1961: Diesels start to take over

A key event of 1961 was the appointment of Dr Beeching to the British Transport Commission on June 1. Within eighteen months his now infamous report ‘The Reshaping of British Railways’ would be published, leading to a massive reduction in the size of the railway network, with the closure of many branch lines and secondary cross-country routes. But even prior to the publication of the Beeching Report, closures were occurring locally. The last day of services on the Upton-on-Severn branch was 14 August 1961. The final day of the MSWJR, opened in 1891, was 9 September, the last service from Cheltenham to Southampton being hauled by 71A ‘U’ class 2-6-0 No. 31791.

On 20 February I went with Jeff and Roger to South Wales – this became known as the infamous Briton Ferry trip, where we stayed, in vain, waiting for non-existent freight off the Swansea District line. However, I did obtain in a photo of Duffryn Yard MPD, still inhabited by 0-6-2Ts and 2-8-0Ts.

Back at Gloucester, rare ER visitors included ‘O4’ No. 63589 on 26 February, whilst on 5 April, ‘K3’ No. 61894 was reported working through Gloucester to West Wales on a Leadenhall – Milford Haven ammunition special freight before returning light engine. I photographed ‘Black 5’ No. 45427 (24L), on 11 March at Eastgate station after arrival with the 9.15am Bristol – Gloucester local. Another particularly unusual occurrence was the employment of ‘Royal Scot’ No. 46112 Sherwood Forester on a return Swindon to Leicester schools excursion on 11 April, running via the Stroud valley.

An unexpected visitor in May was S&D 2-8-0 No. 53806, which had suffered a hot box on its way back to Bath from overhaul at Derby. Barnwood took the opportunity to use it on local trip workings for a time: I photographed it working the Hempsted gas-works trip on 6 May, and later, on 12 May it was seen working through Gloucester Park on the High Orchard branch to Gloucester Wagon Works.

The first main line diesels arrive

The first manifestation of the Modernisation Plan, which was to impact in a major way locally was the arrival of ‘Peak’ No. D93 at Bristol for crew-training on April 10, initially hauling empty stock between Bristol and Gloucester before settling down to a regular turn on the 4.20pm Bristol – Gloucester local and 8.18pm return. From July use of Peaks became more common: by 13 July, No. D93 was noted working the ‘Devonian’. Little did we realise that by the end of the year most of the Bristol – Leeds / Newcastle expresses would be in the hands of ‘Peaks’, with Bristol getting its own allocation (Nos. D33 to D42).

But steam remained supreme for the time being. May was a busy month for strange visitors. ‘7P’ No. 45522 Prestatyn (14B) worked the northbound ‘Pines Express’ on 13 May. ‘Jubilee’ No. 45558 Manitoba (26F) was recorded on the 10.15am Sheffield – Bristol on 12 May, and the northbound ‘Pines Express’ on the 23rd; whilst No. 45560 Prince Edward Island (8A) had charge of the northbound ‘Devonian’ on 20 May. On 19 May Stanier ‘Crab’ No. 42966 (5A) turned up on a Bristol – Gloucester local: members of this class rarely appeared in the area. On 27 May, most unusually, Fowler 2-6-4T No. 42392 (5D) worked the 12 noon Gloucester – Bristol local and 5.15pm return. On the same day, the appearance of ‘7P’ No. 45512 Bunsen (12B) caused great excitement, working a southbound pigeon special from the Preston area. Other Lancashire locos recorded on pigeon specials included ‘Black 5s’ No. 45420 (26F) on 13 May, and No. 45414 (24K) on the 20th. Later, on 5 August, Nos. 44728 and 45415 were seen working empty pigeon vans northbound at 9.30pm.

The ‘Royal Scots’ swansong

By June ‘Royal Scots’ were becoming common working expresses on the Birmingham – Bristol main line, and summer 1961 proved to be something of a swansong for the ‘Scots’ as many of the scheduled summer Saturday services were hauled by them, as well as some local trains.  About twenty ‘Scots’ had already been transferred to the Midland division of LMR due to the introduction of D200s on the WCML, and now, in the spring, were being ousted from their duties on St Pancras services by the ‘Peaks’. Consequently, towards the end of their reign many ‘Scots’ were transferred to work the Midland main line to Bristol, as listed in the table below.

Seven were reallocated to 21A along with two rebuilt ‘Patriots’ – a shed that had previously had nothing bigger than ‘Black 5s’. Four ‘Scots’ went to Derby for a short time – however they were dispersed to 21A in August, apart from the class doyen, which ended up at 16A.

Sheffield Millhouses (41C) also received ‘Scots’ and rebuilt ‘Patriot’ No. 45536 in February 1960 for work on St Pancras expresses, but were not common through Gloucester until mid-1961. Holbeck’s ‘Scots’, originally employed over the Settle & Carlisle route, had been supplemented by ‘A3s’ for a short period from July 1960 before ‘Peaks’ took over in spring 1961. Then, Holbeck’s ‘Scots’, redundant from St Pancras – Leeds – Glasgow St Enoch services, enjoyed a short Indian summer in 1961 on turns to Bristol, particularly the down ‘Devonian’, but their sojourn was brief, as they were all transferred to Low Moor with the commencement of the winter timetable in September.

In June we had a good run returning from Bristol to Gloucester on the 5pm Bristol – Derby behind No. 46106 Gordon Highlander, the only ‘Scot’ fitted with Standard-type windshields. Loaded to 11 coaches, the ‘Scot’ reached Mangotsfield in 11min 23 sec. with the help of a banker, and completed the 31.9 miles on from Mangotsfield to Gloucester in 34 min. 19 sec., gaining 2 minutes on schedule without exceeding 70 mph.

On 18 May No. 46158 The Loyal Regiment (9E) worked the 12.48pm York – Bristol, returning with the 10.30am to Newcastle on the 20th. On 29 June, Jeff and Roger whilst returning to school in the afternoon was lucky to see super-power in the shape of a double-headed ’Scots’ Nos. 46137/57, which appeared on the northbound ‘Devonian’.

A stranger from Holyhead, ‘Royal Scot’ 4-6-0 No. 46150 The Life Guardsman, powers south past Tuffley Junction on 25 June 1961 at the head of the Sunday 11.55am to Bristol, passing in the loop an unidentified Fowler ‘4F’ at the head of a southbound coal train.

On 29 July, a census in the morning at Tuffley Junction revealed some interesting workings (see table below). Two Scots were recorded: No. 46157 The Royal Artilleryman on a special and No. 46112 Sherwood Forester on the 7.43am Nottingham – Plymouth; and 6 Jubilees. Two Standard Caprotti 5s were seen (Nos. 73135/44), and ‘County’ No. 1002 County of Berks turned up on 1B01 (Wolverhampton to Weston). Two new diesels were recorded: No. D86 worked the 10.30am Bristol – Newcastle, whilst No. D852 Tenacious headed the Cheltenham portion of the 9.05am Paddington express from Swindon.

On 25 August No. 46113 Cameronian (55A) appeared. One most unusual sighting on the 7.30pm to Bristol on 28 August was 45646 Napier (55C): Farnley Junction ‘Jubilees’ were exceedingly rare in Gloucester, being normally employed on the Liverpool – Newcastle expresses across the Pennines via the ex-LNW route through Standedge Tunnel.

‘B1s’ continued to work south despite the availability of ‘Scots’ at Millhouses: York locos seemed to turn up occasionally on the 12.52pm York – Bristol, presumably as substitutes for unavailable ‘Peaks’. Even so, as late as 6 October, No. 46164 was seen again on the southbound ‘Devonian’ substituting for a failed ‘Peak’     

TUFFLEY JUNCTION CENSUS: Saturday 29 July 1961, from 10.00 to 13.00

Key to directions:

MO: LMR down Derby to Bristol (southbound from Gloucester Eastgate)

MI: LMR up Bristol to Derby (northbound into Gloucester Eastgate)

WO: WR up to Paddington (southbound from Gloucester Central or avoiding line)

WI: WR down from Paddington (northbound to Gloucester Central or avoiding line)  

Once back home from our family holiday in Portsmouth, a visit was paid on 30 August to Caerphilly works, originally built by the Rhymney Railway. This small works catered mainly for locomotives from South Wales, many of which were tank engines, and rarely penetrated beyond their Valleys environment. Hence, they were much sought-after cops. The works only contained about six locos, one of which was a 2-8-0T resplendent in a new coat of unlined black. By March 1963, the works would be closed.

With the advent of the ‘Peaks’, Barrow Road’s ‘Jubilee’ passenger rosters were decimated, and so they started to wander. Even prior to that, Bristol ‘Jubilees’ went astray: for example, No. 45662 Kempenfelt was recorded at work in Scotland on the GSW line on 25 March 1961, presumably having been borrowed by Holbeck, in lieu of one of their own ‘Jubilees’. Other Bristol 5XPs were observed off the beaten track, being seen around the L&Y system in Lancashire in May, and at Marylebone as late as June 1962. No. 45662 was seen again in September at Eastleigh, as well as at Weymouth in August. In October six of 82Es ‘Jubilees’ (Nos. 45572/7, 45651/60/2/99) were transferred away to Shrewsbury, sometimes working into Central Wales, but they were not popular with GW men on the Wolverhampton line. Nos. 45651/62 were withdrawn on 24 November 1962, and No. 45577 Bengal on 5 September 1964. The remaining 82E ‘Jubilees’, Nos. 45682/5/90 were withdrawn in June, April, and March 1964, respectively.

Barrow Road’s ‘Patriots’ were still on passenger, parcels and fitted freight workings in the early part of the year, but they also went wandering. No. 45506 The Royal Pioneer Corps was seen at Southampton on Bromford Bridge – Fawley oil tankers, whilst No. 45504 Royal Signals appeared at Birmingham Snow Hill on a local to Wolverhampton in February 1962. However, the ‘Patriots’ did not last much longer, and the 82E trio were taken out of service in March 1962.

By the end of the year ‘Peaks’ headed most passenger workings: the few remaining steam-hauled services through Gloucester included the 9.35am, 3.00pm and 5.50pm northbound; and the 9.15am, 12.35pm and 2.33pm departures southbound.

At Barnwood (now 85C), further cascading of steam power occurred with the arrival in October 1961 of Standard ‘5s’ Nos. 73091-4 to replace Standard 4s on local services, which were in turn transferred to Templecombe on the S&D. Many older locomotives had been decommissioned: Midland ‘2Ps’ Nos. 40537/40 being consigned to the scrap line at Barnwood.

Another development from the autumn of 1960, was the allocation of ‘9Fs’ to 82E and 71A to work the heavily-loaded Fawley / Avonmouth – Bromford Bridge oil tanker trains turn and turnabout with 21A locos. These trains were originally routed via Gloucester, but by summer 1962 the Worcester – Oxford route was preferred, perhaps due to problems experienced with locomotives. By spring 1963 these duties were in the hands of BRCW ‘type 3’ locos (later class 33).