STEAM AFTERGLOW!

With no main line steam to photograph, after British Rail ran its final steam-hauled main line passenger train, the ‘Fifteen Guinea Special’ of August 11, 1968, and the departure of A3 Pacific No. 4472 Flying Scotsman on its ill-fated tour of North America, my attention then became focused on industrial steam, principally colliery steam in Northumberland.

Colliery steam was in decline. A few diesels had been around for a number of years but it was the arrival of surplus BR diesels, made redundant by branch line closures under Beeching, that would eventually bring an end to colliery steam.

The large Ashington system was the first to experience this with the arrival of the Swindon-built Western Region diesel hydraulic Class 14 0-6-0s. D9511 arrived in January 1969. Two months later it was D9528 and D9508, then three months later a further four.

The Paxmans were used at other collieries, but it was at Ashington where they were