Trivia: Whats the furthest an un-rebuilt class 73 has made it off the southern?

[driverd]

As the title suggests - I'm curious to find out how far an unrebuilt class 73 (73/0, 73/1 or 73/2) has made it off the southern region.

I'll accept answers where hauled by another loco, but please clarify this if so.

Needless to say, class 73/9s do not count. For the uninitiated, the GBRf locos often used on test trains, and Caledonian Sleeper locos do not count.

Thanks!

 

[31160]

Liverpool, a pair made it to nearly Paignton on a charter and another pair staggered up the wcml and ended up doing one of the brum branches, and they definitely did reading to new st on XC services occasionally

 

[Green tractor]

They have made it to Birmingham new street on Virgin CrossCountry trains, The Birmingham Cross city line on a railtour. Also I think they were used as a coupling adaptor to drag SR units to Crewe works in the late 90s

 

[fgwrich]

Thanks to GBRf, 73141 has made it to Fort William. It was in consist with a 56 though.

73141 Fort William 22-09-18

One of a selection of photographs taken during GBRf's "Out Of The Ordinary" railtour. A 4-day tour of the country with all proceeds going to charity. All these shots were taken on my phone, so please excuse the quality. Not quite what it first appears. 73141 certainly did reach Fort...

www.flickr.com

And Penzance - hauled down in consist for the Long Rock open day. Though I’m sure other 73s have made it down there too.

 

[43096]

Thanks to GBRf, 73141 has made it to Fort William. It was in consist with a 56 though.

73141 Fort William 22-09-18

One of a selection of photographs taken during GBRf's "Out Of The Ordinary" railtour. A 4-day tour of the country with all proceeds going to charity. All these shots were taken on my phone, so please excuse the quality. Not quite what it first appears. 73141 certainly did reach Fort...

www.flickr.com

And Penzance - hauled down in consist for the Long Rock open day. Though I’m sure other 73s have made it down there too.

A pair of 73/2s made it to Craigentinny - they were hauled, though, and were for use as coupling translators for an HST set being transferred south.

 

[JohnMcL7]

73119 made it to the Keith and Dufftown railway (Moray, Scotland) in 2006 although it was carried there by road.

 

[Ianigsy]

The Merseyrail-based 73/0s had a couple of trips to North Wales in the early 1990s.

 

[AJM580]

A pair of 73s reached Kings Lynn (73103 & 73129) during 1990, and some 73/2 were stored at Norwich. 73129 popped up again at Newport (South Wales) in May 1997

 

[driverd]

Ah yes - I forgot about the Liverpool lot. Seems to figure with the 3rd rail.

Interesting to see one made it to Fort William (even if hauled).

Under BR, were they generally doubled up for their cross country adventures? I'm quite surprised they managed that range on their small diesel tanks (and, infact, that they managed to perform well enough given the low power output).

Very interesting though - by all means keep these interesting locations coming!

 

[norbitonflyer]

Back in the early 80s I saw them at Salisbury (all right, that is still the Southern) and Coventry. The most surprising sighting of a 73 though was at West Brompton c 1990, with a Deltic. This was before preserved diesels were allowed to operate under power on BR tracks, so the 73 was presumably supposed to be taking the Deltic somewhere. But the Deltic was not only very audibly under power, but it was leading the 73.

I never did find out what was going on - had the 73 failed? Had someone decided they couldn't be bothered to run round at a reversal point?

 

[GRALISTAIR]

I had one to Bescot yard but it derailed- on a railtour. 1990s

 

[The Crab]

A pair of 73/2s made it to Craigentinny - they were hauled, though, and were for use as coupling translators for an HST set being transferred south.

How did this "translating" work

 

[43096]

How did this "translating" work

The HST stock has Alliance couplers, which are compatible with drophead buckeye couplers. 73s have drophead buckeyes, so one end had the coupler raised and buffers retracted to couple to the HST stock, the other end had the coupler dropped so the loco (a 66?) could couple using the drawhook and buffers.

 

[The exile]

Liverpool, a pair made it to nearly Paignton on a charter and another pair staggered up the wcml and ended up doing one of the brum branches, and they definitely did reading to new st on XC services occasionally

The “brum branch” concerned being Redditch on Pathfinder’s 25th birthday bash. 73s from Watford Junction to Redditch.

 

[StripeyNick]

In the late 90s/early 00s, they regularly came to Cardiff for tyre turning. I'm pretty sure they were always sent along with something else though

 

[Magdalia]

A pair of 73s reached Kings Lynn (73103 & 73129) during 1990

This was part of a Cambridge Network SouthEast gala day. Previous year 73003 had worked to Fen Drayton (now the guided busway).

 

[TukayAway]

Back in the early 80s I saw them at Salisbury (all right, that is still the Southern) and Coventry. The most surprising sighting of a 73 though was at West Brompton c 1990, with a Deltic. This was before preserved diesels were allowed to operate under power on BR tracks, so the 73 was presumably supposed to be taking the Deltic somewhere. But the Deltic was not only very audibly under power, but it was leading the 73.

I never did find out what was going on - had the 73 failed? Had someone decided they couldn't be bothered to run round at a reversal point?

I have a feeling that the 73 was meant to tow it from Stewarts Lane to somewhere but developed a fault and the decision was made to let the Deltic run to avoid delays and congestion. I'm sure I read this in a copy of RAIL some time ago with a history of the Deltic Preservation Society, and I don't think it was an isolated incident either.

 

[12LDA28C]

Under BR, were they generally doubled up for their cross country adventures? I'm quite surprised they managed that range on their small diesel tanks (and, infact, that they managed to perform well enough given the low power output).

Yes, although that did not prevent one such pair overheating and failing at Fenny Compton, oops!

 

[Strathclyder]

Thanks to GBRf, 73141 has made it to Fort William. It was in consist with a 56 though.

73141 Fort William 22-09-18

One of a selection of photographs taken during GBRf's "Out Of The Ordinary" railtour. A 4-day tour of the country with all proceeds going to charity. All these shots were taken on my phone, so please excuse the quality. Not quite what it first appears. 73141 certainly did reach Fort...

www.flickr.com

Took me a second to remember why this was ringing a bell, I caught this railtour as it headed back south at Anniesland (can't quite recall the route it took beyond Partick*; need to consult Six Bells me thinks). Seeing a 56 there was unusual enough (the closest one had gotten prior to this was the prior year's Grangemouth - Fort William oil train trials running through nearby Maryhill, itself a first for that class), but an unrebuilt 73 trumps that by some margin I think!

*: they went via Glasgow Central Low Level and Rutherglen

They have made it to Birmingham new street on Virgin CrossCountry trains

Didn't a pair - rather infamously - make it to New Street on a XC train in the early 80s?

 

[SteveM70]

A pair made it to New Street in the school summer holidays in either 1981 or 1982 (can’t remember which but I was definitely at high school and trusted to roam the West Midlands). Pretty sure they were 108 and 134 but they caused quite a stir amongst the denizens of the end of platforms 8/9

 

[norbitonflyer]

A pair made it to New Street in the school summer holidays in either 1981 or 1982 (can’t remember which but I was definitely at high school and trusted to roam the West Midlands). Pretty sure they were 108 and 134 but they caused quite a stir amongst the denizens of the end of platforms 8/9

Probably tghe same pair I saw at Coventry (see my post above) unless it was more than a one-off. I thought it was 1980 but I could be mistaken

 

[D1537]

A pair made it to New Street in the school summer holidays in either 1981 or 1982 (can’t remember which but I was definitely at high school and trusted to roam the West Midlands). Pretty sure they were 108 and 134 but they caused quite a stir amongst the denizens of the end of platforms 8/9

73108+73134 21/8/82 1M87 1105 Portsmouth-Manchester (to BHM), 1O92 1423 Manchester-Portsmouth (from BHM).

 

[fgwrich]

A pair of 73/2s made it to Craigentinny - they were hauled, though, and were for use as coupling translators for an HST set being transferred south.

The HST stock has Alliance couplers, which are compatible with drophead buckeye couplers. 73s have drophead buckeyes, so one end had the coupler raised and buffers retracted to couple to the HST stock, the other end had the coupler dropped so the loco (a 66?) could couple using the drawhook and buffers.

And not for the first time either, as GBRf have, on a number of occasions, used 73s for that purpose in the past.

206 + 212 Plymouth Laira to Eastleigh Works

73212

73212 heads east through Totnes on the rear of: 5O66 10:00 Laira to Eastleigh Works 08/07/22 73206 & 73212 were used as Mk3 barrier coaches for the Mk3 buffets heading for storage, eventually being converted into trailer standard coaches The consist was: 66728 + 73206 + 40736 40725 40726...

shed83a.smugmug.com

66728

66728 & 73206 head east through Totnes with a rake of FGW Mk3 buffet cars on: 5O66 10:00 Laira to Eastleigh Works 73206 & 73212 were used as Mk3 barrier coaches for the move. 08/07/10 73206 & 73212 were used as Mk3 barrier coaches for the Mk3 buffets heading for storage, eventually being...

shed83a.smugmug.com

204 + 205
Willesden to Laira

66717 & 73204

66717 + 73204 + 44055 42169 42168 42167 42103 40436 41167 41085 + 73205 head west through Dawlish on: 5Z76 05:30 Willesden to Laira 02/11/05 The ex-GNER Mk3 Coaches were transferring to FGW, with the class 73's being used as barrier coaches

shed83a.smugmug.com

 

[Trackman]

73108+73134 21/8/82 1M87 1105 Portsmouth-Manchester (to BHM), 1O92 1423 Manchester-Portsmouth (from BHM).

Did 73's work to Manchester Piccadilly on a passenger once in the 80's?
Ringing bells in my head

 

[SteveM70]

73108+73134 21/8/82 1M87 1105 Portsmouth-Manchester (to BHM), 1O92 1423 Manchester-Portsmouth (from BHM).

Wow. My memory is surprisingly good!

 

[12LDA28C]

Didn't a pair - rather infamously - make it to New Street on a XC train in the early 80s?

Not as infamous as the pair that failed at Fenny Compton and sat there for several hours before being rescued!

 

[norbitonflyer]

I have a feeling that the 73 was meant to tow it from Stewarts Lane to somewhere but developed a fault and the decision was made to let the Deltic run to avoid delays and congestion. I'm sure I read this in a copy of RAIL some time ago with a history of the Deltic Preservation Society, and I don't think it was an isolated incident either.

Thanks - I have often wondered about the background. Although you do wonder how the 73 got back to the Southern, if that was the reason!

It's just come back to me that I think the Deltic was Gordon Highlander

 

[cce]

one lived at Fairwater yard in Taunton in the late 00s for the purpose of shunting the HOBC.

Though theoretically that's not far at all from the old southern at Yeovil etc