A day working trackside finds me at Bingham on the Nottingham – Grantham line in connection with converting the level crossing from gates to manually controlled barriers. In between working I manage to get this photograph of Holbeck allocated 31111 working I suspect 4M22, the afternoon Peterborough – Crewe parcels to at least Nottingham, where it was probably replaced by a class 25, 11th August 1977.
Locomotive History
31111 was built at the Brush Falcon works, Loughborough and entered traffic in May 1959 as D5529. It is one of the early class 31/1 locomotives that externally had much in common with the original class 31/0s as they were fitted with discs and lacked the roof mounted headcode box due to production delays with the new style cabs. Its first allocation was March MPD and this was followed by spells at Norwich (1959), March (1961), Gateshead (1971), Stratford (1971), March (1972) and Holbeck (1974). It was an early casualty and became the eleventh class 31/1 to be withdrawn when it was condemned in June 1983 after a working life of twenty four years. It was broken up at Swindon works in July 1986.
Praktica LTL, Kodachrome 64
Tags: 11th August 31111 D5529 Kodachrome 64 Praktica LTL Epson 4490 Kodachrome
© All Rights Reserved
45021 heads south through Chesterfield with a mixed freight, 28th July 1977. The five tank wagons at the front of the train are STS owned vehicles used for the carriage of carbon dioxide. The remainder of the train is formed of mainly BR standard 12ton vans and what looks like a bogie bolster towards the rear.
Locomotive History
D25 entered traffic in April 1961, allocated to Derby MPD, Three months later it transferred to Leeds Neville Hill, moving across the city to Holbeck in December 1962 and would spend most of its career at Holbeck. On the 10th August 1961 only four months after entering traffic D25 was in collision with a diesel multiple unit and derailed at Scarborough. At the end of 1980 the withdrawal of the class 45 fleet commenced in earnest and 45021 was one of a batch of four class 45’s (45008/21/32/39) withdrawn in December 1980 that were not victims of accident or fire damage. It was broken up at Swindon works in April 1983.
Re-scanned 10th February 2019
Praktica LTL, Kodachrome 64
Tags: 28th July D25 45021 Praktica LTL Kodachrome 64 Epson 4490 Kodachrome
© All Rights Reserved
It’s still early in the morning and raining as 33014 drifts down the bank from Exeter Central into Exeter St Davids with a four coach passenger train with a four wheeled PMV on the back, 1st April 1978.
Locomotive History
In December 1957 British Railways ordered forty five type 3 diesel-electric locomotives from the Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Company (BRCW) for Southern Region duties. Ninety eight locomotives were eventually constructed and they were classified as class 33 under the TOPS classification scheme. All locomotives were fitted with dual brakes and electrical train heating only when built, which was revolutionary at that time as virtually all other new diesel types were being delivered with steam heating boilers and vacuum brakes. 33014 was originally D6522 and entered traffic in September 1960. It would survive in traffic for twenty six years being withdrawn in February 1986. Following withdrawal it was broken up quickly by British Rail at Eastleigh in September 1986.
Re-scanned and re-edited 5th October 2018.
Praktica LTL, Kodachrome 64
Tags: 1st April Praktica LTL Kodachrome 64 D6522 33014 Epson 4490
© All Rights Reserved
20030 is seen here with 20147 (still in green livery) in charge of a loaded coal train from one of the Lean Valley pits at Lenton South Junction, 27th November 1976.
Locomotive History
The most successful batch of Type 1 locos ordered under the Modernisation Plan were the English Electric Type 1, classified Class 20. The initial order of 1956 was for twenty locomotives; however, the design was an immediate success and, before all twenty were in traffic, an order was made for an additional thirty locomotives for delivery to the Eastern and Scottish Regions. 20030 was one of this batch of thirty locomotives entering service as D8030 in December 1959, allocated to Leith Central MPD before quickly moving on to Kittybrewster, Aberdeen. It would spend the next six years allocated to Kittybrewster until it closed and D8030 transferred to Haymarket. Evidence of its Scottish allocation is the recess in the cab for single line tablet exchange equipment. By the late 1960’s it was one of a small batch of class 20’s (8019/30-33/55-57) allocated to Stratford although by by the 1970’s this had reduced to 8030/55/56 retained as replacements for the Liverpool Street station pilot duties formally undertaken by two of the BTH class 15 locomotives. These were converted to class 08 duty in October 1971 and the three class 20’s left Stratford for York behind 5522 on the 2nd October 1971 with 8030/55 transferred to Scotland (Eastfield) and 8056 transferred to Tinsley. After four years in Scotland 20030 transferred to Toton in 1975. In 1982 20030 was one of a number of Toton vacuum braked class 20’s stored awaiting an improved financial climate to allow classified repair and dual brake fitment which was eventually undertaken at Crewe works during the summer of 1983. On release it transferred to Tinsley, spent a spell around 1988 allocated to Thornaby before returning to Toton from were it was withdrawn in October 1990. 20147 was built in 1966 and was one of the later batch of class 20 locomotives fitted with headcode boxes and was withdrawn in May 1989. Both were broken up by MC Metals Glasgow in August and September 1991 respectively.
Re-edited 19th November 2015
Praktica LTL, High Speed Ektachrome
Tags: 27th November D8030 20030 Praktica LTL High Speed Ektachrome Epson 4490
© All Rights Reserved
Just south of Loughborough station 45126 (in need of a fresh coat of yellow paint) heads for St Pancras with a Midland Main Line express, 18th March 1978. On the right is the connection for the Midland to the Great Central cord that was built in the early 1970’s. This allowed the Gypsum works at Hotchley Hill, East Leake to be served from the south and the remains of the Great Central northwards to Nottingham (with the reversal at Weekday Cross) to be closed. Behind this is the Brush Falcon works birthplace a of several hundred diesel locomotives bought by British Railways between 1958 and 1992.
Locomotive History
45126 was originally numbered D32 being was built at Derby works and entered traffic in June 1961, allocated to Derby MPD. Three months later it transferred to Leeds Neville Hill before transferring across the city to Leeds Holbeck in December 1962. In August 1968 it transferred to the Nottingham Division (Toton) for a four year spell before returning to Holbeck in September 1972. In 1973 the Midland Main Line services started to migrate from steam heating to electric heating of the coaching stock and it was one of fifty class 45 locomotives selected to have its steam heating boiler replaced with electric train heating equipment (a Brush BL100-30 ETH auxiliary alternator). It emerged from Derby works in May 1974, renumbered 45126 and allocated to Toton for Midland Main Line duties. It would remain at Toton for the next twelve years until the surviving class 45/1 locomotives were all transferred to Tinsley in November 1986. The summer 1987 timetable saw the end of diagrammed class 45 passenger duties on the Midland Main Line and Trans-Pennine routes and resulted in significant class 45 withdrawals in April and May 1987. 45126 was one of these locomotives being condemned in April 1987. Following withdrawal it was dumped at March until in 1989 six “Peaks” (45111/25/26/36/46/48) were taken from the dump at March and towed in two batches to Egginton to be used as dead-load vehicles by the Research Department at Mickleover. Eventually three years later 45126 had made its way to MC Metals at Glasgow, were it was broken up in April 1992.
Re-edited 11th March 2019
Praktica LTL, Agfacolour CT18
Tags: 18th March D32 45126 Praktica LTL Agfacolour CT18 Epson 4490
© All Rights Reserved