Pre grouping loco workings

I read in a book that once a week, a LBSCR carriage would be attached to other company's trains and would travel all the way to Inverness. This saved passengers the inconvenience of changing at London and Edinburgh.
This raises my question, what was the furthest away from home territory any loco worked in pre grouping days?
After the Grouping and into BR days, locos of the big four could occasionally be seen at Oxford, but pre 1923?

 

As regards Oxford, I'd suggest that LSWR and SECR locos might work in via their respective lines to Reading and Great Central locos via their connection to Banbury, plus LNWR locos via their Oxford Rewley Rd branch. Probably others too such as LBSCR. What a sight it must have been back then

 

I understand some GWR types occasionally got to Manchester. Anyone know?

Do we count 6858 Woolston Grange reaching Huddersfield?

 

Ah yes; I mean either regular or if not. then frequent workings, not one offs, thanks.

 

LBSCR Locos had a regular duty to Rugby; and LNWR locos to Brighton, on the "Sunny South Express".

This is at Brighton:



Tom

 

Which route would the LNWR have taken to get to Brighton? would it have been the same one as I went on in about 2002 on my only ever rail journey to Brighton? I changed at Watford Junction and got on a 319 I think it was, which went somewhere round West London, changing from 25kv to third rail at some point

 

The changeover would have been, IIRC, near Scrubs Lane in Shepherd's Bush - which the Overground trains do even now.

 

Did the crew work through or would it have been handed over to a LBSC crew at some stage

 

I've never seen it definitively stated. However, a stop was made in each direction at Willesden, and I suspect that was to pick up a pilotman, but with the "home" crew staying on board to drive and fire. Part of the reason for the through working was to give a thorough trial of the superheaters fitted to the LBSCR I3 tank engines that ran the service, and compare with the LNWR 4-4-0 in opposition, so there would have been an advantage to the locos running with crews familiar with them. The actual duty involved 77.25 miles non stop between Rugby and Willesden, and 90.5 miles without taking water, which the I3s did with ease - indeed, the detailed coal and water consumption figures were somewhat humiliating for the LNWR, and led directly to the take up of superheating on that railway.

Over a series of runs, generally consisting of 7 LNWR bogie coaches weighing 223 tons empty (but sometimes loading to 8 on account of the number of passengers), the LNWR and LBSCR locos worked turn and turn about, with the following results:

LBSCR No. 23 (eleven trips): Coal consumption: 27.4 lbs / mile Water consumption: 22.4 gallons / mile
LBSCR No. 26 (one trip): Coal consumption: 28.1 lbs / mile Water consumption: 22.7 gallons / mile
LNWR "Titan" (all trips): Coal consumption: 41.2 lbs / mile Water consumption: 36.6 gallons / mile

Tom

 

I think they would have just swapped crews, a pilotman would be wasteful. Quite common for WR and SR crews to swap footplates so probably the same applied with other companies. Locomen were expected to climb aboard anything and drive it with no special training ( the USA locos for example)

 

Thank you

The I3's sound like excellent locomotives - see http://www.semgonline.com/steam/i3class_01.html

But I'm not convinced by the claim of Brighton to Rugby without taking in water

 

It was East Croydon to Rugby without taking water, about 90 miles - the SEMGonline page is wrong there. The locos had 3.5 ton bunker and were apparently taking a top-up of about 15cwt at Rugby before coming back to Brighton with plenty of coal left. The coal consumption figures indicate about 3.25 tons to do the 260 mile Brighton - Rugby - Brighton round trip. The water consumption figures indicate about 150 gallons left to do East Croydon to Rugby without filling up, which sounds pretty hairy but was apparently routinely done.

Tom

 

All that was needed for a crew to work through was route knowledge, and it wasn't uncommon for crews to work over foreign metals. North Staffs engines - and crews - wandered far and wide over northern England, the Midlands and into Wales. The Notty had running powers over an amazing number of routes, and far more in mileage terms than their own system.

 

I have a vague recollection that GCR locos regularly reached Bristol and occasionally Plymouth.

 

They did indeed, usually an "Atlantic" turn.

Cheers,

Alan

 

I think I read in an Adrian Vaughan book of regular GC engines working to Swindon (of all places) not sure this would be pre-grouping though

 

Yes, it was pre-grouping. The Plymouth turn amounted to a fail as on the first trip the G.C. driver refused assistance on Hemerdon and of course, stalled; my word they were a wee bit too proud in those days...

Cheers,

Alan

 

GWR coaches to York, they may have worked through to Newcastle?

 

I have been told, and see no reason to doubt it that in steam days the good crews - and some were terrible, were very experienced and skilful, so I suggest that they knew what they could do - and not do, so arriving at Rugby with 150 gallons on the tank sounds credible - of course what was the level in the boiler - if its 3/4 of the way up the glass its very different to being at the very bottom.

I suspect as well that there were many opportunities to take water in needed and that the Brighton men were showing what they could do, as was the GCR Driver on Hemerdon, its just that for him it went wrong..............