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British Rail Standard Class 7 70000 Britannia climbs past Althrop heading the return working Windsor to Crewe
Preserved steam locomotive, Class 7, 70013 Oliver Cromwell is making its way to the Great Central Way Railway Quorn station.
"On 3 March 2018, 70013 hauled its final main line charter from Ealing Broadway to York via the Midland Main Line prior to the expiry of its boiler certificate. It was last steamed at the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway on 11 March 2018 before moving to the GCR for storage."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BR_Standard_Class_7_70013_Oliver_Cr...
BR Standard Class 7 4-6-2 No. 70013 OLIVER CROMWELL recovers from a signal check at Hoghton, on the Preston - Blackburn line, with the Preston to Morecambe leg of the Warwickshire Railway Society North Western Steam Tour on 18th May 1968.
11'415
Preserved and mainline certified British Railways Standard 'Britannia' Class 7MT 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotive 70000 'Britannia' running around its train at Kidderminster station on the Severn Valley Railway in Worcestershire (UK).
70000 was designed by Robert Riddles, built at Crewe Works in late 1950 and was withdrawn from service on May 28th 1966.
70000 was a special guest locomotive at the 2015 SVR Autumn Steam Gala courtesy of The Royal Scot Locomotive and General Trust.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BR_standard_class_7_70000_Britannia
www.flickr.com/photos/stuart166axe/tags/70000/
Photograph taken by my regular photostream contributor David on his travels and is posted here with very kind permission.
Another scan from an old negative which was never printed and I had forgotten taking. This is, I think, the northbound Pines Express passing Stafford Road Junction, Wolverhampton behind BR Standard Class 7 No. 70000 BRITANNIA on 28th August 1965.
Although of poor quality, I have uploaded this because of its rarity value. It was taken from the abandoned horse box platform of Dunstall Park Station which had been provided to enable the movement of horses and grooms to and from the nearby racecourse. The buildings on the right formed part of the ex GWR Stafford Road Works which had closed during the previous year.
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For further information see:
BR Class 7 4-6-2 No. 70000 BRITANNIA approaches Marsh Brook crossing with the Crewe to Hereford Britannia Phoenix on 27th July 1991.
645-56'665
LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0 No. 44871 and BR Standard Class 7 4-6-2 No. 70013 OLIVER CROMWELL join the main line at Darlaston Junction in the West Midlands with the northbound "Great Britain III" on 8th April 2010.
Photo: IMG_0398
"Britannia Class" British Railways Standard Class 7 70013 'Oliver Cromwell' seen on a visit to Portsmouth in July 2009 on a Cathedrals Express Charter operated by WCRC with Class 37 37706 at the rear as a back up locomotive.
Fifty five Standard Class 7s were built in the early 1950s and they lasted until the very last day of steam operation in 1968 and two examples have survived into preservation, 70000 which is currently based in Crewe and is mainline certified. 70013 is currently awaiting an overhaul at the Great Central Railway but holds the distinction of hauling the final steam operated train on BR the 'Fifteen Guinea Special' from Liverpool to Carlisle on August 11th 1968, 45110 took the charter to Manchester where 70013 took over for the remainder of the journey to Carlisle.
70013 "Oliver Cromwell" on a London Liverpool Street -Norwich working with WCRC 47804 seen approaching Manningtree ,after this photo was taken the engine ran into difficulties further along the line at Diss where a 20mph speed limit was imposed on it running to Norwich due to an engineering issue with a big end bearing.
Riddles BR Standard Class 7 70000 "Britannia" undergoing a steam test at Locomotive Services Crewe in October, latest news is that this boiler was reunited with her rolling frame today 10/11/2021, and is being restored for a return to main line running.
Riddles BR Standard 7MT 70013 "Oliver Cromwell" works through Swithland Sidings while Fowler 3F "Jinty" awaits to shunt its mixed freight out the up loop
British Rail Standard Class 7 70000 Britannia climbs past Althrop heading the return working Windsor to Crewe
British Railways class 7 4-6-2 No. 70013 OLIVER CROMWELL seen here passing Sherburn-in-Elmet working the 1Z57 Ealing Broadway - York railtour on Saturday 3rd March 2018.
BR Standard Class 7 4-6-2 No. 70000 BRITANNIA crosses Combe viaduct, Saltash with the Paddington - Penzance 'Duchy Voyager' on 14th October 1995.
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The 143 ton British Railways Standard Class 7MT 4-6-2 Pacific (better known as the Britannia class) number 70013 'Oliver Cromwell' seen under the wires heading towards Norwich at Hatfield Peverel Station in Essex England on April 23rd 2009 at about 75mph as the Cathedrals Express on a steamdreams.com railtour.
This wonderful photograph was taken by Dave, a colleague of mine and is posted here with very kind permission.
You can see my video of this same train at the same time here with Dave and his camera in view. BEST VIEWED LARGE!
One of the last and most powerful steam locomotives ever built, the British Rail Standard Class 7 was BR's top express locomotive, and could have been utilised far better in its short lifespan, but ended up only serving the railways for 15 years, a blink of an eye compared to other mainline Pacifics of the time that had operated under the pre-nationalisation companies.
Designed by Robert Riddles, who had previously coined the design for the War Department Austerity 2-10-0 and 2-8-0 freight locomotives, the BR Standard Class 7's were conceived of as a result of the 1948 locomotive exchanges, which were done to test the best and worst aspects of locomotive design within the Big Four railway companies that had existed before nationalisation. The research gained from operating the best designs of the GWR, LMS, LNER and Southern railways on different areas of the British Railways network paved the way for several new classes of standardised locomotives to be constructed, largely to replace many of the ageing Victorian era engines that even in the late 1940's continued to ply their merry trade.
The first design requested by the Railway Executive was for a new express passenger Pacific locomotive, designed specifically to reduce maintenance and using the latest available innovations in steam technology from home and abroad. Various labour-saving devices were utilised to produce a simple, standard and effective design, able to produce equivalent power to some of the Pacifics that were still available as legacies of the Big Four.
The basic design of the Standard 7's can be traced to LMS construction practices, largely owed to Riddles' previous career with that company, but complimented this with the boiler and trailing wheel design of the Southern Railway's Merchant Navy Pacifics so as to follow the best design practice. The firebox was also similar in having a rocking grate, which allowed the fire to be rebuilt without stopping the locomotive, removing both ash and clinker on the move. A self-cleaning smokebox was used, which enabled ash to flow into the atmosphere, reducing the workload of the engine cleaner at the end of a working day. A single chimney was placed on top of the smokebox, which was unusual for a Pacific type of locomotive.
The Standard 7's were fitted with 6 ft 2 in driving wheels, allowing these engines greater capacity for use in mixed-traffic working, which made them available for both sustained fast running with heavy passenger trains, yet small enough to allow them to undertake more mundane tasks such as freight haulage.
55 of these engines were constructed between 1951 and 1954, with 70000 'Britannia' being the first and flagship of the fleet, with residual locomotives of the class being dubbed 'Britannia-Class'. Three batches were constructed at Crewe Works, before the publication of the 1955 Modernisation Plan.
Britannia was built at Crewe, completed on 2 January 1951. She was the first British Railways standard locomotive to be built and the first of 55 locomotives of the Britannia class. The locomotive was named at a ceremony at Marylebone Station by the then Minister for Transport Alfred Barnes on 30 January 1951. The BR Locomotive Naming Committee were determined not to use names already in use on other locomotives. They tried to observe this by not selecting the name Britannia for use on 70000 because it was already in use on one of the ex-LMS Jubilee Class locomotives, but Robert Riddles overruled them and the Jubilee had to be renamed.
The Britannias took their names from great Britons, former Star Class locomotives, and Scottish firths, although one locomotive, 70047, was never named. The success of these first Standard Pacifics gave birth to two other Pacific classes over the BR years, including the unique BR Standard Class 8, number 71000 'Duke of Gloucester', which was built in 1954 to replace the destroyed Princess Royal Class locomotive number 46202 Princess Anne, lost in the Harrow and Wealdstone rail disaster of 1952, and the fleet of 10 BR Standard Class 6 'Clan' Pacifics that were employed on services in the west of Scotland, but failed to gain a stellar reputation due to their employment on timetables for the more powerful Standard 7's they couldn't keep up to.
The class gained a warm response from locomotive crews across all British Railway Regions, with especially glowing reports from those operating them from Stratford depot on the Eastern Region, where its lower weight and high power transformed motive power over the restricted East Anglian lines. However, negative feedback was received from various operating departments, most notably on the Western Region. The criticism was primarily out of partisan preference for GWR-designed locomotive stock among Western Region staff; in particular, the class was 'left-hand drive' in contrast to 'right-hand drive' GWR locomotive and signalling practice, a factor in the Milton rail crash of 1955.
For this reason, the Western Region locomotive depots at Old Oak Common and Plymouth Laira declared that the class was surplus to requirements. However Cardiff Canton depot displayed its liking for the class (despite being part of the former GWR empire) and managed to obtain good results on South Wales passenger traffic.
The Midland Region also had favourable reports, but a marked consistency in losing time on the longer runs between Holyhead and Euston was recorded, although all complaints were down to the individual techniques of the operating crews. This was compounded by the irregular allocation of the class to depots all over the network, meaning that few crews ever had a great deal of experience in driving them. The Southern Region also had an allocation of seven in May 1953, when all Merchant Navy Class locomotives were temporarily withdrawn for inspection after 35020 "Bibby Line" sheared a crank axle on the central driving wheel.
Repairs to the class were undertaken at Crewe, Swindon and Doncaster Works until the financial constraints of the British Railways Modernisation Plan in terms of expenditure on steam began to preclude the regular overhaul of locomotives. During the mid-1960s overhauls were carried out exclusively at Crewe Works.
Britannia was initially based at Stratford in order to work East Anglian expresses to Norwich and Great Yarmouth, but was also particularly associated with the Hook Continental boat train to Harwich. Subsequently, the loco was based at Norwich Thorpe in January and March 1959 before spending the remainder of her career on the London Midland Region based at Willesden, Crewe North, Crewe South and finally Newton Heath.
The locomotive also had the distinction of hauling the funeral train for King George VI from King's Lynn, Norfolk to London following his death in February 1952 at Sandringham House, Norfolk. For this task, Britannia had her cab roof painted white, as was the custom with royal locomotives. Britannia has also worn the white roof in preservation.
However, as the locomotives entered the 1960's, the modernisation plan continued to gather pace, and diesel locomotives started to replace steam on most parts of the network. Very soon the Standard 7's placement on Top-Line expresses were demoted to the on-again-off-again work of freight and parcels, and cosmetic maintenance was reduced as their final years loomed. The lavish BR Brunswick Green soon faded to grey, and in some cases BR Lined Black was adopted for ease.
The first locomotive to be withdrawn from service was number 70007 Coeur-de-Lion in 1965, and the entire class was gradually transferred to Carlisle Kingmoor and Glasgow Polmadie depots. Britannia was withdrawn in May 1966, after 15 years of service.
A succession of bulk withdrawals began in 1967, culminating in the very last steam operation in British Railways service on August 11th, 1968, where Standard 7 number 70013 Oliver Cromwell, was chosen to assist in hauling the Fifteen Guinea Special, the last steam hauled British Railways passenger service from Liverpool to Carlisle via the S&C. 70013 was chosen as it was the last the last BR-owned steam locomotive to undergo routine heavy overhaul at Crewe Works, being out-shopped after a special ceremony in February 1967. The engine hauled the Manchester to Carlisle leg of the service via the Settle and Carlisle line, with LMS Class 5 45110, and LMS Stanier Class 5 locomotives, 44781 and 44871 double-heading the return working back to Manchester.
Upon withdrawal, 70000 was initially planned for preservation with the National Railway Museum due to it's cultural significance, but because of its prototypical nature, 70013 was instead chosen and bought up for preservation. 70000 would later be preserved by Britannia Locomotive Company Ltd.
After moving from one home to another, the engine wound up on the Severn Valley Railway, where she remained for a number of years in operational but non-mainline condition. With the society wishing to make more use of the locomotive, she was moved to the European gauge Nene Valley Railway in Peterborough, where she was also fitted with an air-brake compressor. Britannia made her return to the main line on 27 July 1991, successfully working enthusiast trips until 1997.
With an expired mainline boiler certificate, due to the high cost of refurbishment, the locomotive was sold to Pete Waterman in 2000. Stored at Waterman's workshops at the Crewe Heritage Centre, after initial assessment the amount of work resulted in Waterman selling her to Jeremy Hosking. The locomotive underwent restoration at Crewe which involved a newly refurbished cab, a new smoke box and major work on the boiler; replacement steel sides, new crown stays, new front section barrel section, new steel and copper tubeplate, repairs and patches to door plate and major work to copper firebox.
Transferred to the Royal Scot Locomotive and General Trust, the locomotive was returned to main line operational condition in 2011, initially out shopped in its prototype black British Railways livery. After a running-in period, in 2012 the locomotive was repainted in British Railways Brunswick Green, but with an early BR crest. On 24 January 2012, the loco hauled the Royal Train with Prince Charles on board to Wakefield Kirkgate, where he rededicated the locomotive. For the trip the loco again had a painted white cab roof, removed after the engine's appearance at the West Somerset Railway's Spring Gala.
Video clip of preserved British Railways Standard 'Britannia' Class 7MT 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotive 70013 'Oliver Cromwell' hauling a British Railways Mk1 'Blood and Custard' set entering Quorn and Woodhouse Station on the heritage Great Central Railway in Leicestershire (UK).
An old friend of mine, 70013 is a very special steam locomotive. It is one of only two surviving 'Britannia's' in preservation out of 55 locomotives built.
70013 was built at Crewe Works in May 1951 and delivered to Norwich Crown Point Depot soon after and ran on the the London to Norwich mainline until 1963 just prior to the withdrawal of steam on the Great Eastern Main Line in 1965.
70013 was then transferred to Carlisle Kingmoor depot and this actual locomotive ran the very last steam passenger train prior to the withdrawal of steam altogether on British Railways on August 11th 1968.
The very next day August 12th 1968 'she' arrived back in East Anglia en route for a new home at Bressingham Steam Museum at Diss in Norfolk.
Restoration to bring 'her' back to steam began in 2004 here at the Great Central Railway Centre and on August 10th 2008 'Ollie' was back on the mainline for the first time in 40 years.
I've been hauled behind 'Ollie' several times including on the mainline and the locomotive features heavily in my flickr photostream.
Despite the miserable conditions, every man, woman and their dog were out to see British Railways Standard Class 7 70000 "Britannia" drop off passengers at Hartford, having hauled the Saphos Trains' railtour "The Fellsman" from Crewe to Carlisle and back via the Settle and Carlisle.
The wreath on the front of the engine was in memory of Locomotive Services' much loved and respected colleague Robert (Bob) Samples, who recently passed away.
Catching the last rays of a warm summer's day BR Class7 pacific No 70000 Britannia arrives at Bristol Temple Meads with the returning Torbay Express
BR Standard Class 7 4-6-2 No. 70013 OLIVER CROMWELL recovers from a signal check at Hoghton, on the Preston - Blackburn line, with the Preston to Morecambe leg of the Warwickshire Railway Society North Western Steam Tour on 18th May 1968.
Ref. 11'416
British Railways Standard 'Britannia' Class 7MT (Mixed Traffic) 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotive 70018 'Flying Dutchman' just outside Willesden Shed in London (UK) on February 21st 1964.
70018 was designed and built by Robert Riddles at British Railways Crewe Works and entered service on June 25th 1951.
70018 was withdrawn from service on December 24th 1966 and declared 'cut up' at the Motherwell Machinery and Scrap Yard in Wishaw Scotland by May 16th 1967.
Photograph taken by and copyright of my occasional photostream contributor Mr David Lewis and is posted here with very kind permission.
British Railways Standard 'Britannia' Class 7MT 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotive 70036 'Boadicea' working a Norwich- London Liverpool Street Express at Arbour Lane overbridge in Chelmsford on the Great Eastern Main Line in Essex (UK) in 1958.
70036 entered service on December 23rd 1952 and was withdrawn/scrapped in October 1966.
Photograph courtesy, copyright and taken by Mr Philip Alexander and is posted to my flickr photostream with very kind permission.
Freightliner 66516 + 66560 head away from Westbury with 7A40, the 08:40 from Merehead Quarry to Hanwell Bridge Loop.
Running as a Class7 as there are six of the original 'YEOMAN' JHA hopper wagons in the train.
Heywood Road Junction, Westbury.
31-03-2025
Preserved British Railways Standard 'Britannia' Class 7MT 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotive 70013 'Oliver Cromwell' working the 1Z70 10:20 (11:37 6L) London Liverpool Street- Norwich 'The Cathedrals Express' railtour on February 22nd 2018 at Kelvedon Station on the Great Eastern Main Line in Essex (UK).
An old friend of mine, 70013 is a very special steam locomotive. It is one of only two surviving 'Britannia's' in preservation out of 55 locomotives built.
70013 was built at British Railways Crewe Works in May 1951 and delivered to Norwich Crown Point Depot soon after and ran on the the London to Norwich Great Eastern Main Line until 1963.
70013 was then transferred to Carlisle Kingmoor depot and this actual locomotive ran the very last steam passenger train prior to the withdrawal of steam altogether on British Railways on August 11th 1968.
The very next day August 12th 1968 'she' arrived back in East Anglia en route for a new home at Bressingham Steam Museum at Diss in Norfolk.
Restoration to bring 'her' back to steam began in 2004 at the Great Central Railway Loughborough and on August 10th 2008 'Ollie' was back on the mainline for the first time in 40 years.
I've been hauled behind 'Ollie' several times including on the mainline and the locomotive features heavily in my flickr photostream.
The wreath is in commemoration of well known former Eastern Region railwayman Richard 'Dick' Hardy who passed away on February 19th 2018.
Unfortunately 70013 was 44 minutes late after limping into Norwich with a hot big end bearing which ended Ollie's participation in the return leg of the railtour back to London Liverpool Street.
www.flickr.com/photos/stuart166axe/tags/70013/
Photograph taken by and copyright of my regular photostream contributor David and is posted here with very kind permission.
The 143 ton British Railways Standard Class 7MT 4-6-2 Pacific (better known as the Britannia class) number 70000 'Britannia' working hard at speed through Hatfield Peverel station on the 10:23 1Z70 Liverpool Street - Norwich 'Great Eastern 150' railtour, October 10th 2012.
Picked the wrong spot on the platform.. Bowled by the ex Norwich Class 90 just to the right that completely obscured the view milliseconds later.. Not the first time this has happened to me.
So this is all I saw.
British Railways Standard 'Britannia' Class 7MT 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotive 70002 'Geoffrey Chaucer' working a Norwich- London Liverpool Street Express in 1958 at Chelmsford Station on the Great Eastern Main Line in Essex (UK).
70002 entered service on March 6th 1951 and withdrawn on January 14th 1967.
The area on Victoria Road where the building is situated to the right of the buffer beam is now a Premier Inn Hotel, while the advertising board is located on the vehicle entrance to the station (for locals to get their bearings).
My Chelmsford Railway Station album flic.kr/s/aHsjoigMMG
Photograph courtesy, copyright and taken by Mr Philip Alexander and is posted to my flickr photostream with very kind permission.
British Railways Standard 'Britannia' Class 7MT 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotive 70040 'Clive of India' about to be bowled by LNER Class B17, 4-6-0 steam locomotive 61655 'Middlesborough' in 1958 at Chelmsford Station on the Great Eastern Main Line in Essex (UK).
70040 entered service on March 21st 1953 and withdrawn/scrapped on April 15th 1967 while 61655 was built in 1936 and withdrawn/scrapped on April 9th 1959.
Note the wavy line roof on building 720 at Marconi's New Street Works.
My Chelmsford Railway Station album flic.kr/s/aHsjoigMMG
Photograph courtesy, copyright and taken by Mr Philip Alexander and is posted to my flickr photostream with very kind permission.
Preserved British Railways Standard 'Britannia' Class 7MT 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotive 70013 'Oliver Cromwell' plus support coach working the 5Z13 11:03 (14:56 63L) Norwich Train Care- Southall Loco Services Ltd. empty 'NPCSS' transfer movement at Hatfield Peverel Station on the Great Eastern Main Line in Essex (UK) on February 28th 2018.
70013 is returning to Southall after repairs at Norwich after big end wheel bearing failure which ended Ollie's participation in the return leg of 'The Cathedrals Express' railtour back to London Liverpool Street on February 22nd 2018.
An old friend of mine, 70013 is a very special steam locomotive. It is one of only two surviving 'Britannia's' in preservation out of 55 locomotives built.
70013 was built at British Railways Crewe Works in May 1951 and delivered to Norwich Crown Point Depot soon after and ran on the the London to Norwich Great Eastern Main Line until 1963.
70013 was then transferred to Carlisle Kingmoor depot and this actual locomotive ran the very last steam passenger train prior to the withdrawal of steam altogether on British Railways on August 11th 1968.
The very next day August 12th 1968 'she' arrived back in East Anglia en route for a new home at Bressingham Steam Museum at Diss in Norfolk.
Restoration to bring 'her' back to steam began in 2004 at the Great Central Railway Loughborough and on August 10th 2008 'Ollie' was back on the mainline for the first time in 40 years.
I've been hauled behind 'Ollie' several times including on the mainline and the locomotive features heavily in my flickr photostream.
www.flickr.com/photos/stuart166axe/tags/70013/
My Hatfield Peverel Railway Station album flic.kr/s/aHsjD3AKYz
Photograph taken by and copyright of my regular photostream contributor David and is posted here with very kind permission.
"Britannia Class" British Railways Standard Class 7 70013 'Oliver Cromwell' seen on a visit to Portsmouth in July 2009 on a Cathedrals Express Charter operated by WCRC with Class 37 37706 at the rear as a back up locomotive.
Fifty five Standard Class 7s were built in the early 1950s and they lasted until the very last day of steam operation in 1968 and two examples have survived into preservation, 70000 which is currently based in Crewe and is mainline certified. 70013 is currently awaiting an overhaul at the Great Central Railway but holds the distinction of hauling the final steam operated train on BR the 'Fifteen Guinea Special' from Liverpool to Carlisle on August 11th 1968, 45110 took the charter to Manchester where 70013 took over for the remainder of the journey to Carlisle.
A little memento from the late lamented Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway, which operated its very own fleet of locomotives to compliment the locomotives provided by the London Midland & Scottish Railway as well as the Southern Railway. These included a fleet of 2-8-0 locomotives designed along similar principals to that of LMS goods engines.
Today two of these locomotives continue to exist, and one is seen here in the form of Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway 7F number 88, working a train from Minehead to Bishops Lydeard at Stogumber.
The other preserved locomotive is classmate 7F number 89, which now resides at the Midland Railway in Butterley.
Preserved British Railways Standard 'Britannia' Class 7MT 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotive 70013 'Oliver Cromwell' just outside Loughborough Central Station on the heritage Great Central Railway in Leicestershire (UK).
An old friend of mine, 70013 is a very special steam locomotive. It is one of only two surviving 'Britannia's' in preservation out of 55 locomotives built.
70013 was built at Crewe Works in May 1951 and delivered to Norwich Crown Point Depot soon after and ran on the the London to Norwich mainline until 1963 just prior to the withdrawal of steam on the Great Eastern Main Line in 1965.
70013 was then transferred to Carlisle Kingmoor depot and this actual locomotive ran the very last steam passenger train prior to the withdrawal of steam altogether on British Railways on August 11th 1968.
The very next day August 12th 1968 'she' arrived back in East Anglia en route for a new home at Bressingham Steam Museum at Diss in Norfolk.
Restoration to bring 'her' back to steam began in 2004 here at the Great Central Railway Centre and on August 10th 2008 'Ollie' was back on the mainline for the first time in 40 years.
I've been hauled behind 'Ollie' several times including on the mainline and the locomotive features heavily in my flickr photostream.
The Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York delivers food to more than 1,000 agencies in 23 New York counties. It’s part of the Feeding America Network, which consists of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries that dot the United States. The network provides food to one in seven Americans. This Kenworth T370 collects donated food from eight to 12 supermarkets daily and brings it to one of two warehouses - a 62,000-square-foot building in Latham, or the food bank’s 55,000-square-foot warehouse in Orange County.
Preserved British Railways Standard 'Britannia' Class 7MT 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotive 70013 'Oliver Cromwell' plus support coach working the 5Z13 11:03 (14:56 63L) Norwich Train Care- Southall Loco Services Ltd. empty 'NPCSS' transfer movement just past Hatfield Peverel Station on the Great Eastern Main Line in Essex (UK) on February 28th 2018.
70013 is returning to Southall after repairs at Norwich after big end wheel bearing failure which ended Ollie's participation in the return leg of 'The Cathedrals Express' railtour back to London Liverpool Street on February 22nd 2018.
An old friend of mine, 70013 is a very special steam locomotive. It is one of only two surviving 'Britannia's' in preservation out of 55 locomotives built.
70013 was built at British Railways Crewe Works in May 1951 and delivered to Norwich Crown Point Depot soon after and ran on the the London to Norwich Great Eastern Main Line until 1963.
70013 was then transferred to Carlisle Kingmoor depot and this actual locomotive ran the very last steam passenger train prior to the withdrawal of steam altogether on British Railways on August 11th 1968.
The very next day August 12th 1968 'she' arrived back in East Anglia en route for a new home at Bressingham Steam Museum at Diss in Norfolk.
Restoration to bring 'her' back to steam began in 2004 at the Great Central Railway Loughborough and on August 10th 2008 'Ollie' was back on the mainline for the first time in 40 years.
I've been hauled behind 'Ollie' several times including on the mainline and the locomotive features heavily in my flickr photostream.
www.flickr.com/photos/stuart166axe/tags/70013/
My Hatfield Peverel Railway Station album flic.kr/s/aHsjD3AKYz
Photograph taken by and copyright of my regular photostream contributor David and is posted here with very kind permission.
One of the last and most powerful steam locomotives ever built, the British Rail Standard Class 7 was BR's top express locomotive, and could have been utilised far better in its short lifespan, but ended up only serving the railways for 15 years, a blink of an eye compared to other mainline Pacifics of the time that had operated under the pre-nationalisation companies.
Designed by Robert Riddles, who had previously coined the design for the War Department Austerity 2-10-0 and 2-8-0 freight locomotives, the BR Standard Class 7's were conceived of as a result of the 1948 locomotive exchanges, which were done to test the best and worst aspects of locomotive design within the Big Four railway companies that had existed before nationalisation. The research gained from operating the best designs of the GWR, LMS, LNER and Southern railways on different areas of the British Railways network paved the way for several new classes of standardised locomotives to be constructed, largely to replace many of the ageing Victorian era engines that even in the late 1940's continued to ply their merry trade.
The first design requested by the Railway Executive was for a new express passenger Pacific locomotive, designed specifically to reduce maintenance and using the latest available innovations in steam technology from home and abroad. Various labour-saving devices were utilised to produce a simple, standard and effective design, able to produce equivalent power to some of the Pacifics that were still available as legacies of the Big Four.
The basic design of the Standard 7's can be traced to LMS construction practices, largely owed to Riddles' previous career with that company, but complimented this with the boiler and trailing wheel design of the Southern Railway's Merchant Navy Pacifics so as to follow the best design practice. The firebox was also similar in having a rocking grate, which allowed the fire to be rebuilt without stopping the locomotive, removing both ash and clinker on the move. A self-cleaning smokebox was used, which enabled ash to flow into the atmosphere, reducing the workload of the engine cleaner at the end of a working day. A single chimney was placed on top of the smokebox, which was unusual for a Pacific type of locomotive.
The Standard 7's were fitted with 6 ft 2 in driving wheels, allowing these engines greater capacity for use in mixed-traffic working, which made them available for both sustained fast running with heavy passenger trains, yet small enough to allow them to undertake more mundane tasks such as freight haulage.
55 of these engines were constructed between 1951 and 1954, with 70000 'Britannia' being the first and flagship of the fleet, with residual locomotives of the class being dubbed 'Britannia-Class'. Three batches were constructed at Crewe Works, before the publication of the 1955 Modernisation Plan.
Britannia was built at Crewe, completed on 2 January 1951. She was the first British Railways standard locomotive to be built and the first of 55 locomotives of the Britannia class. The locomotive was named at a ceremony at Marylebone Station by the then Minister for Transport Alfred Barnes on 30 January 1951. The BR Locomotive Naming Committee were determined not to use names already in use on other locomotives. They tried to observe this by not selecting the name Britannia for use on 70000 because it was already in use on one of the ex-LMS Jubilee Class locomotives, but Robert Riddles overruled them and the Jubilee had to be renamed.
The Britannias took their names from great Britons, former Star Class locomotives, and Scottish firths, although one locomotive, 70047, was never named. The success of these first Standard Pacifics gave birth to two other Pacific classes over the BR years, including the unique BR Standard Class 8, number 71000 'Duke of Gloucester', which was built in 1954 to replace the destroyed Princess Royal Class locomotive number 46202 Princess Anne, lost in the Harrow and Wealdstone rail disaster of 1952, and the fleet of 10 BR Standard Class 6 'Clan' Pacifics that were employed on services in the west of Scotland, but failed to gain a stellar reputation due to their employment on timetables for the more powerful Standard 7's they couldn't keep up to.
The class gained a warm response from locomotive crews across all British Railway Regions, with especially glowing reports from those operating them from Stratford depot on the Eastern Region, where its lower weight and high power transformed motive power over the restricted East Anglian lines. However, negative feedback was received from various operating departments, most notably on the Western Region. The criticism was primarily out of partisan preference for GWR-designed locomotive stock among Western Region staff; in particular, the class was 'left-hand drive' in contrast to 'right-hand drive' GWR locomotive and signalling practice, a factor in the Milton rail crash of 1955.
For this reason, the Western Region locomotive depots at Old Oak Common and Plymouth Laira declared that the class was surplus to requirements. However Cardiff Canton depot displayed its liking for the class (despite being part of the former GWR empire) and managed to obtain good results on South Wales passenger traffic.
The Midland Region also had favourable reports, but a marked consistency in losing time on the longer runs between Holyhead and Euston was recorded, although all complaints were down to the individual techniques of the operating crews. This was compounded by the irregular allocation of the class to depots all over the network, meaning that few crews ever had a great deal of experience in driving them. The Southern Region also had an allocation of seven in May 1953, when all Merchant Navy Class locomotives were temporarily withdrawn for inspection after 35020 "Bibby Line" sheared a crank axle on the central driving wheel.
Repairs to the class were undertaken at Crewe, Swindon and Doncaster Works until the financial constraints of the British Railways Modernisation Plan in terms of expenditure on steam began to preclude the regular overhaul of locomotives. During the mid-1960s overhauls were carried out exclusively at Crewe Works.
Britannia was initially based at Stratford in order to work East Anglian expresses to Norwich and Great Yarmouth, but was also particularly associated with the Hook Continental boat train to Harwich. Subsequently, the loco was based at Norwich Thorpe in January and March 1959 before spending the remainder of her career on the London Midland Region based at Willesden, Crewe North, Crewe South and finally Newton Heath.
The locomotive also had the distinction of hauling the funeral train for King George VI from King's Lynn, Norfolk to London following his death in February 1952 at Sandringham House, Norfolk. For this task, Britannia had her cab roof painted white, as was the custom with royal locomotives. Britannia has also worn the white roof in preservation.
However, as the locomotives entered the 1960's, the modernisation plan continued to gather pace, and diesel locomotives started to replace steam on most parts of the network. Very soon the Standard 7's placement on Top-Line expresses were demoted to the on-again-off-again work of freight and parcels, and cosmetic maintenance was reduced as their final years loomed. The lavish BR Brunswick Green soon faded to grey, and in some cases BR Lined Black was adopted for ease.
The first locomotive to be withdrawn from service was number 70007 Coeur-de-Lion in 1965, and the entire class was gradually transferred to Carlisle Kingmoor and Glasgow Polmadie depots. Britannia was withdrawn in May 1966, after 15 years of service.
A succession of bulk withdrawals began in 1967, culminating in the very last steam operation in British Railways service on August 11th, 1968, where Standard 7 number 70013 Oliver Cromwell, was chosen to assist in hauling the Fifteen Guinea Special, the last steam hauled British Railways passenger service from Liverpool to Carlisle via the S&C. 70013 was chosen as it was the last the last BR-owned steam locomotive to undergo routine heavy overhaul at Crewe Works, being out-shopped after a special ceremony in February 1967. The engine hauled the Manchester to Carlisle leg of the service via the Settle and Carlisle line, with LMS Class 5 45110, and LMS Stanier Class 5 locomotives, 44781 and 44871 double-heading the return working back to Manchester.
Upon withdrawal, 70000 was initially planned for preservation with the National Railway Museum due to it's cultural significance, but because of its prototypical nature, 70013 was instead chosen and bought up for preservation. 70000 would later be preserved by Britannia Locomotive Company Ltd.
After moving from one home to another, the engine wound up on the Severn Valley Railway, where she remained for a number of years in operational but non-mainline condition. With the society wishing to make more use of the locomotive, she was moved to the European gauge Nene Valley Railway in Peterborough, where she was also fitted with an air-brake compressor. Britannia made her return to the main line on 27 July 1991, successfully working enthusiast trips until 1997.
With an expired mainline boiler certificate, due to the high cost of refurbishment, the locomotive was sold to Pete Waterman in 2000. Stored at Waterman's workshops at the Crewe Heritage Centre, after initial assessment the amount of work resulted in Waterman selling her to Jeremy Hosking. The locomotive underwent restoration at Crewe which involved a newly refurbished cab, a new smoke box and major work on the boiler; replacement steel sides, new crown stays, new front section barrel section, new steel and copper tubeplate, repairs and patches to door plate and major work to copper firebox.
Transferred to the Royal Scot Locomotive and General Trust, the locomotive was returned to main line operational condition in 2011, initially out shopped in its prototype black British Railways livery. After a running-in period, in 2012 the locomotive was repainted in British Railways Brunswick Green, but with an early BR crest. On 24 January 2012, the loco hauled the Royal Train with Prince Charles on board to Wakefield Kirkgate, where he rededicated the locomotive. For the trip the loco again had a painted white cab roof, removed after the engine's appearance at the West Somerset Railway's Spring Gala.
The footplate cab surround chassis thingy of preserved British Railways Standard 'Britannia' Class 7MT 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotive 70013 'Oliver Cromwell' inside the Traction Maintenance Shed just outside Loughbrough Central Station on the heritage Great Central Railway in the County of Leicestershire (UK).
70013 is in bits at the GCR and undergoing heavy overhaul after the expiration of its ten year boiler safety certificate in 2018.
An old friend of mine, 70013 is a very special steam locomotive. It is one of only two surviving 'Britannia's' in preservation out of 55 locomotives built.
70013 was built at British Railways Crewe Works in May 1951 and delivered to Norwich Crown Point Depot soon after and ran on the the London to Norwich Great Eastern Main Line until 1963.
70013 was then transferred to Carlisle Kingmoor depot and this actual locomotive ran the very last steam passenger train prior to the withdrawal of steam altogether on British Railways on August 11th 1968.
The very next day August 12th 1968 'she' arrived back in East Anglia en route for a new home at Bressingham Steam Museum at Diss in Norfolk.
Restoration to bring 'her' back to steam began in 2004 at the GCR and on August 10th 2008 'Ollie' was back on the mainline for the first time in 40 years.
I've been hauled behind 'Ollie' several times including on the mainline and the locomotive features heavily in my flickr photostream.
www.flickr.com/photos/stuart166axe/tags/70013/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BR_Standard_Class_7_70013_Oliver_Cr...
Photograph taken by and copyright of my occasional photostream contributor Mr David Lewis and is posted here with very kind permission.
British Railways Standard 'Britannia' Class 7MT (Mixed Traffic) 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotive 70004 'William Shakespeare' just outside Willesden Shed in London (UK) on October 24th 1964.
70004 was designed and built by Robert Riddles at British Railways Crewe Works and entered service on March 30th 1951.
70004 was withdrawn from service on December 30th 1967 and declared 'cut up' at T.W. Ward's yard in Inverkeithing Scotland by March 11th 1968.
Photograph taken by and copyright of my occasional photostream contributor Mr David Lewis and is posted here with very kind permission.
GWR 4-6-0 No. 7802 BRADLEY MANOR and BR Standard Class 7 4-6-2 No. 70000 BRITANNIA head the Paddington - Penzance 'Duchy Voyager' past Dawlish Warren on 14th October 1995.
© David Rostance - All rights reserved.
A little memento from the late lamented Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway, which operated its very own fleet of locomotives to compliment the locomotives provided by the London Midland & Scottish Railway as well as the Southern Railway. These included a fleet of 2-8-0 locomotives designed along similar principals to that of LMS goods engines.
Today two of these locomotives continue to exist, and one is seen here in the form of Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway 7F number 88, working a train from Minehead to Bishops Lydeard at Stogumber.
The other preserved locomotive is classmate 7F number 89, which now resides at the Midland Railway in Butterley.
Many thanks to my brother for taking this photo, I was at the other end of the station chatting.
"Britannia Class" British Railways Standard Class 7 70013 'Oliver Cromwell' seen on a visit to Portsmouth in July 2009 on a Cathedrals Express Charter operated by WCRC with Class 37 37706 at the rear as a back up locomotive.
Fifty five Standard Class 7s were built in the early 1950s and they lasted until the very last day of steam operation in 1968 and two examples have survived into preservation, 70000 which is currently based in Crewe and is mainline certified. 70013 is currently awaiting an overhaul at the Great Central Railway but holds the distinction of hauling the final steam operated train on BR the 'Fifteen Guinea Special' from Liverpool to Carlisle on August 11th 1968, 45110 took the charter to Manchester where 70013 took over for the remainder of the journey to Carlisle.
David's excellent shot of The 143 ton British Railways Standard Class 7MT 4-6-2 Pacific (better known as the Britannia class) number 70000 'Britannia' at speed with safety valves open through Chelmsford station with the 10:23 1Z70 Liverpool Street Norwich 'Great Eastern 150' railtour, October 10th 2012.
Super shot by David and posted here with kind permission.
Preserved British Railways Standard 'Britannia' Class 7MT 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotive 70013 'Oliver Cromwell' working the 1Z70 10:20 (11:37 6L) London Liverpool Street- Norwich 'The Cathedrals Express' railtour on February 22nd 2018 at Kelvedon Station on the Great Eastern Main Line in Essex (UK).
An old friend of mine, 70013 is a very special steam locomotive. It is one of only two surviving 'Britannia's' in preservation out of 55 locomotives built.
70013 was built at British Railways Crewe Works in May 1951 and delivered to Norwich Crown Point Depot soon after and ran on the the London to Norwich Great Eastern Main Line until 1963.
70013 was then transferred to Carlisle Kingmoor depot and this actual locomotive ran the very last steam passenger train prior to the withdrawal of steam altogether on British Railways on August 11th 1968.
The very next day August 12th 1968 'she' arrived back in East Anglia en route for a new home at Bressingham Steam Museum at Diss in Norfolk.
Restoration to bring 'her' back to steam began in 2004 at the Great Central Railway Loughborough and on August 10th 2008 'Ollie' was back on the mainline for the first time in 40 years.
I've been hauled behind 'Ollie' several times including on the mainline and the locomotive features heavily in my flickr photostream.
The wreath is in commemoration of well known former Eastern Region railwayman Richard 'Dick' Hardy who passed away on February 19th 2018.
Unfortunately 70013 was 44 minutes late after limping into Norwich with a hot big end bearing which ended Ollie's participation in the return leg of the railtour back to London Liverpool Street.
www.flickr.com/photos/stuart166axe/tags/70013/
Photograph taken by and copyright of my regular photostream contributor David and is posted here with very kind permission.
Preserved British Railways Standard 'Britannia' Class 7MT 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotive 70013 'Oliver Cromwell' plus support coach working the 5Z13 11:03 (14:56 63L) Norwich Train Care- Southall Loco Services Ltd. empty 'NPCSS' transfer movement at Hatfield Peverel Station on the Great Eastern Main Line in Essex (UK) on February 28th 2018.
70013 is returning to Southall after repairs at Norwich after big end wheel bearing failure which ended Ollie's participation in the return leg of 'The Cathedrals Express' railtour back to London Liverpool Street on February 22nd 2018.
An old friend of mine, 70013 is a very special steam locomotive. It is one of only two surviving 'Britannia's' in preservation out of 55 locomotives built.
70013 was built at British Railways Crewe Works in May 1951 and delivered to Norwich Crown Point Depot soon after and ran on the the London to Norwich Great Eastern Main Line until 1963.
70013 was then transferred to Carlisle Kingmoor depot and this actual locomotive ran the very last steam passenger train prior to the withdrawal of steam altogether on British Railways on August 11th 1968.
The very next day August 12th 1968 'she' arrived back in East Anglia en route for a new home at Bressingham Steam Museum at Diss in Norfolk.
Restoration to bring 'her' back to steam began in 2004 at the Great Central Railway Loughborough and on August 10th 2008 'Ollie' was back on the mainline for the first time in 40 years.
I've been hauled behind 'Ollie' several times including on the mainline and the locomotive features heavily in my flickr photostream.
www.flickr.com/photos/stuart166axe/tags/70013/
My Hatfield Peverel Railway Station album flic.kr/s/aHsjD3AKYz
Photograph taken by and copyright of my regular photostream contributor David and is posted here with very kind permission.