LMSR steam locomotive
The lowering sun highlights Stanier Black '5' 4-6-0 44894 as she departs from Glasgow (Buchanan St.) in May 1966. The external condition of the engine belies the fact that this was a normal service train and one wonders what a 10A (Carnforth) based loco was doing there.
Robert Archibald suggests that 44894 is on a running-in turn after being outshppped from Cowlairs, still active in 1966, which would probably also explain the LNER style 'Carnforth' on the buffer beam.

LMSR steam locomotive
Not much longer in service for Fowler Jinty 0-6-0T 47501 as it shunts at Willesden in the summer of 1964. Withdrawal symptoms loomed with September bringing her end.

LMSR steam locomotive
High summer sun bathes Stanier Black '5' 4-6-0 44854 as she storms southwards with a fitted van train at Carpenders Park in June 1964.

LMSR steam locomotive
The 1A plate on the smokebox door tells us that Fowler-tendered Stanier Jublee 4-6-0 45704 Leviathan was at home when photographed at Willesden mpd in the summer of 1964.

LMSR steam locomotive
The end is nigh for Stanier Jubilee 4-6-0 45735 at Carlisle (Upperby) shed in late August 1964. Formerly named Comet, the only removable ID is the smokebox number plate. This engine was one of the two Jubilees, 45736 Phoenix was the other, that had been rebuilt in 1942 with larger boilers and smoke deflectors which resulted in their upgrading from 6P/5F to 7P.

LMSR steam locomotive
Originally an L & Y design by Aspinall this 4F 0-6-0 52561 is clearly in a sorry state and was probably photographed at Horwich (Low Moor is another possibility) whilst awaiting the last rites in 1955.

LMSR steam locomotive
Fowler 2P 4-4-0 40678 has seen better days as she awaits disposal at 21E Monument Lane (Birmingham) mpd on July 24th, 1961. Although the official withdrawal date is July of that year it's clear that she's been dumped here for some time following service based at Bescot shed.

LMSR steam locomotive
It's unusual to come across 1950's colour negatives and when one does so they nearly always turn out to be diabolical to work with as was the case with this one which depicts smartly turned out Fowler 4P compound 4-4-0 41159 at Shrewsbury. 41159 was withdrawn from service at 41C (Millhouses, Sheffield) in April 1958 and this shot was probably taken quite close to that time.

LMSR steam locomotive
Former Great Eastern (GER) metals won't have seen many Maunsell designed coaches let alone a blood and custard example such as this one. I was a very youthful participant on this tour which started from Blackfriars station behind Maunsell 'Black Motor' 30687 which hauled the train as far as Dudding Hill Junction via Brixton and Kew East Jct. where this loco, Fairburn 2-6-4T 42686, took over for the remainder of the trip which travelled to Broad Street via Harringey West, Palace Gates, Canning Town and Bromley Junction. Why the train had a lengthy stop 'wrong line' at Wood Street station isn't recalled.

LMSR steam locomotive
Strictly speaking this picture shouldn't be included in this set as it's really a BR design emanating from Crewe Works in July 1948 and had a working life of only 15 years being withdrawn from service at 9A Longsight (Manchester) which was the home shed of Caprotti geared Black '5' 44747 when smapped at Crewe station on July 24th, 1961.

LMSR steam locomotive
It's always a pleasure to acquire an original shot of one of these locos as they're rather thin on the ground and to get one in colour, just about, is a bonus. This image on E1 Ektachrome film was taken at Crewe on July 24th 1961 and depicts one of the unrebuilt Fowler Patriot 4-6-0'sa in the form of 45542 which didn't acquire a name following its nominal rebuild from withdrawn Claughton 4-6-0 back in 1933. 45542 was withdrawen from service at Nuneaton mpd (2B) eleven months after this shot was taken. The vehicle behind the tender is a Gresley teak bogie brake as far as I can make out.

LMSR steam locomotive
Nicely lit by low summer sun, Stanier Jubilee class 4-6-0 45615 Malay States awaits departure from Manchester (Victoria) on July 23rd 1961. The shed code plate proclaims that home is 26A Newton Heath. Withdrawal came in December the following year by which time she had moved to Nuneaton mpd (17B)

LMSR steam locomotive
This little 0-6-0T is 47162 a Fowler designed dock tank dating from 1928 and built at Derby. The photo was taken in May 1951 at what I believe to be Leith which wouldn't be altogther surprising as her home shed was 64A St. Margarets in Edinburgh whence she was withdrawn in 1959.

LMSR steam locomotive
A genuine Caley 'pug' in the form of Drummond designed 0-4-0ST 56032 seen ex-works during a visit to Crewe in August 1951. Designated 0F, this loco of the Caledonian Railway's 264 class was a Drummond design dating from 1900 and she dawdled around as a works shunter at Crewe, far from her origins, for most of the last 10 years of her working life up to 1960 when she finally succumbed to the cutter's torch.

LMSR steam locomotive
Another shot taken on E1 Ektachrome film that this time features Midland Railway Johnson 2F 0-6-0 58174 on shed at 21E Monument Lane (Birmingham) mpd on July 24th, 1961. Withdrawal came the following December.

LMSR steam locomotive
June 9th 1963 brought the rare sighting of a Stanier Duchess pacific at Doncaster shed whilst 46245 City of London was serviced during an out and back trip on the ECML from King's Cross organised by the Home Counties Railway Society.

LMSR steam locomotive
Okay, so this shot leaves a lot to be desired in photographic terms but is included merely for its number. Fowler 4F 0-6-0 44444 drifts through what I believe is Great Barr station (on the other side of the road bridge) whilst hauling a Fowler 2P, 40936, and another 4F on their way to a scrapping facility which was probably Cashmore's at Great Bridge in 1961.

LMSR steam locomotive
5/1/58 saw the demise of the LNWR's Abergavenny - Merthyr line and the Midland Area branch of the SLS organised a railtour to commemorate the event appropriately using two ex-LNWR locomotives. Here we see Webb 0-6-2T coal tank no. 58926 resplendent in winter sun light.

LMSR steam locomotive
Fowler 4MT 2-6-4T 42358 drifts into Uttoxeter station in the late 1950's.

LMSR steam locomotive
Hughes/Fowler 'Crab' 2-6-0 42857 at an as yet undetermined location.
Tony Walmsley opines (and he's probably right as the photographer was from the area stated): 42857 was shedded at Saltley for most of the 1950s and it made me wonder if this phto is taken near Washwood Heath on the MR route with the LNW Stetchford-Aston line passing over. The angle, the number of running lines and that it looks like there is an underslung girder bridge behind the loco between the two brick arches.

LMSR steam locomotive
Popularly known as Super D this is 49117 a Bowen Cooke G2a 0-8-0 of LNWR origin stored in 1959 inside what I believe to be the roundhouse at Llanelly (sic) in 1959. 49117 was one of a huge number of pre-grouping locos that ended up being stored at Winsford whilst they awaited the inevitable fate in 1959/60.

LMSR steam locomotive
Jonhson 3F 0-6-0 43374 at a location in the Midlands defined by Jon Stubley as being between Washwood Heath and Castle Bromwich deduced from the factory chimney that proclaims Rollason Wire as the owner. 43374 was withdrawn from service at Leicester (Midland) shed in July 1961 after about 70 years of valuable service.

LMSR steam locomotive
Stanier 2-cylinder 4MT 2-6-4T 42482 is bathed in sunshine at Birmingham (New Street) station.

LMSR steam locomotive
Stanier Jubilee 4-6-0 45716 Swiftsure at Carlisle Citadel station.

LMSR steam locomotive
Built by Neilson-Reid this is Johnson designed 3F 0-6-0 43756 about to reverse out of the platform and past Hellifield mpd circa 1959.

LMSR steam locomotive
The famous Caley single better known as No. 123 and still with us today albeit in a stuffed and mounted form. This shot was taken at perth in 1932 and shows 14010 in crimson lake livery.

LMSR steam locomotive
Johnson designed but Neilson built Midland Railway 1502 class 2-4-0 20254 at her home shed of Kettering in the 1920's. 20254 was bult in 1880 and withdrawn in 1939.

LMSR steam locomotive
An LNWR 'namer'. 25373 Ptarmigan was one of Bowen Cooke's functional LNWR George V class of 4-4-0's photographed at what I've been told is Rugby mpd (Edward Talbot spotted the GCR flyover in the right background) circa 1937. This loco survived WW2 and even just about achieved BR ownership being withdrawn in May 1948.

LMSR steam locomotive
Allegedly ......... Pettigrew designed 3F 0-6-0 12509 originated with the Furness Railway and was built by NBL. I've no doubt that the loco type data is correct but I have doubts about the number

LMSR steam locomotive
A less than brilliant shot of a crane tank a type of loco which most steam enthusiasts find fascinating. The data I have is open to correction but here goes. Designed by Whale for the LNWR in 1895, 27217 was an 0-4-2CT built by Sharp Stewart and is depicted here at Crewe on July 9th, 1939. She survived until 1951 and was allotted no. 58865 but I know not if it was ever actually applied.

LMSR steam locomotive
The age of this negative can be determined somewhat by the fact that the depicted engine, North Staffordshire Railway 159 class 0-6-0 8677, was withdrawn in 1936 and is seen at Crewe South shed on 9/8/36 probably after her withdrawal. Designated 2F by the LMS this class was a NSR homespun product that emanated from the drawing board of Longbottom at Stoke Works in 1900.

LMSR steam locomotive
This original slide by the late Bill Potter shows Stanier pacific 46200 Princess Royal languishing at Carlisle (Upperby) shed some 8 months after her withdrawal from active service at which time she had allegedly been set aside for preservation by the powers that be. The nameplates had wisely been removed but surprisingly the number plate is still in situ and her valve gear is still complete. By the time I saw her shunted away into a corner of Upperby some 14 months later the latter had been removed, her smokebox plate was still there but she was doomed.

LMSR steam locomotive
The Hornby Dublo model of this loco, Stanier pacific 46232 Duchess of Montrose was probably the most sought after of the Hornby range when I was a teenager and this shot is redolent of how we envisged her in service. She was one of the first three of the class to be withdrawn from service as early as December 1962 and is depicted here at Carlisle (Kingmoor) mpd in August 1961. What a magnificent sight!

LMSR steam locomotive
A nice shot of a Stanier Black '5' 4-6-0 awaiting departure with a boat train from Stranraer Harbour in 1964. 44995 was based at 67A Corkerhill shed and was withdrawn from there in November 1966.
Dave Thoms has added this invaluable background: 44995 was a long-time Dumfries engine from 1/56 to 5/66 thence to Corkerhill until withdrawal in 11/66. It is, I think, heading a Stranraer harbour to Dumfries train via Newton Stewart, with a Swindon built DMU on the Glasgow via Ayr service. Typically the Dumfries train is LMS design stock and so this it could well be the midday SO Stranraer to Newcastle.
The Sealink ferry in the background is the TSS Caledonian Princess which was three years old when this shot was taken. She operated on the Larne-Stranraer route and was built as a two-class vessel with accommodation for 400 1st class passengers and 1,000 in 2nd class. On her vehicle deck was space for 103 cars. She ended up being a nightclub at Gateshead on the Tyne and was sold to a Greek buyer as recently as July 2008.

LMSR steam locomotive
A freezing and windswept Gow Holes sees Stanier 8F 2-8-0 48775 shunting during the final day of steam from Buxton shed. When the snow fell several days previously it was followed by bright sunshine but that last day, actual date not recalled unfortunately, the skies were leaden.

LMSR steam locomotive
McIntosh Caledonian 0-4-4T 15210, still wears its LMS livery in this shot taken at Ballachulish on September 18th, 1939. 15210 gave 50 years of valuable service being built in 1911 and subsequently withdrawn from 64C Dalry Road (Edinburgh) shed in 1961.

LMSR steam locomotive
My heart skipped a beat when I first saw this negative as I'm a big fan of Scottish pre-grouping locomotives. The featured engine is a former Highland Railway 4-6-0 14762 Clan Campbell at Oban as several viewers have kindly pointed out to me. 14762 was built in 1919 by Hawthorne Leslie to design from the office of Cumming. She was withdrawn from service in June 1947 and was cut up soon after.

LMSR steam locomotive
A splendid shot of LNWR 0-6-0ST 27370 shunting amongst a smattering of snow on January 18th, 1940 but the location hasn't been specified. The loco was a Ramsbottom design dating back to 1877 and this example was withdrawn from service in 1940.

LMSR steam locomotive
The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway had a knack for creating well balanced locomotives that were aesthetically pleasing and this Aspinall designed 2-4-2T is no exception. 10879 was a 3P/2F design dating from 1905 and this example was withdrawn from 23A Bank Hall shed in 1946.

LMSR steam locomotive
The likelihood is that this pre-war shot was taken at Cambridge in the late thirties. The central character is Johnson 1P class 0-4-4T 1272 which was a product of Derby works as far back as 1876 and saw 72 years of service before the end came with retirement from Bedford shed in 1948.

LMSR steam locomotive
One of Drummond's functional Caledonian designs was this 0-6-0T of class 29. Depicted is 16323 which was built in 1910 and survived into BR ownership until 1958 being withdrawn from Aberdeen (Ferryhill) shed in that year.

LMSR steam locomotive
Caledonian Railway 3F 0-6-0 17704 was a P. Drummond design dating from 1907 and is depicted here at Inverness on March 21st, 1936. This example had seen only 39 years of service on withdrawal from service at 32C Forres in 1946.

LMSR steam locomotive
This is a corker of a shot and happens to feature one of my own personal favourite British loco types. This is a Jones designed Highland Railway 4-6-0 popularly known as the Jones Goods type which was the first application of the 4-6-0 wheel arrangement in Britain despite the fact that the 'ten wheeler' had been in common usage in North America for a couple of decades. 17929 is depicted here on the turntable at Inverness mpd on March 21st, 1936 shortly before her departure from the scene

LMSR steam locomotive
All the LTSR's motive power was in tank engine form as exemplified here by this shot of Whitelegg 2P 4-4-2T 2095 on a typical passenger turn. 2095 dated from 1900 and crept into BR ownership being withdrawn from 16A Nottingham in 1949. Someone might recognise the location from the signal box in the background.
My apologies for the white diagonal stripe but this negative had been folded almost in half which doesn't work very well with film. I almost weep sometimes at the condition of some of the material that comes my way.

LMSR steam locomotive
This sort of image does far more for me than plain-Jane loco portraits as it places so much in the context of the time. Where was it taken? Peter Tatlow has identified it as Inverness. The only identifiable loco is Stanier 5MT 5163, one of those built by Armstrong Whitworth, with snow plough fitted, The other engines appear to be a Caley 0-6-0 and a Caley 0-6-0T but neither has a legible number.

LMSR steam locomotive
Aah, BOVRIL! Forgive the paraphrase. Stanier Jubilee 4-6-0 5563 entered service in August 1934 and was named Australiain 1936. She was withdrawn from service as BR 45563 at 8B Warrington(Dallam) in November 1965. This splendid shot was taken at Crewe, south end, looking east. Location and naming data supplied by Edward Talbot to whom go my grateful thanks.

LMSR steam locomotive
No location known for this shot but I think it could be Camden shed. Fowler designed Royal Scot 4-6-0 6135 The East Lancashire Regiment looks as if it's having more than just a standard wash and brush up. If it is at Camden then it's worth pointing out that when I visited that shed in the mid-50's there were signs warnign crews about the production of unnecessary and unwarranted smoke. Note the Fowler compund 4-4-0 lurking in the background.

LMSR steam locomotive
A rousing sight even if the pilot loco's front end isn't quite pin sharp. Fowler 2P 674 and a highly burnished but unidentifiable Fowler Royal Scot double-head what is almosy certainly a Scottish express but where? Crewe?

LMSR steam locomotive
A selection of LMS pre-grouping locos would look odd if there wasn't a shot of a Cauliflower amongst them and so we have one here. 8430 was a Webb designed 0-6-0 dating from 1897 and is depicted here just south of Cambridgeon February 5th, 1938. This would have been a train bound for Sandy, Bedford and probably right acrosss to Oxford.

LMSR steam locomotive
A super portait of a ex-LNWR Super D. Bowen Cooke 0-8-0 9403 at Bletchley shed on June 3rd, 1938.

LMSR steam locomotive
Fowler created this somewhat uncharacteristically ungainly class of 0-8-0 in 1929 and they became known amongst enthusiasts as Austin Sevens although I don't recall why that was. In many respects this image is the pick of this bunch for me but I had no background data for it until Mike Oglesby sent me the following
I think this is leaving Preston on the East Lancs line approaching Whitehouse Nort Junction (where the Southport line diverges). From the wagons it appears to be empties from Wyre Dock to Crofton.
According to my only reference source 9598 emerged from Crewe works in December 1929 and had a life of 29 years being withdrawn from service at 26F (Lees, Oldham) in January 1959.