BR Standard 9F's in the late 1960's

Hi All

I have added the 1st part of a collection of BR standard 9F's, with photographs fromKeith Till, Tony Gillet & Bill Wright
92015 Lostock Hall 14/8/63 (Tony Gillett)
http://www.steamlocomotives.photos.gb.n ... 41915.html
92015 again at Lostock Hall 21/2/64 (Tony Gillet)
http://www.steamlocomotives.photos.gb.n ... 41909.html
92016 Bolton mpd 4/10/62 (Tony Gillett)
http://www.steamlocomotives.photos.gb.n ... 41917.html
92016 at Bolton Station 4/10/62 (Tony Gillett)
http://www.steamlocomotives.photos.gb.n ... 41907.html
92016 Farrington Jct August 1967 (Tony Gillett)
http://www.steamlocomotives.photos.gb.n ... 41921.html
92017 Newton Heath 26/5/61 (Tony Gillett)
http://www.steamlocomotives.photos.gb.n ... 41905.html
92047 Stockport 10/8/67 (Bill Wright)
http://www.steamlocomotives.photos.gb.n ... 34126.html
92097 Lostock Hall 30/8/62 (Tony Gillett)
http://www.steamlocomotives.photos.gb.n ... 41902.html
9F on a passenger turn
92115 Preston 22/7/61 (Tony Gillett)
http://www.steamlocomotives.photos.gb.n ... 41903.html
92154 Crewe Works (Keith Till)
http://www.steamlocomotives.photos.gb.n ... 41898.html

Neil

 

Hi All

Second part of the collection of 9F photos, a few of the preserved locos first including 2 of Evenning Star on the main line
92220 Evenning Star Hillhouse Huddersfield Hauling the White Rose, anyone know what the date was
http://www.steamlocomotives.photos.gb.n ... 46678.html
http://www.steamlocomotives.photos.gb.n ... 46677.html
92220 in the NRM York
http://www.steamlocomotives.photos.gb.n ... 41914.html
92203 Black Prince at York
http://www.steamlocomotives.photos.gb.n ... 41913.html
http://www.steamlocomotives.photos.gb.n ... 41910.html

Back now to the 60's
92223 Farrington Jct 23/8/67 (Tony Gillett)
http://www.steamlocomotives.photos.gb.n ... 41912.html
92182 unknown location (Keith Till)
http://www.steamlocomotives.photos.gb.n ... 41916.html
92192 Crewe Works (Keith Till)
http://www.steamlocomotives.photos.gb.n ... 41899.html
92239 Derby 30/3/65 (Bill Wright)
http://www.steamlocomotives.photos.gb.n ... 34128.html
92249 Lostock Hall 16/2/64 (Tony Gillett)
http://www.steamlocomotives.photos.gb.n ... 41901.html

Neil

 

Brilliant photo's seeing a 9f in Bolton certainly resets my opinions.. all my child hood I remember Bolton station, but I was born post steam.
To see steam at Bolton station as a child, meant 46229, 70000, 777, 4498, 4472 and 5305, whilst the station looks identical to how it looked in steam days and realising what I missed !

Today Boltons changed a bit but not too much and so I get to feel it occasionally with the steam specials going through there, but I can't help but wonder what a 9f on coal going through Bolton would have been like, pretend freights on single track preserved railways with a large locomotive on the front doesnt look like the pictures I see of the 60's however I have to confess I am really keen to see the windcutter set (even if they are spotless).

On a different note there are lots of pictures of 9Fs on passenger.. how common was this ?

Why were 9Fs on passenger with such frequency, I dont recall seeing too many pictures of 8Fs on passenger or WDs, was it because 9fs' were new, or were similar boilered to Brttania's ? I know in Europe larger wheel arrangements are quite common (PKP uses the pt47 2-8-2 for high speed passenger work by design)

 

I recall 9F's being used on empty stock quite often but don't ever remember being 'pulled' by one. They were used on passenger duties by Kings Cross Shed on a few occassions when they ran out of Pacifics on Summer weekends! One was recorded at 90mph on an express on the GN main line! I'm sure they would have been pressed into passenger service for excursions or failures elsewhere though.

 

We saw them surprisingly often at the south end of the GC on the semi-fasts, usually when Woodford needed to cover for something that had failed and had a spare 9F that had come off a Windcutter. Managed a couple of runs behind one between Aylesbury and Rugby and with all that power they had quite a good turn of speed. Not surprising really on six and later just four carriages.

Not that fast though. Mind you standing by the old girder bridge at Rugby watching ( and listening ) to one taking liberties with the speed limit when running a southbound fitted is something not forgotten in a hurry. Certainly raised the dust as it rattled the bird-cage.

 

There is a story that "Evening Star" attained 90mph on the up Red Dragon when mistakenly allocated by Cardiff Canton instead of a Brit because it was green & looked similar (above the footplate). I think the WR kicked up a stink about it.
Also 9f's, including 92220, were regularly used on passenger workings on the S&D in the summer to save double heading.

 

During the late 1950s / early 1960s freight locos were often used on holiday "extra" trains with the mill towns of North West England and the colliery areas being a common source of freight locomotives doing just this. On the LMS in the Midlands Stanier 8Fs were common on these workings but the 9Fs were often used when available; in fact 92100 at Leicester on one such working in 1959 was my first experience of these arrangements.

As noted the 9Fs were used with much success on S&D passenger workings in the line's final days and were doubtless pressed into service as diesel loco replacements or to haul failed DMU sets on passsenger workings during the early 1960s as diesel reliability fell to very poor levels.