Would any of these loco types have been seen at Preston station in 1961 or 1967??

Hi all

I am in the process of planning a model of Preston station in 1961 and 1967, and have a quick question that people familiar with the area and era may be able to answer. Amongst my collection, I have a BR standard 4MT tank, Midland '3F' 0-6-0 (tender engine), Class 110 3-car DMU, and an Ivatt 2MT tank. I don't really want to get rid of any of them! But would any of these types have been seen at Preston in either 1961 or 1967? I believe Ivatt 2MT 41205 was shedded at Fleetwood, would this have worked local trains into Preston? The Scottish 4MT tanks at Lostock Hall in 1964 never worked in the area as well as not being there in 1961 or 67 so don't count...

Even a one-off sighting is good enough - loco numbers not essential if not known but very helpful if they are!

Many thanks if anyone able to help.

Paul

 

i wouldnt have thought midland 3fs were there they were mainly based on the old Midland system rather than LNWR and most were withdrawn about the early 60's. as for the Ivatt i'd guess it would have gone to preston from fleetwood its not that far on a local or transfer freight. when it comes to models you can say there is a prototype for EVERYTHING so i cant see why you couldnt use any of the models you've got.

 

you could always use the excuse that the loco's were being transferred to new depots and had to travel through preston to get there.

 

Can't say anything about the steam locos but a 110 Calder Valley set would have appeared daily on the 0900 Bradford Exchange -Blackpool Central service with a return working mid afternoon. This could be a 3 car set in winter and a 9car set on a summer Saturday as I remember from my spotting days at the Yorkshire end near Halifax

 

Thanks for your help so far, I now have a list of MPDs whose residents would almost certainly come through Preston on a regular basis (I'm not very familiar with the local geography although I'm trying to learn it). The Class 110 and Fleetwood 2MT tank have been confirmed as dead certs - just the 4MT tank and '3F' to go!

To be honest I'd be surprised if any 3Fs came through but Midland/LMS 4Fs and 2Ps definitely did so you never know! Some of them lasted well into the 1960s, although seems to be round the Bedfordshire area where they were most common. I put quite a bit of work into this model so still looking...

I guess the sheer number of Fairburns in the locality meant BR 4MT tanks were hardly seen, if ever?

 

Preston Station

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Thank you 23E for your information - I would never have found all that out on my own.

I have done some further research and discovered the ex-S&D 3Fs to be 43436 and 43734. They were at Templecombe in 1960 and Rose Grove in 1962, so I'm not sure exactly when they were transferred up north. A pity it seems unlikely that either got to Preston!

4MT tank 80061 seems to be the closest so far - I have it as at Newton Heath in 1960 and Stirling in 1962. Again a pity if it moved in 1960, although I am considering stretching the date of the layout for this one on occasion.

I will try emailing the webmaster of the Preston Station site as suggested when I get a spare moment - a very good idea!

Sorry to be a pain, but been digging around in my cupboard and found two last 'unsure' locos - a plain BR green class 20 (with headcode discs). Any chance of one of these being up there? Maybe D8035 which was based at Crewe South in 1962, although Willesden in 1960? Also a class 50 - there is some confusion as to when D400 entered service, I have found some sources quoting late 1967, others 1968...

Kind regards,

Paul

 

According to the RCTS book, 80061 was transferred to Newton Heath in 2/56 and to Scotland in 3/60, along with all the remaining BR 2-6-4T's on the LMR. Apart from some later drafted in for Cambrian line duties, that was essentially it on the LMR for the BR 2-6-4T's.

 

As far as diesels were concerned the English Electric Class 20s and 50s were tested from Crewe - Shap before being accepted by BR; that means they would have worked through Preston. There was also the Hillman Imps delivered from Linwood in Glasgow to Coventry and this was often hauled by a pair of ScR Class 20s ( 8070 - 8127 series ) in the early 1960s

 

Fantastic news - can use this one guilt free then. The great thing about Preston is the sheer variety of authentic motive power that was seen!
Having done more research into the class 50s, it seems that D400 entered traffic in September 1967 so I can keep that one too.

A pity. Fortunately everything else seems to be falling into place, so maybe I'll finish it's restoration, sell it on ebay, and use the proceeds to buy a Fairburn replacement.

Very many thanks to everyone for their extremely helpful responses so far.

Paul

 

Looking at a 1961 Locoshed book I see that a number of MR 3Fs were shedded at 8B Warrington Dallam. Looks like 8 in total so perhaps they were liked and used unlike the Rose Grove pair which I only saw dumped alongside the shed at Rose Grove. Whether any worked as far as Preston I don't know.

 

Preston Station 1961-1967

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You'll be pleased to know I have four of these in various states of repair, I shall be using one to drag 47008 through the station in a fixed formation, and at least one or two others will be on pilot and trip freight duties - two of them perhaps double headed, bunker to bunker? (Most of my collection is LMR, except some of these odd ones I have been asking about...)

I'm not sure there's a ready to run model of a Stanier tank so it'd be a Fairburn replacement for the 4MT tank I'm afraid, got enough unfinished locos to get on with so not going to start on a kit for a good many years yet!

Paul