Locomotive PowerFor a line of its kind motive power on the York-Beverley, especially between York and Market Weighton, was surprisingly varied. Many different classes from a wide variety of depots could be seen, especially on summer Saturdays when holiday trains brought foreign locomotives to the line. For normal services passenger power was largely supplied by York and Hull Botanic Gardens or Dairycoates sheds. Passenger duties were often entrusted to engines displaced from the East Coast main line by larger or more modern types. This usually meant York turning out any engine they had available, which was especially prevalent during the first half of the 20th Century. By the 1880's Fletcher NER class 901 2-4-0's had command of most faster trains but a large contingent of the 675 class, built during the 1870's, was still stationed at Hull and these outside framed 2-4-0's would often venture on to the line with six or seven four-wheeled coaches for the stoppers. They were not particularly strong engines and would be struggling on the 1 in 151/160 grades of the Beverley-Market Weighton section. All were withdrawn and scrapped by 1890. The
901 Class, Fletcher's masterpiece and a supremely beautiful piece of nineteenth
century locomotion design in a splendour of brasswork and gorgeous colouring which
to judge from contemporary photographs were kept in beautifully clean condition.
Colours were rich but not gaudy. The basic green almost exactly the same as that of the GNR a little darker in appearance than the pea green of late NER days. Beautifully set off by the myrtle-green surround on the tender and cab sides and the broad dark bands on the boiler barrel are most effective. The underframes are painted a claret colour. The coupling rods, levers to the Salter safety valves and the reversing rod are all painted red. The latter passes through the right hand driving wheel splasher and can be seen through the slotted openings on the splasher itself. Basic dimensions were: leading wheels 4 ft. 6 in. dia, coupled wheels 7 ft. diameter, cylinders 17 in. by 24 in., increased to 17½ in. in 1880-82, total heating surface 1,208½ sq. ft., grate area 16 sq. ft., boiler pressure 140 lb. per sq. in.. The footplate fittings are simple with the inside of the cab lined with stained and polished wood Green was the basic colour for all NER engines, similar to the Great Northern under Patrick Stirling, but the lining out was different at each works. Their engines carried large brass number plates on the rear driving splasher or the lower cab panels of single wheelers. Gateshead, Darlington and Leeds were unanimous in painting the backgrounds of these plates vermilion, while York added a green background.
Also appearing up to their extinction in 1920 were the NER McDonnell 4-4-0's, following displacement from main line work. But it was Wilson Worsdell's class R and R1 4-4-0's (LNER D20) which added a little speed and style and became the mainstay of heavier trains in the inter-war years and even in the 1950's one would regularly work the 7.13 PM from York.
In service for a short period from 1925 was a prototype petrol-electric railcar, No. 2105Y. On 21 September 1922 the Chief Mechanical Engineer of the NER was authorised to spend £2,500 on the construction of a rail motor coach. On 19 October 1922 he purchased a six-cylinder, 105 h.p. @ 1200 rpm Daimler engine for £159 10s 0d from the Slough Trading Estate Co. Ltd. The railcar was built at York and turned out in July 1923 as LNER No. 2105Y. It had seats for 40 passengers arranged in pairs on each side of a centre gangway in a saloon 23 ft. long. The engine was mounted in a compartment 7 ft. 6 in. long which also accommodated the driver when at that end of the car. This engine end was carried on a bogie with 2 ft. 6 in. diameter wheels. The drive from the engine was taken via a multiple disc fibre and steel clutch, through a three-speed gearbox, and then a propellor shaft with two universal joints to a single pair of wheels, 3 ft. 6 in. in diameter, at the other end. Reverse was obtained by means of two bevel gears permanently in mesh with a bevel wheel on the end of the propellor shaft, with a double dog clutch acting between the bevels. The final drive was by spur gearing to the driving axle. Wheel base was 27 ft. 0 in.. A driving compartment was provide at the driven end where the engine and Westinghouse brake controls were duplicated. Buffing and normal drawgear was not provided, although there were facilities for towing in case of a breakdown. The length over headstocks was 38 ft. and over body 38 ft. 0¾ in., Height was 12 ft. 9 in., width over body 8 ft. 6 in. and over handles 8 ft. 7¾ in. Weight in working order 17 tons. 5 cwt. A radiator was provided at each end. At the engine end it was between the top of the frame and the waist , while at the other it was above waist level. It was renumbered 22105 in August 1926 and continued to work services around York until 22 September 1930 when closure of stations on the Scarborough line left it with little work to do. Not known if it was on the Pockington run after 1925. It was transferred to Hull where it was rostered to work from 1 May 1932 until being finally withdrawn from service on 19 May 1934. Four years after the formation of the LNER, in 1927, Sir Nigel Gresley introduced his class D49 standard 4-4-0, known by the crews as rough riders, for secondary passenger work the "Shires" or "Hunts" which eventually took over most of the line's passenger work up to the introduction of diesel multiple units in 1957. Up to 1939 members of Class C7 4-4-2s were to be seen on some workings, though they were known to perform badly on any sort of gradient; in spite of this fact, however, they were pressed into use on goods trains over the line from Hull during World War Two and to be seen in some highly unusual locations such as on ballast trains on the Hull and Barnsley. With Dairycoates full of unwilling and expiring C7s and even more unwilling drivers, Botanic Gardens had a total of 15 D49s at one time. Before this the D49s had been the mainstay of running the Hull-Newcastle expresses over relatively flat terrain. York would often send much larger engines, with Raven class S3 4-6-0's (LNER B16) being the biggest to make occasional appearances. Hull Dairycoates also supplied B16s after it was decided to concentrate a large number of these engines there. These varied greatly in quality, the worst of them, more often than not found on day excursions being more wheeze than action. They eventually became more prominent until from the late 1950's they and their rebuilt sisters, classes B16/2 and B16/3, and the Thompson B1's, had taken over all remaining non-diesel work. The B16/1's were all withdrawn in 1961 but the rebuilds worked out their very last months almost exclusively on the line, on both passenger and freight trains, up to withdrawal in September, 1964. Between February 1934 and January 1936 4-6-2 Pacific No. 2401 City of Kingston Upon Hull was used on a number of occasions on the afternoon goods from York via Beverley to Hull although the return goods went via Selby and Church Fenton to avoid the need for turning at Dairycoates. This loco was disposed off in July 1936. A regular York B16 turn as late as 1963 was the 8.14 AM to Hull but at the end of that summer the entire York allocation was put into store or transferred to Hull. What must have been this famous class's last regular express passenger turn, which Dairycoates survivors worked on Saturdays during the 1964 summer, was the 11.10 AM Hull to Edinburgh, returning with the 3.20 PM express goods from York. Over the Christmas period B16s appeared on special parcel workings in the Hull and York areas to supplement the DMUs. Often engines from other areas of the LNER would be deployed on the line, including Great Central and Great Northern engines. Shortly after the Second World War a G. N. Ivatt Atlantic was noted leaving York on a Hull-bound passenger. Particularly interesting was the rostering of the time-honoured 10.05 AM express from York which continued as a Doncaster turn, worked by a North Eastern engine and crew outstationed there, until dieselisation. It was at one time formed of NER air-braked stock and if no NE air-braked loco was available, as was often the case, and as GN locos were only vacuum braked, a gleaming Great Eastern B12 4-6-0 would be purloined. From Hull, the engine returned to Doncaster with the Banbury fish. When all stock had been converted to vacuum braking, GN engines became more common on this turn, hence the Atlantic. One service which occasionally saw foreign engines was the 3.40 PM summer Saturday York to Hull, sometimes coming from such Eastern Region sheds as Colwick, Darnall and Lincoln, more than likely a B1 4-6-0, some of which had obviously never seen a shed cleaner for years. Nor was it unusual in the late 1950's and early 1960's for a London Midland Region engine, usually a Black Five, to work the 8.14 AM from York. These locos. would presumably be waiting time for return workings on York shed. However on 2nd July, 1960, it really excelled when Bristol (Barrow Road) "Jubilee" No. 45651 "Shovell" turned up on the service. Another rare visitor on 4th July, 1959, was V3 2-6-2T No. 67684, working the 12.08 PM from Hull. Although based at Hull and working regularly to Beverley, these locos were very rare on the York line. searched to here 29th July 1957 was the official date of the introduction of the DMU onto the Hull-York line, although some may have been running a few services before then. It was only partial and there were some loco hauled workings until the closure of the line. The DMUs were of a low density seating layout, much more spacious and comfortable compared with the high density suburban types delivered to other Regions. They had a good performance, acceleration and deceleration which meant faster schedules and cost up to 50% less than steam to operate, which was also assisted by an agreement for single manning of DMU driver's cabs from 1st January 1958. The
first DMUs were built as two-car units (Classes 105/6) by Cravens Limited of Darnall,
Sheffield that could carry 12 first class and 103 second class passengers But without doubt it was the summer Saturday holiday trains which brought the greatest variety. As well as the routine B1 and B16 4-6-0's, came class V2 "Green Arrow" 2-6-2's, K1 2-6-0's, K3 2-6-0's and Black Five, Jubilee and BR standard 4-6-0's. Engines from such diverse sheds as Saltley (Birmingham), Manchester, Liverpool Edge Hill, Leeds Farnley Jc. and Holbeck, Ardsley and Wakefield, and Gateshead and Heaton (Tyneside) would work through on excursions from all over the North and Midlands. One Saturday in the peak of the 1961 summer, unrebuilt "Patriot" 4-6-0 No. 45539 "E. C. Trench" of Manchester Longsight was noted on an extra from Filey Holiday Camp, while on 15th June, 1960, class pioneer No. 45500 "Patriot" ran light from Hull to York, and even 'Royal Scot' (Farnley) found itself parked back in a siding at Driffield, due to overcrowding at Bridlington on one occasion in the early 1960s. Occasionally even a Pacific would be put in charge of the Hull-Edinburgh or Filey Holiday Camp-Newcastle trains. In the 1963 summer these included Ardsley A3 No. 60038 "Firdaussi" and, on 17th August, York A1 No. 60121 "Silurian" on the 8.55 AM Filey Holiday Camp to Newcastle. A regular Hull Dairycoates K3 2-6-0 passenger working up to 1962 was the summer weekday 7.03 PM Filey to York. Following wholesale scrapping of this class later that year, both legs of this service were entrusted to DMU's for the final two years. Following dieselisation, multiple units of the four-car Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Co. type (today's class 104) were supplied by Leeds Neville Hill, and the two-car Cravens variety (class 105) by Hull Botanic Gardens, though examples from as far afield as Darlington, Gosforth, Bradford and Lincoln were by no means rare. Other types regularly used included Derby Works 3 car sets (class 108) and Metro-Cammell (class 101) three- and four-car units. The latter were certainly the best for appearance, good seating and riding quality. A Bradford or Manchester Newton Heath three-car class 110 set was regularly used on the Sunday York to Bridlington service. Diesel locomotives were generally introduced to the line's passenger services from 1960 with English Electric Type 4's (class 40) having regular command of the 5.16 PM York to Hull express and 7.38 PM return from 1962. They became the most common diesel class on the line, but for the first week of June, 1960, Sulzer Type 2 (class 24) No. D5096 regularly worked the 8.14 AM from York, being the first of its type on the line. Apart from occasionally working this service in subsequent years, these locomotives were also seen on holiday trains to the coast, sometimes doubleheading when the din must have been tremendous! New English Electric Type 3's (class 37) stationed at Hull Dairycoates mainly for freight work, also put in some work on passenger trains, particularly the 7.38 PM from Hull. In October, 1964, much larger diesel power was introduced when a Brush Type 4 (class 47) made several runs with the 5.40 PM from York. Another diesel variation appearing on summer Saturdays in 1963 were the Sulzer "Peak" Type 4's (class 46) working the 10.26 AM Newcastle to Filey Holiday Camp. Pocklington was the boundary between the York and Hull operating and engineering districts which meant that inspection saloons usually turned round there, bringing an interesting diversion from the normal routine. Until the mid-1930's Hull and York sheds had unusual 2-2-4T's rebuilt from NER "BTP" 0-4-4T's for this work, the York engines being class X3's Nos. 1679 and 190 and the Hull engine X2 No. 957. After this period it was a case of what was spare at the time, often a J39 0-6-0, an Ivatt class 4 or Standard class 3 2-6-0. In 1962, however, York turned out its newly-acquired Fairburn class 4 2-6-4T No. 42085 for inspection duty. X2 2-2-4T No. 66 "Aerolite" is in the Railway Museum at York. It was built in 1869 as a 2-2-2 well tank locomotive. It was rebuilt and enlarged three times, once in 1886, again in 1892 and finally in 1902. In 1892 the wheel arrangement was changed to 4-2-2T and the locomotive given compound cylinders, whereby the steam was taken to a single high pressure cylinder of 13 in. diameter and then to a second low pressure cylinder of 18 1/2 in. where further useful work could be performed by the steam. In 1902 the wheel arrangement was changed again to 2-2-4 to allow for a larger coal bunker. It remained in service in this form until 1933 and was used to haul the Chief Assistant Mechanical Engineer's official inspection saloon. Ended service based at Darlington. Regular
motive power for freight trains was initially provided by various NER 0-6-0's
but as trains became heavier, larger locomotives took over, such as NER "S"
series 4-6-0's (LNER B13-16) and class T1 0-8-0's (LNER Q5). However, a shortage
of freight engines at York in the inter-war years often saw 2-8-0's, 0-8-0's and
4-6-0's of Great Central origin on the line. With World War II came the thoroughly reliable and hardly ever cleaned Austerity or WD 2-8-0's. Allocated in large numbers to both York and Dairycoates sheds they then worked the line's heaviest freight turns right to the end. Lighter fast fitted freights were in the hands of K3 2-6-0's or B1 and B16 4-6-0's. From 1962 steam began to give way to new English Electric Type 3 diesels and it was a batch of these locos transferred from Thornaby to Hull which finally ousted the last B16's. Local freight trains continued to be worked by NER 0-6-0's right up to the 1960's when more modern classes took over the Hull to Bridlington pick-up, which also served the Market Weighton line, was a favourite for a Dairycoates class J25 until the stock of seven Ivatt class 4 2-6-0s or downgraded B1's took over. The York line was traditionally the preserve of NER P3 class (LNER J27) 0-6-0's, the favourites in later years being Nos. 65874/85/8/90/4. Normally the locomotive worked chimney first from York, returning tender first none too pleasant for the crew in bad weather. Most J27's were fitted with a canvas sheet draped from cab roof to tender which kept out the rain but sometimes the old Market Weighton 50 ft. turntable would be coaxed into action instead. From 1962 the J27's were replaced by Ivatt class 4's with protective tender cabs but these "Flying Pigs", Nos. 43014/55/71/97/43126/33/8 did not have a complete monopoly with K1 2-6-0's and B1 4-6-0's sharing the work. The pickup was a steam preserve to the last but in the spring of 1963 a brief unsuccessful attempt was made to introduce Sulzer Type 2 diesels. One most unusual visitor on the pickup early in 1963 was ex-Midland Railway 4F 0-6-0 No. 43906. Based at Royston, it still had "LMS" on its tender with the early BR lion and wheel just covering the "M". On one foggy morning early in 1962 class J39 0-6-0 No. 64867 of Malton was noted passing through Pocklington at speed with the returning pickup In 1931 and 1932 the 3.20 PM through goods from York was used as a test bed for the unique experimental Kitson-Still steam-diesel locomotive, definitely the most unusual locomotive to grace the line. Looking like a big 2-6-2T and privately built by Kitson's of Leeds in 1927, it combined the drawbar tractive effort of a steam locomotive with the economy of a diesel. It started by steam but ran on diesel once speed had reached 6 mph. Steam and diesel could be used together for extra power on steep gradients. The closely supervised dynamometer car trials began at Hull with the engine working first to York via Selby. At other times it was hauled by any engine York had available, often a stranger from the Southern Area, including Great Central 4-6-0s, 0-8-0s and 2-8-0s. From time to time exceptional weather conditions had a profound effect on motive power and locomotive workings. Traversing as it did much open countryside and the wild Yorkshire Wolds, the York-Beverley suffered the ravages of winter. In 1947 heavy drifting snow completely blocked the line at Londesborough cutting. A light engine sent to inspect the line ended up buried in the snow for several days until rescued by a snowplough and gangs of shovel-wielding platelayers. They managed to clear a single line between Nunburnholme and Londesborough which remained in force for some days with resulting heavy delays to trains. The floods which followed did not directly affect the York-Beverley line but high tides swamped the Hull-Selby line and cross-Pennine and other expresses had to be diverted via Market Weighton. This was repeated with the much more serious East Coast floods of 1952. In the harsh 1962/3 winter, severe frosts damaged much of the diesel fleet and York's B16's enjoyed a rather cold "Indian Summer" deputising on several diesel turns, including the 10.10 AM York-Hull express. It is interesting to note that quite a few locomotives which once worked the York-Beverley line have been preserved and can still be seen today. In 1986 former Dairycoates B1 4-6-0 No. 61306, which worked the last passenger train from Hull to York, was on the Great Central Railway at Loughborough as No. 1306 "Mayflower";; class K1 2-6-0 No. 62005, which was on the last York-Market Weighton pickup, and then the last literal pickup on the rail recovery train, was on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway along with P3 0-6-0 No. 2392 formerly J27 No. 65894;; Jubilee 4-6-0 No. 45593 "Kolhapur", a regular performer on summer Saturday trains at the Birmingham Railway Museum;; Fairburn 2-6-4T No. 42085 on the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway;; and X2 2-2-4T No. 66 "Aerolite" was in the Railway Museum at York. In 2009, class K1 2-6-0 No. 62005 was still based at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway but was on loan to other lines, including Barrow Hill Roundhouse in April. At some time in her history she has been given the name plate "Lord of the Lsles". P3 0-6-0 No. 2392 formerly J27 No. 65894 was also still based at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway but her boiler ticket has expired and she was on loan to Darlington as a static display. X2 2-2-4T No. 66 "Aerolite" is still in the Railway Museum at York. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||