The final steam freight working on BR – another challenger??

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That is interesting. I visited Carnforth on 3 August 1968, and 44735 is on my list of locos seen there. Unfortunately I cannot remember the time of that visit except that it would almost certainly have been after mid day, as we travelled up from London by car and also visited Lostock Hall and Rose Grove. If it helps to pin the time down approximately, Carnforth would have been the last shed we visited that day before driving over to a b&b in Blackpool for the night. We arrived in Blackpool in time find the b&b and then catch an evening train to Preston so as to return on the 20.12 behind 45212.

 

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There has been a main line steam hauled Engineer's train since privatisation. I forget the date, (it was in afew magazines at the time), but in the last 10 years there was a spillage of some sort in the Shap area and the PW guys realised a steam hose woould be ideal for shifting it. A 8F (48151?) was in steam at Carlisle, so it was chartered by Network Rail or Railtrack. The 8F then hauled an engineer's train down Shap to the spillage and by draimimg it's cylinders cleared the muck off the track.
That's the gist of the story. Anyone able to flesh out these bones please?

 

have to say that is unlikely...

 

Yes, but true!

8151's steam lance cock was hooked up and utilised for a few days until a more modern image system became available. Can't remember the date, but not that long back. Five years? Ten years? No further than that, I think!

 

Outside the remit of the original direction of this particularly intriguing post I would suggest!
Nevertheless, as stated earlier in this thread, I would suggest that this was, indeed, another of those many ridiculous myths that have abounded since steam ended, perhaps merely to create sensationalism for someone's personal ego (as so often happened)?
We did have an 8F working a (pre-planned) 20 wagon ballast train up the S&C on 19 December 2000 and 5690 did also rescue a Class 40 (unplanned) on a freight near Garsdale a few years before that, merely to clear the main-line, but that is about the sum total of anything out of the ordinary happening of a similar ilk in Cumbria.
Furthermore, I find any suggestion that Railtrack would have gone to the extent of commandeering a steam loco merely to blow debris off rails to be quite ridiculous and I would now respectfully challenge LMS2968 to produce something more definite in the way of proof!

 

a steam lance is slightley more plausible than draining its cylinders but only slightley.

 

I think someone has their wires crossed there, the 8F ballast working was on the S&C rather than Shap and was to mark the end of seem pretty serious engineering works on the route.

 

Wouldn't someone have to be controlling the steam lance to project the steam correctly? And how would it clear two rails at the same time?

 

[quote="23EThanks for that, '50002'. Sadly, although you have confirmed that 44735 DID return to shed at some point in the late afternoon / early evening of 3rd August, it doesn't really help us to pin down a more precise time at which the Class 5 finished its day's work.

The 20-12 train that you refer to actually was the 20-50 Preston to Blackpool South and so you may very well have left Blackpool to join this, the penultimate steam-worked passenger train, at as late as 20-00hrs, which, in turn, might have permitted you to still be at Carnforth as late as, say, 18-30 hrs.

I guess we still neither know for sure whether the loco was still shunting somewhere, long after the other claimants (Nos 75019 at Carnforth and 48348 at Rose Grove) had returned to shed, nor whether No 44735 left shed again at some point to prepare for the mysterious ballast job.

Was the latter, indeed, another of those many ridiculous myths that have abounded since steam ended? As observed in "Steam-The Grand Finale", only with the assistance of in-depth investigations such as this, it has still "taken 40 years to finally dispel some of the myths of ‘ghost’ steam happenings that emanated from all three of the final depots, the tales of some of which are still being told today and, of which, many grow ever taller as the years go by". Surely someone out there must know for sure?[/quote]

Yes, it was of course the 20.50 that we travelled on from Preston to Blackpool. The '12' came from the loco's number and I must have had it on the brain. The actual occasion was one I shall always remember. While we were waiting at Preston to catch that train we fully expected the 20.50 would turn out to be the last steam hauled service. I think we heard a rumour about the later Preston-Liverpool service being steam hauled, but as far as we knew it was booked for a diesel and in those pre-TOPs pre-internet times no-one we spoke to could confirm it had been changed to steam. So rather than risk it, and having already booked into a b&b at Blackpool, we took the 20.50.

Re the last duty of 44735, I have lists from another correspondent who visited all 3 sheds on 3 August in the same order as we did. The difference is that he was living in the north west at the time and travelled by train, so I think his visits would probably have been earlier than ours. But whatever time he was at Carnforth he did see 44735 there, so it is rather strange that it was apparently not seen at about 17.00. My guess is that it had returned to shed by say mid-afternoon and at 17.00 could have been sitting quietly somewhere in the extensive sidings south of the actual shed building, with little visible sign of its presence.

It probably seems strange to people reading this that such details still matter to some of us. The answer I would give is that to understand what August 1968 really meant you had to be there at the time. For those of us who were, events like recreations and photo charters can never be a proper substitute for the real thing.

 

[/quote:3u8cpmce]

Bit difficult, that one! I remember reading it in the Steam Sun at the time (I won't comment further on that) but haven't seen it since; I don't actually buy that mag. So I'm relying on the accuracy of the original report and an eight year old memory, but something along the lines of using steam from the 8F was certainly reported, and the taps just wouldn't do it. I remeber thinking that there would need to be an adequate water supply in the area.

Anyone else remember this?

Please?

 

It was the night of October 1/2 1997, owing to a spillage of salt from a freight service and subsequent rain causing numerous track circuit failures a steam lance attached to 48151 (and of course a member of West Coast staff!) was used to 'steam clean' a section of the down main from Preston station. As I recall the movement comprised loco and support coach.

Reported in SR number 212 (December 1997)

 

So the final contender--for now-- is David Smith's 48151 working a ballast train on the Settle & Carlisle for Railtrack on 19th December 2000.

The fully story and an audio is here:

http://www.steamsoundsarchive.com/9/9_1.html

...Just a thought though, what about the relatively recent freight transfer workings between Didcot and Moreton Yard and vice-versa? In the last year or two there has been the "Saint" taken in by rail, and the two Railmotor coaches taken out.
They were freight runs....

46118

 

Thanks, Rumpole! I was beginning to wonder...

 

I visited Carnforth on the afternoon of Sat 3rd August 1968 and 44735 was very much in evidence. I arrived by train from Preston at about 4pm and she was in the yard south of the station. shortly after this she retired to the shed for final disposal.

I was still on the station after 4.30 when 75019 arrived tender first with a long train of box vans from Heysham.

I went over to the shed at about 5pm and was there for more than half an hour. To the north of the shed were some recently condemned locos, with some like 44709 still cooling down after her final duty earlier in the day. While looking over these locos 44735 arrived and was parked up on the next road quite close to the turntable. It would appear that her working life was now over and my notes record several younger members of shed staff (?cleaners??) climbing up on her to blow the whistle for the last time.

I am fairly certain that locos parked in this area were finished with. There were four locos parked in front of the north end of the running shed, 45390, 45231, 45025 and 45134 still in steam and probably intended for possible use the next day.

As I left the shed at about 5.40 to return to the station, I photographed 75019 arriving back on shed. I guess that this was the last one to do so apart fron the locos turned out for the specials next day and the following Sunday.

Like many others I travelled to Blackpool that evening behind 45212 before catching the Inverness sleeper from Preston early next morning.

I hope these details are of interest.

Peter James

 

There was another (I think unreported) 'freight.'

It occurred in 1981 (I need to check) when the Cumbrian Mountain Express was running south from Carlisle.

I was in Settle Jct signalbox and a northbound Class 40-hauled cement train (Presflo type wagons)failed on the down line between Long Preston and Settle Jct thus blocking both S & C and Carnforth routes.

Details are sketchy but 850 Lord Nelson following LE from either Hellifield or Skipton to Carnforth was used to push the heavy failed train clear of the junction onto the S & C to wait for diesel assistance. It was in truth only a few hundred yards. I can't remember if this was clear the Settle Jct - Carnforth line for the Cumbrian Mountain Express heading back to Euston or if that had already gone?

However I do/did have photographic evidence of 850's effort but as it was almost dark, taken on 25ASA I am not sure if the slide survived the cull.

David

Incidentally I posted a shot of 5690 hauling the southbound Class 40 freight into Garsdale some months ago.

 

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Hope I haven't spoiled the party but when I left Burnley Barracks at 15:30 48348 was still simmering in the yard and the crew had no idea how long they would be there - therefore it still needs some confirmation whether 48348 worked back to Rose Grove with wagons or returned light engine; in addition it still needs further clarification asto when 48348 actually arrived back on Rose Grove shed for final withdrawal from service..