1969: THE BIG SWITCH
1969: HOWARD JOHNSTON recalls how steam was kept alive when all seemed lost.
Preservation in steam’s wilderness year
Keen followers of British steam faced the starkest of choices in the spring of 1969, six months after BR brought down the curtain in the North West.
They could go into mourning and walk away from the hobby completely, or embrace a movement that was growing at an explosive rate – preservation. Unless they hung up their cameras or travelled overseas, there was nowhere else to go unless they switched to chasing diesels (which few initially did).
It made for painful reading that most of the locomotives that had made such spirited runs in the weeks leading up to August 4 1968 had already been towed to breakers’ yards and cut up. Suddenly, there were no more farewell railtours, no anniversaries to celebrate, and no more being chased out of steam sheds.
BR’s ruthless drive to rid itself of its old image meant that in 1969 there was now only Alan Pegler’s ‘A3’ No. 4472
Flying Scotsman filling the main line steam chasm, and it would play a low-key role because it would be off to America anyway in September.
Even if BR had been more sympathetic to main line running, there were only six serviceable ‘Pacifics’ in the frame. Two of them were Gresley ‘A4s’ (Nos. 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley and 60019 Bittern) Peppercorn ‘A2’ No. 60532 Blue Peter, a solitary LMS engine, Stanier No. 46201 Princess Elizabeth, and a pair of Bulleids, Nos. 34023 Blackmore Vale and 35028 Clan Line.
Representing Great Western express power were 4-6-0s Nos. 4079 Pendennis Castle and 7029 Clun Castle. The other engines we now recognise as strong main line performers were either landlocked (such as No. 60009 Union of South Africa and ‘Brit’ No. 70013 Oliver Cromwell), or stuffed and mounted at remote Butlin’s seaside holiday camps.
TAKe OFF
So, 1969 was the year that preservation really took off, with projects springing up all over the country. Some of them have become our greatest steam centres of excellence, while several others have sunk without trace.
The opening of the Dart Valley Railway was a real breath of fresh air – the first revival of a true Great Western branch in a superb Devon location. The now-established Bluebell, Worth Valley and Welsh narrow gauge lines, such as the Ffestiniog and Talyllyn, were doing good business. Newcomers such as the Severn Valley, North Yorkshire Moors and North Norfolk railways were working hard to establish themselves, but it would still be some time before they made a breakthrough.
Who can remember the excitement elicited by Dinting Railway Centre, the Longmoor Military Railway, and ambitious but ill-conceived reopening schemes such as those between Sudbury and Haverhill on the Suffolk-Essex border, from
Cowes to Smallbrook Junction on the Isle of Wight, and Ramsbottom to Haslingden in Lancashire?
And there were much bigger projects than that. The Borders Railway Company led us to believe that Blue Peter would be a regular performer on the reopened 100-mile Edinburgh-Carlisle Waverley Route, but it didn’t have the money.
A less ambitious announcement – and one which enjoyed the support of influential local landowners – was the proposed reopening of a section of the old Great Central Main Line from Leicester to Nottingham.
The pivot of conversation was Barry scrapyard, and while there were over 200 locomotives parked up in 1969, there was no guarantee at this time that the amenable but shrewd owner Dai Woodham would not decide just to cut them all up. The big question was how many groups could cobble together the money in time to save the best ones.
KNOCKDOWN INDUSTRIALS
There were always diesels to follow, of course, and British Rail, now making a modest profit, was applying its corporate blue livery with abandon (including the Vale of Rheidol 2-6-2Ts!). There was a small wave of enthusiasm for early Modernisation Plan prototype diesels already at the end of their lives, such as Western Region hydraulics and the lower powered BTH Class 15, Clayton Class 17 and English Electric Class 23 ‘Baby Deltics’. The freefall in local wagonload freight, with hundreds of small yards abandoned, provided an unexpected windfall for steam preservation. A large surplus of small BR diesel shunters, many of them less than ten years old, were sold into industry, and this displaced a large number of steam engines onto the market at knockdown prices. An 0-6-0ST was discovered to be quite capable of hauling a rake of five coaches, and was cheap to run.
NEW RAILWAY MANIA: STEAM RIDES AGAIN DART VALLEY RAILWAY
Great Western steam came alive again on April 5 1969 when Dr Richard Beeching waved off the first train on the revived Dart Valley Railway. Passengers paid £1 for their special tickets.
The group that had earlier failed to save the Brent-Kingsbridge branch had much greater success with the nearby TotnesAshburton line, although services could only run as far as
Buckfastleigh because the northern section was needed for a new A38 dual carriageway road.
The inaugural train was hauled by pannier tank No. 6412, and its classmates Nos. 6430 and 6435 were also in evidence, along with autotank No. 1420 and ‘Small Prairie’ 2-6-2T No. 4555.
Later in the year, the DVR would raise enough to purchase 4-6-0 No. 7827 Lydham Manor, which was regarded as one of the best of several ‘Manors’ in Barry scrapyard.
BLUEBELL RAILWAY
The elder statesman of large-scale standard gauge steam operation, in its tenth season in 1969, had just managed the purchase of the Sheffield Park-Horsted Keynes line from BR.
A member broke the railway’s rule of only running small pre-Grouping locomotives by purchasing BR ‘Standard 4’ 4-6-0 No. 75027 from Carnforth, and in January it was sent from Carnforth to Haywards Heath by rail for onward road movement by lorry to Sheffield Park.
Other acquisitions in 1969 included SECR ‘P’ 0-6-0T No. 31178
Pioneer II from Bowaters at Sittingbourne, and restored Caledonian Corridor Third Coach No. 3339, one of a pair that ran on the main line with the Scottish Region’s four restored pre-Grouping steam locomotives. It would eventually return north to the Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway.
KEIGHLEY & WORTH VALLEY RAILWAY
Having successfully opened between Keighley and Oxenhope in June 1968, the KWVR became flush with live steam following the arrival of two ‘Black Five’ 4-6-0s, Nos. 45025 and 45212.
An interesting purchase in May 1969 was BR ‘Standard 4’ 2-6-4T No. 80002, which was in very poor condition after spending a year as a carriage heater at Eastfield shed in Glasgow.
BR-built ‘J72’ 0-6-0T No. 69023 ‘Joem’ was coaxed into life during January, and the first steam tests were carried out on Midland ‘Half Cab’ 0-6-0T No. 1708, restored to LMS black. So little work was required on Midland ‘4F’ 0-6-0 No. 43924 − the first locomotive to be rescued from Barry scrapyard − that it was expected to be in service by the spring, but it did, however, take quite a while longer (SR487).
‘Worth Valley’ mainstays ‘USA’ 0-6-0T No. 72 and Ivatt 2-6-2T No. 41241 were putting in some good work, but LMS ‘Crab’ 2-6-0 No. 42700 (on loan from the National Collection) was a weak performer and its revival was short-lived.
LAKESIDE RAILWAY AND CARNFORTH
The Lakeside Railway, aiming to restore services over the former Furness Railway Ulverston-Windermere branch, was using the newly vacated Carnforth steam shed and west side sidings as a repair shop and stabling area for its locomotive fleet.
In the opening weeks of 1969, six end-of-steam ‘Black Five’ 4-6-0s had been purchased to go with LMS-designed Fairburn 2-6-4Ts Nos. 42073 and 42085, Ivatt 2-6-0 No 46441, and Thompson ‘B1’ No. 61306.
The liveries devised for some of them courted controversy among enthusiasts; No. 6441 in Midland Red, No. 2073 LNWR black, No. 2085 Caledonian blue, No. 44806 BR Brunswick green No. 44932, and No. 5407 Furness red.
Only Nos. 44871 and 5231 would carry authentic BR and LMS colours, with No. 1306 Apple green, and No. 44767 still to be decided.
Carnforth promised us a first taste of the Continent with the purchase of French Chapelon ‘Pacific’ No. 231K22 from Calais shed. It had worked the final southbound steam-hauled Calais Maritime-Paris service as far as Amiens on January 11 1969, and it landed in the UK in early 1970.
SEVERN VALLEY RAILWAY
It all began at an enthusiasts’ meeting in a Kidderminster pub in 1965, and the Severn Valley Railway was now ready to obtain a Light Railway Order to run services. However, Shropshire County Council objected to it as it would increase the cost of the new Bridgnorth bypass. The final solution was to land part of the bill on the SVR’s doorstep.
The closure of Alveley Colliery in January 1969 opened up the possibility of the SVR extending south to Bewdley, where the goods shed and yard were being rented from BR.
Middle East war veteran and BR end-of-steam survivor Stanier ‘8F’ 2-8-0 No. 48773 arrived safely at Bridgnorth on January 4, and a quick start was made on restoring it as LMS No. 8233. While preparing Ivatt 2-6-0 No. 43106 for a steam test, its owners were eyeing up a BR 2-6-4T from Barry, where there were 14 to choose from (No. 80079 won the day).
The National Coal Board and the Warwickshire Railway Society agreed terms for a pair of Hawksworth 0-6-0 pannier tanks from Coventry Colliery, Nos. 1501 and 1502, plus sister No. 1509 for spares. In the event, only No. 1501 survived, and it eventually moved to the SVR in November 1970.
NORTH YORKSHIRE MOORS RAILWAY
1969 was the first year proper for the NYMR. Towards the end of the previous year its members had been allowed access to mend fences and clear ditches. BR had already agreed to sell six miles of track from Grosmont to Ellerbeck and a further 12 miles of trackbed to Pickering for £42,500, and the run-round loop at Grosmont was quickly relaid.
Grosmont was an empty site until the arrival in February 1969 of Mirvale, a Hudswell Clarke 0-4-0ST belonging to a Cheshire enthusiast.
Two future NYMR residents, ‘J27’ 0-6-0 No. 65894 and
‘Q6’ 0-8-0 No. 63395, were undergoing overhaul at the NCB’s Philadelphia Works and BR’s Thornaby shed, and discussions were taking place for the use of ‘K1’ 2-6-0 No. 62005.
Philadelphia ended steam working in January in favour of ex-BR Class 14 0-6-0s, themselves targets for preservation just over a decade later (although the NYMR’s pair came from British Steel’s site in Corby).
NORTH NORFOLK RAILWAY
Reviving a section of the M&GN was proving a slow process, but with Sheringham now established as its headquarters, the NNR secured a lease during July 1969 on the 2¾ miles to Weybourne, together with the station, and another two miles of trackbed to Holt. A ‘first’ for UK preservation was the issuing of shares to raise the £16,000 needed.
Ambitions of starting services in summer 1969 proved to be over-optimistic by six years, and there was still a lot to do to make the permanent way fit for use. Great Eastern ‘J15’ 0-6-0 No. 564 (65462), still ostensibly as withdrawn by BR in September 1962, was re-tubed for another season in static steam, while the restoration of ‘B12’ 4-6-0 No. 61572 had yet to be started.
GREAT WESTERN SOCIETY
Didcot Railway Centre was establishing itself, having taken over the old steam shed site in 1967.
The first open day was staged on September 20 1969. Large-scale Barry acquisitions had yet to start, so Nos. 1466, 4079 Pendennis Castle, 6106 and 6998 Burton Agnes Hall were the main exhibits.
A gap in the GWS collection was, however, filled with the purchase from Barry of Churchward 2-6-0 No. 5322, still with most of its fittings despite spending four years in the open air, and a tender from ‘Manor’ 4-6-0 No. 7802 Bradley Manor. The engine initially went to South Wales Switchgear at Caerphilly.
The GWS also picked up pannier No. 3650 from Gwaun-caeGurwen Colliery, and sent it to Bulmer’s at Hereford for renovation.
TYSELEY
The Standard Gauge Steam Trust, custodian of BR(W) 4-6-0 No. 7029 Clun Castle, announced ambitious plans to turn the remaining steam buildings at Tyseley shed into a fully equipped workshop. The place was tidied up and a two-road shed built by the old coaling stage.
Tyseley’s other residents were to be ‘Jubilee’ No. 5593 Kolhapur and ‘Black Five’ No. 5428 ‘Eric Treacy’, plus items from the National Collection at Preston Park, including ‘T9’ 4-4-0 No. 120, ‘King Arthur’ 4-6-0 No. 30777 Sir Lamiel and ‘Schools’ 4-4-0 No. 30925 Cheltenham, plus Lancashire &
Yorkshire 2-4-2T No. 1008.
KENT & EAST SUSSEX RAILWAY
It seems like nothing changes for the Kent & East Sussex Railway, which was experiencing the same problems 50 years ago as it is now.
In 1969, it was in dispute with planners over reinstating the full Robertsbridge-Tenterden line because of issues with level crossings. So, for the time being, it decided to concentrate on rehabilitating the Tenterden-Rolvenden section.
QUAINTON ROAD
The London Railway Preservation Society purchased the old Down yard at Quainton Road on the still-operational Metropolitan & Great Central route to accommodate its collection of stock. An early locomotive arrival was ex-GWR pannier No. L99 (7715), purchased from Neasden.
MIDDLETON RAILWAY
Britain’s very first volunteer-run standard gauge preserved railway (since 1960) was suffering growing pains.
The Leeds project only had until mid-March 1969 to raise the £4,000 demanded by the National Coal Board for the original 1758 alignment and colliery buildings it wanted to turn into a museum. It was successful and began running passenger trains again in 1969 after several years of freight-only operation.
SITTINGBOURNE & KEMSLEY LIGHT RAILWAY
The Locomotive Club of Great Britain negotiated a yearly lease on the two-mile, 2ft 6in gauge Sittingbourne-Kemsley section of the Bowaters Railway in North Kent, which was in the process of being scaled down. The deal included rolling stock.
NOT QUITE AS INTENDED… EAST LANCASHIRE RAILWAY
The initial East Lancashire Railway was to be a 3½-mile takeover of the L&Y route between Stubbins Junction (north of Ramsbottom) and Haslingden. An operational headquarters was briefly set up at Helmshore but abandoned when the more attractive Bury to Ramsbottom (later Rawtenstall) line became available.
YORKSHIRE DALES RAILWAY
A group of enthusiasts aspired to buy BR ‘Standard 4’ 2-6-0 No. 76077 from Barry scrapyard to run passenger services between Swinden and Grassington with a base at Embsay. It would be another 12 years before the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway opened… and without No. 76077.
RADSTOCK NORTH
Cash and private loans were forthcoming for Somerset & Dorset 2-8-0 No. 53808 to be saved from Barry – a worthy achievement.
The engine was intended as the centrepiece of a new S&D Railway Circle museum at Radstock North station. The project soon foundered, but a new base was created at Washford on the West Somerset Railway.
STOUR VALLEY RAILWAY
A local businessman was reported to have offered to purchase a 17-mile section of the Colchester-Cambridge line from Sudbury to Haverhill (closed in 1967), which briefly delayed BR’s plans to lift the track.
The Stour Valley Railway Preservation Society was formed to manage it, and although the project fell through, a preservation centre was successfully developed in the station yard at Chappel & Wakes Colne.
THE DREAMS THAT DIED DINTING RAILWAY CENTRE
Today, the derelict, single-road MS&L shed, lost in thick undergrowth at Dinting, is a sad reminder of a once-thriving preservation project that had big ideas, but folded in 1990.
Over 15,000 visitors came to an open day in April 1969, when the star attractions were the Bahamas Locomotive Society’s incumbent ‘Jubilee’ 4-6-0 No. 5596, and a new arrival, Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0ST Nunlow from Earle’s cement works at Hope.
In May 1969, ‘Royal Scot’ 4-6-0 No. 46115 Scots Guardsman moved to Dinting from the KWVR, where it was too heavy to run, and two LNER ‘Pacifics’, Blue Peter and Bittern, were also booked places.
ISLE OF WIGHT
In early summer 1969, the Vectrail company was negotiating to purchase the 13-mile Smallbrook-Cowes line to run regular services with lightweight Sadler railcars. It would also have an
BRITISH RAIL’S STEAM DISPOSAL POLICY WAS RUTHLESS AND EFFICIENT RIGHT DOWN TO THE VERY LAST ENGINE
independent line alongside BR to a dedicated platform at Ryde St John’s. This was also to be home for the Wight Locomotive Society which, in August, had transferred Adams ‘O2’ 0-4-4T No. 24 Calbourne by road from Ryde St John’s shed to Newport to join its five coaches.
In the event, Vectrail couldn’t raise the cash, so its plans came to nothing.
ASHFORD STEAM CENTRE
Based at the steam shed, Ashford had big potential. The Wainwright C Preservation Society had taken root in the town in 1962; formed to save SECR ‘C’ class No. 592. They were joined by Lewis Esmond-Lewis who subsequently bought and rescued ‘O1’ No. 31065. He also negotiated a lease for the site with the British Rail Property Board, enabling more locomotive owners to bring their steeds to Ashford, including SECR ‘H’ No. 263, Sir Lamiel, Clan Line and ‘Black Five’ No. 45110.
The first open day was held in April 1969, the first of at least three that would be held annually. However, a long-running dispute between Esmond-Lewis and BR over rent charges ended with the centre closing in 1976 and the collection scattered around the country; the Bluebell becoming the main beneficiary.
BORDER UNION RAILWAY
The biggest main line story of early 1969 was the possible private purchase of the 100-mile Edinburgh-Carlisle Waverley Route, which had closed amid much public outcry on January 4.
The Border Union Railway Company was in talks with BR about a full reopening of the entire line by the end of the year with a regular local commuter service, steam excursions, timber traffic from the Kielder Forest, freight to Leith Docks, a train-testing facility, and film and TV contracts.
An estimated £1.75 million would be needed to buy the line and provide rolling stock. Undaunted, business consultants liaised with the Scottish and London Midland regions on the idea of a 90-minute service between Edinburgh and Hawick, and four through trains a day to Carlisle. The National Union of Railwaymen welcomed everything.
There was widespread excitement in June 1969 when it was claimed that ‘A2’ No. 60532 Blue Peter would be available for excursions, and possibly also ‘A4’ No. 60019 Bittern.
In the end it was all too steep a mountain for the BURC to climb. While talks dragged out, the weeds grew and the infrastructure became smashed and vandalised.
BR eventually ran out of patience. The death blow was a demand for a cash deposit of £250,000, plus £8,000 a month interest. The talks ended and the demolition teams moved in.
LONGMOOR MILITARY RAILWAY
A 1½-mile section of the redundant Longmoor Military Railway in Hampshire was seen as ideal for running main line engines without the burden of having to deal with British Rail.
Bulleid ‘Pacifics’ Blackmore Vale and Clan Line, and David Shepherd’s Standard ‘4MT’ No. 75029 and ‘9F’ No. 92203 ‘Black Prince’, were already in residence while the Association of Railway Preservation Societies and Transport Trust conducted the negotiations with the Ministry of Defence.
Although agreement was reached to use the southernmost section of line from Liss Forest Road to Liss, local residents mobilised themselves in opposition and won the day.
The railway finally closed on
October 31 1969.