'Black 5' to Birmingham

I consider myself fortunate to have experienced steam haulage on the main line when it was an everyday experience - when I was young, almost all the trains I saw were steam hauled! I'm just sorry I'm not able to give more details of these trips. I rarely noted even the engine number and dates and timings are usually not recorded. Sometime in the 1950s, one of my day trips was from Wolverhampton to Liverpool Lime Street.

I'd acquired a 'Clarion' portable tape recorder and hoped to make some sound recordings on the journey. The recorder was fairly basic - I would have liked a 'Uher', as used by the B.B.C., but that was way beyond my resources. The 'Clarion' recorder had capstan drive, giving nominally constant recording speed of three and three quarter inches per second (unlike the competing Grundig 'Cub' machine which simply drove the take-up spool at constant speed, giving a variable recording speed so that recordings could only be played back on the 'Cub'). However, 'wow' and 'flutter' performance was fairly poor. The microphone had no protection against wind so recordings at speed were fairly hopeless.

I don't remember the outward journey and can't tell you how I spent the day, although I'm sure to have walked to Pierhead at some point and probably made a trip on the Mersey Ferries. I'll try to describe what I remember of the return trip.

It was starting to get dark as I made my way back to Lime Street Station to catch a Birmingham train as far as Wolverhampton. The route (as it remains today) was through Runcorn to Weaver Junction where we would join the West Coast Main Line, then through Crewe to Stafford and finally onto the Stour Valley Line as far as Wolverhampton.

With a few minutes in hand before departure, I walked the length of the platform to check the motive power. It was a rather grubby 'Black 5' and I chatted to the friendly crew for a minute or two. I would have mentioned that I intended to make recordings on the journey. The first vehicle was a brake composite so I tucked myself in the corridor on the left near the leading door with the window wide open.

Click for larger image.
Not a 'Black 5' but otherwise a similar working from Liverpool Lime Street in 1959. LMS Fowler 6P 4-6-0 No. 45515 'Caernarvon' on the 10.05 express to Bournemouth West (Photo: Ben Brooksbank via Wikimedia Commons [CC-BY-SA-2.0]).

The colour light signal at the end of the platform came 'Off' and, about right time, the Guard gave the 'Right Away'. With a short whistle, the driver eased the regulator open and the train moved out across the pointwork at the station throat to reach the Up Fast line. There wasn't the trace of any slip as the driver 'opened her up' and the train settled into the 1 in 93 bank to Edge Hill. Originally this stretch had been a tunnel but it was then opened-out into a deep rock cutting, spanned by numerous bridges to carry the various roads. The crisp Stanier exhaust really echoed off the rock walls as we blasted up the grade.


Gradient diagram Weaver Junction - Liverpool Lime Street, with our starting point at Lime Street on the right.

We ran through the platform at Edge Hill at a fair speed and crossed to the 'South' Lines at Edge Hill No. 2 signal box, now running on the level. Looking to the left, there was just time to see the 'Waterloo' goods lines (leading through a tunnel under the city to the northern docks) and the extensive sidings before passing Edge Hill No. 3 signal box where we branched right onto the 'Crewe' lines. The curve, now rising again at climb of 1 in 93, took us under the 'Wapping Goods' lines and then, on our left, there was a view of the smoky gloom around Edge Hill Shed, with its distinctive coaling stage.


Again, not a 'Black 5' but '5X' 45418 passes Edge Hill shed with an Up Express for Crewe direction (Photo: Lamdelz)

We plunged under another bridge, this time the 'Circular Goods' lines (these allowed freight trains to and from Crewe direction to reach the unique 'Gridiron' marshalling yard without interfering with either passenger trains on the 'Crewe' line or traffic on the Liverpool and Manchester route) and soon reached the summit at Wavertree Junction. Now on a downhill stretch, we sped through Mossley Hill and clattered over the pointwork at Allerton Junction, where a branch to Hunts Cross diverged on our left. There was then an easy climb at 1 in 296 through more crossings at Speke Junction. By this time, we were running well. It was a dark, clear night and, under these favourable conditions, I remember noticing (not for the first time) just how visible the semaphore signal indications (red, yellow, green) were at a distance, considering they were produced by a tiny paraffin flame in the signal lamp (there's a description of semaphore signal lamps here). After around three miles, the track levelled through Halebank water troughs. I can't remember whether we took water but, only having come around 10 miles from Lime Street, we may not have done - it depends how full the tender was when we started. If we had taken water, I would have been careful to close the windows beforehand to avoid a possible drowning! We then ran downhill for a mile to Ditton Junction. This was quite an important location with two signal boxes, six platforms, extensive sidings and numerous bracket and gantry semaphore signals.

Ditton Junction had some notoriety as the location of a serious accident in 1912 when the driver of a Down train who was fairly unfamiliar with the location misread signals and failed to slow when crossing to the Slow line, derailing the train with considerable damage. The seriousness was compounded by fire in the wreckage. The complete Railway Accident Report by Lieutenant-Colonel Yorke is available here, on the excellent Railways Archive site.

Another uphill section of 1 in 114 took us across Ditton Viaduct and then, on the level, we crossed the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal by Runcorn Railway Bridge. This bridge was built in 1868 to a design by William Baker and features double-web lattice girder contruction on stone abutments. There's a Wikipedia article about the bridge here. Leaving the bridge, the line climbed at 1 in 145 to our first station stop at Runcorn, about two and a half miles beyond Ditton Junction.

After a brief stop, we received the 'Right Away' and set off. The line was cut through a sandstone cutting, with about half a mile at 1 in 101, easing slightly to 1 in 115 for another mile. The engine was being worked fairly hard to accelerate away from our stop and we were certainly 'raising the echoes'. We passed Halton Junction (where the line to Frodsham Junction and Chester diverged to our right) a little over a mile from our stop having built up a fair speed. Almost two miles further on, we passed our highest point at Sutton Weaver, then we descended for about a mile and a half at 1 in 101 to the small signal box at Birdswood, situated near the flyover junction where our line crossed over the main lines to Warrington and ran alongside the Up Main, descending at a gentle 1 in 337 for almost a mile and a half before finally converging with the main lines outside Weaver Junction signal box.


Gradient diagram Madeley - Weaver Junction.

We crossed the River Weaver and the Weaver Navigation on the double-track Dutton Viaduct. This stone viaduct, comprising 20 arches each of 60 foot span, was built in 1837 for the Grand Junction Railway.


Dutton Viaduct (Photo: N.R.M.).

For the next 11 miles, our route was generally uphill, but not too demanding - 1 in 330 was about as stiff as it got. The double track section continued past the viaduct for about another mile and a half to Acton Bridge station, where the route became four-track, paired by direction, for two miles to Hartford Junction. We clattered over the pointwork where a spur diverged to the left to join the former Cheshire Lines Committee from Chester to Altrincham. On our left were the I.C.I. sidings but, in the darkness, the lines of bogie hopper vehicles which always filled the sidings could not be seen. Back on double track, we dived under the bridge carrying the C.L.C. route and started to reduce speed, for we were booked to stop at Hartford station a mile further on. Quite a few passengers left the train here.

As we stood in the platform, it was all very peaceful for a moment, with just a quiet sizzling from the engine. The driver leaned out and waved. I turned towards the rear of the train to see who he was waving at but I couldn't spot anyone. The driver waved again, more urgently and I realised the signal was for me. "Now what?" I thought as I dropped down onto the platform and went forward. The fireman opened the cab doors and beckoned me onto the footplate. The driver briefly acknowledged me but carried on looking back along the train. When the fireman closed the cab doors, it finally dawned on me that I was to travel with them. Our next stop was Crewe, twelve miles on. As soon as the driver got the 'Right Away' from the guard, he made a vigorous start and quickly worked the speed up.

I'd previously had a number of short rides on the footplate (pottering around on station pilots or yard shunters). Around Morecambe, I'd had a number of rides on a Stanier 0-4-4T working push-pull trains (mentioned in the post Steam around Morecambe). But I'd never had a trip like this one - on the main line, at speed and at night.

When the fireman opened the firedoors to put a charge of coal on, the cab was flooded with intense, white light and, even standing at the back of the cab, I could feel the searing heat. I thought to myself "I must try to remember everything I see" but the noise, the vibration and the heat when the firedoors were open made it very difficult to concentrate. I was fascinated and terrified at the same time.

Three miles of double track took us past Winsford Junction and its goods loops, another mile and a half to Winsford station where, once again, the line became four-track, paired by direction. This four-track section would take us right into Crewe.

I had a fair idea of the layout of the driving controls in a Stanier cab but everything looked more mysterious in the dark, being bounced around and deafened. Although we were running pretty fast, the Fireman was only firing occasionally and the rest of the time he was on the tip-up seat keeping a look-out for signals. The driver was making no further alterations to the regulator or cut-off and most of his attention was focussed along the side of the taper boiler, peering at the line ahead


View of the Driver's side of the cab in a Stanier locomotive.

Two and a half miles beyond Winsford, we passed Minshull Vernon. The station was long-gone, only grass-covered platforms remained flanking the slow lines but the signal box was still there to "shorten the block". Here, the line became level right into Crewe. Another two miles took us past Coppenhall Junction, where there were crossovers to allow some switching between Fast and Slow lines. Another three miles would bring us into Crewe station. I knew we were close when I saw Crewe Coal Yard signal box. This was an 'Air Raid Precautions' style box on the Up side where the Liverpool Goods Independent lines branched off the Slow lines and tunnelled under Crewe North Junction to emerge near Salop Goods Junction. We'd left semaphore signals behind for a while - all the main signals through Crewe were colour light. As we approached Crewe North Junction, the Driver told me to tuck myself in the back corner of the cab up against the tender until the "coast was clear" so I didn't see much of our arrival into what was (and I think will always remain for me) Platform 4.

When we stopped, the Fireman had a good look both ways along the platform until it was safe for me to slip back to the train without the Driver or Fireman getting disciplined for their kindness. It was some years before I read the saying (probably in one of Professor Tuplin's books) "There's always somebody at Crewe on the look-out for trouble" but that night I already understood the meaning very well. Babbling my thanks, I clambered off the footplate when bidden and quickly slipped back into the leading coach. I'd abandoned my possessions (including the 'Clarion' tape recorder) in the front coach when I'd hurriedly left the train at Hartford. Fortunately, everything was still there, undisturbed. My legs were still trembling and my head was a whirl so I didn't pay a great deal of attention to the rest of the journey back to Wolverhampton, I'm afraid.

What happened next?

That was a wonderful experience which I still remember (even if the details are a bit vague). My initial interest was in railway signalling, rather than locomotives and it was many years before I began a serious study of steam locomotives, when I was already in my forties. I've explained the circumstances in the post 'Lion'. Eventually, I got to drive a few Stanier locomotives on preserved lines.


Jan in the cab of 'Black 5' 45337 at Peak Rail (Photo: Sheila Rayson).

The Route

In the 1950s, apart from Lime Street and Crewe, the route was mainly controlled by semaphore signals, manual signal boxes and Absolute Block Signalling. We passed the following signal boxes on our way from Lime Street to Crewe:-

Liverpool Lime Street
Edge Hill No.2
Edge Hill No.3
Wavertree Jn.
Allerton Junction
Speke Jn.
Woodside Siding
Ditton Jn. No. 2
Ditton Jn. No. 1
Runcorn
Halton Jn.
Sutton Weaver
Birdswood
Weaver Jn
Acton Bridge
Hartford Jn.
Hartford
Verdins Sidings
Winsford Jn.
Winsford Goods Yard
Winsford
Minshull Vernon
Coppenhall Jn.
Crewe Coal Yard
Crewe North Jn.
Crewe No. 3

More details about each of these signal boxes can be found in the 'British Railways Layout Plans of the 1950's' series below.

Map References

You can find detailed signal box diagrams for the route I travelled in the excellent series of publications from the Signalling Record Society 'British Railways Layout Plans of the 1950's'.

Liverpool Lime Street to Weaver Junction is included in 'Volume 9: LNW Lines Crewe to Euxton Junction, Liverpool to Manchester (and associated branches)' (ISBN: 1 873228 11 2).
Stafford to Crewe is included in 'Volume 1: ex-LNWR main line, Euston to Crewe' (ISBN: 1 873228 00 7).
Wolverhampton to Stafford (excluding Stafford) is included in 'Volume 11: LNW Lines in the West Midlands' (ISBN: 1 873228 13 9).

If you want to see what remained of the route in 2005, refer to 'Railway Track Diagrams Book 4: Midlands & North West', Second Edition, published by Trackmaps (ISBN: 0-9549866-0-1).