Steaming ahead to a bygone age

Jul 30 2008 by Peter Elson, Liverpool Daily Post

Click here to see the The Art in the Age of Steam express gallery

In an appealing coincidence, locomotive “No 9” as it’s nicknamed, was built at Doncaster in the same year as Scarborough’s Odeon (now Alan Ayckbourn’s Stephen Joseph Theatre), across the road from the station.

“Both building and engine share the same 1930s streamlined art deco style philosophy, with the latter’s shape derived from Bugatti’s racing cars and R101 airship,” says Stephen Done.

Owned by the Scotsman John Cameron, many of the locomotive No 9’s support crew are his fellow countrymen and they tend their beloved dinosaur day and night.

Called over by one of the crew, we inspected the locomotive etched out in the moonlight. He had just put a few shovelfuls of coal on the fire, which was glowing in the cab’s gloom.

With small clouds of steam drifting out of the valves, the gentle heat and the quiet “chock-chock” sound of hot air and creaking metal, this was a force of nature awaiting its whistle call to duty.

But we learned some dramatic news. Little did the excited passengers later embarking on the train realise what happened behind the scenes to ensure their train would actually run.

When the train’s locomotive was being backed into Scarborough, a crucial spring in one of its cylinders jammed. Without a replacement, cancellation was inevitable.

However, after a desperate call to the National Railway Museum in York and a late night dash by car across the county, an identical spare spring was borrowed from the Flying Scotsman loco.

Our engine, Union of South Africa, is one of the A4 class dubbed “streaks” (a sister to the world’s fastest steam locomotive Mallard), which is a “go-faster” development of the A3 class Flying Scotsman, currently being rebuilt at the National Railway Museum.

NRM staff removed the Flying Scotsman’s spring and train support crew drove down from Scarborough to pick it up from York on Friday evening.

The crew then spent last Friday night fitting it, allowing the locomotive to effortlessly complete its 440-mile round trip.

As Nigel Dobbing says: “Without this co-operation in the railway heritage industry we could not have run the trip. We’re so grateful for all the NRM’s help so that all our passengers were not disappointed.” What is remarkable is that this locomotive, built 71 years ago is still able to haul a 10-coach train 220 miles without a break at 75mph (the current official limit), far exceeding its original design life by some 40 years.

Based for its working career in Edinburgh, No 9 was originally to have been called Osprey, but before completion was assigned to the ultra-glamorous high-speed Coronation express.

The Coronation’s locomotives were all named after British colonies, hence its deliciously unpolitically correct name.

With a tender carrying eight tons of coal, this was deemed enough for the 400-mile non-stop London – Edinburgh run, so there was just enough for Scarborough to Liverpool and back.

No 9’s longevity is an amazing tribute to the designer, the engineering genius Sir Nigel Gresley of the London North Eastern Railway, its builders and now the dedicated volunteer maintenance crew.

Eddie Williamson, from Crewe, accompanied by trainee Peter Sheridan, are English Welsh & Scottish Railway drivers, trained for steam engines.

Eddie says: “The loco is fairly new to me but steams very well. It’s got plenty of power. You can feel the potency. It’s a great beast, but a tamed one!”

Designed to pull heavy trains at high speed, age was no barrier to No 9 sprinting out of Scarborough and racing up the Derwent valley to York. Claire and Stephen become so excited they’re bouncing off the carriage sides. I should have brought some Ritalin for them, but there would have been trouble putting it on expenses.

Having stoked up the inner man with a fine cooked breakfast, I transform myself into a steward and help with the tons of washing up now flooding the kitchen car.

Phil Murray is the chief steward of Premier Train Catering’s seven staff and two chefs. They serve 180 full breakfasts all cooked on board, plus 84 passengers receiving continental breakfasts.

BEFORE the train reaches Liverpool orders will be taken for dinner on the return journey and the entire process repeated. It’s a long day for the crew as arrival in Scarborough is after 10pm

“I live in Harwich and arrived the day before in Scarborough to sort out the stores. Usually our maximum for one kitchen car is 126 diners, so this is a stretch,” says Phil, who has worked in railway catering since 1977.

Service does not suffer. Working my way through the train with my tea pot and milk jug gives me chance to interview passengers. This is not a cheap trip with diners paying around £170 each.