Scottish Diesels in the 1980s
Compiled by Andrew Royle
We start our tour of Scotland as many might have done, namely at Glasgow’s Queen Street station on a sunny August morning. The enthusiast sat on the luggage trolley next to 25226 on ecs duties seems well-dressed for the journey ahead, so perhaps this was no ordinary bash that he was embarking upon. Unlike other termini that were built in the city, Queen Street has never been able to handle the longer trains (over eight or nine coaches), owing to its constrained location. The steepness of Cowlairs Bank has presented a stern test for many a diesel on even these modestly sized trains; perhaps 25226 may also have been employed on the odd banking turn out of the station on 4 August 1981. (Arthur Turner)
It always used to be the case that Deltics could never be spared for charter train work, so much in demand were they for ECML operations. That situation had changed by the summer of 1981 of course, when the last few members in service began to wander away from their traditional haunts and not only on rail tours. One locally arranged and little advertised trip, which happened on two Sundays that August, was the ‘West Highlands Tour’ (1Z19 09.15 ‘Merrymaker’ from Edinburgh to Oban and return), which used a spare Glasgow/Edinburgh push-pull set to provide a rather more comfortable travel experience. It had originally been planned to use a mark 1 rake but a late switch to the mark 3s meant that only a Deltic would do – class 47s were too heavy for the route at the time and class 37s didn’t yet offer ETH! 55021 Argyll and Sutherland Highlander is ready to return on the 15.00 from Oban, the first of its kind to visit there and posed in the classic manner with McCaig’s Tower (the ‘Oban Coliseum’) prominent on the skyline. The train’s headboard was based upon that of the ‘Silver Jubilee’ one carried by class 55s during 1977. 2 August 1981.
A ‘last hurrah’ for one BRCW class 104 DMU came about in the summer of 1985. This type hadn’t been allocated in Scotland until the 1980s. Numbers 53424 and 53434 (set 104325) were retrieved from their withdrawn status and painted in an overall Caledonian maroon livery at Cowlairs Workshops, with Scottish Tourist Board advertising slogans. The inevitable Eastfield Scotty Dog emblem was prominent of course, though the speed whiskers on the front looked a little like an afterthought (and not in the same place as when they had been new back in 1957). Nicknamed ‘The Mexican Bean’, it would see three summer seasons of service working a Crianlarich-Oban shuttle, being based at the port (as seen here on 1 June 1985) and only returning to Eastfield for scheduled servicing. (Dick Riley)
On the evening of 2 July 1989, a hint of snow is visible on the upper reaches of Ben Nevis as 37423 awaits departure time with the London sleeper. The top of the mountain is frequently shrouded in cloud and therefore often not visible from the town. As for the 37, this ETH-fitted loco seemed a curious choice for the Trainload Metals livery but was no doubt influenced by the name it would carry: Sir Murray Morrison 1873-1948, Pioneer of the British Aluminium Industry. The naming had taken place on 18 May 1988 at the Lochaber smelter to mark the start of a ten-year contract to bring alumina from Blyth, so it’s likely that the sponsoring sector had wanted their livery to accompany it. It had already been noted in its new guise back in the February on a Speedlink service from Mossend to Corpach. (Bob Wallen)
20127 runs in traditional style, nose end first and ‘escorting’ a trip freight that has just serviced the aluminium smelter sidings at Lochaber Works on 9 August 1988. This particular track is now little used since rail traffic to the works has been confined to the supply of alumina from Blyth (using another access line), with finished product unfortunately transported by road. The outward freight service from Fort William that used to run was a combination of traffics (including timber) but as was so often the case, the loss of one of them would lead to costs being passed on to those that remained and they in turn would also become uneconomic. This would quickly lead to the end of the whole operation. Note the radio aerial high on the class 20’s nose and the hillside pipes in the distance, delivering water from lochs up in the mountains which would then create hydro-electricity for use at the smelter. (Arthur Turner)
The 17.35 departure from Inverness to the Far North behind 37021 appears to have a healthy load of passengers on the fine summer’s evening of 9 August 1985, as it crosses the Ness viaduct. What appeared to be a substantial enough structure was not able to withstand the onslaught of raging floodwater on the morning of 7 February 1989: At 08.30 (not long after a northbound freight had crossed over it), the central pillar and the two adjoining spans gave way. Other parts of the 1862-built bridge would collapse into the river over the following days. British Rail, to its credit, gave immediate assurances that the bridge would be replaced and steps would be taken to continue rail services to the north in the meantime, with rolling stock being maintained at a temporary depot at Muir of Ord. Six class 37s and other items of rolling stock had been left stranded by the collapse. However, the existing plans to introduce Sprinter DMUs in place of hauled stock were to continue with low-loaders being used to exchange vehicles between Inverness and Muir of Ord, as necessary. The new bridge opened on 9 May 1990 and fears about the future of the Far North route were put to rest. (Bill Sharman)
A quiet Saturday finds motive power that would likely be employed on coal traffic during the week, resting at the Thornton Junction stabling point. Up front is 20227, the last of the line as far as the class 20s were concerned. It came out of the Vulcan Works at Newton le Willows in BR blue livery in February 1968, going firstly to Polmadie to help replace the unsuccessful Clayton class 17s. It became one of the earlier recipients of the new Railfreight livery in 1985 before finding work away from Scotland. Ultimately it would be preserved and today bears a London Underground style paint scheme as a mainline certified engine with the Class 20 Locomotive Society. Behind it are similar vintage 20220 and 20221 (with 26034 beyond) and 20208 to the right. 31 May 1986. (Author)
Waiting at the coal drops of Cockenzie Power Station on 8 February 1989 is Coal Sector liveried 26005. This was said to be the first Railfreight liveried locomotive to carry the cast ‘Scottie Dog’ Eastfield depot logo early that year. Although rated slightly below the class 27, experience had always shown that the 26 was a more reliable performer on freight duties (with a better low speed performance), hence the decision to standardise upon it when the overall requirement for type 2s was reduced. A number of MGR wagons in Scotland were fitted with the top canopy to minimise blow-off of coal. Clearance issues at most pits elsewhere prevented their wider operation. The MGR wagon was such a common sight around the country but their disappearance from the network and scrapping was a surprisingly quick process and preservationists had to move fast to save the ones that they did. (Keith Sanders)
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British Rail’s Scottish Region was somewhat set apart from the rest of the system and not just in a geographical sense. During the 1980s, it still had two classes of diesel locomotive that couldn’t be found anywhere else in Britain (the so-called ‘MacRats’, class 26s and 27s) plus the added attraction of loco-hauled passenger trains that ran through spectacular scenery. The weather might not always have been so attractive (nor the summer season midges!) but these elements helped to make the country a place of pilgrimage for many railway enthusiasts from the south.
Using mostly images from the Arthur Turner collection, Scottish Diesels in the 1980s is a reminder of a time when the loss of steam traction from the network had largely been forgotten, and when a new form of interest in the succeeding (though ageing) types of diesel locos was now very evident.
by Andrew Royle