Indholdsfortegnelse for October 2022 i Steam Days

As World War II slips away from living memory, many of the horrors and privations of total war have become forgotten in Great Britain. On the home front, the railways were of strategic importance in the conveyance of goods, munitions and people. The ‘Big Four’ companies also realised their importance in maintaining morale and in 1940/41 the Great Western Railway patriotically renamed a dozen of its Collett ‘Castle’ class 4-6-0s after front line RAF aircraft of the time. In 1940 there was the very real threat that the all-conquering German army and air force would cross the English Channel and that Britain would feel the full effects of Blitzkrieg and be defeated like Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Luxembourg and France. All that stood between Hitler and Göring’s forces were the pilots…

My ‘Deeside steam memories’ article in the March 2022 issue ofSteam Days set the scene of me as a10-year-old moving to Connah’s Quay in 1955 and the interesting railway scene thereabouts witnessed over the next decade, while the subsequent July feature ‘Shotton to Wrexham: Station by station’ established the Shotton area as a base from which to describe various journeys. Having headed south, it remains to look at two rival routes into Chester, and also that north across the Wirral towards the Mersey. Of the routes into Chester, over ex-London & North Western Railway/LMS metals or on the former Great Central Railway/LNER network, it seems logical to start at the station within walking distance of my first home in the area, Connah’s Quay, with Shotton (Low Level) the first stop,…

At a mere 10 days of age I was proudly taken down to Ocean dock to be presented to my grandfather who was arriving on Cunard Line’s RMS Queen Elizabeth inbound from New York. From that day onwards I was privileged to frequently visit the docks and have almost unlimited access to the great ocean liners to meet up with family and friends who worked on the liners and within the docks. My grandfather was leader of the orchestra on Cunard-White Star, and my uncle Joe Webb worked on Cunard Line’s RMS Queen Elizabeth in the engine boiler rooms and later in the docks, while other members of the family worked on Cunard Line’s RMS Queen Mary and RMS Mauretania. Family friend Sid Deeming worked on the P&O cruise ships…

Part of our ongoing coverage of Great Northern Scotland Railway engine sheds is tracking changing allocations, particularly post-Grouping, with that of the primary premises at Kittybrewster already covered in the January 2022 issue of Steam Days. Keith shed was the next largest facility and was established at the western extremity of Great North of Scotland Railway main line achievements, 53¼ miles west of Aberdeen and going on to be at the heart of a network of lines. Beyond the main line itself – the sheds of which we covered in September 2021, and March 2022 for Keith and Elgin – the evolved network west of Dyce and its multitude of smaller engine sheds was covered in the July 2022 issue, so with the system mapped out across those features we…

That’s a 26% saving when you pay by direct debit STEAM DAYS I have been a railway enthusiast since 1942, and together with my two sons, Ian and Andrew, since March 1993 have provided a record of Britain’s railway scene when steam ruled supreme, from the 1800s until the end of steam in 1968. With a focus on line histories, train spotters’ memories, technical information, railwaymen’s reminiscences and nostalgic photo-features, our purpose is to bring back those halcyon days. With our subscriptions you can get your magazine delivered straight to your door every month, with a superb saving on the cover price. We hope to welcome you soon to the Steam Days family. Rex Kennedy, editor 12 print issues for £44 Direct debit (26% saving) 1 year credit/debit card for…

No 77014 and the latter years of the ‘Kings’ Sir: There were a number of interesting articles in the June magazine, especially that on the adventures of No 77014 on the Southern. I timed a run behind this locomotive on the 6.39am Basingstoke to Waterloo service from Woking on 22 November 1966, a journey not mentioned in the article and noteworthy in the maximum speeds attained. I had previously only had one run behind a BR Standard ‘3’ 2-6-0, from Whitby Westcliff to Scarborough in August 1955. Curiously that was with No 77014! I noted Tom Williams’ photos of the ‘Kings’ too, and the photo of No 6015 returning from Wolverhampton still with the reporting number 181 of the previous ‘Inter-City’ working, because I travelled on its footplate on that…