Some of the steam we could see at Peterborough, which was one of my favourite train-watching locations back in my youth. First a Gresley class A3 pacific on a london bound Pullman train approaches the station and passes the southern entry to the exensive Whitemoor marshalling yards and locomotive depot, on May 20th 1961 Hughes LMS 'Crab' 2-6-0 No. 42761 about to pass beneath Spital bridge, to pass behind Peterborough North station across the river, under the main line and into the East station. It is on the Midland lines from Leicester which parallel the main line from beyond Werrington junction. Saturday 20th May 1961 Thompson class A2 pacific 60522 Straight Deal enters the station with an up (London-bound) express. Due to the sinuous nature of the tracks, the speed limit through the station was 20 miles per hour. Gresley N2 0-6-2T 69506 is on station pilot duties in the bay platform. Saturday 20th May 1961. Gresley Class A4 Pacific 60030 Golden Fleece accellerates away from Peterborough North station with a northbound express. There was a 20mph speed limit through the station at this time, due to reverse curves through the platforms. After a station stop during wet weather, some heavy northbound trains had to be banked out of the station. I once saw an A4 pacific slipping so badly as it tried to restart a train, that it destroyed the inside big end, and took a long time to be removed from the train, as the wheels were locked solid!
Alan, thanks. Those A-4's are beginning to grow on me, though I like the looks of the A-3 better. Then I liked the looks of the NYCS Hudsons without the fancy streamlining, as well.
Great pics Alan, I love seeing these. I like the individual rail sand drags next to the A4 as well, they are a nice little detail!
Another "intruder" from the Midland region! Stanier ex-LMS "Jubilee" 4-6-0 45615 Malay States unusually departs from the North station with a train probably headed for the Leicester line, and will turn off the main line before the junction a few miles further north. Midland line trains usually by-passed the North station, and used the East station. A class V2 2-6-2 awaits passage of this train, before crossing over the tracks into New England marshalling yards. 20th May 1961
'Britannia' pacific 70039 Sir Christopher Wren arrives with a King's Cross-Grimsby-Cleethorpes express. There were two such trains each way per day over this route. Shortly after this photograph was made, I boarded the train for the ride back to Boston. Saturday 20th May 1961. Note the parcels vans in the bay platform at left, and the parcles trolleys on the platform. All this has now gone, along with the overall roof, which used to fill with smoke when steam locomotives passed through!
Great steam. Alan and Martyn, what is the purpose of those individual rail sand drags? Was there some way that the locomotives picked up sand from them?
The sand drags are on a catch point which protects the mainline. They have to be there to slow the train rapidly, hopefully to stop it impacting the brick wall of the bridge upon which I was standing
Yep, like Alan says, but I had not seen ones in that style before, (with an individual sand trap for each rail,) the ones I had seen have a big covering of sand across the whole width of the track. I think they preferred these to derails on passenger lines over here. Sort of a little bit like the big buckets of water you get on freeway exits in the US!
