Class 67 to Marylebone

Up Wrexham & Shropshire train, comprising a Class 67 with two coaches and a Driving Van Trailer, about to take the Bescot line at Wolverhampton on 24th October 2008.

The Wrexham & Shropshire was an Open Access Operator which operated from April 2008 to January 2011 running a service between Wrexham and London Marylebone. Although the services passed through Wolverhampton, most services were prohibited from loading and unloading passengers, so the trains towards London ran non-stop through Wolverhampton and then took the 'Old Road' through Bescot, stopping at Tame Bridge Parkway. I think the route continued through Aston, Stechford, Coventry, Leamington Spa and thence to Marylebone. The first time I saw the service, there were two 'Class 67' top-and-tailing the short train but when re-furbished Driving Van Trailers became available, the formation changed to that shown in the heading photograph. Throughout the short life of the railway, it attracted very high passenger satisfaction ratings but insufficient passengers to avoid losses which the owners considered unsustainable. Although I saw the trains on a number of occasions, I never managed to travel with them.

However, much of the strategy of Wrexham & Shropshire was reborn in the Chiltern Mainline Experience, which I managed to sample on 23rd July 2013, as I described briefly in the post A Busy Week. So, once again, you can catch a 'Class 67 to Marylebone'.

I've removed a link to the Chiltern Mainline Experience which is no longer active, and it's been suggested that you instead refer to Chiltern Railways: 03) Where do Mainline trains stop?.

External Websites

Wrexham & Shropshire (Wikipedia).
Chiltern Mainline (Wikipedia).

[Chiltern link amended: 12/05/2022]

Northern Rubber Special

When doing some research about the railway history of Edge Hill, Liverpool for the post Edge Hill, Liverpool, I came upon the Edge Hill Station site. This site includes some very interesting black-and-white railway pictures. As I explored, I found a group of pictures showing what was clearly a Northern Rubber enthusiasts' steam special at Edge Hill. My friends introduced me to Gary Thornton's excellent Six Bells Junction site from which we gleaned a little more information.

The train ran from Retford via Marple to Liverpool (and return) on Saturday, 4th September 1954, double-leaded by preserved Ivatt 'Large Boilered Atlantic' Number 251 in Great Northern Railway Limited livery piloting 'Director' 62663 'Prince Albert' in lined British Rail black livery.

More information about Number 251 can be found on the splendid 'LNER Encyclopedia' site here. The locomotive had been restored with a saturated boiler and was regarded as a 'poor steamer', so on main line runs was frequently paired with the the 'Director'. The 'LNER Encyclopedia' details the 'Director' class here.

The four photographs on the Edge Hill Station site show the excursion on arrival at Edge Hill on the lines which led to Waterloo Tunnel and the Docks. Here, the two locomotives which had brought the train from Retford were detached, to be replaced by two 'Super D' 0-8-0 locomotives (49082 and 49314) which then took the train through the tunnel to terminate at Riverside Station which, at the time, was still used by Boat Trains. There's a little about the 'Super D' class in 'Wikipedia' here and in 'Rail Album' here.

I presume that the two 'Super D' engines later worked the excursion back to Edge Hill where the 'Atlantic' and the 'Director' (in the meantime turned, coaled and watered at Edge Hill Motive Power Depot) took over for the return journey to Retford.

The 'Northern Rubber' specials were organised by Alan Pegler (16 April 1920 – 18 March 2012), who was a member of the family which then owned the Northern Rubber Company, based in Retford. He was a lifelong railway enthusiast and subsequently became even more famous as the first private owner of the locomotive 'Flying Scotsman'.

The four pictures on the Edge Hill Station site which show the 'Northern Rubber' special are reproduced below, in the order that they were probably taken and with an suggested explanation.


On arrival on the Goods Lines, the two locomotives were uncoupled and drawn forward towards Waterloo Tunnel Mouth Signal Box, leaving the train (not at a platform) on the Goods Line.


The two 'Super D' locomotives had presumably been waiting on the converging line from Exhibition Junction. With the 'Atlantic' and the 'Director' drawn right down to the tunnel mouth, the 'Super D' locomotives could draw forward clear of the junction points and then set back onto the waiting coaches.


The 'Atlantic' and 'Director' were then set back onto the line from Exhibition Junction, so as to clear the line for the excursion to proceed through the tunnel to Riverside. There are plenty of enthusiasts wandering around on the railway admiring the locomotives - Health and Safety was not quite so apparent then.


The 'Super D' locomotives (both running tender-first towards Riverside) set off towards the tunnel with the excursion train. Note that the tender of the leading locomotive is carrying 'Express' lamp code (one lamp above each buffer) and the L&NWR lower quadrant signal to the right of the train (Down Home 1 for Waterloo Tunnel Mouth signal box) is 'Off'.

Well, that's my best interpretation. If anybody can contribute anything else (recollections, pictures, special traffic notices), it would be welcome.

External Websites

Edge Hill Station site.
Alan Pegler (Wikipedia).
Six Bells Junction (SBJ).
Locomotive 251.
'Director' Class.
'Super D' (Wikipedia).
'Super D'(Rail Album).