HOLBECK LOW LEVEL:
 Class A3 No 60081 Neil Gow passes the
disused platforms at Holbeck Low Level with the 'up' 'Thames Clyde Express'
in May 1961. The lattice signal gantry at Geldard Junction on the right
controlled traffic to Wellington Street Goods Depot and Leeds Central
station. On the left are sidings serving the gasworks, and in the middle
distance the former MR Wortley Junction signalbox. The name Wortley Junction
is now given to the present day divergence of the Harrogate line from the
lines to Skipton and Ilkley near Armley Bridge. For the record, Holbeck Low
Level station - once a popular haunt for spotters - closed on July 5th 1958. |
 ARMLEY CANAL ROAD:
Never has BR been in more need of friends than during the
1960s, yet rarely can it have shown a more blatant disregard for rail
travellers than it did with its clumsy implementation of line closures. The
idea that BR's financial ills could have been cured by Beeching's mandate
for re-shaping Britain's railways was one of the most blatant heresies ever
perpetrated. It may well have achieved some savings, but due to the large
number of station closures involved, Beeching succeeded in removing an
integral part of the rail network. Here, a 3-car Metro-Cammell unit forming
the 14.40 Leeds-Bradford Forster Square service pauses at Armley Canal Road
in June 1962. The station closed on 22 March 1965. |
 KIRKSTALL FLYOVER:
Favourite locations? At the turn of the century, the MR
increased the main line north of Leeds to four tracks in order to segregate
local Leeds-Bradford trains from through traffic to Scotland over the
Settle-Carlisle line. The giant cooling towers and twin chimneys of Kirkstall Power Station dominate the fly-over junction as Class 4F No 44234
heads an 'up' train towards Leeds in August 1961. |
KIRKSTALL FLYOVER:
 By March 1982, the fly-over junction and cooling towers
have gone, whilst the power station buildings and chimneys were demolished
soon after. Now overgrown with trees and bushes, a Metro-Cammell dmu heads
towards Leeds. Today the shrubbery is impenetrable, and it's impossible to
get an up-to-date shot from the same spot - unless you're equipped with a
petrol-driven chain saw! |
 |
 KIRKSTALL FLYOVER:
Fairburn 2-6-4T No 42189 heads the Bradford portion of
the 'down' Devonian over the fly-over junction at Kirkstall. For operational
reasons the NER adopted a policy of using tank engines on express workings
between Leeds and Bradford to avoid the untidy operation of reversal; hence
No 42189 was photographed later that same day working bunker first on a
return working to Leeds. |
 KIRKSTALL FLYOVER:
During the Sixties, the
railway photographer learned very quickly that due to the absence of a smoke
effect - an integral part of steam photography - shots of diesels were often
soulless affairs. This photo of 'Peak' class D30 heading the down 'Waverley'
on 29 June 1961 is dominated by the power station, and though the background
may not be entirely satisfactory, I can't imagine the picture with it. |
KIRKSTALL FLYOVER:
 Despite the introduction of Derby Class 108 dmus on local
services between Leeds, Bradford, Ilkley and Skipton, the new railcars were
not the saviours as hoped, and on 22nd March 1965 seven intermediate
stations between Leeds and Bradford Forster Square were closed. Two years
later the Aire Valley route between Leeds and Shipley was reduced to two
tracks, retaining loops at Kirkstall for goods traffic. Here, 'Jubilee'
Class No 45593 Kolhapur gets the right away from the 'down' loop in June
1966.On the right, the unused fast lines are already rusting. In 1995, the
Aire Valley route linking Leeds, Ilkley, Skipton and Bradford Forster Square
was updated with multiple aspect signalling and 25kV overhead line equipment
- and, just recently I heard on the grapevine, that the increase in rail
traffic may justify quadrifying the route again! |
 KIRKSTALL
collage: |
FORGE LOCKS KIRKSTALL:
 The railway between Leeds and Bradford was opened by the Leeds & Bradford
Railway Company on 30th June 1846 - and, like the canal builders before it,
the civil engineers opted for using the natural contours of the Aire Valley
between Leeds and Shipley. Following reduction of the route to two lines,
the abandoned trackbed is still conspicuous today, particularly on bridges
where the line crosses the River Aire and Leeds & Liverpool Canal.
Construction of the canal involved more than ninety locks for the climb to
500ft above sea level just beyond Gargrave, including the Forge Locks at
Kirkstall - smack bang next to the railway, which, in steam days was a
favourite location for railway photography. Here 'Jubilee' class No 45562
Alberta heads the northbound 'Waverley' express. |
FORGE LOCKS, KIRKSTALL:
 The canal not only provided a vital transport link
for the woollen mills in the Aire valley, it was a popular venue for
fishermen. In fact, it's easy to see why fishing and train spotting were
popular outdoor pursuits for boys during the Fifties. The incentive that
drove my angling-mad schoolmates to fish their local stretch of
Leeds-Liverpool canal between Kirkstall and Rodley was the chance of a
'bite', whereas the reason I visited to the Leeds-Carlisle line was to bag a
few 'cops'. The only difference between us, if I had to find one, is that by
the very nature of the sport, anglers tend to be loners, and when they're
fishing in a competition it's not enough that they succeed; others must
fail. Train spotting was a much more companionable pursuit by in my view. We
were still driven by a Zion-style love of the great outdoors and being close
to nature; we were engaged in the same level of high-octane excitement and
long periods of suspenseful waiting, but instead of watching a float bobbing
on the water, the biggest thrill was hearing the tell-tale rustle of signal
wires which never failed to stimulate a sense of expectancy at what might
happen next. However, if anyone had told me that one day I'd get the chance
to photograph a 'Duchess' on the 'Caledonian' express, albeit in its
preserved form some twenty-odd years on in the Eighties, I'd never have
believed it!. |
 FORGE LOCKS, KIRKSTALL:
Colour shot of Peak at Forge Locks |
NEWLAY & HORSFORTH:
 The London-Leeds-Glasgow 'Thames Clyde Express' was
inaugurated in 1927, but lost its title at the end of the 74/75 timetable. A
second Anglo-Scottish train 'The Waverley' entered the MR timetable on June
17th 1957, but this was temporarily cut back to a Leeds-London service in
both directions in 1964. The 9.15 London St Pancras-Edinburgh 'Waverley' was
reinstated in 1965 up to closure of the Waverley route four years later, and
all through workings between London and Glasgow via the Midland main line
ceased in 1977. Both trains saw a variety of steam motive power before the
arrival of the new production 'Peaks' based at Holbeck shed in the Spring of
1961. The Rebuilt Scots reign at Holbeck shed was challenged when the
Britannia Pacifics arrived in 1959. Here, No 70044 Earl Haig heads the 'up'
Thames-Clyde Express through Newlay & Horsforth station between Leeds and
Shipley in June 1960. The cascading effect of dieselisation on the ECML saw
eight Class A3s transferred from Tyneside to Holbeck mpd. |
 NEWLAY
CUTTING:
As steam eked out its final days in a poor state of disrepair, it
became increasingly difficult for the operating department to find a
suitable steam locomotive with a power classification relative to its
train formation; either being too heavy or too light for the purpose.
The introduction of diesel multiple units offered a practical solution
to this problem as the engines of several railcars could be coupled
together to meet varying traffic needs, therefore the power available
became proportional to the length of the train. In this view, an
unidentified Black 5 heads a lightweight Carlisle-Leeds train alongside
an 8-car BRCW (Class 104) on a SO Bradford Forster Square-Scarborough
service near Newlay & Horsforth in June 1962. |
NEWLAY CUTTING:
 1960s:
In 1961, British Railways introduced a new train classification,
destination and identification system to assist signalmen in identifying
trains. The headcodes consisted of a four-character letter and numeral
display; the first number identifying the class of train, followed by a
letter indicating the destination, whilst the next two digits
represented the train reporting number. For example, a headcode starting
with a '1' denoted an express passenger train and the letter 'S'
represented the Scottish Region. Here, a familiar headcode on the Aire
Valley line - 1S68 - northbound 'Thames-Clyde Express' is
displayed in the headcode of 'Peak' class No D35 in Newlay cutting on
July 22nd 1961.
For the record, IM 86 denoted the southbound working - the 'M'
representing the LM Region. |
NEWLAY CUTTING:
 1980s:
When BR abandoned headcode panels in 1976, the operating handles were
removed and blinds set permanently at '0000'. The panels were finally
plated over, incorporating two marker lights. Such a configuration can
be seen on Class 47 No 47541 The Queen Mother heading the lightweight
16.10 Leeds-Carlisle - child's play for a Type 4 power. For the record,
HM Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother became the first member of the
Royal family to name a locomotive after herself at Aberdeen station on
Wednesday October 20th 1982. The nameplate of No 47541was unveiled
during a visit to the Granite City to attend a civic function. |
NEWLAY CUTTING:
 Now
I'm getting older, engaged in a losing battle with middle-age spread,
it's as if every wrinkle, every aching limb and every creaking joint is
an offence against nature, rather than nature taking its course. Most
men adopt an uncomplaining acceptance of growing old, yet there are
others who stubbornly refuse to give way to old age. Perhaps there's
still a sense of 1960s revolution in the air? I can devise no other
rational explanation for clambering down steep railway embankments in
search of places I visited as a teenager. After all, I was then in my
prime - a cocky, self-assured reprobate
 who
wasn't afraid to push the boundaries to see how
far I could go. Nowadays, my aching body is still complaining from
taking 'now and then' pictures in 2005. Instead I'll stick to carpet
slippers by the fireside and blow the dust of old steam train negatives
- it's a darned sight easier!. |
NEWLAY CUTTING:
 The Autumn colours of Swaines Wood (near Calverley
& Rodley) frame this photograph of an unidentified Class 4F 0-6-0 heading a
mixed freight towards Leeds in October 1961. Whilst lamenting the passing of
steam and the demise of the first-generation diesel fleet - 'Peaks',
'Whistlers', 'Deltics' - even dmus have their fans - there is no mistaking
the handsome outline of the American-built heavy freight locos that trundle
the network today. Taken in the cutting some forty-odd years on, Class
66 No 66566 heads an 'up' Freightliner train in July 2004.
 |
CALVERLEY & RODLEY:
 Back in the Fifties, an ex-Army & Navy
shoulder bag was an essential accessory for spotting trips. It contained jam butties the size of breeze blocks, 'fizzy' Tizer, an Ian Allan abc, notebook
and pencil - and a Kodak Brownie 127 camera. Sadly, the temptation to fill
the viewfinder with a speeding locomotives (to the exclusion of everything
else in the surroundings) inevitably ended up with a set of blurred shots,
and it wasn't until my dad suggested taking a step back from the action and
embracing more of the railway scene that my pictures improved. And thank
goodness I heeded his advice, because the railway network has changed out of
all recognition over the years and the general view often produces a more
interesting picture. Class 8F heads south past the
 carriage sidings which
are occupied by an assortment of LMS coaching stock awaiting their next
outing on excursion traffic. In the opposite direction, Midland Compound
No 41121 heads a Leeds City-Bradford Forster Square local train in July
1958. |
CALVERLEY & RODLEY:
Calverley & Rodley station lost its local passenger
service between Leeds-Bradford-Ilkley and Skipton on 22 March 1965. Again,
history has exposed the Government's mismatched enthusiasm for slashing the
rail network, because had the station survived, then the newly-formed
Passenger Transport Executive, whose prime objective it is to integrate
local road and rail passenger services in the Metropolitan County of West
Yorkshire, would have jumped at the chance of using this site for a 'park
and ride' facility, as it provides easy access to the busy A6120 Leeds
Ring. The WYPTE implemented during the local Government reshuffle of 1974. |
CALVERLEY & RODLEY:
 Bidding farewell to BR steam was like
saying goodbye to a close friend and a trip with a camera had real purpose.
On 9 July 1961, a handful of photographers gathered at Calverley & Rodley
station to record 'Duchess' No 46247 City of Liverpool working an RCTS S&C
special - a rarity in those days, since the 'Duchesses' were the almost
exclusive preserve of the WCML. Alas, I didn't get the picture I wanted, but
I was rewarded later in the day with this shot of a Class 8F heading an 'up'
freight in the opposite direction. The distant semaphore protects Apperley
Junction where the Ilkley line climbs at 1 in 60 to Esholt Junction at
Guiseley.
So what is this mysterious ailment that can cause grown men to grieve over
something as passé as steam? Are we possessed by some sort of psychological
demons, or suffering from what psychologists call post dramatic stress
syndrome? Too strong a metaphor? Maybe, but many spotters fervently hoped
that BR steam would survive much longer than 1968 - only it didn't, and
everything else that came afterwards was a poor second best. One of the
first contenders in the preservation stakes was Class A3 No 60103 Flying
Scotsman which hauled the 1.15pm Kings Cross-Leeds - its last
revenue-earning passenger train in BR traffic - in January 1963. Purchased
by Alan Peglar for £3K, the loco was restored to its original LNER Apple
Green livery. Six years later, No 4472 was rescued by Sir William McAlpine
from an ill-fated USA tour and brought back to England. Today the locomotive
in safe custody at the NRM at York. Here, the line is reduced to two tracks
as Flying Scotsman crosses the River Aire at Calverley at the head of a
Steamtown special in the early Eighties. |
CALVERLEY & RODLEY:
 The folly of youth! It's amazing the lengths to which some graffiti artist
will go to find an outlet for their work - motorway bridges seem to be a
favourite! So too are railway bridges. Well, the same lunatic tendency can
be said for the passionate student of railway photography, who'll go to any
lengths to bag that all illusive 'master shot'. Trouble is, perfection is
unattainable, so even our best shots come with failure built in. The reason
I've included this shot of the Leeds-Liverpool canal at Calverley and Rodley in 1962, is because it shows the now-demolished gasometer, which, at its
full height, provided a panoramic view of the Aire Valley
 line in both
directions. I can't believe I climbed to the top, but I did...I sat there in
full view of the public like a prized-lemon (there's no place to hide on top
of a gasometer!) but I did manage to bag this shot of a Black 5 heading
across the River Aire towards Leeds with an engineers train. I must've been
mad... |
APPERLEY BRIDGE & RAWDON:
 Snow
plough-fitted 'WD' No 90706 heads empty coal wagons between Thackley Tunnel
and Apperley Bridge in March 1961. The design and construction of the 'WD'
(War Department) 2-8-0s was prepared by R.A. Riddles CBE, then Mechanical
and Electrical Engineer for Scotland, LMSR, and attached to the Ministry of
Supply as Deputy Director General of Royal Engineering Equipment.
 The
first batch of 'WDs' was built by the North British Locomotive Company in
1943 for general war service overseas. This was followed by a second batch
constructed at the Vulcan Foundry Ltd, and no fewer than 733 returned for
service on BR, with 261 going to the London Midland region, 260 to the ER,
109 to the NER, 49 to the WR and 54 to the ScR. The North British
locomotives were numbered 90000-90100 in the fleet whilst the Vulcan Foundry
locomotives were numbered 90422 to 90732
(the last to be built carried the name Vulcan high up on the cab side).
Although built for austerity conditions overseas, these locomotives played a
vital role in ordinary freight service on British Railways for many years.
In the opposite direction, 'Black 5' No 45230 makes heavy work of a
northbound coal train at Apperley Bridge & Rawdon - the station buildings
can be seen in the background. |
 APPERLEY
BRIDGE & RAWDON c1980s |
  THACKLEY
TUNNEL 1960s-80s: The LMS 6P5F 2-6-0 'Crab' was essentially a Hughes
design built under the direction of Sir Henry Fowler. The angled cylinders
necessitated raising the front portion of the running board which gave the
parallel boiler a squat appearance between the frames and earned the 245
members of the class the nickname 'Crabs'. The first engine didn't emerge
from Horwich works until after Hughes retired as CME of the LMS in 1925 and
his successor, Henry Fowler, made several changes to the original plans,
including the pairing of a much narrower tender. A group of spotters note
down the number of No 42895 heading a light parcels train out of Thackley
Tunnel between Leeds and Shipley in June 1963. In the opposite direction
(from above the tunnel mouth) an unidentified Class 40 heads a long rake of
empty mineral wagons towards Leeds in May 1981. |
ALL CHANGE AT SHIPLEY:
 With only a few weeks to go before the introduction
of 'Peak' class Type 4 diesels on the Anglo-Scottish expresses north of
Leeds, I managed to grab these shots of the transition from steam during an
afternoon's visit to the lineside at Shipley on 9 March 1961. It begins with
a BR Standard class 7MT 'Britannia' Pacific. Due to the relatively recent
construction of the class (between 1951 to 1954) they were able to withstand
the poor operating conditions to be found in the late Sixties, so it's
surprising that only two managed to survive the cutter's torch - Nos 70000
Britannia and 70013 Oliver Cromwell. The final batch of ten 'Britannias' Nos
70045-54 were coupled to the larger 9 ton capacity BR1D tenders which gave a
smoother airflow around the footplate than with the conventional tenders
with inset sides. The last of the batch, No 70054 Dornoch Firth heads the
southbound 'Waverley' towards Thackley Tunnel. The eagle-eyed viewer might
spot a Morris Minor 'Countryman' parked outside the Valley Scouring &
Carbonising Co. Ltd factory in the background. |
 SHIPLEY:
In the opposite direction, Class A3 No 60092 Fairway approaches Shipley
with
the 'down' 'Thames-Clyde Express'. |
SHIPLEY:
 Prior to the introduction of 'Peak' class Type 4 diesels on the
Anglo-Scottish expresses, BR introduced an intense crew training programme
between Leeds and Appleby, involving train crewmen at Leeds Holbeck. Before
diesel facilities were available at Holbeck, BR Sulzer Type 4s Nos D11-D14
were allocated temporarily to Leeds Neville Hill. Here, sporting a
stencilled train reporting number N580 on its nose, No D12 heads an
interesting collection of articulated coaching stock at Shipley on the
return run to Leeds on 9 March 1961. On occasions an EE Co Type 4 power was
borrowed for crew-training purposes north of Leeds. |
 SHIPLEY:
DMU Shipley, 1980s. |
 shipley
bradford junction 1956 & 1981 |
SALTAIRE:
 With Sir Titus Salt's mill complex at Saltaire dominating the
background, an early liveries Class 108 2-car set with front end chevron and
white roof approaches Shipley on the Skipton-Leeds service in June 1961.
Saltaire village is regarded as one of the finest examples of an intact
Victorian Industrial Village and designated a conservation area by the
Department of Environment. Saltaire station was demolished soon after
withdrawal of local passenger services in 1965. The service was resumed in
1984 when the WYPTE financed a new station built generously in local stone
to comply with the conservation standards laid down for the ten-acre 'Palace
of Industry'. |
 SALTAIRE:
This snatched shot of a couple of 'old geezers' watching the rebuilding work
taking place in 1984 has a certain timeless quality about it. It could've
been taken in the Forties - I wonder what they're saying? place. |
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