Deltic
 

Hi Folks,
In the 1950’s I went, with a friend, an enthusiast, to Lichfield Trent Valley to see “Deltic” call while under test. It had a glass roof and windows in the centre of the loco covering an office with drawing boards and about five male staff. When I have mentioned this to people in the past I’ve had some strange looks. Did anyone else see this? – Thanks.

I can't believe there was any spare room for all that if Deltic was fully functioning.

Were you on "whacky baccy" ?:D:D

LocoJoe might know 'cos he was the second man on Deltic for a while.

Sounds like you're confusing the Loco and the Dynamometer car used in the road tests, there are plenty of photos in existence of Deltic both as it was and as it is today. The link will take you to the oldest one on the Railway Forum gallery.:-http://www.railwayforum.net/gallery/...&searchid=8993

And this to the most recent one.:-http://www.railwayforum.net/gallery/...&searchid=8994

Regards, 62440.

Pre65 - Nah - Wacky Baccy, we didn't have that then, not north of Watford anyway. I think you are right, according to Google there wasn't enough room inside for an office and five technicians. 62440 yes it could have been pulling a special dynamometer car and thanks for the links, I appreciate both your interest, this has been bugging me for a long time. I guess my memory is playing tricks. Where is Locojoe?

Deltic DP1
 

Hi hereward welcome to the forum, I too think you're confusing the Loco and the Dynamometer car. Have a look at this link http://tinyurl.com/l3fo97p which shows fictional renditions of Deltic DP1 in various colours. I quite like the prototype 'Deltic' decorated in the crimson and gold scheme of the pre-war LMS streamliners, what's your favorite Deltic DP1 colour.

Hi Joe,
Thanks for the welcome and the link, very pretty. I am not into diesels really, can’t say what colour Deltic was, I have no preference. I do have an affection for steam locos although I’m not an expert. We would only be 11 years old when I started going trainspotting with that guy, it was the travelling round by push bike and train that I liked. We travelled across London when 12 years old. One of those things that can only happen once in a lifetime was to see A4 “Woodcock” cruising quietly into Kings Cross with its valve gear and conrods tumbling smoothly over. Up till then I had only seen pictures of A4’s and wasn’t sure they actually existed (same with “Spamcans”). Strangely enough I drove past that guy today and turned around and drove back to speak to him, the first time for thirty odd years. He couldn’t even remember where he had seen Deltic, his memory was worse than mine. Best - hereward

Hi Hereward and welcome to the forum. Interesting thread too. Now Kings Cross for me back in the late fifties and early sixties was the place to be! I often would travel through from Lincoln as a lad on my way over to Belgium three times a year. We were occasionally hauled by the A4 and boy did we love them on the ECML. We could hear them and shout Streak coming, and the young spotters would get so excited! Passing sheds along the way like Grantham, Finsbury Park, New England and of course Top Shed. I loved seeing these east coast locos cruising in to Kings X and having to wait till the coaches were taken out again before being able to move out to the shed for preparing for the next duty.
I loved the smoke, the steam and smells of these great beasts of an engine! Bliss.
All the best
Phil

That evokes a lot of happy memories Phil of the late 50s and early 60s at Newark or Carlton on Trent on the ECML that never to be forgotten A4 whistle as they raced towards Newark station. I remember the original Deltic in blue and yellow livery and also D0280 Falcon doing trials on that line, more than half a lifetime ago. I think Falcon was a light brown sort of sandy colour.

Great memories Phil, I have a further eight A4’s underlined, in my Ian Allan from those days, that I must have seen that day since that was the only time I saw A4’s in service. Not that I can remember them, but you can only see something for the first time once in a lifetime, like Woodcock. Saw Mallard at NRM and Union of South Africa being rebuilt at SVR. That mate of mine called those A4’s “Shrikes” (butcher birds) and I never knew why. Perhaps he had misheard the kids shouting “Streak.” We went from Walsall, I think, to Peterborough on the inaugural diesel service; we were invited, by the driver, to footplate Cock o’ the North, I read somewhere that Gresley had used it as a test bed for the A4’s. Took my two grandsons 2 and 6 to SVR on Wednesday; there was a Stanier 8F, in the Engine House at Highly, with a yellow diagonal stripe across the cab number. This was something else that had bugged me for years, after seeing that stripe on railway videos. Someone told me it was to warn the driver not to go onto electrified sections, I take it this was correct.
Just been reading about a poster who said that school had interfered with his trainspotting. I worked with a girl who said trainspotting had interfered with her schooling. Her classroom was adjacent to a railway line, when a train came by a group of boys would be jumping up and down shouting: “It’s a Brush it’s a Brush.” She didn’t have a clue what they were on about – me neither, unless it was Brush of Loughborough who made electric vehicles. Sorry about rambling on. –hereward.

Brush made (or supplied parts for) an awful lot of diesel electric locomotives.:D

Falcon works Loughborough.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brush_Traction

You know we all had a grand time as steam was close to being a thing of the past. I am really thankfully I was Born in 1950 and managed to experience the end. Living inLincoln had its advantages especially during the times the ECML was under maintenance and so we would see some grand eastern locos of all classes easing through our city. When the Deltics started to slowly take over from the A4, and other wonderful Pacifics we still had a ball spotting. It was a good time to be a spotter but you had to adapt from steam to diesel. We would bike from Lincoln to Tuxford and spend all day watching the mainline for both Steam and Diesel. Them were the good days and boy did we have fun.
I have last month managed the York trip to see the last remaining A4's and that was very special to me. What a brilliant sight! All six together. ( got some images in the gallery if you wish to view them, and without the crowds)
Anyway guys nice chatting and hope you continue to enjoy your hobby, I do!
All the best
Phil

Hi Phil I remember one freezing cold night when the ECML was under maintenance. After leaving Doncaster with a Type 4EE and a pilotman aboard we were routed through Lincoln. We had a problem with the our steam heating boiler, so at Grantham we changed our Type 4EE for an A4. So instead of sitting on my backside all the way to Kings Cross I had to do some shovelling.:)

Pre65 - I knew Brush made milk floats, but didn't know they made locos, I had delivered stuff there a couple of times. Talking about shovelling, Joe, I had seen firemen shovelling frantically as trains went by and wondered how they managed to keep it up, wonder how many could do that today.

Nice memories Joe and what a wonderful experience you have had by working on the railways. As I've said befor I joined the Army at16 and though I ended up at Longmoor in 1968. I had missed the steam era within the Royal Engineers. Pity because I could have been trained as a driver! Oh we'll trained to build bridges instead!
As for shoveling Hereward, I never fail to admire the very hard work these dedicated and proud men who were in control of a full rake of carriages full of passengers. It must have been so hot during the summer months. Plenty of drink on the footplate too I imagine. ( non alcoholic naturally). Thanks Joe for your stories, always enjoy your tales.
All the best
Phil

Hi Phil it certainly was hot working on steam locos during the summer months and it was thirsty work. Having small sips of cold tea was what many footplatemen did in hot or cold weather. The tea in the teacan got very stewed if left too long on the shelf over the firehole or left hanging from the guage glass handle. The tea to be drank cold was made at home and usually poured into a flat medicine bottle with a cork stopper.
In the middle 1950s I worked with an old driver who worked on the military railways in WW1. His name was Jimmy Hill who wrote a book "Buckjumpers Gobblers & Clauds" in the first part of the book he tells of his time in France working on the military railways.

I remember the old medicine bottle with tea in it, as you say with a cork stopper! Forgot all about that. My dad worked on the railways as a parcels delivery driver. (Later to become National Carriers Ltd.) in Market Rasen, then moved to Lincoln followed by a move to Peterborough. He knew many a local footplate crew and also had free rail passes for our family. So it was I used to go with him to work during our school holidays and met his many mates. They had the bottles of tea, just as you described. Happy memories.
Cheers
Phil

A lot of Ex-pat drivers from the UK used the medicine bottle with a cork stopper for their tea on the Rhodesia Railways. Most of the South African, Greek Italian & Rhodesian crew members used a Billy Can, normally with black coffee in it. We did not like cold or stewed tea. We all had canvas water bottles which were hung on the hand rail. The water got quite cold as the air passed over the wet canvas.

A treat for you gents, with a B&W photo of 55 001 St. Paddy on the Up road at Peterborough back in the 1980's.

http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/a...001StPaddy.jpg