LNER Gresley A3 4-6-2 No. 60103 hauls her last passenger train during her 2022 visit to the Swanage Railway as 1X10 1645 Swanage to Norden crosses Corfe Viaduct – 26/10/2022No. 4472 ‘Flying Scotsman’ alongside Stanier Black Five Class 5MT 4-6-0 No. 5407 at Steamtown which occupied the site of the former London Midland & Scottish Railway Carnforth Motive Power Depot (MPD) opened in 1944. It was hoped that the depot would form part of a preservation scheme involving what is now the Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway but when this could not be realised due to road modernisation it was developed as major visitor attraction. In 1974 Sir William McAlpine became a shareholder in the company for the purposes of stabling ‘Flying Scotsman’ and he eventually took a controlling interest in the company and purchased the complete site including the track from British Rail. In 1990 McAlpine’s controlling stake in Steamtown Railway Museum Ltd was sold to David Smith, who over the following years has bought out the majority of the minority shareholders. The site closed to the public in 1998 and today it is the base for Smith’s West Coast Railways, which operates heritage steam and diesel trains across the national UK railway network – 18/07/1981The “Cumbrian Mountain Express” departed Crewe at 0940 behind electric traction to Carlisle where No. 4472 ‘Flying Scotsman’ took over and took the train along Settle & Carlisle to Skipton and Carnforth followed by electric haulage to Crewe. Seen here for a water stop at Garsdale – 22/07/1981A feature of CME tours were the run pasts through Appleby where passengers detrained and given the opportunity to photograph the steam locomotive and train in action – 22/07/1981The same view 35 years later and delayed because of single line working imposed by a landslip at Eden Brows near Armathwaite, “The Winter Cumbrian Mountain Express” 1Z87 1436 Carlisle to London Euston arrives at approximately 45 minutes late arrives at Appleby. No. 60103 ‘Flying Scotsman’ replaced LMS Princess Coronation No. 46233 ‘Duchess of Sutherland’ and was 60103’s first main line rail tour following her £4.2 million, 10 year major overhaul. She ran in Wartime black livery and carried the numbers 103 and 502 on either cab side – 06/02/2016No. 502 ‘Flying Scotsman’ in wartime black livery undergoing overhaul and restoration in the works at the National Railway Museum (NRM), York. ‘Flying Scotsman’ was bought for the nation by the NRM in April 2004 at a cost of £2.3million. She ran intermittently until December 2005 (although she was out of action between September 2004 and May 2005 undergoing a ‘heavy intermediate repair’) when she was withdrawn for overhaul. At the time, the NRM said this would take 12 months and cost around £750,000. In 2012 when the above image was taken, she was still not ready to steam again and the cost of the work undertaken had spiralled to over £2.6million. A report at the time, commissioned for the Trustees of the Science Museum Group (of which the NRM is part) to help understand quite why the overhaul had gone over time and over budget, was prepared by a respected steam engineer from Tyseley Locomotive Works, Bob Meanley, assisted by a professor of engineering and found “It is difficult to analyse drift in the project because there was no real plan against which it could be measured and new tasks were added to the workload as new problems were uncovered.” The report confirmed ‘Flying Scotsman’ was in a very worn out condition when acquired by the NRM. To a large degree this had been well known, although reports commissioned at the time seem to have been overly optimistic. The NRM had been clearly under pressure to secure the locomotive amid fears it may have been sold abroad, but is found not to have properly assessed the state of its new acquisition following purchase or to have drawn up a credible refurbishment plan. New faults are noted as having taken staff by surprise five years after purchase. In 2011, the locomotive had to be dismantled again to correct issues many thought would have been identified back in early 2006. – 03/07/2012No. 502 ‘Flying Scotsman’ at the Railway Museum, York. After the release of the 2012 report on the restoration of ‘Flying Scotsman’, the NRM commissioned an independent review to determine the next steps on how to proceed. It was recommended that further work on the locomotives overhaul should be put out to external tender and subsequently it was announced this would be Riley & Son and ‘Flying Scotsman’ was moved to their workshop at Bury. On 8 January 2016, ‘Flying Scotsman’ moved under her own steam for the first time since 2005. The final cost of the restoration was £4.5 million – 03/07/2012Following her ten year overhaul and restoration, ‘Flying Scotsman’ undertook running in tests on the East Lancashire Railway (ELR) and can be seen here at Rawtenstall – 17/01/2016Rawtenstall – 17/01/2016Awaiting the road at Rawtenstall – 17/01/2016Approaching Ramsbottom on the ELR – 17/01/20161Z86 0710 London Euston to Carlisle “The Winter Cumbrian Mountain Express” – No. 60103 ‘Flying Scotsman’ is seen here climbing Shap bank – 06/02/2016“The Winter Cumbrian Mountain Express” water stop at Appleby – 06/02/2016Steam Dreams organised 1Z60 0837 London Paddington to Salisbury “The Cathedrals Express” rail tour hauled by No. 60103 ‘Flying Scotsman’ approaches Dilton Marsh – 21/05/2016No. 60103 ‘Flying Scotsman’ working 1Z82 1502 Salisbury to Salisbury “The Cathedrals Express” passing through Romsey – 21/05/2016“The Cathedrals Express” 1Z62 1828 Salisbury to London Paddington at Grateley – 21/05/2016Delayed by a line side fire in the former British Rail Staff Association building at Salisbury station, “The Cathedrals Express” 1Z62 1856 Salisbury to London Paddington passes Class 450 No. 450007 on the approach Basingstoke – 28/05/2016No. 60103 ‘Flying Scotsman’ working 1Z75 1520 Salisbury to Southampton Central alongside the Lower Test Valley – 06/06/2021No. 60103 ‘Flying Scotsman’ awaits the road at Salisbury with Steam Dreams 1Z83 1852 Salisbury to London Victoria. Following this main line run, ‘Flying Scotsman’ was withdrawn from operation for an overhaul in preparation for her centenary year celebrations – 24/03/2022
Yoshi took the opportunity of ‘Flying Scotsman’ being on static display at Swanage railway station to get up close and personal! Last week we shared video of ‘Flying Scotsman’ during her 1994 visit to the Swanage Railway. This week we move forward to 1999 and 2000 when the locomotive could be found in her famous LNER Apple Green guise and numbered No. 4472, as she appeared when she was owned by Alan Peglar on purchase from British Railways in 1963:
Video of LNER Gresley A3 4-6-2 No. 4472 ‘Flying Scotsman’ on various workings in LNER Apple Green livery: 08/08/1999 Upton Scudamore whilst on a London Paddington – Salisbury – London Paddington rail tour, 27/11/1999 Deputising for GWR 6000 Class King 4-6-0 ‘King Edward I’ No. 6024 on Pathfinder Tours “The Capital King” seen at Bradford Abbas and Sherborne, 06/02/2000 Deputising for SR Merchant Navy 4-6-2 No. 35028 ‘Clan Line’ on a VSOE British Pullman London Victoria to Southampton Docks and return rail tour seen in Southampton Docks, and 16/04/2000 Past Time Rail’s “The Tall Ships” seen in Southampton Docks and light engine turning move passing Eastleigh12th September 1965 and No. 4472 ‘Flying Scotsman’ visited Weymouth and is seen here on Weymouth depot. I was told that I was taken to see the special train organised by The Gainsborough Model Railway Society pass through Dorchester, so perhaps inspiring a lifetime love of railways! – John Chappell 12/09/1965
Wednesday 26th October to Tuesday 1st November
Returning to present day 2022 and Thursday 27th October which saw Yoshi and I travelling to Yeovil to catch sight of Colas Class 37 No. 37099 ‘Merl Evans 1947 – 2016’ working 3Q07 2053 Exeter Riverside New Yard to Exeter Riverside New Yard. This working consisting of a diesel locomotive on one end and a DBSO on the other usually heads off to Sherborne and Salisbury, but this month (possibly due to the speed restrictions on the line in place until 14th November 2022 because a clay embankment between Tisbury and Gillingham had dried out, causing the ground beneath the tracks to shrink) was scheduled to reverse at Yeovil Pen Mill, a station it usually misses out although is always booked to visit. I was 99% sure the train would make it to Pen Mill this time due to its pathing, but as I didn’t fully trust that the train wouldn’t be reversed before reaching here, I hedged my bets and went straight to Yeovil Junction to witness the test train working straight through. I jumped in the car and made it over to Yeovil Pen Mill just as the service arrived into platform 1. Being a glutton for punishment, we then headed back to Yeovil Junction to see the train arrive on the return leg before departure for Exeter at 0023.
Yoshi on a late night barking mission with Colas Class 37 No. 37099 ‘Merl Evans 1947 – 2016’ at Yeovil Pen Mill – 27/10/2022Nameplate detail of Colas Class 37 No. 37099 ‘Merl Evans 1947 – 2016’ named in memory of Mel’s outstanding contribution to British model railways – 27/10/2022Colas Class 37 No. 37099 ‘Merl Evans 1947 – 2016’ awaits the green light on the return path to Exeter at Yeovil Junction – 27/10/2022
Video of Colas Class 37 No. 37099 ‘Merl Evans 1947 – 2016’ working 3Q07 2053 Exeter Riverside New Yard to Exeter Riverside New Yard – 27/10/2022
On Sunday 30th October Yoshi and I visited National Trust’s Stourhead Gardens in Wiltshire. After an initial rain shower on arrival, we had a very pleasant few hours drying out whilst walking around the grounds of the estate and enjoying the autumnal colours of the trees as their leaves fluttered to the ground.
Yoshi enjoys his walks around National Trust Stourhead Gardens – 30/10/2022
Being so close to Westbury, we took the opportunity to pop in and see the 3S59 1554 Swindon Transfer to Loreton-On-Lugg Rail Head Treatment Train in fading light before tucking into a very tasty Sunday roast at The Three Horseshoes at Chapmanslade. Class 66 No. 66846 has returned to traffic after being temporarily replaced by Class 37 No. 37668 which we saw the previous Sunday on the equivalent working as it passed through Bradford on Avon. No 66850 ‘David Maidment’ was once again in evidence.
Colas Class 66 No. 66850 ‘David Maidment’ on the rear of 3S59 1554 Swindon Transfer to Loreton-On-Lugg RHTT having arrived at Westbury. The train reverses here – 30/10/2022
Video of Class 66 No.’s 66846 and 66850 reversing at Westbury with S59 1554 Swindon Transfer to Loreton-On-Lugg RHTT – 30/10/2022SR Battle of Britain Class 4-6-2 No. 34070 ‘Manston’ at Swanage Railway’s Herston Works. The locomotive was waiting in readiness to be collected by low loader and taken to Norden by road where she will undertake running in tests. Her place in the works will be taken by classmate No. 34053 ‘Sir Keith Park’. Many thanks to Jamie for getting permission for our visit to Herston – 01/11/2022The Swanage DMU stock keeping SR Battle of Britain Class 4-6-2 No. 34053 ‘Sir Keith Park’ company in the sidings at Corfe Castle ahead of her move to Herston Works – 01/11/2022BR Class 33 No. 33111 sits at Corfe Castle having removed a consist of wagons from Norden the previous day in readiness for the low loader moves in connection with ‘Manston’, ‘Sir Keith Park’. and ‘257 Squadron’ which is off on holiday to the Spa Valley railway to work Polar Express trains. ‘257 Squadron’ will be back at Swanage in early 2023- 01/11/2022SR West Country Class 4-6-2 No. 34028 ‘Eddystone’ departs Swanage with the 1000 service to Norden. SR U Class 2-6-0 No. 31806 sits in front of the ‘Flying Scotsman’ support coach. Note the fence panels which had blown over onto the coach on the extreme right of the picture – 01/11/2022
We also came across some interesting railwaymania when we visited the Den antiques emporium over the weekend:
£795 would make you the proud owner of an enamel British Railways Eastleigh station sign
Next, we found a signed Terrence Cuneo “The Night Express” print, an evocative study of a Great Western King Class 4-6-0 working along the sea wall near Teignmouth, painted by the Master in 1975 and issued by Felix Rosenstiels Widow & Sons Ltd. as a single edition of 850 prints signed by the artist in 1977. Terrence Cuneo (1907-1996) CVO, OBE is one of my favourite railway artists. He was also renowned for his military paintings and was the official artist for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. A bronze memorial statue of Terrence Cuneo, unveiled by Princess Anne in 2004, once stood on the concourse at London Waterloo, but was moved to Brompton Barracks in Kent prior to the development of the disused Eurostar platforms at the station. One of my favourite Cuneo paintings can be found at the Railway Museum in York and is of London Waterloo station:
That just about wraps up another week and all that remains is for me to thank you, dear reader, for taking the trouble to visit Yoshi’s blog. We’ve enjoyed having you stop by. As always, please feel free to comment or let me know of any typo’s, gobbledygook or misinformation! May your dog (or cat) go with you.
Yoshi basks in the sun alongside Peckett & Sons 0-4-0T ‘Pectin’ at Yeovil Junction
Every now and then, even in this internet age, a test train or light locomotive working manages to pass me by. Recently it was a top and tailed Class 73 test train which visited our local area when I was tucking into Sunday lunch. Last year I was thwarted in seeing a Class 56 in Dorset due to a traffic queue created by roadworks and because I had dinner in the oven. This last weekend I missed seeing Class 37 No. 37612 heading up a test train from Westbury to Dorchester West and return. I was having a lovely afternoon looking around a National Trust property near Yeovil (and yes, enjoying a cuppa) when the heritage loco passed by a few miles away. We are able to share the following photograph of the Class 37 working with grateful thanks to Jim Smith.
Class 37 No. 37612 at Dorchester West 20/03/2022 ( Image courtesy of Jim Smith )
The following video shows 37612, along with sister locomotive 37610, during a previous visit to Dorchester West on December 2nd 2020 working the 0820 Tyseley L.M.D. to Bristol High Level Siding test train. Last Sunday’s working was in beautiful bright sunlight, whereas this earlier visit clearly wasn’t.
376212 Dorchester West 02/12/2020
As well as visiting stately homes on Sunday, our morning was spent at the Yeovil Railway Centre which is situated on a site covering the turntable and the former Clifton Maybank branch adjacent to Yeovil Junction railway station. The event celebrated Peckett & Sons 0-4-0ST Works No. 1579 Pectin which formally returned to traffic on 20th March 2022. We enjoyed watching turntable displays and taking a train ride along the former Clifton Maybank spur.
The first Yeovil Railway Festival organised by the South Western Main Line Steam Company was held on the 8th and 9th October 1994 and was opened by Jim Morgan, Director of Railtrack South West. Drummond Locomotive Society’s 0-4-4T Class M7 loco 30053 (as 30129) ran shuttles to Yeovil Pen Mill and trips to Maiden Newton while BR Standard Pacific No. 70000 ‘Britannia’ and examples of classes 47 (Lady Godiva from Waterman Railways), 33 and 37 were on display. S15 4-6-0 No. 828 hauled Pathfinder steam excursion, The Exe-Parrett (suitably adorned with parrot toy on the smoke box), through Yeovil from Bristol to Exeter and back to Bristol via Taunton on the Saturday and returned from Bristol for display on the Sunday. Before heading to Yeovil, our first video of the weekend sees 828 first at Westbury but also GWR Castle Class 4073 4-6-0 5029 ‘Nunney Castle’ working the London Paddington – Cranmore Capitals United Express rail tour organised by Flying Scotsman Services. You can also catch a glimpse of one of my favourite railway and wildlife artists David Shepherd with the train.
M7 No. 30053 (as 30129) ran shuttles to Yeovil Pen Mill and trips to Maiden Newton
Things didn’t run quite to plan for Pathfinder on the Sunday when the Dorset Docker rail tour hauled by a pair of Class 20 diesel locomotives en route to Weymouth and Weymouth Quay was deemed a failure at Yeovil Pen Mill when No. 20187 expired. Class 37 No. 37375 which had been on display at Yeovil Junction, working in multiple with 20075, was rostered to work the tour back as far as Westbury. The 37 was substituted for Class 47 No. 47475 which hauled the tour and the Class 20’s onward from Westbury to Wolverhampton. Our next video, filmed mostly on the Sunday captures a glimpse of the Class 37 and Class 20’s at Yeovil Pen Mill.
On 4th and 5th October 1997 the second Yeovil Railway Festival was held, once again opened by Jim Morgan now Director of GB Railways. USA Tank No. 30075 was in the upside sidings whilst S15 No. 828 and M7 No. 30053 joined in once again taking turns at operating a shuttle service to Castle Cary. Class 20 No. D8188 was named “River Yeo” by Murray Brown, editor of Rail Express magazine. Two failed Class 73 locomotives, 73104 and 73128, were unofficially on display with an engineers train. On the second day Hertfordshire Railtours ran The Blackmore Vale 125 Special HST excursion from Paddington with power cars 43006 and 43185.
This past week saw the return of the Snow & Ice Treatment Train (SITT) to the Bournemouth – Weymouth line with GBRf Class 66 locomotive No’s 66799 and 66760 ‘David Gordon Harris’ remaining in charge. We’ll share our video of these workings in our next blog.
Class 66 No.’s 66799 and 66760 seen at Poole working the SITT on 21/03/2022Class 66 No.’s 66799 and 66760 seen at Poole working the SITT on 22/03/2022
We saw the SITT leave Totton Yard on Thursday 17th March 2022 before we headed off to Eastleigh to visit an old friend and visit McDonald’s. While there, we took the opportunity to spend a few hours watching trains before and after lunch. There’s a video after this collection of photographs.
Class 59/2 No. 59205 was derailed at Eastleigh for over a week following an incident involving track spread.GBRf Class 66 No. 66764 working 1150 Southampton Western Docks to East Midlands Gateway passes 444036 on a London Waterloo to Weymouth service – Eastleigh 17/03/2022
Class 701 testing continues, as evidenced in the image below as 701037 waits for a clear road before departing from Eastleigh.
Freightliner Class 66 No. 66572working 0536 Garston FLT to Southampton MCT – Eastleigh 17/03/202266095 working 0514 Wakefield Europort to Southampton western Docks Berth 109 – Eastleigh 17/03/2022Class 67008 shunting MK4 stock – Eastleigh 17/03/202266792 working 4Y19 1230 Mountfield Sidings (GBRf) to Southampton Western Docks – Eastleigh 17/03/202266522 working 0931 Crewe Basford Hall SSM to Southampton MCT – Eastleigh 17/03/2022
In other local news, Swanage Railway have announced the postponement of their Summer 2022 planned 90 selected day trial of a Wareham to Swanage and Corfe Castle service using heritage British Railways diesel multiple units because of ‘challenging trading conditions and economic uncertainty. Plans are now being made to run the trial in 2023.
Swanage Railway heritage DMU seen at Norden on 3rd January 2022 with a train celebrating the last BR train on the branch
Fifty historic railway structures originally earmarked for demolition or infilling may be spared after an independent review of National Highways plans found that they could be readily preserved for active travel schemes. The government ordered review carried out by Sustrans concluded that two-thirds of the 75 structures could be useful for use as part of the National Cycle Network (NCN) or as local walking and cycling routes.
One such bridge deemed useful for the NCN is the bridge which carried the former Bridport branch line at Barrowland Lane, Toller Porcorum. Local residents were left angry last year when National Highways felled trees on land next to the disused bridge. The Historical Railways Estate Group, made up of engineers, sustainable transport advocates and greenway developers – want to use the bridge in its ambitious plans to develop a sustainable railway and cycle link from West Bay to Maiden Newton.
The images below show both ends of the proposed cycle / walk way; Maiden Newton and WestBay.
The former Bridport Branch Bay at Maiden NewtonFormer Bridport Branch trackbed, Maiden NewtonFormer Bridport Branch trackbed, Maiden NewtonWest Bay Station – March 2016West Bay Station – March 2016
For our final video clip this time, we have included a brief view of the last day of operation on the Bridport Branch filmed by John Chappell showing a diesel multiple unit formed using No.’s 55033, 51345 + 59497 + 51387 which ran the final services on the line. This silent cine film also offers a glimpse of Southern Electric Group rail tour The Dorset Dawdler which utilised Diesel Electric Multiple Unit No. 1131. Passengers on this tour were able to transfer to the DMU service for a trip to Bridport and back. The SEG DEMU tour also took in the Fawley branch and Weymouth Quay Tramway earlier in the day.
That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading and hopefully we’ll be back with an update in seven days.
