WITH FULL REGULATOR LOCOMOTIVE PERFORMANCE THEN AND NOW
I HAVE not previously reported on the performance of the big Stanier 8F No. 48151, so before looking at some of what this locomotive has done in preservation in recent years, a few words about its history are appropriate.
Built by the LMS at Crewe Works in 1942, its first allocation was Grangemouth, followed by Cranklow, Staveley and Edge Hill.IT was withdrawn from Northwich in January 1968, and sold to Woodham Bros at Barry for scrap. Bought for preservation in 1975, the 2-8-0 moved to the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway. It then became one of David Smith’s locomotives at Carnforth, where its restoration was completed in 1988.
With a tractive effort of 32,440lb, No. 48151 is a powerful locomotive, but is limited to 50mph because of its 4ft 8½in driving wheels.
In recent years this locomotive is most associated with trains such as West Coast Railways’‘Dalesman’, which I will deal with later, but it also had a spell‘down south’in 2011, and this time I am looking at two such trips.
Thursday, June 30, 2011, saw No. 48151 working the Swanage to Salisbury leg of a Steam Dreams charter. In recent years, this leg would no doubt be diesel-hauled, but not so then.
The usual 8.45am departure from Victoria saw No. 34067 on 12 coaches for 435 tons putting in a sound performance with Pete Roberts and John
