The Often Forgotten Tale of the Peaks

when these locomotives emerged onto the mid region way back in 1959 the route they were allocated to was in shambles however despite working through the darkest period of the Midland main lines history and with the shadow of closure looming overhead the class 44 45 and 46 peak locomotives helped to keep this forgotten part of the British railway network afloat for nearly 30 years saving a vital connection between central England and London the Midland main line of the four primary routes heading north out of London has often been seen as the seldom remembered secondary intercity route while the West Coast and East Coast main lines prided themselves on their speed and luxurious Express trains and the Chilton mainline formed part of the venerable Great Western Railway the Midland was a comparatively slow and quiet railway that winded its way through to Leicester Derby Nottingham Sheffield and Leeds in 1948 the former operator of the Midland and West Coast main lines the London Midland and Scottish railway or LMS was nationalized by the Atlee government to form the Midland region of British Railways at the time while the LMS is premier fleet of Staniel locomotives were the core of West Coast services out of London trains from the Magnificent London st. Pancras station on the Midland mainline were hauled by a motley crew of secondary passenger and mixed traffic engines including fowler class 4p lms ivett class 4 and lms tania class 5 for 6 o's the comparatively light traffic on the Midland mainline though did allow for testing of Britain's first-ever mainline diesel engines upon its rails the two LMS prototypes ten thousand and ten thousand and one ten thousand and ten thousand and one were part of the LMS is innovative attempts to introduce diesel and electric traction on its mainline and suburban network and were powered by sixteen hundred horsepower English Electric twelve SVT diesel electric engines that push the pair to a top speed of 93 miles an hour this was at the time a spectacular feat but sadly the LMS wouldn't be able to take credit for the latest success of these engines as when released from the Derby works in December 1947 nationalization was only three weeks away upon the formation of British Railways the two engines were reclassified as British Rail class d16 1 and following initial testing 10,000 began working Express trains between London st. Pancras and Derby from February 1948 while 10,001 started work on the Derby to Manchester Central Services the pair's use on the Midland mainline was unfortunately short-lived as in late 1948 both engines were withdrawn for modifications before being transferred away in June 1949 to the west coast to operate services between London Euston in Glasgow regardless these two prototypical designs had proven that diesel traction on both the Midland and the mainline was a viable concept for intercity trains and would go on to form the basis of future British Railways policy in the following decade [Music] in 1955 British Railways drafted the modernization plan a radical development scheme which would see the replacement of thousands of steam engines with a slew of brand-new diesel and electric locomotives combined with a rolling electrification scheme on a majority of Britain's main lines however the plan despite being a unified effort by British Railways to introduce locomotives that were ostensibly available for use on all regions ended with most of the classes built being dictated by the requirements or demands of individual regions a contributing factor as to why there were so many classes of locomotive built for instance the western region which EE considered itself a continuation of the famous Great Western Railway adopted a policy of diesel hydraulic transmission only resulting in the famous clasts 35 high Mex class 42 warships and class 52 westerns while the aforementioned diesel hydraulic transmission provided lighter and faster locomotives as opposed to the comparatively lumbering diesel electric traction it was generally the policy of British Rail to consider diesel electric due to it being cheaper and less cumbersome to operate as such the tender was put out to be ours Derby works to draw up plans for a prospective locomotive their experience with the two LMS prototypes of the 1940s having put them on an even keel for power British Rail turned to Swiss engine manufacturer Salzer to develop the locomotives prime mover at the time salsa's front line locomotive engine design was the LDA series which began production way back in around 1938 after successful use in the French SNCF class CC 65 500 and the Romanian Railways CFR class 60 the LDA series which consisted of a single Bank 8 cylinder engine was deemed suitable for the task initially the souls are Lda 31 engines used by the SNCF and romanian locomotives were found to be too large to fit inside a British locomotive due to the restrictive loading gauge of the UK network therefore souls are developed to scale down variant dubbed the LDA 28 however despite reductions in size the engine was still comparatively large especially when coupled with the Crompton Parkinson GC 4 - 6 - a 1 main generator as a result of the power plants weight the body and chassis required significant framing and support even before fitting the engine with auxilary equipment Train heating boilers water and fuel due to the tremendous load eventually coming in at 135 tonnes the original plan to have the locomotive be of a 2 axle configuration was increased to 4 giving the locomotive 16 wheels to carry its heavy internal workings the significant weight of the locomotive was a somewhat crippling factor in the engines route availability therefore it could only be restricted to certain sections of the mainline wear track could suitably support the Titanic machine construction of the new soldier type force began in 1958 and by early 1959 the first four locomotives were nearly completed in the summer of that year the pilot locomotive d1 was noted as being under test around the Derby area but little is known about whether any initial teething issues needed to be addressed during this early stage eventually the locomotive made its debut at Carlile station on July 14 1959 being named scaffold Pike the highest mountain in England by sir Fergus Graham Lord Lieutenant of Cumberland the naming of these locomotives after mountains and peaks would be a theme of the class hence these engines being affectionately dubbed the peak class latterly the class would follow the tradition of naming locomotives after British army regiments after continued testing d1 officially entered service on September 5th 1959 being allocated to Camden motivepower Depot in North London the initial class of soldier type fours comprised of ten locomotives with d10 being delivered to Camden shed on February 20th 1960 operations for the type fours later designated class 44 under the top system saw them employed on top expresses along the Midland mainline to Leicester Derby Nottingham and Sheffield of note was the early morning service from the former midland railway terminus at manchester central to london st. Pancras returning on a mid afternoon train this early morning train would later fall under the auspices of the venerable though unsuccessful Midland Pullman sets as the class 44s continued to gather a sturdy reputation for reliability and speed far exceeding the steam locomotives that came before them be ours Derby works began development into the even more powerful class 45s which were to form the mainstream fleet of Midland mainline diesel operations to aid in the construction of the 127 locomotive order be ours works at Crewe were also commissioned to deliver the fleet the class 45s were virtually identical to the class 44 but featured an increase in power output from the marine types low revving Salzer 12 LD a 28 B diesel engine as opposed to the preceding class 44 which provided 2300 horsepower the class 45 was up to 2,500 horsepower the result was a locomotive capable of reaching a top speed of 90 miles an hour as opposed to the class 40 for 75 miles an hour as well as featuring improved acceleration the first class 45s entered service on the midland region in late 1960 on the midland these locomotives became the prime motive power for services out of London some Pancras demoting steam on this route to either humdrum freight operations or the scrapyard the final variant of peak locomotives followed in 1961 where the Derby works took the class 45 and went about fitting it with a variety of mechanical modifications while the body shell and solar engine are identical the locomotive was fitted with an upgraded generator in traction motors developed by the Loughborough based brush company replacing the previous Crompton Parkinson equipment fitted to the class 45 designated class 46 this new class of locomotives and their revised mechanics differed very little from the preceding class 45 being still rated at 2,500 horsepower and maintaining a top speed of 90 miles an hour as such the somewhat minor differences between the two classes meant that class 46 production was curtailed at 56 locomotives becoming the last of the peak classes to be built in 1963 with a fleet of 183 superior class 45s and 46 is now in service the small company of 10 class 44s quickly fell into the void of non-standard design with more than enough of their brethren to cover their presence on passenger workings the class 44s began trials as freight locomotives from June 1960 with d8 being tested in conjunction with be our standard 9f number 92153 on coal trains out of totin in Nottingham in 1962 the class underwent major modifications to remove their steam heating boilers and their engines were retrofitted with supercharged air coolers to bring their total power output to 2,500 horsepower in May of the same year the entire class 44 fleet was allocated to totin and in conjunction with five brand new class 46 EES took over on the which nur to wash wood Heath freights the class 44 s would spend the rest of their working lives at totin hauling coal trains their range only dictated by the route knowledge of allocated drivers as for class 45 and 46 s these have become the powerhouses of the Midland region as well as supplementing the TransPennine Express services between Liverpool Manchester Leeds York and Hull of note jur in this period was the minor celebrity role of class 45d 6d live in sentence as it hold the final through passenger train on the famous waverly route between Edinburgh and Carlisle via Hoyt the class were also regular performers on the cross-country network between Leeds Sheffield Derby Birmingham Bristol Exeter and Plymouth working long distance summertime Express services to the resort's of Devon and Cornwall and class 45 and 46 s could often be seen working trains along the seawall at Dawlish in Timnath on their way to paintin Plymouth nuki in Penzance back on the Midland mainline itself however the situation was somewhat bleak gieux largely two decades of neglect throughout the 1960s plans had been drafted to close London st. Pancras station and transfer the few Midland mainline passenger services to either Kings Cross or Euston if not for the outcry of famous poets Sir John Betjeman and the huge public support he was able to garner for the station's continued use the Magnificent terminus would likely have been demolished by 1970 sadly while the station and route did get a reprieve the Midland mainline quickly became Britain's Forgotten Trunk Railway though attempts were made to improve the speed of the East and West Coast main lines in the 1970s the Midland was left to languish with a deteriorating network of points signals and track work that dated back to the end of the Victorian era the coaching stock was dirty and decrepit while service patterns aside from Mane expresses between London Darby Nottingham and Sheffield was sporadic and unreliable in July 1968 direct services between London and Manchester central ceased when the through route was closed leaving just the core services around the East Midlands and Derby dales during this period while the class 45s and 46 has proved to be strong and dependable stalwarts on the few remaining passenger operations they reduced service patterns meant that many were relegated to the bread-and-butter work of Freight class 46 s were especially prone to freight work with a small fleet based in Cornwall for use on the china clay traffic around lost with Yilan pas aside from their Midland engagements the remainder of the class was stretched across the heart of England from Gateshead in the northeast to Bristol and Plymouth in the southwest however the 1980s proved to be the beginning of the end for this sizeable but seldom remembered fleet of locomotives in November 1980 the last of the class 44s were withdrawn after twenty-one years of service having been replaced by a new fleet of class 47 and 56 s on their various Freight duties of [Music] the ten built only two would survive into preservation as for class 45 and 46 operations while several had been written off due to accident damage a vast majority of class 45s remained hard at work but class 46 operations were dwindling the non-standard nature of this 56 strong fleet of class 46 locomotives meant they were singled out for withdrawal early on from 1980 to 1983 most of the class were retired as the influx of more standard diesel locomotives such as class 47 s started making inroads into the fleet both on passenger and freight workings in 1980 alone thirty-eight locomotives were withdrawn and scrapped this would be compounded from May 1983 with the arrival of class 43 s in there intercity one to five sets on services between London Sand pancreas and the East Midlands while the HST s 125 mile now performance was largely curbed by the poor condition of the Midland main lines track work and signalling the benefits of removing loco hold operation from top line expresses was immediately apparent the HST s by comparison with smooth fast easier to operate and maintain and far more reliable than the increasingly decrepit fleet of peak class locomotives 1984 saw the end of the class 46 with the last seven members of the fleet meeting their end in November of that year however this wasn't before the spectacular demise of 4600 nine in July 1984 at the hands of the central electricity generating board or cegb after its withdrawal in October 1983 having worked a career of 22 years on expresses out of London's and Pancras 4600 9 was handed over to the BR research department under number 97 401 in November of that year allocated to totin the engine was sidelined for use in an upcoming crash test of the new flat roll DB five five zero zero one nine nuclear flask on July 17 1984 the locomotive and three Marquand coaches was allowed to run away on the old dolby test track reaching a speed of 90 miles an hour as it hurtled uncontrollably through the Leicestershire countryside ahead of it one of the flatter all nuclear flasks had been positioned across the track the flask having been filled with water to replicate radioactive material nearing its top speed the Train rounded the curve at the site of the former old Dolby train station and smacked head-on into the flask causing the class 46 to explode into a massive ball of flames and smoke the impact utterly destroyed both the locomotive and coaches but the flask while dented and scorched was otherwise undamaged with no leaks reported although Atomic Energy critics disputed that the test was far too staged to truly simulate the effects of such a crash 4600 9 was subsequently broken up on site with the class 45 now the sole remaining members of the peak classes left operating fees surprisingly continued to persevere throughout the decade while HSTs had been introduced on the cross country route in 1982 it wasn't uncommon to find Peaks working the line on secondary expresses as late as 1988 the replacement of the locomotives outdated steam heating boiler with electric train heating had helped these engines earned themselves a reprieve in a support role on other secondary routes TPE trains on the core route between Newcastle and Liverpool continued until 1987 after which the class 47s dominated the loco hold operations on this line in their final years Peaks or increasing relegation to freight operations with these locomotives frequently seen on intermodal and mixed traffic workings on the Midland and West Coast main lines in the end the acts had to fall when the last two class 45s were withdrawn from use and scrapped 45 106 Vulcan and 45 one to eight center 45 106 was in fact the last class 45 in operation in 1989 but caught fire on the 712 Derby to London st. Pancras on February 3rd 1989 bringing an end to the mighty Peaks [Music] happily though some of these locomotives would stay in scrap yards until as late as 1994 allowing a brief window of opportunity to preserve a few members of the fleet in total 2 class 44 s 11 class 45s and 3 class 46 s were saved for preservation of controversy though is the 12th class 45 that has survived into the 21st century 4501 5 while this locomotive is preserved it hasn't been restored having been kept at total depot as a spare stoner from its withdrawal in 1986 until 1999 in 2002 it was taken to the battlefield line with a view to restoring it but as of May 2020 the locomotive still sits rotting in the same location it has for nearly 20 years at shakka stone and chances are this empty hull will likely be sold for scrap overall the class 44 45 and 46 peak locomotives are among the few modernization plan era diesel locomotives that proved to be fairly successful machines helping to keep the decaying Midland mainline alive for over 20 years before the influence of the HST came to reverse its fortunes [Music] however if not for the issue of weight the class could have seen further distribution across the British rail network nevertheless the class proved against all adversity that they could easily and dutifully Power Express passenger and freight operations truly cementing themselves as the workhorses of the Midland region thanks again for watching this video if you enjoyed it why not leave a like and be sure to subscribe for more great content thank you very much take care and I'll see you next time

Channel: Ruairidh MacVeigh

Views: 299,230

Rating: 4.9199462 out of 5

Keywords: emu, diesel, express, multiple unit, rail, train, electric locomotive, passenger, shunter, trains, dmu, branch, diesel locomotive, class, engine, mainline, railways, steam locomotive, locomotive, freight, railway, track, Class 44, Class 45, Class 46, Sulzer Type 4, BR Derby Works, Derby Works, British Rail, Midland Main Line, UK, England, Britain, Great Britain, United Kingdom, London St Pancras, Derby, Leicester, Sheffield, Nottingham, MML, HST, High Speed Train, InterCity 125, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s

Id: uwMQHM-JdLs

Length: 21min 46sec (1306 seconds)

Published: Sat Jun 06 2020