Photograph Album Page 1
Carriages at Liverpool Street Station
This photograph originally appeared in a supplement to the Railway Gazette dated 1 October 1920 entitled "GER The Last Word in Steam Operated Suburban Train Services". This described the improved suburban services introduced on 12 July 1920 for the Chingford, Enfield and Palace Gates services. (A reprint of this supplement is available from the GERS Sales) The two carriages shown are the wide six-a-side stock, introduced in 1899. First 568 was built in March 1903 and was withdrawn as LNER 6207 in January 1936 from the North Woolwich-Victoria Park service. Second 670 of October 1903 became LNER 6732 and was converted to third 60189 in about 1930, in which form it lasted until 1935-36.
Both carriages are in the crimson livery, introduced by the GER in 1919. This fact is easily determined from a black and white photograph because a new lettering style was adopted. The bold shaded block characters were replaced by a neat serifed style and the most pronounced feature was the use of appreciably smaller class numerals on the lower door panels. As with the shade of crimson lake used these numerals were remarkably similar to those used by the Midland Railway from 1907 onwards.
A particular feature of these services was the use of a yellow stripe on the upper panels of the first and blue on the second class. Although the Railway Gazette caption to this suggests the second class carriage had the blue stripe, this does not appear to be the case since the running number still appeared on the upper panel, a practice followed for suburban stock for many years.
Caption by: John Watling
Photograph: GERS Collection
Liverpool Street Station
This photograph shows two locomotives standing in what was known as the "Yard" at Liverpool Street Station; the two sidings between platforms 9 and 10. These two sidings and the platform roads continued beneath the Great Eastern Hotel. The nearest track is platform 10, with an unidentified R24R class 0-6-0T on 10A Road, probably engaged as West Side Pilot. Next to it on No 9A is D56 class 4-4-0 1854, one of the original Belpaire boiler engines built in 1903-4.
Caption by: Lyn D Brooks
Photograph: GERS Collection/courtesy Les Peters
Royal Agricultural Show, Norwich, 26th-30th June 1911
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The GER was heavily involved in this event with The King visiting the show on Wednesday 28 June and, whilst there, conferred upon the Rt. Hon Ailwyn E Fellows, Deputy Chairman of the GER and acting President of the Society, the honour of Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order.
The railway built two special stations for the show, the ground for which was by Crown Point sidings. On the Wensum curve they built a passenger station which had two platforms each 700ft long by 45ft wide, connected by a footbridge and also an end-loading dock with three roads. The goods station was equipped with temporary offices, toilets and refreshment facilities plus a cloakroom. The whole of these temporary works was lit by electricity and the temporary stations were connected by telephone to the local signal boxes.
The four photographs reproduced here show the Refreshment facilities for the "human-kind", and three views of unloading livestock. Further details are contained in an article by Chris Moss in GERS Journal 89 January 1997 and The GER Magazine of June and August 1911.
Photograph: GERS Collection
The Great Eastern Section of the LNER in the blitz
The first V1 "Flying Bombs" fell on East London on 13 June 1944, causing damage to Grove Road bridge at the London end of Coborn Road station. The photograph shows the first passenger train to pass over the rebuilt bridge on the down local line at 9.27pm on 14 June 1944, hauled by Class B-12/3 4-6-0 7488 (later 8574, (6)1574). [Note this photograph has often been described as showing Coborn Road bridge, but this appears to be a long-standing error]
Photograph: GERS Collection/RC Riley Donation
Extract from "The Railway Gazette" (22 September 1944).
Rapid L.N.E.R. Bridge Repair.
The first flying bomb to reach the London area badly damaged a bridge at Grove Road, Bow, carrying the four tracks of the L.N.E.R. between Liverpool Street and Stratford in the early hours of June 13. The damage included the complete demolition of the northern half of the bridge carrying the up and down fast lines and the severance of the southern half carrying the up and down local lines. The work of repair was begun at 9.30am., as soon as Air Ministry and other officials had completed their examination of the damage. The steel flooring was removed with the aid of oxyacetylene flames and rolled-steel joists (kept at strategic points for emergencies of this kind) were then placed in position. Timber trestles were provided under these to reduce the span; one was placed on each side of the roadway near the pavement, so as to cause as little obstruction as possible. By 7.45pm on the day after the damage, the work of restoring the northern side was completed. The first train to cross was the 9.5pm from Liverpool Street. The remainder of the bridge was then dealt with similarly and replaced by joists supported on trestles, but this was accomplished without interference with the traffic that had been resumed over the northern half. By 7pm on Friday June 16, the work of restoration was complete and all four tracks had been brought into use. Apart from the damage to the bridge, tracks had been torn up and distorted and seven cables and numerous wires across the bridge, and a power cable below, were severed. Temporary cables were installed and other arrangements made so that full communication was restored by 5pm on the first day. In addition L.N.E.R. electrical engineers repaired the power cable, enabling London Transport trolley-bus services to be resumed first thing on Saturday morning. The damage necessitated extensive train diversions. Main-line trains normally using the bridge were run via Cambridge to and from Liverpool Street and other trains were either terminated at or started from Stratford, or were diverted to run to and from Fenchurch Street; certain trains were also run via Tottenham and Stratford. When the northern half of the bridge was replaced, it was possible to resume normal mainline services and also the suburban services to and from Ilford, Shenfield, Chelmsford and Southend, although some continued to use Fenchurch Street to ease the pressure. For the latter reason it was necessary to run the Loughton service to and from Stratford until the bridge was completely restored.
"Dolly Grey"
1035 was one of the last batch of Class T19 2-4-0 to be built in 1897. In 1905 it was the first of the class to be rebuilt as a 4-4-0, using the bogie off a Worsdell 4-4-0 compound, a small class of 11 engines all scrapped between 1902-04. When first rebuilt 1035 was painted in a "photographic grey" livery and was consequently nicknamed "Dolly Grey". The locomotive is dual fitted with Westinghouse and vacuum brakes, with the Westinghouse pump clearly visible. Note the two brake pipes, the nearer being the Westinghouse with its shut off cock, the vacuum neatly stowed and terminated by simple pushing onto a spigot. At the grouping became LNER Class D13 and withdrawn in 1943. Details of the livery and number plates appeared in Great Eastern Journal No.82 April 1995.
Photograph: GERS Collection/courtesy Les Peters
Non-stop to Cromer
The Prince Regent, later King George IV, is often credited with making seaside holidays popular through his frequent visits to Brighton, but it was not until towards the end of the 19th Century, when there had been a long period of peace and prosperity, that many people could afford a week or more beside the sea. The GER was well aware of the attractions of Cromer as a seaside resort, with its fine sandy beaches and cliffs. The idea of Saturday to Saturday bookings at hotels had not been established, therefore it was necessary for the railway to run daily holiday trains. With competition from the M&GNR with its more convenient "Beach" station the aim was to run a train in less than three hours over the 139 miles from London Liverpool Street to Cromer.
The GER had locomotives capable of doing the job but they were not certain whether they could do so non-stop without picking up water en-route. To check this point it was arranged to run a non-stop train on 3rd November 1895. The train was a light one weighing some 140tons and the engine chosen was 1006 a D27 2-2-2 class. This class had been built between 1889 and 1893 as the single equivalent of the well-known T19 class of 2-4-0 locomotives, as there was still a school of thought that considered single engines to have some advantages over their coupled counterparts.
The locomotive driver was John Rufus Herwin who must have been on the GER what Bill Hoole was on the East Coast Main Line in the last years of steam, as he appears in several official photographs taken on special occasions. He had joined the railway as a cleaner at Norwich in 1874, being promoted to fireman in 1875 and to driver in 1879. By the use of the Wensum curve the usual stop and reverse was avoided at Norwich and Cromer was reached in 2 hours 55 minutes. The photograph was taken shortly after arrival and includes C.W.L Glaze whose bowler hat obscures the locomotive numberplate. He was probably Assistant District Locomotive Superintendent at Stratford then, as he became Superintendent in 1899 and succeeded A.J. Hill as Works Manager when Hill became C.M.E. in 1912.
As can be seen there was still plenty of coal left after the run, but it seams likely that Herwin had to nurse his engine over the last few miles to avoid running out of water. It was decided that it was too risky for a non-stop run every day without water troughs and these were installed the following year at Tivetshall, some 100 miles from Liverpool Street.
Caption text taken from an article by the late Geoff Pember in Journal 33 January 1983
Photograph: GERS Collection/courtesy Les Peters
"The Scandinavian"
Sunday 9th September 1962 saw the last regular steam working into Liverpool Street Station with the arrival of the boat train from Harwich. I believe this was the last steam passenger train to operate over the GE main line between Colchester and London.
Therefore the operation of "The Scandinavian" by Past Time Rail on Sunday 3 September 2000 was certainly a very remarkable day. Former LMSR Class 5 4-6-0 45407, running as 45157 The Glasgow Highlander, hauled the train between London Fenchurch Street, Stratford and the GE main line to Colchester, Manningtree and Harwich. Following two trains later, was former BR Class 4 2-6-4T 80098 hauling a single carriage.
The Class 5 worked the London-Harwich return trip and the Class 4, a Harwich- Colchester-Clacton-Colchester-Harwich tour.
For me there was only one location to watch the trains and that was Ingatestone. I was born in the village and spent many hours after school and during the school holidays, in the late 1950s and early 1960s, watching the trains from the former goods yard. The photograph had to include the down station buildings at Ingatestone, as these are, with the possible exception of the remains of the down station building at Brentwood, the oldest station building in East Anglia having been built in 1846. The original 1842 station was in Stock Lane and utilised the former Alms Houses, which also still survive.
Immediately before the steam special was a Norwich train, the power at the rear being provided by Class 86250.
Photographs and Caption by: Paul Goldsmith