Part 1 was published in SW439, January 2024
The trials in March and April 1955 set Ta pattern of operation: three Ivatt ‘4MTs’ working trains of 44 wagons, loaded with coke for the iron and steel works in Lancashire and Cumberland, which were experiencing a post-war boom. Those Ivatt ‘Moguls’ would then return trains of up to 50 wagons to the North East for re-loading.
But ASLEF's nationwide strike that May disrupted this new system. The impact of this strike on the wider finances and prospects for the railway nationally was considerable, but the immediate issue was that it delayed the move to longer and heavier trains over Stainmore at a time when demand was high.
Coke traffic with double
