Some Early Lines, Old Railway Companies, Aberdeen Railway

Some Early Lines
Old Railway Companies

Aberdeen Railway

Aberdeen, Gateway to Royal Deeside. LNER/LMS Vintage Travel posters http://www.travelpostersonline.com  Frank H.Mason

The Aberdeen Railway was a railway that ran mainly along the North East coast of Scotland south from Aberdeen to Guthrie on the Arbroath and Forfar Railway. There were branches to Montrose and Brechin.

The sidings and railway lines Aberdeen railway station
View taken from near the top of College Street car park. The station itself is off to the bottom left of the photo.
Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved] © Copyright Lizzie and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

Incorporated on 31 July 1845 for a line from Guthrie (Arbroath and Forfar Railway) to Aberdeen, with branches to Brechin and Montrose, it was promoted by  Great North of Scotland Railway supporters, who arranged for amalgamation should it be thought appropriate.  However, by the time half the capital was paid up and spent, the Companies had drawn apart.  It was worked by the Scottish Central Railway between 12 May 1851 and31 July 1854, and the Company amalgamated with the Scottish Midland Junction Railway on 29 July 1856 to form the Scottish North Eastern Railway, connecting Perth to Aberdeen. This latter company was absorbed by the Caledonian Railway on 10 August 1866, which in turn became part of the LMS on 1 July 1923.

Openings

1 February 1848 – Guthrie (Arbroath and Forfar Railway) to Montrose
1 November 1849 – Dubton to Portlethen
1 April 1850 – Portlethen to Aberdeen Ferryhill
2 August 1853 – Aberdeen Ferryhill to Aberdeen Guild Street

The station currently standing was built as Aberdeen Joint Station between 1913–16, replacing an 1867 structure of the same name, on the same site. The station and the new Denburn Valley Line enabled the main line from the south and the commuter line from Deeside to connect
with the line from the north. The lines from the south had previously terminated at the adjacent Aberdeen Guild Street. Even this had not been Aberdeen’s first railway station, that distinction belonging to a previous terminus a short way south at Ferryhill. After the construction of the Joint Station, Guild Street Station became a goods station. Some of its tracks remain, but the vast majority of the site was cleared in 2005.

This image was taken from the Geograph project collection. See this photograph’s page on the Geograph website for the photographer’s contact details. The copyright on this image is owned by Stanley Howe and is licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license.

Some Early Lines, Old Railway Companies, London, Midland & Scottish Railway

Some Early Lines

Old Railway Companies

In Chasewater Railway Museum

London, Midland & Scottish Railway

Formed by the amalgamation, with effect from 1 January 1923, of the Furness Railway, Glasgow & South Western Railway, Highland Railway, London & North Western Railway, Midland Railway and North London Railway. Many smaller companies were absorbed at the same time including several in Ireland, previously owned by the Midland Railway. The Caledonian Railway and the North Staffordshire Railway, because of certain legal requirements not completed by the due date, entered the fold from 1 July 1923. This gave the LMS lines stretching from Thurso to Bournemouth (via the Somerset & Dorset Railway) and from Holyhead to Lowestoft (via the Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway), and access to Southend (LT&SR) and South Wales (via the ex-Neath & Brecon Railway).

Under the Transport Act 1947, along with the other members of the “Big Four” British railway companies (GWR, LNER and SR), the LMS was nationalised on 1 January 1948, becoming part of the state-owned British Railways.

The LMS was the largest of the Big Four railway companies serving routes in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

LMS shield carved into stonework on station building in Leeds
Date  17 September 2007 (original upload date)

Source:  Transfered from en.wikipedia Transfer was stated to be made by User:oxyman. Author  Original uploader was Redvers at en.wikipedia
(Original text : Redvers)  Licensing:  This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

Steam Locomotives of a Leisurely Era – 1937 ‘Coronation’ Pacifics – London Midland & Scottish Railway

6229 Duchess of Hamilton as first built

Following the success of the ‘Princess’ class Pacifics an improved design was put in hand, and five engines appeared in 1937 for working the newly inaugurated high-speed service between London and Glasgow. The heating surface, cylinders and piston valves were enlarged, and the driving wheel diameter increased to 6’ 9”, but the most striking change was the fully streamlined casing, which while impressive was also aesthetically extremely ugly. The engines were also painted a bright shade of blue with horizontal white bands to match the new train, which was similarly adorned. Nos.6225-9 which followed, were, however, painted in standard LMS maroon. The next batch, Nos.6230-4, were non-streamlined and presented a handsome appearance. Further additions to the class were Nos. 6235-48, all streamlined, and finally, between 1944 and 1948 there came Nos. 6249-57, without streamlining. No.6256 was named after its designer, Sir William Á. Stanier, F.R.S. This, and No.6257 had roller bearings. The outer casing was removed from all the streamlined engines, as it was found to be of little value at speeds below 90 mph or so, and was a nuisance to the maintenance staff as it rendered parts of the engine somewhat inaccessible. To combat the trouble of drifting steam over the cab, all the class was fitted with smoke deflectors, but strangely this was never found necessary with the earlier ‘Princess’ class.

6251 as first built

Prior to the introduction of the ‘Coronation’ flier in July, 1937, No.6220 was tried out with a special train and attained 114 mph just south of |Crewe, thus beating the record of 113 mph at that time held by the LNER.
The ‘Coronation’ class have since shown themselves to be magnificent engines, not only in the realms of speed, but in their ability to handle very heavy expresses over the West Coast route. On test in 1939, No.6234, then newly fitted with a double chimney, worked a train of twenty coaches, 610 tons behind the tender, between Crewe and Carlisle, 102 miles in 118 minutes. This included of course the ascents of Shap and Beattock. All were still in service in 1959, as BR Nos. 46220-57, although beginning to be displaced by diesels on many of the top link workings.

‘Duchess of Hamilton’ dressed up as ‘Coronation’

http://www.worldsfaircommunity.org

In January, 1939, No.6229 ‘Duchess of Hamilton’ was sent on exhibition to New York, and later made an extended tour over the USA railways. It was still there when the Second World War broke out, and was not returned to this country until 1943. During this time it had exchanged numbers and nameplates with No.6220 ‘Coronation’, but these were altered back on the engine’s return. This was a great mistake, as many American servicemen in this country, seeing the real 6220, were naturally under the erroneous impression that it was the same locomotive which had toured their own native land.

Driving wheels – 6’ 9”, Cylinders (4) – 16½”x 28”, Pressure – 250 lb., Tractive effort – 40000 lb., Weight – 105 tons 5 cwt., Nos. 46256-7 weighed 106 tons 8 cwt., LMS classification – 7P, BR classification – 8P

Duchess of Hamilton in the NRM 2014

Steam Locomotives of a Leisurely Era – 1933 – ‘Princess’ Pacifics London Midland & Scottish Railway

Princess Louise at first temporarily numbered M6206 and later 46206, in 1948

One of Mr. (later Sir) William Stanier’s first designs after his appointment as Chief Mechanical Engineer of the LMS. Stanier came from the Great Western, and introduced a number of features of that Company’s practice to the LMS for the first time, including the use of a taper boiler. His first two Pacifics, Nos. 6200 ‘The Princess Royal’ and 6201 ‘Princess Elizabeth, which appeared in 1933, were given thorough trials before any more were built, after which ten similar engines, Nos.6203-12 came out in 1935 with slight modifications following the experience gained with the first two engines, chief amongst these was an increase in the superheater heating surface. The four cylinders on this class has each its own independent set of Walschaert valve gear, but No.6205 later had its inside sets replaced by rocking levers actuated from the outside pair. As might have been expected, these locomotives soon proved themselves to be greatly superior to anything previously seen on the North Western main line. In 1936, in anticipation of the introduction of a high speed service between London and Glasgow, No.6201 was tested with a light load of 230 tons, seven coaches, and succeeded in covering the distance of 401½ miles, non-stop, in the remarkable time of 353½ minutes.

Concurrently with Nos. 6203-12, there appeared No.6202, which differed radically from its sisters. The boiler, wheels, etc., were identical, but in place of the normal cylinders and reciprocating motion it was propelled by turbines, a large one on the left hand side of the engine, for forward motion, and a smaller one on the right hand for reverse running. It was not the first turbine driven locomotive in this country, other experiments in this direction having been made in the 1920s, but it was undoubtedly the only successful turbine design to appear. Many snags were encountered and the engine spent a good proportion of its life in the works undergoing modifications, but nevertheless when it was in service it was a very good engine, and performed work equal to that of its orthodox sisters. It was a beautiful machine to see in action, with its soft purr and even torque, which resulted in almost complete absence of slipping, even with the heaviest load, a fault to which most ‘Pacifics’ designs are particularly prone.

It ran as a turbine until 1952, when it was rebuilt with a normal 4-cylinder propulsion. Previously nameless, it now became ‘Princess Anne’, but its life under its new metamorphosis was exceedingly short, as it was involved in the disastrous Harrow accident in that year, and damaged beyond repair. All the other ‘Princesses, now BR Nos. 46200, 46201 and 46203-12, were in active service in 1959.

‘Princess’ class – Driving wheels – 6’ 6”, Cylinders – 16¼”x 28”, Pressure – 250 lb., Tractive effort – 40285 lb., Weight – 104½ tons, BR classification – 8P
No.6202 – Driving wheels – 6’ 6”, Cylinders – N/A, Pressure – 250 lb., Tractive effort –N/A., Weight – 110½ tons, BR classification – N/A

Railway Miscellany – Steam Speed Records

Railway Miscellany

 Steam Speed Records

In 1804, when Richard Trevithick’s pioneering locomotive made its journey along the Penydarren tramroad, its inventor operated the controls by walking along the track in front of it.  In a letter the following day, Trevithick recorded that ‘The train while working went nearly five miles per hour’ no more than a brisk walking pace.  This was perhaps the first ever steam speed record.

When ‘Locomotion’ ran from Shildon to Stockton 21 years later, it could only outdistance riders on horseback because marshes alongside the line impeded the horses.  At full speed the locomotive could just manage 15 mph.

At the Rainhill Trials in 1829, Stephenson’s ‘Rocket’ achieved 29 mph.  This was eclipsed in tragic circumstances the following year, when ‘Northumbrian’ reached 36 mph as it conveyed the dying MP William Huskinson to Eccles after he had been run over by ‘Rocket’ at Parkside.

The contestants’ achievements at Rainhill were carefully recorded.  Later it became difficult to establish accurate claims as speeds increased and railways spread throughout the world.

Unlike world speed records on land and in the air, there are no international standards for railways.  For example, the effect of a strong following wind has never been taken into account and on almost every occasion a record breaking train was appreciably assisted by gravity.  This applies equally to the TGV’s present world record of 320.2 mph as to ‘Mallard’s’ 126 mph in 1938.

Speed records were usually obtained by stop-watch measurements from mile or kilometre posts.  In some cases the speed claimed at the time was later adjusted after the information had been examined further.

The performance of the Milwaukee Road’s Hiawatha expresses in the 1930s was accurately measured and the 112 mph record by the streamlined Atlantic N0. 2 in 1925 was adequately proved.

During the 1930s, there was considerable rivalry over maximum speeds between the LNER and the LMS.  In 1937, the LMS claimed a maximum of 114 mph on the press run of their Coronation Scot streamliner train.  This would have beaten ‘Silver Link’s’ record but the figure was not confirmed by a number of experienced recorders on the train.  This left ‘Coronation’ sharing the record of 112 mph with the LNER A4 and Milwaukee Atlantic.

By 1936 the German Pacific No. 05.002 reached 124.5 mph and in 1938, ‘Mallard’ achieved an historic all-time record for steam of 126 mph.

All the fully authenticated world records achieved by steam locomotives are the maximum speed attained, rather than averages.  Some top speeds, like ‘Mallards’ were sustained only for a few yards.

Although a record of 74 mph was achieved by a GWR locomotive in 1846, it was not until 1931 that the company ran trains at such speeds in everyday service.  The Cheltenham Flyer was the first train in the history of railways to average regularly over 70 mph.  On 14 September 1931, the express sweeps through Tilehurst, Berkshire on its way to London.

Steam Locomotives of a More Leisurely Era 1912 – Fowler 4-4-0 – Midland Railway

Steam Locomotives of a More Leisurely Era

1912 – Fowler 4-4-0

Midland Railway

No. 554 in 1926

The pre-grouping members of this class were nominally rebuilds of much earlier Johnson engines, but here they are treated as a new class originating in 1912.

The first of the original Johnson engines to be taken in hand for this complete modernisation was the old’1667’ class, a series of ten 7’ 0” engines built in 1885, numbered 1667-1676, which became Nos. 483-93 under the 1907 renumbering scheme.  No. 483 was the first to be treated, and not only were the others of this batch, but also the whole of the series numbered between 483 and 562, completed by 1914, as well as many of the earlier engines in addition.

Conversion of these proceeded until 1922, after which no more were done, and those still remaining in the second ‘intermediate’ rebuilt stage were gradually taken out of service.  All of the new ‘483’ class, 157 engines in all, numbered between 332 and 562, together with five others taken over from the Somerset and Dorset in 1930 as Nos. 322-6 (the original Johnson engines bearing those numbers having by that time been scrapped), came into BR stock in 1948.  They nominally had 40000 added to their numbers, but withdrawal commenced in 1948 and in a few cases the new numbers were never carried.  Toward the end of 1959 some thirty of these engines were still in traffic.

After the 1923 amalgamation the class was adopted with slight modifications – the principal of which was a reduction in the diameter of the driving wheels from 7’ 0” to 6’ 9” – as a standard design, and a further 135 engines were built for the LMSR, together with three others for the Somerset and Dorset, between 1928 and 1932.

The LMS engines were 563-632 and 636-700, whilst the S&DJR engines, at first 44-6 in their own system, became 633-5 on their absorption in 1930.  Nos. 591 and 639 had very short lives, as they were involved in a collision in 1934, and were so badly damaged that they were scrapped.  The remainder all became BR 40563-40700 and withdrawal did not commence on any considerable scale until 1959.  Many of these LMS-built engines were put to work on the Glasgow and South Western section in Scotland where they replaced the various G&SWR 4-4-0s which did not long survive the grouping.

MR engines – Driving wheels – 7’ 0”,  Cylinders – 20½”x 26”,  Pressure – 160 lb.,  Tractive effort – 17585 lb.,  Weight – 53 tons 7 cwt, MR classification – 2,  LMS & BR classification – 2P

LMS engines – Driving wheels – 6’ 9”,  Cylinders – 19”x 26”,  Pressure – 180 lb.,  Tractive effort – 17730 lb.,  Weight – 54 tons 1 cwt, MR classification – N/A,  LMS & BR classification – 2P

Some Early Lines – Neath and Brecon Railway

Some Early Lines

Neath and Brecon Railway

Brecon Station on 29th August 1962 with No. 3768 on the 6.20pm return working.  (Peter W.Gray

The Neath and Brecon Railway linked the Vale of Neath Railway at Neath with the Brecon and Merthyr Railway at Brecon and also via a connection from Colbren Junction, it linked to the Swansea Vale Railway at Ynysygeinon Junction (sometimes spelt Ynisygeinon).

The southern section from Onllwyn to Neath is still open to goods traffic, although passenger services ceased from October 1962 and the northern section lifted under the Beeching Axe as the coal industry wound down.

Brecon Station

View westward, towards Neath; ex-GWR Neath & Brecon section. A scene just six months before the whole station and all lines were closed on 31/12/62.   © Copyright Ben Brooksbank and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

 Route

The railway was authorised by an Act of Parliament on 29 July 1862 as the Dulais Valley Mineral Railway to transport coal from the Dulais Valley to Neath. It was promoted and constructed by the contractor John Dickson. After being authorised to extend the railway to Brecon, it changed its name to the Neath and Brecon Railway. The railway linked itself to the Swansea Vale Railway by promoting the Swansea Vale and Neath and Brecon Junction Railway. This line had a long gestation period due to Dickson’s bankruptcy but eventually when it was opened it gave the Neath and Brecon access to Swansea via running rights. In return, the Neath and Brecon gave full running rights over its system to the Swansea Vale Railway. The Neath and Brecon started operating a passenger service between Brecon and Swansea using these running rights.

An early and unsuccessful purchaser of the new Fairlie locomotive, when in 1863 the railway reached Crynant, coal mining quickly expanded. At Crynant several new mines were opened including the Crynant colliery, Brynteg colliery in 1904, Llwynon colliery in 1905, Dillwyn colliery, and Cefn Coed colliery 1930. These mines led to the expansion of the village.

Brecon Station: activity at the east end

Viewed from the east end of Brecon station, an ex-L&Y 0-6-0, far from its origins ‘Up North’ but now employed on the ex-Midland trains from Hereford, is prominent, while on the left a stopping train leaves for Hereford (hauled by an ex-Midland 0-6-0). However, Brecon station was in the ex-GWR ambit, being the terminus from this (eastward) direction of the ex-Brecon & Merthyr trains from Newport via Torpantau Summit and of the ex-Cambrian Rly Mid-Wales Line trains from Moat Lane Junction, as well as the Hereford trains. Westwards from Brecon ran the ex-Neath & Brecon trains down to Neath. All these lines were closed in 1962 and on 31/12/62 this local metropolis had lost all railway facilities.   © Copyright Ben Brooksbank and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

 Brecon

When the railway reached Brecon in 1867, it provided access to the Brecon and Merthyr, the Mid Wales, and the Hereford, Hay and Brecon Railways which were all completed about this time. The initial B&M station at Brecon was at the Watton and the Mid Wales Railway had a station at Mount Street. The Hereford, Hay and Brecon, after belonging to the empire of Savin (originally a draper from Oswestry who became a railway contractor, promoter and operator), was leased and then taken over by the Midland Railway who, by using running powers over the Mid Wales from Three Cocks Junction, gained access to Brecon.

The Midland then leased the Swansea Vale Company’s line from around 1874 and in so doing obtained the use of the SVR’s running powers over the N&B. This enabled them start running trains from Brecon to Swansea. At around the same time the N&B abandoned its Brecon – Swansea service and decided to lease its main line north of Colbren to the Midland in return for an annual fee. This situation remained in force until around 1930 when the LMS (the 1923 successor to the Midland) decided to abandon its through Swansea Brecon services when the N&B line (then part of the Great Western Railway) was taken back by its owners and rather than being a through route, reverted to being something of a backwater.

The three companies providing services to Brecon consolidated their stations at a newly rebuilt Free Street Joint Station from 1871.

Neath Riverside station

In the years before closure, just one daily train departed from Neath Riverside to Brecon. The South Wales main line passes over the bridge top right. The signalbox remains to this day, controlling freight trains from Onllwyn in the Dulais valley.  © Copyright Flying Stag and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

 

Gradual winding down

In October 1962, all passenger services were withdrawn from Neath to Brecon, leaving only freight services. The line north of Craig y Nos/Penwyllt station closed to Brecon on closure of Brecon station, and remained open south until 1977 to serve the adjacent quarry. The line remains open to Onllwyn, with Celtic Energy using the coal washing plant there through partnership with English, Welsh and Scottish Railway. Some of the old Celtic Energy wagons are now housed at the Foxfield Light Railway.

Taken from the window of the 4.10pm Neath Riverside to Brecon headed by 0-6-0 pannier tank No. 3768, this photograph shows Cradoc station  on 20th August 1962.  By its appearance, Cradoc was then an unstaffed halt and sadly neglected at that, with paintwork peeling and a grass-grown platform.  However, Great Western cast iron letters are still solidly screwed onto the station nameboard.  Once part of the Neath and Brecon Railway, Cradoc passed into Great Western ownership at the 1923 grouping of railways, when one considerable point of interest was its method of working.  In Neath and Brecon days, arrangements had been made from the 1880s for the Midland Railway (who controlled the nearby Swansea Valley Railway) to work all services and this was continued by its successor the LMS until the end of 1930.  In the good or bad old Victorian days, access to the black diamonds of the Welsh Valleys was eagerly sought and the Midland, via Hereford and Brecon, held on tight.  It is reasonable to assume that after 1930 the LMS thought twice for, like its near neighbour the Abergavenny Myrthyr line of the erstwhile LNWR, the Neath and Brecon’s passenger services outlived their freight, closing as from 15th October 1962  (Peter W.Gray.

 

Steam Locomotives of a More Leisurely Era – 1911 – Class 4 0-6-0 Midland Railway

Steam Locomotives of a More Leisurely Era

1911 – Class 4  0-6-0

Midland Railway

No. 4403 in 1928 as newly built

Sir Henry Fowler’s standard superheated freight design for the MR.  Two engines, Nos. 3835 and 3836, were built in 1911, but construction on a large scale did not commence until 1917.  Between that year and 1922 there appeared Nos. 3837-4026.  In 1924 it was adopted as a standard type by the LMSR, and by 1928 Nos. 4027-4556 had been constructed.  In 1922 five engines had also been built for the Somerset & Dorset Railway, their numbers 57-61.  On the absorption of that line’s engines into LMS stock in 1930 they became Nos. 4557-61, the similarity of the last two figures being entirely coincidental.  After a period of nine years construction was again resumed, Crewe turning out Nos. 4562-76 in 1937, whilst a final batch, Nos. 4577-4606 came out from Derby in 1939-40.

The ultimate total of 772 engines for one class has rarely been exceeded in this country.

All became BR Nos. 43835-44606, and none was withdrawn until 1954.  Since then a number have been taken out of traffic, but the great majority were still running in 1959.  Although primarily intended for freight work they have been used on all kinds of duties, and were often to be seen on passenger trains.  Apart from differences of tender design and such details as pattern of chimney they have remained unchanged.

Driving wheels – 5’ 3”,  Cylinders – 20”x 26”,  Pressure – 175 lb.,  Tractive effort – 24555 lb.,  Weight – 48 tons 15cwt.,  MR & LMS classification – 4,  BR classification – 4F.

Steam Locomotives of a More Leisurely Era 1902 – 4-4-0 Compounds Midland Railway

Steam Locomotives of a More Leisurely Era

1902 – 4-4-0 Compounds

Midland Railway

No.1000 as restored in 1959

To meet the need for increased locomotive power at the beginning of the twentieth century Johnson had, in 1900, produced his large Belpaire 4-4-0, but at the same time he was also considering a still larger engine based on the compound principle.

Amongst the various experiments in compounding which had been taking place on the railways, he was particularly impressed with an engine on the North Eastern, which had been rebuilt with three cylinders, one high pressure inside and two low pressure outside, to the patented design of William Smith, locomotive draughtsman of the NER.  The main principle of this system was that the engine could at the will of the driver be worked if desired as a 3-cylinder simple, to give maximum, power on starting, and by means of controlled valves going over to the semi-compound or full compound expansion.  Johnson therefore put in hand an engine of his own embodying this system which duly appeared in January 1902 as No. 2631.  Four more were built before his retirement in 1903, Nos. 2632-5.

No. 2632 as built

These five engines put up some fine work on the mountainous Settle-Carlisle line, and Deeley, who had succeeded Johnson, decided to build more engines of the same general design but with important differences, the chief of which was the provision of a patent regulator by which the engine always started non-compound and automatically changed over to full compound with the advance of the regulator.  There were also some external differences in appearance, the running plates being raised clear of the coupling rods, whilst the rectangular rear splasher gave way to a quarter-circle blended into the cab side sheets.

Thirty of the new Deeley engines appeared in 1905-6, numbered 1000-29.  At the 1907 renumbering the original five Johnson engines took the numbers 1000-4, and the Deeley engines were increased by five, becoming 1005-34.  A further ten engines, Nos. 1035-44, came out in 1908-9.

No more were built in Midland days, but the design with slight modifications was adopted as a standard type early in the grouping, and no less than 195 further engines were turned out between 1924 and 1932, numbered 1045-1199, and 900-39. Still more were to have been constructed, but the order was cancelled when W.A (later Sir William) Stanier came on the scene, as he had very different ideas on the subject of locomotive power.

Nos. 1000-4 were eventually rebuilt in line with the Deeley engines, and at the same time were superheated, Nos. 1000 and 1004 in 1914, 1001 and 1003 in 1915, and 1002 in 1919.  No. 1040 had already received a superheater in 1913, but it was not until 1919 that it was decided to superheat the remainder of the class, commencing with No. 1009.  The LMS-built engines were, of course, superheated from the start.

The class as a whole did magnificent work; possibly their greatest achievements were on the Caledonian and G&SWR main lines in the intermediate post-grouping years.  They also did remarkably well on the LNWR two-hour expresses, but were probably not quite so happy on the other LNWR main lines owing to an instinctive distrust of Compounds by North Western men inherited from the Webb days.  No. 1054 made history by running non-stop from Euston to Edinburgh, a distance of all but 400 miles in May 1928.  This was the quiet answer of the LMS to the LNER’s announcement that it would run the ‘Flying Scotsman’ non-stop between the two capital cities by use of a corridor tender whereby the crew could be relieved en route.  The LMS reply was to divide the Royal Scot into two portions, one running non-stop to Glasgow and the other to Edinburgh.  The performance was not repeated, but it effectively stole the limelight from the LNER performance.

With the decline in maintenance standards which set in during the war and has remained since, the Compounds gradually fell into some disrepute, as they required more attention in this respect than they received.  Moreover, they were largely put to work on local trains, duties for which they were unsuitable, and in consequence got a poor reputation through no fault of their own, as they were magnificent engines when kept in proper trim and well handled.  Probably they were the only outstanding successful compound design this country has seen.

The beginning of the end was inevitable.  All passed into BR hands at Nationalisation in 1948.  No.1002 was scraped shortly afterwards in the same year, and all of the Midland ones had been withdrawn by 1952.  A start was made on the LMS batch in 1953, and by the end of 1959 less than a dozen remained.  All except  a few of the early MR engines lasted long enough to have 40000 added to their numbers.

The original No.41000 was fortunately kept in store at Crewe for a number of years and in 1959 was fully restored to its rebuilt 1914 condition in Midland colours for preservation and for working special trains.

Nos. 1000-4 as built – Driving wheels – 7’ 0”,  Cylinders – 1 HP 19”x 26”, 2 LP 21”x 26”,  Pressure – 200 lb.,  Tractive effort – 21840 lb.,  Weight – 59½ tons,  MR & LMS classification – NA,  BR classification – NA

Deeley 1905 design – Driving wheels – 7’ 0”,  Cylinders – 1 HP 19”x 26”, 2 LP 21”x 26”,  Pressure – 200 lb (originally 220 lb.).,  Tractive effort – 21840 lb.,  Weight – 59¾ tons,  MR & LMS classification – 4,  BR classification – 4P

LMS 1924 design – Driving wheels – 6’ 9”,  Cylinders – 1 HP 19”x 26”, 2 LP 21”x 26”,  Pressure – 200 lb.,  Tractive effort – 22649 lb.,  Weight – 61¾ tons,  MR & LMS classification – 4,  BR classification – 4P

Steam Locomotives of a More Leisurely Era 1896 Jones ‘Loch’ Class Highland Railway

Steam Locomotives of a More Leisurely Era

1896 Jones ‘Loch’ Class

Highland Railway

No.14393 Loch Laochal as running in 1928 in early LMS livery but otherwise in original condition.

This was David Jones’ final design for the Highland, and was introduced to replace some of his earlier 4-4-0s on the main line between Inverness and Perth.  Fifteen were built in 1896 by Dubs & Co., Nos.119-33, and all named after Scottish lochs.  That it was a very successful design is shown by the fact that 21 years later, in 1917, when there was an acute engine shortage on the Highland, three more of the class were hurriedly built, recourse being had to this type rather than to Peter Drummond’s later designs.  The new engines were Nos.70-2, also named after lochs, and at the grouping the class became LMS Nos.14379-96, all retaining their names.  From 1925 onwards several were rebuilt with larger boilers of Caledonian Railway Dunalastair IV type, but this modification does not seem to have been very successful, and the engines became very heavy on coal.  Withdrawal took place from 1930 onwards, the last survivor being No.14385 Loch Tay, scrapped in 1950.  It never bore its allocated BR No.54385.  No.14390 Loch Fannich retained its early LMS red livery until withdrawn in 1937, one of the last of the smaller LMS classes to do so, as after 1928 it was only applied to the principal main line engines.

As built – Driving wheels – 6’ 3½”,  Cylinders – 19”x 24”,  Pressure – 175 lb.,  Weight – 47 tons,  LMS classification – 2

As rebuilt – Driving wheels – 6’ 3½”,  Cylinders – 19”x 24”,  Pressure – 180 lb.,  Weight – 54½ tons,  LMS classification – 2

The Loch class 4-4-0s of 1896�1917 had a very high power/weight ratio. They were among several classes carrying the louvered chimney. When No 14393 Loch Laoghal was photographed it was owned by the LMS Northern Division.  http://www.douglas-self.com