services to Oxford and Cambridge. No 80041 would move to the Southern Region at Ashford in December 1959 and be withdrawn from Templecombe in March 1966.

H C Casserley The LMS 2-6-4Ts were by no means small locomotives, as illustrated by this photograph of Stanier variant No 2590 leaving Watford Junction for Tring in December 1949. Allocated to Watford Junction at the time, its home shed can be seen dominating the background, complete with an unidentified ‘Black Five’ stabled outside the shed building. Judging from the bunker, which seems low on coal, No 2590 is coming towards the end of its diagram. Completed in October 1936 by the North British Locomotive Co Ltd, this 2-6-4T would serve until February 1965. Transferred from Watford Junction to Stoke in June 1952, it remained at the Staffordshire shed until condemned.

H C Casserley Between June and August 1953 Bletchley received a batch of new BR Standard ‘4MT’ 4-6-0s, Nos 75030-39, which displaced a similar number of ‘Black Fives’, to Willesden, Crewe and Carlisle (Upperby). They were put to work on the outer-suburban services to Euston, as well as on the Oxford to Cambridge line, the Northampton line, and parcels traffic to and from Marylebone. On 18 May 1954 No 75038 gets away from Bushey station with the 6.12pm Euston to Bletchley service. As Table Three/Run 5 shows, the ‘4MT’ 4-6-0s were more than capable performers on the semi-fasts, despite reports of indifferent steaming that led to a number of the class receiving double blast pipes and chimneys.

D C Ovenden/Colour-Rail.com/13542 Derek Potton/Transport Treasury The Fairburn ‘4MT’ 2-6-4T featured in Table Four/Run 7 is seen on 24 March 1957 when running as British Railways No 42117 and whilst engaged on one of Willesden shed’s Euston pilot duties – empty carriage workings into and out of the terminus. New from Derby Works in August 1949 as LMS No 2117, it was allocated to Willesden shed until December 1962. On the featured run, in September 1950, this tank engine was able to cut the 27-minute allowance from Euston to Watford Junction by 5 minutes 20 seconds by averaging 60mph between Willesden Junction and Bushey with a load of eight compartment coaches. Displaced from Willesden by diesels in December 1962, No 42117 was then condemned. On an unrecorded date circa 1960, Fairburn ‘4MT’ 2-6-4T No 42099 approaches Wembley (Central) with an outer-suburban service from Euston. The Fairburn 2-6-4Ts were the last of the long line of LMS 2-6-4T variants. Notably, they featured a shorter wheelbase than the Fowler and Stanier designs and were easily identifiable as they had no curved drop-plate ahead of the cylinders to ease maintenance and access to the valves when piston and valve examinations on shed were due. Both the Stanier and Fairburn engines had slightly larger cylinders than the Fowler 2-6-4Ts but in day-today workings there was little to choose between the three. It was the Fairburn 2-6-4Ts, however, that were developed into the BR Standard 2-6-4Ts. No 42099 was built at Brighton Works and entered traffic in August 1950 at Tunbridge Wells West, later moving to Ashford. In December 1959 it became part of an exchange of Fairburn 2-6-4Ts from the Southern Region with Standard ‘80000s’ from the London Midland Region and was allocated to Watford Junction shed, from where it was withdrawn at the end of December 1964

P Coutanche Collection/Kidderminster Railway Museum Based at Rugby shed, Stanier ‘Black Five’ class 4-6-0 No 45282 works one of the heavier nine-coach Euston to Bletchley local passenger services near Hatch End on 6 August 1953. With some 265 tons on the drawbar the 27-minute schedule to Watford Junction required an average speed of 39mph, well within the capability of a ‘Black Five’, even with the difficult departure from Euston with its 1 in 70/117 ascent of Camden bank and the lengthy 1 in 339 against the collar between Brent Junction and Carpenders Park. Built by W G Armstrong, Whitworth & Co Ltd and released to traffic at the end of November 1936, No 45282 would remain in service until May 1968, when condemned from Edge Hill shed.