It was my spotter’s year, too!
It was very interesting to read the third part of Bruce Laws’ ‘1962: A Spotter’s Year’ (Steam World, January) particularly the London visit of Sunday November 4, to Willesden, Old Oak Common and Cricklewood. A couple of weeks before his visit I also made this trip but had to bunk the same three sheds (plus Kentish Town), as we had no permits - just a lot of nerve! I went with two school friends, Keith Page and Trevor Galvin, from Berkhamsted and Hemel Hempstead. As 15-year-olds, we thought nothing of cycling into London for these visits.
We must have seen the same locomotives, especially 2-6-2T No. 40080 at Willsden at Old Oak Common awaiting scrapping. I think we were more interested in climbing into the cabs, than thinking about the future of steam power. Keith and I were the spotters and Trevor the photographer. These are just three of many of his photographs taken that day of us in the cabs of 40080 and 40022 at Kentish town, and the line at Old Oak Common. I hope they may be of interest.
David Horn by e-mail
Decline of the Stanier ‘Duchess’ 4-6-2s
Congratulations on another excellent edition of Steam World and especially the recent serialisation of ‘Decline of the Duchesses’.
Having witnessed ‘Coronations’ running on the lines near my was backing down to the train and hooking on. No. 46257 was standing on the lines to South shed (5B) alongside Crewe’s large glass panelled wind deflector for Platform 1. We were studying the contrast of its clean green livery with the similarly resplendent clean maroon of . We had our backs to No. 46248 when suddenly a bright flash illuminated 46257’s paintwork and reflected in the glass of the wind deflector. Simultaneously a loud bang occurred behind us. Turning around to where the sound had come from we witnessed the fall into the cab of a fireman who had obviously entered No. 46248’s tender coal space and caused a flashover from the overhead catenary.
