End of Steam

[BuckCovers]

Hi All,

Does anybody know the official End of Steam?

I know that is was a gradual thing of some years but struggling to find when and where the final run was...any help of this would be great.

Thanks

 

[Deepgreen]

Hi All,

Does anybody know the official End of Steam?

I know that is was a gradual thing of some years but struggling to find when and where the final run was...any help of this would be great.

Thanks

The last passenger-carrying run was on 11 August 1968. The "Fifteen Guinea Special" (a reference to the ticket price) organised by BR, headed by a single 'Black Five', a pair of 'Black Fives' and a 'Britannia' ('Oliver Cromwell') for different sections of the trip. Liverpool to Carlisle (via Manchester) and return. 'Oliver Cromwell' actually ran in steam as a light engine the day after when it went to Diss for preservation.

 

[HMS Ark Royal]

Hi All,

Does anybody know the official End of Steam?

I know that is was a gradual thing of some years but struggling to find when and where the final run was...any help of this would be great.

Thanks

11 August 1968. The "Fifteen Guinea Special" (a reference to the ticket price) organised by BR, headed by a pair of 'Black Fives' and a 'Britannia' ('Oliver Cromwell') for different sections of the trip.

Actually, the VoR was the last steam service by BR... They were allocated TOPS numbers but were never carried - they did, however, carry BR blue

 

[Redonian]

Indeed. The Vale of Rheidol was not sold out of BR ownership until 1989.

 

[D1009]

The last 2 service trains on the main line were from Preston to Blackpool South and Liverpool Exchange respectively on Saturday 3rd August 1968. I'm happy to be able to say I was on the latter.

 

[Spartacus]

Depends what you count. If you count the VoR steam has never really stopped since BR started the West Highlander in the mid-80s before the VoR was privatised, with plenty of charters between 1971 and then if you count either of those too.

 

[Deepgreen]

Depends what you count. If you count the VoR steam has never really stopped since BR started the West Highlander in the mid-80s before the VoR was privatised, with plenty of charters between 1971 and then if you count either of those too.

Indeed. I took the OP to mean the last main line train on the BR network prior to any 'heritage' operations starting. As with many such questions there are definition options.

 

[AndyW33]

The other thing to remember is that BR wasn't the only mainline steam operator in the UK.
Northern Ireland Railways was still operating its 5ft3in gauge Derby built 2-6-4Ts on scheduled passenger work up to 31 March 1970 (often covering for failed DMUs) and on scheduled freight up to 2 May 1970. Even after that occasional engineering and station/shed pilot work continued until June 1971 when the last loco, the now preserved No 4 was withdrawn.

 

[trash80]

On that vein London Underground still used pannier tanks for engineering trains up until 1971 i think

 

[SeanG]

And weren't there some steam used by NCB until the 80s?

 

[Spamcan81]

August 3rd 1968 saw the last steam hauled scheduled services, passenger and freight, on the BR network.
August 4th 1968 saw the final enthusiast society organised steam specials.
August 11th 1968 saw the final BR steam special.
Steam continued on the narrow gauge Vale of Rheidol of course and that was BR owned until 1989.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

On that vein London Underground still used pannier tanks for engineering trains up until 1971 i think

June 1971 saw the final LT steam working. Was an engineer's train from Farringdon(?) to Neasden.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

And weren't there some steam used by NCB until the 80s?

Indeed there was. I think it was a Yorkshire pit that saw the final NCB steam workings when an 0-6-0ST was used for trials on behalf on Hunslet.

 

[Kendalian]

The last 2 service trains on the main line were from Preston to Blackpool South and Liverpool Exchange respectively on Saturday 3rd August 1968. I'm happy to be able to say I was on the latter.

Was it 9.25pm Preston-Liverpool Ex? Presume it was a Lostock Hall Black 5?

Do you know where there's any pictures online? Sure I've seen it in a book somewhere!

Last "regular" steam movement on the Windermere line was on 2nd August. Black 5 with a couple of wagons back to Carnforth. Someone had chalked on the smokebox door "Farewell from Windermere and Kendal...well done steam"!

 

[JoeGJ1984]

There are still odd occasions where a steam train has actually provided a scheduled service where a steam train that would be used for a railtour happens to be in the right place during a failure, etc.

 

[Kendalian]

There was also the steam event in 2001 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the West Highland Extension

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/1574224.stm

Wish I'd been able to see that!

 

[GrimsbyPacer]

Didn't some rail connected industries us steam into the 80s?

 

[Bevan Price]

Was it 9.25pm Preston-Liverpool Ex? Presume it was a Lostock Hall Black 5?

!

Yes - 45305 (If I remember correctly after almost 48 years). And I was on it also.

And an 8F was used on an engineering train on 4 August 1968. Some of the 6 railtours on that date passed the 8F at Rose Grove station.

 

[Elecman]

I was at Blackpool a south to see the last service arrive as a young un, my face appears in a picture in the book about the last days of steam. Lol

 

[trash80]

Indeed there was. I think it was a Yorkshire pit that saw the final NCB steam workings when an 0-6-0ST was used for trials on behalf on Hunslet.

Ah yes forgot about industrial steam, we're talking quite some way into the 80s too, i'm not sure about Yorkshire but some north west pits were still using steam in 1983 and 1984.

 

[70014IronDuke]

Yes - 45305 (If I remember correctly after almost 48 years). And I was on it also.

..

45318.
21.25 (I think) Preston - Liverpool Exchange. Second section of a Glasgow/Edinburgh - Manchester/Liverpool train.

Driver, Ernie Hayes, of Lostock Hall. Continued career as a Preston driver on the LNW, Cl 50s and electrics, IIRC.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

August 3rd 1968 saw the last steam hauled scheduled services, passenger and freight, on the BR network.
August 4th 1968 saw the final enthusiast society organised steam specials.
August 11th 1968 saw the final BR steam special.
Steam continued on the narrow gauge Vale of Rheidol of course and that was BR owned until 1989.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

THIS - almost - sums it up.

If you forget the VoR (an anachronism), N Ireland, Industrials and LT - for most people, what they want to know is when was the last steam passenger train on BR?

For many, this was the last BR-organised special on Sunday, August 11. This was the 15-guniea (spelling?) special, £15 15/- in old money, which would be something like £250 today.

For others (including myself) the special was a fake, and the real train was the 21.25 Preston - Liverpool Exchange.

This was the last "normal" train Joe Public could walk up to a booking office, buy a ticket and travel by steam haulage on 4-8 1/2.

Except .......... it wasn't. Not quite. Sort of. Because.......

The loco which hauled the 20.50 Preston - Blackpool Sth returned to Preston light engine, acted as a station pilot until the Euston - Barrow (?) sleeper arrived at something like 04.30 in the morning. It then hauled 2 or 3 sleeping cars off that train, shunted into a platform, and heated the sleepers until, I dunno, 08.00 or so on the Sunday.

This means the last, ordinary passengers hauled by steam on the standard gauge BR network probably had no clue as to their historic 200 yard ? journey as they were all asleep. And you could not buy a ticket for this, unless you got on at - i'm not sure, Crewe or maybe Warrington BQ - if it stopped there.

For most "normals" however - even those of us who were not normal at all - the last 'ordinary' steam-hauled train was the 21.25 Preston - Liverpool Exchange, August 03, 1968.

And for anyone who was there, the memories are indelibly etched in the mind.

 

[Kendalian]

http://www.lep.co.uk/news/big-interview-lancashire-s-steam-train-era-1-76835

Yep, 45318

 

[Bevan Price]

45318.
21.25 (I think) Preston - Liverpool Exchange. Second section of a Glasgow/Edinburgh - Manchester/Liverpool train.

Thanks for reminding me. Sadly 45318 was not preserved.

 

[HMS Ark Royal]

Indeed there was. I think it was a Yorkshire pit that saw the final NCB steam workings when an 0-6-0ST was used for trials on behalf on Hunslet.

The loco you are thinking of was used by Hunslet to carry out trials with an underfeed stoker. This may well have been the same one the was specially steamed for the BBC over two days for filming duties for some sort of film.

The honour of the last commercial useage of steam power outside of preservation falls to CEGB steam engine 2 which used to work at Castle Donington power station. It was filmed in 1988 by the BBC as part of a documentary series called The Train Now Departing - EP 5 "Lines of Industry" (watchable on youtube). The driver, a Mr Lionel Gadsby, explains in a voice-over segment showing scenes of him driving said No. 2 that they believe they are the last place to work steam in a working role.

 

[theageofthetra]

How about lines which are not preserved but started with steam and just carried on with occasional change of owners E.G RH & DR or the Ratty?

 

[181]

Unless anyone knows differently, Castle Donnington may well have been the last place with a 'proper' coal-burning locomotive, but if you include fireless locomotives, Glaxo at Ulverston apparently had one until 1991 -- scroll down to pp. 8 and 9 at http://www.mdrs.org.uk/documents/donkey148.pdf.

 

[HMS Ark Royal]

Unless anyone knows differently, Castle Donnington may well have been the last place with a 'proper' coal-burning locomotive, but if you include fireless locomotives, Glaxo at Ulverston apparently had one until 1991 -- scroll down to pp. 8 and 9 at http://www.mdrs.org.uk/documents/donkey148.pdf.

I wouldn't count that - as far as I can make out, thats nothing more then a steam battery with wheels

 

[181]

I wouldn't count that - as far as I can make out, thats nothing more then a steam battery with wheels

I would put fireless locos in a subcategory, such that the question of when industrial steam ended in the UK needs two answers, one for 'proper' locomotives and one for fireless ones. (This video from Germany might have been improved by having a Kriegslok 2-10-0 or something on the train, but given that it was filmed less than a year ago and shows a totally 'real' non-preserved freight working, I don't think you can complain too much about a fireless.)

Somebody mentioned Northern Ireland; if short-term revivals of steam usage are of interest, one of the RPSI's locomotives was used on main line ballasting work for several months in 2000 and again in 2005, because no suitable diesels were available -- see http://www.steamtrainsireland.com/locomotives/loco3.htm.

 

[341o2]

Didn't some rail connected industries us steam into the 80s?

In Cornwall, Port of Par, Alfred worked until 1977, and lasted for another 9 years at Falmouth docks in the form of no3, final run 23 august 1986

 

[lyndhurst25]

There are rumours that some steam locos were used on BR after the official end of steam. One is that a LNER B1 loco kept as a departmental carriage heating loco at Rotherham
Masborough got driven to a depot for servicing. Possibly a fisherman's tale, but who knows?

http://uk.railway.narkive.com/OeDsRHeN/final-br-steam-locomotive-movement

 

[70014IronDuke]

Hi All,
...

I know that is was a gradual thing of some years ....

Well, of course, it was a process, which arguably lasted 13 years - if you reckon the starting point to be the 1955 modernisation plan, that is. More still is you count the arrival of the first diesels.

But what was surprising to me at the time and still today was the sudden ending of it all. I envisaged a drawn-out ending, with steam steadily petering out, rather as I believe it did in France.

No way! One Friday (August 2 that year) there were, I don't know exactly, but perhaps 35-40, maybe 50 locomotives in steam at the last three depots, and, on Monday morning - nothing. Stone cold. End of it all.

Moreover, the specific time when it happened - right in the early part of the highest period of train usage - would have been precisely the time I would not have expected it to happen. End of August, beginning of September, yes. Or almost any time of the year before, say, July 15.

OK, I suppose goods traffic would be weaker in the July-August holiday period, but even so, this timing has always amazed me.

 

[trash80]

I've often wondered what would have happened if they had had a more gradual replacement of steam (say late 70s). There wouldn't have been the rush to build as many diesel locos as possible (many of which turned out to be rubbish or not needed).

Though without the rapid reduction of steam maybe the urgency would not have been there to kick start the preservation movement and we might have less steam locos these days.