The complete steam news magazine

Stanier still reigns supreme!

The summer of 2009 saw a vintage season of steam on the main lines of the north of England, courtesy of the West Coast Railway Company. Despite a couple of significant additions to the pool of motive power available, the 2010 season looked as if it would see the LMS pedigree diluted by a couple of interlopers. But it was not to be. If anything, this year has seen the golden age of London Midland steam kept alive in even more spectacular fashion.

The basic ingredients have been:

• Tuesdays – Thursdays: West Coast Railways ‘Scarborough Spa Express’ York-Leeds-Scarborough
• Fridays: Railway Touring Company: Crewe-Manchester-Scarborough
• Wednesdays: Statesman Rail ‘Fellsman’ Lancaster-Preston-Carlisle
• Wednesdays: RTC ‘Welsh Explorer’ Preston-Blaenau Ffestiniog.
• Saturdays: RTC Crewe or Liverpool-Shap-Carlisle, return via S&C.
• Sundays: RTC ‘Waverley’ York-Carlisle.
• Some Sundays: RTC ‘North Wales Coast Express’ Liverpool-Holyhead
• Occasional, Statesman Rail: ‘Lakelander’, Carnforth-Ravenglass.

Available motive power for the season consisted at the outset of a Duchess, a Princess, a Royal Scot, a Jubilee, three or four ‘Black Fives’ and an 8F. What could go wrong?

However, to begin with, the advertised power for the ‘Scarborough Spa Express’ was GWR 4-6-0 No 5972 Olton Hall, admittedly in a version of maroon livery, running as Hogwarts Castle. For a number of reasons, including gauging problems with the larger engines, the circular Leeds-York route was altered from Harrogate to Castleford; but just a few days before the season started, Network Rail advised that No 5972 was probably out of gauge even for the Castleford route. It looked as if it would be the LMS to the rescue after all.

The other interloper provisionally rostered, at least for the Friday and Saturday trains from Crewe, was LNER A4 Pacific No 60019 Bittern. However, with first, SR unrebuilt Bulleid Pacific No 34067 Tangmere under protracted repairs at Carnforth, then BR Standard Britannia Pacific No 70013 Oliver Cromwell succumbing to firebox problems and sister engine No 70000 Britannia herself not becoming available, Bittern had to stand in on an equally intensive steam programme on the Southern Region. And so it was to be exclusively LMS power in 2010 after all.

Of the engines initially rostered for north of England duties, LMS ‘Black Five’ No 45231 was away at Fort William for the ‘Jacobite’ and sister No 44871 was sent to Machynlleth for ‘Cambrian’ duties, while No 45407 and Jubilee No 5690 Leander were both undergoing maintenance.

No 46115 launched the ‘SSE’ season on 20 July, but suffered an overheated bearing on the second day. Repairs were effected at York but the problem recurred. No 48151 was despatched from Carnforth to stand in on the Sunday’s ‘York-Carlisle ‘Waverley, not exactly a duty an 8F would have been associated with in real steam days!

No 45407 was ready to take over the ‘SSE’ for the next two weeks, but LNER K1 2-6-0 No 62005 failed at Fort William and No 45231 looked likely to have to stay in Scotland for the duration, while it became urgent for No 45407 to get to Scotland as well. No 44932 had also suffered an overheated bearing with its first railtour since 1993, but was nevertheless quickly sent off to the Southern to take charge of ‘Cathedrals Express’ workings.

With No 46115 remaining under investigation and repair and No 48151 rostered for Wedneday 28 July’s Blaenau trip, there was a vacancy for an engine for that day’s ‘Fellsman’ to Carlisle. Leander had been off the main line for nine months, but its ongoing maintenance was accelerated, it was despatched on a light engine test run from Carnforth to Hellifield on the Tuesday evening, and duly turned in a superb performance over the Settle & Carlisle next day, hauling a big train plus a dead diesel (just in case).

On the following Monday, Leander appeared on a one-off York-Hartlepool train in connection with the Tall Ships event, though it was prevented from completing the evening Harrogate circle leg by the theft of signalling cables.

The Jubilee then took its place on the ‘SSE’ roster but fell victim to leaking tubes after two days. Although Thursday’s train set off behind a diesel, West Coast despatched No 46115 from Carnforth and it took over from the diesel in Milford loop.

With No 46115 then back in charge of the ‘SSE’s, it was almost a welcome development that a couple of No 48151’s Wednesday Blaenau Ffestiniog trips were cancelled through low bookings, as this freed No 48151 for the Wednesday ‘Fellsman’ duties. In the meantime, the two Pacifics, No 6201 Princess Elizabeth and No 6233 Duchess of Sutherland, remained in total control of Crewe-based workings to Carlisle and Scarborough, the only slight hiccup being when No 6233 was sent out of Liverpool Lime Street on the Euston line when it was bound for Carlisle!

The first week of September and the end of the season saw no let-up in the intensive steam rostering as No 46115 was scheduled for a ‘Cathedrals Express’ to Carlisle immediately followed by a run to Glasgow with RTC’s ‘West Highlander’, while a boiler washout had to be fitted in somehow. This was achieved by sending for No 44932 which fortunately had a brief respite from its Southern duties. It moved to York and took charge of Sunday 22 August’s ‘Waverley’ to Carlisle, and the following week’s ‘SSE’s.

The last week’s ‘SSE’s though had already been allocated to No 46115 (Tuesday only) and No 44871 which was able to handle the Wednesday and Thursday trains, having completed its tour of duties on the Cambrian Coast.

Even so, as we closed for press, No 44932 had been pencilled in for 29 August’s King’s Cross-Norwich ‘Cathedrals Express’ and it was expected to have No 5690 available to cover duties in the north including RTC’s ‘West Highlander’ in place of No 46115.

The trials and tribulations of a second summer of intensive LMS steam operations must have caused some grey hairs for West Coast Railways’ dedicated team, but the programme operated with minimal recourse to diesel traction and, best of all, with lengthy rakes of well-filled maroon-liveried coaches behind the tender in virtually every case.