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Bilbraborns mention of 'aged' Colwick etc.' locomen struck a chord with me as it was the reason I left the footplate after nearly 16 years. The date you started as a loco cleaner was your 'Seniority'

Although my family worked for the LMR part of the railway, I loved the Eastern region engines. I loved all steam locomotives but I had favourites. A few years ago I wrote a poem about the days when m

I was trying not to say a certain word that could get me into trouble.

Firbeck

I dont think 61264 was the last B1 withdrawn off Colwick. By 1966 Colwick had been "transfered" to the Midland division of BR and nearly all its old allocation was replaced by Black 5's, 8F's and standard 3's BUT some B1's were kept. By this time 61264 was already a departmental loco so technically already withdrawn and I am sure carried a departmental number. I have a pic taken at Colwick in August 1966 showng 61089 and a colour slide from Sept 1966 taken at Nottingham Midland with 61390 from COLK ( on buffer beam) about to work a Jolly Fisherman to Skegness out of platform 6. Colwick closed to to steam in 66 think it was December and shut for good in April 1970...

PS 61264 replaced another ex Colwick loco K1 or K3 61943 as a stationary boiler and I have a dreadful pic of that at Colwick taken again in 66...

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Do you, by chance, have a pic of long-time Colwick stalwart 61269?

As a registered B1 pervert, it is my one missing illustration from the 409!

Cheers

Robt P.

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Nice to see you back Rob.

I'm having terrible problems with my computer that's prevented me from posting today, perhaps this will work, who knows.

I found a couple of B1 photos stashed away with some of my stuff in the loft up in Nottingham last week, I'll dig them out and post if I can.

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It seems to be working, lets see what happens now.

Littlebro

Did you take the picture of the 'Crustie'.

Despite the fact that they were always around Toton I don't seem to have taken any pictures of them myself. Ugly, wierd things, your picture was taken later when the F-C boiler had been removed along with the chimney that was set along the side of the boiler, it couldn't have helped the view much from the cab.

Here's a picture I obtained off the net of one on test in the 50's.

Class9fCrostiatHurlfordScR.jpg

I seem to recall them appearing when the Garretts disappeared, I can't believe that they were any better.

If you've ever watched the film 'Von Ryans Express', the Germans pursuing train was hauled by an Italian version of these things, look out for it the next time it's on TV.

A waste of time they may well have been but at least their appearance made for an interesting change, I seem to recall spotting the whole class, converted or unconverted, they still looked odd.

Notts Lad:-

I found this picture on the net of 61264 taken at Colwick, 26/11/67, my 17th birthday, sad that while I was illicitly having a pint in the Admiral Rodney, my poor neglected old friend was rotting away on the other side of the city, glad she's probably now in better health than me.

COLWICK26NOV6761264.jpg

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Hi Firbeck

Yes, I recall taking the photo at Bescott. It would have been 1966, no later. With my father we went to Tamworth to see the electric trains but were 'declined access' to the refurbished station, We then went to Bescott and this is one image. I have more if I can find them.

As far as running under wires, the engines that were not allowed (having the yellow stripe) may have been due to a safety issue. I imagine engines allowed under wires had to have special earthing just in case they did contact the wires, they will not have wanted to fry the driver and fireman? Anyone confirm?

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All the locos now allowed to run under the wires are the same one's that seemed to have had a problem 40 years ago. Even under this age of Health and Safety, it doesn't seem to be an issue any more.

I can't think that circumstances have changed on both sides, the locos haven't changed, nor have the wires, we were just being given excuses at the time in order to discourage those sort of practices, I'm sure of it.

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Re The locos with yellow cabside stripes not allowed to run under the wires south of Crewe - this started around 1964 and the reason was to stop firemen climbing up on the coal on the tender and coming into contact with the wires. I can only presume this may have actually happened and some poor chap got fried alive. Dont think many classes got the stripes but these did

Jubilee

Coronation

Fowler 4F

All ex LMS types and maybe they had higher tenders or something. And not all locos in those classes got their stripes either.. Dont ever recall seeing any standards with stripes... Its got nohing to do with earthing and as rightly noted these locos ( well Coronations for sure) dont have the stripes today and they do go under the wires

pS Rob237 will check my B1's for you when I can find em. Just hope er indoors hasnt had a sneaky bin session. I do ( or did) have lots of pics of Colwick B1's....

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Yes, have to agree, the stripes related to crew safety...nothing to do with loading gauge etc...

IIRC, there was at least one electrocution of a fireman - which occurred in Crewe station - whilst watering/raking after the stripe ruling.

Cheers

Robt P.

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I'd be interested to know the height clearance between a Jubilee/Coronation/ 4F and those not subjected to the dreaded yellow stripe, Class 5, 8F, Brit, etc etc, all of which happily worked under the wires at the period of the end of steam, I recall running into Crewe behind a Class 5 in 1967 on the regular Barrow working, a late substitute for a Brit which failed at Carnforth, 70027 as it happened.

Surely it didn't matter what loco was invloved, a fireman could be short circuited in the tender of any steam engine. It must have been some wierd misguided political descision at the time, any excuse to get rid of steam locos, whichever class they were.

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IIRC, "short circuiting" was not the issue...

Ruling related to protecting the fireman if working at height on his tender, on coal or watering, and thereby adjacent to the 25KV cable...

Cheers

Robt P.

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Yeah, but, no, but.

What I mean is that the Stanier tenders fitted to 8F's and Class 5's were no different to those fitted to Jubilees and Coronations, so the firemen would be at the same height, if tempted to shovel coal forward under the cables. Fowler tenders as fitted to 4F's were even lower, so why wasn't the yellow stripe painted on all locos, I gather that it was planned to do so to ex-LNER Pacifics, but they never got round to doing it. Looking at the high tender on 70013 today made me wonder why they weren't given the yellow stripe treatment, after all, Oliver Cromwell was the last official BR Pacific to run under the wires in 1968.

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Rob

These are the B1 pictures that I found in mothers loft last week, they must have fallen out of the album 40 years ago and been up there ever since, you have my permission to copy them or whatever.

The first one is a bit bent, it must have suffered at the hands of the people that installed the loft installation many years ago.

61131, I reckon it was taken during one of our school railway club trips to Colwick, I don't recall whether, whoever he was, and I have a vague idea, managed to prize off the worksplate, I doubt it.

The next one was taken at Vic and I was praying for it to be your elusive B1, but I think it's 61029, not sure.

scan0027.jpg

scan0028.jpg

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...The next one was taken at Vic and I was praying for it to be your elusive B1, but I think it's 61029, not sure...

Thanks for the pics...

Doubt the Vic' B1 is 61029 as it is without the Chamois nameplate, and became a St Margaret's/Haymarket loco as early as 1954!...although it was a previous GC performer...

Cheers

Robt P.

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Well this was the Train passing Ilkeston Today at 7:50......A little passenger train came past between us and this....so we were obviously on the wrong side of the track...

Aint these the worst pix of a train ever eh ???....hee hee

Train0.jpg

Train1.jpg

Train2.jpg

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Looks alright to me matey, it must have been getting pretty dark as well.

Trouble is, if you'd been on the other side of the tracks you wouldn't have got much light.

Was it going fast, how did you get over the fence, whereabouts in Ilson was it, I don't recognise the spot, questions, questions.......

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Oh yep it were well motoring....think i got about 5 clicks on my camera and then it was gone.

It dint help the Rail car flying by going the other way at exactly the point we were standing. As for the fence...its a foot crossing just there even tho the gate is chained shut so it was easy to climb over...plus 4 others were there too....and they did the same.....Location was just beyond where ilkeston station used to be.......If you look on google maps....follow the track to where there is a lock gate very close by and a huge green footbridge ( in the top photo ) you'll see that the road called 'monks close' continues straight onto the canal bridge and then onto the railway crossing....we parked up just before the canal bridge and walked down to it....after about 20 mins 4 others turned up...could hear them talking about how they saw it this morning and it was on time.....tonight it was late.....it was waiting to coincide with the train going by on our side of it. A nice RARE sight.

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Oh yep it were well motoring....think i got about 5 clicks on my camera and then it was gone.

It dint help the Rail car flying by going the other way at exactly the point we were standing.

Kev, 'Rail car' - you are showing your age, not hard them called 'rail cars' for a couple of decades.

Thanks for the photos. Worth the turn-out.

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Ha ha thats funny LB.........I didnt know what they were called ....thats what the old boy down there called it...so i assumed that was what it was......SO i'm showing HIS age......HEE HEE

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Thats what they are, 'Rail cars', thats what I still call 'em, but then I'm rapidly approaching 60, at least my age has allowed me to photograph scenes like these:-

Groans as Firbeck delves into the archives once again.

Todays special is Britannias, Standard Pacifics of which 70013 Oliver Cromwell is one and has the distinction of being the last Pacific to remain in operation at the official end of BR steam in 1968.

This picture was taken my one of my brothers mates, however it is Western Star, the first Brit I remember seeing, sitting gleaming at Bristol in 1956 when we were off on our hols to Blue Anchor Bay:-

scan0030.jpg

We went spotting at Grantham one day in 1963 and to our amazement 70000 Britannia came in on a parcels train, it spent most of it's brief stay with a cab full of kids, including me:-

scan0031.jpg

I saw it a few years later at Crewe sheds, still retaining it's nameplate but looking a bit sad with a bent smoke deflector:-

scan0032.jpg

Another one taken at Crewe, Brit 70049, Solway Firth, the last one to be, briefly, named, 70047 never did get a name:-

scan0033.jpg

On familiar ground now, this is our old favourite, 'Iron Duke' taken at Annesley in 1964:-

scan0034.jpg

They would crop up in all sorts of places, Shooting Star at Burton apon Trent sheds, 1964:-

scan0036.jpg

Or a rare Scottish Brit, Firth of Forth, next to the coaling tower at Toton in the same year:-

scan0035.jpg

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On a trip around the sheds of the North West, this is the original Tornado at Warrington in 1964, note how some Brits have handrails on their smoke deflectors and others have'nt, this was due to an incident on the Western Region caused by poor visibility, some had their rails removed, others didn't:-

scan0038.jpg

Another scene at Warrington, this time taken from a moving train on the way up to Lancaster for Xmas 1966, can't get the number of this one:-

scan0039.jpg

I took a lot of pics up in the Lancaster area during the end of steam, many on colour slides, some at Carnforth sheds:-

Thomas Hardy:-

scan0037.jpg

Shooting Star:-

scan0040.jpg

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