Here is a Peppercorn Pacific storming the grade past Gret Ponton signal box, in which I spent a lot of time The line climbs from Grantham (three miles away) to Stoke summit, (two more miles), on the route to London. This is the east coast main line, not far from where I live. The date is September 1961. Here is a rebuilt Bulleid pacific, ready to depart Andover with a westbound express, in June 1966. These locomotives carried on right up to the electrification of the line, instead of the usual diesel interim period.
Great pictures Alan. Buffers eh! Nothing quite like the British built locos. Were these LNER or LMS or other?
Steam is steam Alan, it still warms the heart to see them, and I can almost hear them in the background of my memory! Thanks!
The first one is on the ex-LNER main line between London King's Cross, and Edinburgh. The locomotive is an LNER design, but was actually built after nationalisation in 1948. The second locomotive is a Southern Railway design, built in the forties, and was originally encased in sheet steel to give a (sort of) streamlined look. The valve gear was operated by chain drive, encased in an oil bath. A good idea, but in the harsh world of steam, the oil bath would leak and catch fire sometimes! They were rebuilt by BR into the locomotives shown, and are to me some of the best looking pacifics we had. Except for any Gresley locomotives, of course This is one of the celebrated Gresley A4 pacifics leaving Peterborough, heading north. These were the greyhounds of the route, a sister locomotive "Mallard" holds the world steam speed record, and sits proudly in York railway museum. [ 16 March 2001: Message edited by: Alan ]
Great photos Alan.Travelling to your side of the country to visit the East Coast Mainline was a real adventure in those days. Thanks for the happy memories. Take care. John.
