Steam Train through Nottingham to Lincoln today

[firbeck 859]

Sorry, a bit late, only just found it out.

'The Lincolnshire Poacher' is running from Tyseley in Birmingham to Lincoln via Trent Junction and Midland Station today. It's pulled by GWR Hall class 4936 Kinlett Hall, a rarity in these parts. Should be at Nottingham at 9:29 and Lincoln by 10:45. The return leaves Lincoln at 19:00 arriving at Nottingham for a short stopover at about 20:00.

In case you don't know what Kinlett Hall looks like:-

Worth going to see, a magnificent looking beast, sorry it's a bit late posting the info, but you have a chance of seeing it come back tonight.

The Hall class had problems running over lines other than the GWR because of the clearance of their cylinders with regard to platforms, you can see from the picture how much they stick out. They occasionally visited Victoria in the old days on the famous Bournemouth York holiday train and there is in fact a photo of one infamously de-railed on the turntable next to Glasshouse Street, if I can find it, I'll post it.

[mick2me 3,033]

Firbeck, Thanks fer the heads up on that one, I wuz shamefully still in me pit!

(Working late shift is me excuse).

Quite close to where I live in Downtown Sawley, there is a very sharp bend,

I understand it may be one of the sharpest bends in the country, "Sawley Junction"?

Probably came round that Eh?

[Ashley 288]

Damn and blast! missed it, aw well always tonight, however I did HEAR it! was in the garden and heard this whistle, thought maybe a traction engine or similar but this explains it. Funnily enough an "East Midlands Trains" (I think it said that on front unit) blue yellow and white 125 with about 10 matching coaches between the units went through Radcliffe on Trent earlier today,a rarity, and yesterdat 2 class 37's sounding like harley's! rumbled through

[plantfit 7,576]

Saw it today in the sidings at Great Northern Terrace Lincoln but didn't have me camera with me as we only went to Lincoln to do the weekly shop, might try to get to Whisby near the crossing for the return trip though, thanks for the info

Rog

[plantfit 7,576]

firbeck/Mick/Ashley thought you might like this taken tonight at Whisby / Thorpe level crossing about 10 minutes after leaving Lincoln, she was going at a fair rate of knots but sounded so smooth

Rog

[firbeck 859]

Nice one Rog, it looks great, did it make the traditional GW ticking noise from the valve gear or was it going too fast for that.

I'm not sure whether those carriages look right behind a steam loco, they came out a bit late to have ever been used behind original service steam locos, on the other hand they have a bit of a similarity to the lovely old GW Ocean Mail stock that I can recall was still in use in Devon in the early 60's.

The headboard and timing is obviously a reflection of the old Tamworth Mail that we've mentioned on here before, I always remember it being pulled by a B1 or Class 5, had we seen a Hall on it in those days we would have passed out. Nice to see the old GW reporting numbers on the front as well, they used to be a nightmare in the old trainspotting days though. On trips we would always fight to sit next to the window facing the opposite track, if we saw a signal for something coming the other way, we would peer intently out the window and try to get the smokebox number as it flashed passed. On the WR, it was impossible to see as the reporting numbers obscured the smokebox plate, the numbers weren't on the buffer beam in BR days.

The incident of the derailed Hall at Vic is on a video clip on Youtube, I can't access the site at the moment or I'd give you the reference for it.

I'll dig out some of my early BR black and white pics of Halls from the 60's, I recall publishing one a while ago.

Incidentally, there's a non stop Kings Cross to York express coming through Newark next Saturday pulled by A4 Bittern, they reckon they are going to attach an extra tender to it so it doesn't have to stop for water, it's supposed to be a very high speed run, could be worth seeing, trouble is, non of the timings have been published yet.

PS, I like the way you managed to catch the clarity of the engine yet the motion is blurred, I wonder if you caught it at the moment of a bit of wheel slip.

[plantfit 7,576]

Hi Pete thanks for the comments, can't recall a ticking noise from the valve gear but she was going fast, as I said everything sounded so smooth and well fitted as you would expect from GWR loco's, I took one picture as she was coming head on through Whisby nature reserve about 3/4 mile down the track and hoped the camera could sort itself out for another shot before she passed me so no deliberate camera settings to get the motion blurred, it's just as it was, won't be able to make next weeks ECML run of Bittern as I'm going to Heckington steam and country fair but if it's returning later that night I might just make it to Muskham to see her

cheers

Rog

[Ashley 288]

that ticking? you sure it's not the fuel pump? my rascal sounds like a clock when low on fuel!

[annesley 0]

Youtube video of derailed Hall 4-6-0 on Nott Vic turntable can be found on:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBvPRfkpS1A

East Midlands Trains have now started to run a HST from Nottinghan to Skegness on Summer Saturdays. This would probably be the one spotted at Radcliffe-on-Trent. Not as good as a pair of Class 20's + carriages but a big improvement on the usual DMU service. More room too!

[Frank 13]

Great link Annesley.

What's also interesting about that You Tube film is the sight of the old Huntingdon Street Junior School that can be seen as the train enters the tunnel to the City Hospital. This school was mentioned in a thread some time ago.

[firbeck 859]

6911, Holker Hall, built at Swindon January 1941, based at St Blazey and Penzance until shedded at Banbury in 1960, which explains it's appearance at Vic.

Withdrawn and scrapped April 1965, it's numberplate was sold at Sheffield Auctions in December 2006 for £1500, it's name was of a stately home in Cumbria that was owned by a GWR director.

Here's a picture of it in happier times at Banbury in 1964, I shall now attempt to dig out my Hall pictures and bore you to death.

Incidentally, we used to get tip offs about rare beasts at Nottingham Vic, but I always seemed to miss out. I recall being 'reliably' told that the gas turbine experimental loco, GT3 was about to make an appearance one Saturday morning. My old man subsequently marched us all down there and arranged a meeting with the station master, who had no knowledge of this event, we had to put up with watching the usual stuff that we would give our eye teeths on seeing now, that video brings it all back doesn't it, Jubes, Scots, Aussies, typical day at Vic in the early to mid 60's.

[bamber 128]

Annesley, that is a superb link to the Vic Station footage. Ta!

[firbeck 859]

Were Halls easy to derail, I recall on my last visit to Loughborough, their Hall had decided to lose it's way outside the station, not serious, except for the fact that it threw the whole operating day into mayhem.

After a bit of sniffing about, these are some of my Hall pics taken in Devon in 1962-63:-

You may notice that these were taken at Teignmouth, what a place that was for a holiday, the old man chose it deliberately, you could swan about on the beach, swim, whatever, yet one glance at the signals and it was up the sea wall steps to see what was coming along.

This one was a trip round all the London area sheds in 1963, I suspect it's Didcot, there must be a Hall in their somewhere.

The next one is Reading General:

Strange how one of the last numerous GW classes to survive were the Granges, yet none of them have survived into preservation. There were conspiracy theories about this, namely that they were taken on board and hidden in caves as Britains UK nuclear proof reserve loco fleet, anyone know anything about that, crap, I'm sure, but on the other hand, who knows, how one of the last classes of GWR locos to survive could end up in oblivion always struck me as a little odd.

[plantfit 7,576]

Nice pics Pete, put em in a book!!!!

I see number 5957 is pulling a diesel was the steamer on rescue duties? you can nearly always rely on steam

Rog

[rob237 89]

Not necessarily,Rog...

Quite common in Devon during this transitional era that steam and diesel hauled together, primarily due to the demanding inclines of Dainton, Rattery and Hemerdon - between Newton Abbot and Plymouth.

5975 Winslow Hall could well have been working back to Exeter, leaving the 'Warship' diesel to continue unaided.

Cheers

Robt P.

[firbeck 859]

You're right Rob, we spent 3 consecutive holidays at Teignmouth, 62,3 and 64. Every year we went on a trip from there to Plymouth and each time had a steam pilot loco over the banks as you said, in fact, the pic of the Hall on the front of the Warship was the particular train we came back from Plymouth on, I sprinted round to the seafront to get a decent picture of it. I recall another incident where the train was double headed with a class D63XX and a County behind it, can I find the picture, no way.

I recall that during the last year, 64, steam had virtually dissapeared, where as during 62 we saw a variety of stuff, particularly Castles, I remember standing on the bridge at the station and watching 4037 South Wales Borderers, which was a former Star class, take on water, angst, where was my camera at that moment.

In 64, dad and I spent a day spotting at Exeter St Davids, a Teignmouth bound train came in pulled by County of Chester and I remember saying that it was unlikely that we would be ever pulled by GW steam again and caught it back.

How many times since I've been pulled by GW engines, particularly on the Somerset Line to Minehead, hmmmm, but would you have believed it would happen in the future in 1964?

It's odd that my first trip on the GW mainline was hauled by a County, County of Merioneth in 1956 from Bristol to Taunton and my last trip on the mainline was from Exeter to Teignmouth in 64 by County of Chester.

Unfortunately, none of this class, the last GW 4-6-0's to be designed, have survived. However, using a Hall chassis a Stanier 8F boiler and various surviving bits, County of Camarthen is to be created, sounds like a bit of a hybrid to me, but we'll see how it turns out.

[firbeck 859]

Couldn't resist this, a rotting, but still active Grange Class, taken at Crewe South sheds in 1963, so what happened to them all then.

Back to the lovely County Class, different from GWR locos by having a long splasher with a straight nameplate.

From Firbecks archives, County of Cornwall and County of Brecknock, wierd name, doesn't Breconshire sound better.

I still can't work out how they are going to turn an 8F into one of these.