Variety on the Great Central
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Variety on the Great Central
THE ANNESLEY ROYAL SCOTS
Complete Annesley allocation Jan.1948 - Jan.1966
Ashpit arrivals 1/11/1962 and 13/2/1964
THE ANNESLEY "DIDO"
Profile of drivers Joe Barber and Tommy Wilson
ANNESLEY TO WOODFORD
Annesley "9F's" on passenger work....
Annesley Locomotive Photo Gallery
The Annesley "running board" 31/3/64
DRIVERS AND FIREMEN LINK BY LINK - 17/02/1958
Where are they now?
Visiting engines
Signal boxes
Annesley Locomen (and others)
Official visit to Annesley MPD. 4th March 1961
Great Central Accidents

Between 24th February and 9th May 1964

Culminating in the visit of 46251 “City of Nottingham” on May 9th 1964, the previous 12 weeks (the only weeks I have the records for!) saw some very unusual engines / workings sent out by Annesley MPD. The grapevine not being what it is today, the majority of these went unseen and unphotographed by the spotters of the day. Here are some of the more unusual ones…

• 44782 of Agecroft (26B) worked the 01.30 London on 24/25 February, (90632 of the same depot worked the 22.45 Wichnor on the same day).

• 73045 hauled 60022 “Mallard” to Woodford at 11.30 on Tuesday 25th.

• The 11.15 Marylebone parcels was hauled by 45557 “New Brunswick” of Burton (17B) on Thursday 27th. Holbeck (55A) “Black Five” 44849 was on the 13.00 Annesley – Burton – York on the same day.

• 45557 and 44849 were back on Saturday 29th to work the 01.30 London and 07.40 Rugby (2B59) respectively. • Wednesday 4th March saw 92226 of 86A (Newport Ebbw Junction) on the 13.45 Annesley – Woodford. Although not unusual, York “V2’s” 60982 & 60855 hauled the 02.20 Sleeper and the 08.15 to London the same day.

• The 5th, 6th & 7th March saw a Caprotti “Black Five” 44741 of Speke Junction (8C) on the 01.30 London.

• On Monday 9th March a rarity in the form of “8F” 48175 of Mold Junction (6B) was booked to work 8X96 E.C.S. but I don’t know where to!

• “Hall” 7912 “Little Linford Hall” (84C) 21.00 Light Engine to Woodford on Thursday 12th.

• On Friday 13th, “Brit” 70049 “Solway Firth” of Crewe North (5A) made a welcome return to Annesley to work the 17.15 to London. She repeated this the following day. Also 90316 of Springs Branch Wigan (8F) worked a 12.30 special to Rotherwood.

• Two rare “WD” 2-8-0’s appeared at Annesley on Monday 16th – 90689 from Bolton (9K) and, even more unusual, 90515 of Dunfermline (62C)!

• A Leeds Holbeck (55A) “Jubilee”45739 “Ulster” worked the 8B52 16.25 Annesley – Woodford on Tuesday 17th March and a Birkenhead (6C) “8F” 48260 departed with the 20.40 Ickles.

• 45739 returned to work the 08.15 London on Wednesday 18th.

• Friday 20th saw 45739 on the 07.40 Rugby, while the heavier 08.15 London was hauled by “Black Five” 45137 of Speke Junction (8C)!

• Friday 20th saw 45739 on the 07.40 Rugby, while the heavier 08.15 London was hauled by “Black Five” 45137 of Speke Junction (8C)!

• This working must be the rarest of the rare...”Hall” 7926 “Willey Hall” of Worcester (85A) worked 8B49 the 14.30 Annesley – Woodford on Saturday 21st March.

• An eventful day on Wednesday 25th, with a 52A (Gateshead) “V2” 60904 on the 02.20 sleeper, “Jubilee” 45704 “Leviathan” (5A) on the 7F02 09.48 Annesley – Leicester and “4MT” 43063 of Heaton Mersey (9F) on an Officers Special.

• Thursday 26th March saw a rare class of engine (for Annesley) in the shape of “2MT” 46490 of Bescot (3A). She departed at 03.15 L/E to Burton. 45704 “Leviathan” also returned to work the 08.15 London.

• No surprises over the Easter period, but Thursday 2nd April saw another Gateshead (52A) “V2” 60976 on the 02.20 sleeper, and a throwback to earlier times, Colwick (40E) “B1” 61281 on the 07.40 Nottingham – Rugby.

• Although she would become a regular in the Autumn of 1965, 70052 “Firth of Tay” was a Crewe (5A) engine when she worked the 08.15 London on Saturday 4th April, followed by a definite surprise – “B1” 61019 “Nilghal” of 52A Gateshead on the 17.15 London.

• Monday 6th April saw a “B1” on both the 07.40 Rugby and the 08.15 London! 61250 “A Harold Bibby” of Doncaster (36A) and, from even further afield, 61161 of Wakefield (56A)! Not to be outdone, they were followed later in the day by 61218 of Ardsley (56B) on the 18.15 Rugby.

• 61019 was a busy bee the next day – she worked 8B30 the 03.30 Annesley – Woodford and the 18.15 Nottingham – Rugby. Meanwhile Annesley “Scot” 46163 “Civil Service Rifleman” was relieving 7029 “Clun Castle” at Leicester Central to work a Locospotters Special to Doncaster Works.

• The only unusual working on Wednesday 8th was a Holbeck (55A) Black Five 44983, on the 18.15 Rugby. She reappeared two days later on the 17.15 London.

• Crewe (5A) “Jubilee” 45556 “Nova Scotia” appeared on Friday 10th April with the 01.30 London.

• Wednesday 15th April saw a Saltley (21A) “Black Five 45263 on the 08.15 London.

• There would have been a few surprises for the dedicated spotter on Saturday 18th. “B1” 61144, an Immingham (40B) engine worked the 01.30 London, and a Derby (17A) “Black Five” 44659 was on the 07.40 Nottingham – Rugby. A double-chimneyed “V2” 60963 (50A), working the 11.15 Nottingham – Neasden returning newspaper empties was held at Leicester Central to let 4472 “Flying Scotsman” pass with a GC Railtour to Marylebone. The rarest “cop” of the day, however would have been “Hall” 6945 “Glasfryn Hall” of Cardiff East Dock (88L) which arrived at Annesley at 04.00 and was immediately sent home via Woodford!

• 61144 was at work again on Monday 20th April with the 07.40 all stations to Rugby.

• Another Ardsley (56B) engine was promoted to class “A” work on Tuesday 21st with “B1” 61259 working the 17.15 Marylebone.

• The only other workings of note that week were 92011 hauling”A4” 60008 “Dwight D Eisenhower” as far as Woodford on Thursday 23rd, and Rowsley (17C) Caprotti-fitted “Standard Five” 73138 on 1X55 the 07.15 Nottingham – Wembley on the 25th.

As if to make up for all the “different stuff”, the next two weeks produced nothing out of the ordinary, apart from Monday 27th April saw “9F” 92240 of Southall (81C) work 8B52, the 16.25 Annesley – Woodford. The only other unusual depots featured at Annesley, all working back northwards were: 8E Northwich (48702); 53A Hull Dairycoates (90272); 55A Leeds Holbeck (44983 & 45211); 55D Royston (44912 & 48070) and 55E Normanton (90699).

The period under review culminated in the epic appearance of 46251 “City of Nottingham” arriving on Annesley shed at 15.35 on Thursday 7th May to work the 1X36 railtour to Swindon.

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