Yes
Looking in which direction + likely decade? Believe 5709 was built June 1936 so it won't have been before then.Ansdell & Fairhaven.
Camera is looking east - if you find the junction of Arundel Road and the top end of Lake Road North, you can see a similar view, there’s far more trees alongside the track as you’d expect.Looking in which direction + likely decade? Believe 5709 was built June 1936 so it won't have been before then.
Nah. Beginner's mistake that. It's been a commonly used abbreviation for 'Manchester' for some time now.MCR?
My Chemical Romance Rock Band?
They were, in the 1960s according to:It appears to have one of the smaller tenders. Were these later exchanged for larger ones?
As 5709 is carrying a LMS number, presumably the photo predates BR renumbering post-nationalisation.Looking in which direction + likely decade? Believe 5709 was built June 1936 so it won't have been before then.
The loco looks very "mucky", so probably during, or after WW2.As 5709 is carrying a LMS number, presumably the photo predates BR renumbering post-nationalisation.
Yes, that's right, an express passenger train.Am I correct that the loco is carrying the "express passenger" headcode?
Sorry, no idea on that one.Would this apply to specials and troop trains as well as regular timetabled workings?
IIRC specials and troop trains back then would carry the ‘express passenger’ headlamp code if they were timed at express passenger train speeds. A light engine going to assist a failed train, or a breakdown train going to an accident could also carry the headcode.Am I correct that the loco is carrying the "express passenger" headcode? Would this apply to specials and troop trains as well as regular timetabled workings?
Me too, I'm sure I can see the S. The engine looks to have seen better days (as in it's worked hard during the war), I tend to agree with others that it's probably between 1945 and 1948.I keep trying to work out if I can make out L M S on the tender or if the shape concerned is the BR emblem. There are possibly 3 patches which could be the 3 letters of LMS or one bright patch which could be an emblem. No doubt others have tried to look but none of us can make it out.
I guess if the loco is numbers under the LMS scheme it is likely that the tender has LMS on it.
Yes, presumably given the size of the fleet removing pre nationalisation lettering would have taken a bit of time, as indeed would re-numbering but I would have thought re-numbering was more of a priority than lettering, for administrative purposes. Though I am sure experts on the forum will know the timescales of how long it took to renumber the loco fleet.Me too, I'm sure I can see the S. The engine looks to have seen better days (as in it's worked hard during the war), I tend to agree with others that it's probably between 1945 and 1948.
It looks like suburban coaches, as photo shows door hinges protruding to nearly every seating bay. Express stock tended to just have doors to vestibules.Am I correct that the loco is carrying the "express passenger" headcode? Would this apply to specials and troop trains as well as regular timetabled workings?
Those are LMS Period 1 and Period 2 corridor (i.e. main line) stock; and I think I spy an ex-Midland Third amongst them.It looks like suburban coaches, as photo shows door hinges protruding to nearly every seating bay. Express stock tended to just have doors to vestibules.
I agree. I discern the M and S on the tender.Me too, I'm sure I can see the S. The engine looks to have seen better days (as in it's worked hard during the war), I tend to agree with others that it's probably between 1945 and 1948.
I know very little about coaching stock, but I did wonder if those carriages were LMS ones. If they were older LMS ones, that would tie in with this train being perhaps a summer Saturday day excursion or a Wakes week / holiday train as it looks to be what? 10 coaches long. They were still being used on my old branch line in 1963 for these kind of excursions.Those are LMS Period 1 and Period 2 corridor (i.e. main line) stock; and I think I spy an ex-Midland Third amongst them.
By the mid 1930s Stanier's Period 3 stock would've been the norm for frontline duties. However the LMS's excursions and secondary services, I would still expect to see Period 1 and 2 corridor stock; even in Postwar LMS years. So I think this is a latter-1940s photo.
Absolutely my line of thinking too. Postwar, Blackpool was a popular destination and, as motor car ownership was not the norm, I think it's likely to be a day excursion train.... this train being perhaps a summer Saturday day excursion or a Wakes week / holiday train
I still find it amazing that we can look at a photo and work out its location, where the train is going, what probable date the photo was taken by, all this by a group of us who pool our knowledge together. Great team work!
I think we can summarise the photo now as:
1. The train's location is Ansdell & Fairhaven.
2. The train is on the Preston to Blackpool South line.
3. It's heading West towards Blackpool.
4. The date is probably between 1945 and 1948.
5. It's probably a summer Saturday day excursion.
6. It most likely started from Crewe or somewhere in Cheshire.
As regards point #3, would the most likely destination in the latter half of the 1940s have been Blackpool Central? If so, does that then not beg the question as to why an excursion train would be routed via Ansdell & Fairhaven, rather than more directly via the now closed Marton line?I think we can summarise the photo now as:
1. The train's location is Ansdell & Fairhaven.
2. The train is on the Preston to Blackpool South line.
3. It's heading West towards Blackpool.
4. The date is probably between 1945 and 1948.
5. It's probably a summer Saturday day excursion.
6. It most likely started from Crewe or somewhere in Cheshire.
As regards point #3, would the most likely destination in the latter half of the 1940s have been Blackpool Central? If so, does that then not beg the question as to why an excursion train would be routed via Ansdell & Fairhaven, rather than more directly via the now closed Marton line?
All good points to which I can't disagree and it's certainly a possibility.Which is why I wondered if it was full of RAF bods. I read a story in the Bulletin of the Military Railway Study Group by a chap who found himself in charge of a large draft of men heading for Germany, starting with a rail journey from Lytham to Harwich.
Good question. With Blackpool itself as the main draw for tourists we must not forget Lytham and St. Annes were also destinations for those wishing to get away for a day or even a week's holiday. They were mainly aimed at the higher end of the tourist market, somewhere quieter than Blackpool itself. There is also the tram line to Blackpool should you wish to visit. That's one possible reason.As regards point #3, would the most likely destination in the latter half of the 1940s have been Blackpool Central? If so, does that then not beg the question as to why an excursion train would be routed via Ansdell & Fairhaven, rather than more directly via the now closed Marton line?