Fifteen Guinea Special
Encyclopedia
The IT57 'Fifteen Guinea Special' was the last main-line passenger train to be hauled by steam locomotive power on British Railways on 11 August 1968 before the introduction of a steam ban that started the following day. It was a special railtour excursion train organised for the occasion from Liverpool
via Manchester
to Carlisle and back, and was pulled by four different steam locomotives in turn during the four legs of the journey (with two engines sharing the third leg).
s = £
15 15s
0d in pre-decimal British currency). Ticket prices had been inflated due to the high demand to travel on the last BR steam-hauled mainline train.
. It was hauled by LMS Class 5 45110
to Manchester Victoria
, arriving 8 minutes late at 10:42. No. 45110 was replaced with Britannia Class 70013 Oliver Cromwell
– the last steam locomotive to be overhauled by BR – and the train departed for Carlisle
at 11:06. The train arrived at Carlisle, 33 minutes late, at 15:29.
For the first part of the return leg, two LMS Stanier Class 5
locomotives, 44781 and 44871, double-headed the train back to Manchester Victoria. The train departed Carlisle at 15:44 – 14 minutes late – and arrived in Manchester at 19:00, 12 minutes late. Re-joining the train, 45110 then worked the remainder of the journey back to Liverpool Lime Street, arriving only 9 minutes late at 19:59.
network (though BR would continue to operate three steam locomotives on the narrow gauge
Vale of Rheidol line
until it was privatised in 1989). After this point all trains in Britain would be hauled by diesel
or electric
power, with the exception of privately owned heritage railway
s and privately run charters that are now able to run on the mainline provided that the steam locomotive has received necessary certification. The only steam locomotive to which the ban did not apply was Flying Scotsman
due to a clause in the contract in which she was purchased from BR in 1963.
Several other railtours had already marked the end of steam haulage on other parts of the British (not UK) network. During most of these railtours, the Fifteen Guinea Special included, the line was flanked with large crowds due to the high popularity of steam engines and the belief that it was highly unlikely that they would be allowed back onto the network, although in the event steam specials on BR lines were introduced only three years later in 1971.
All but one of the locomotives that hauled the train passed into preservation. 45110 now resides on the Severn Valley Railway
and has been named RAF Biggin Hill. 44871 is (as of winter 2009) mainline operational and 70013 Oliver Cromwell is now part of the National Collection and was restored to mainline running in 2008. It is based on the Great Central Railway
. The only one not preserved, 44781 was used for filming of the film The Virgin Soldiers
, for which it was derailed and hung at an angle for visual effect. After filming was completed, an ethusisiast tried to purchase her, but was unable to find the money needed, so she was then sold for scrap.
Although this was the last main-line steam train by British Railways, the organisation continued to operate steam trains on the narrow gauge
Vale of Rheidol Railway
. This line was sold to a private operator in 1989.
Locomotives to run and routes
Original Locomotives and Routes
Re-Run Locomotives and Routes
LMS Class 5 45110
was not used as it is not mainline registered. However, 45110 ran over the Severn Valley Railway
on August 11th 2008 with a special 1T57 service. The day saw 45110's last day in service with its at-the-time boiler certificate.
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
via Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
to Carlisle and back, and was pulled by four different steam locomotives in turn during the four legs of the journey (with two engines sharing the third leg).
Name
The Fifteen Guinea Special was so named because of the high price for tickets on the railtour (15 guineaGuinea (British coin)
The guinea is a coin that was minted in the Kingdom of England and later in the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom between 1663 and 1813...
s = £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
15 15s
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
0d in pre-decimal British currency). Ticket prices had been inflated due to the high demand to travel on the last BR steam-hauled mainline train.
Route and locomotives
The railtour started at 09:10 from Liverpool Lime StreetLiverpool Lime Street railway station
Liverpool Lime Street is a railway station serving the city centre of Liverpool, England. The station lies on a branch of the West Coast Main Line from London Euston, and on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network...
. It was hauled by LMS Class 5 45110
LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0 5110
London Midland and Scottish Railway Stanier Class 5 4-6-0 No. 5110 is a preserved British steam locomotive. It has carried the name RAF Biggin Hill in preservation, though it never carried this in service....
to Manchester Victoria
Manchester Victoria station
Manchester Victoria station in Manchester, England is the city's second largest mainline railway station. It is also a Metrolink station, one of eight within the City Zone...
, arriving 8 minutes late at 10:42. No. 45110 was replaced with Britannia Class 70013 Oliver Cromwell
BR standard class 7 70013 Oliver Cromwell
70013 Oliver Cromwell is a British Railways standard class 7 preserved steam locomotive. The locomotive is notable as one of the four steam locomotives which worked the last steam railtour on British Railways in 1968 before the introduction of a steam ban.-Career:One of 55 of the "Britannia"...
– the last steam locomotive to be overhauled by BR – and the train departed for Carlisle
Carlisle railway station
Carlisle railway station, also known as Carlisle Citadel station, is a railway station whichserves the Cumbrian City of Carlisle, England, and is a major station on the West Coast Main Line, lying south of Glasgow Central, and north of London Euston...
at 11:06. The train arrived at Carlisle, 33 minutes late, at 15:29.
For the first part of the return leg, two LMS Stanier Class 5
LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0
The London Midland and Scottish Railway's Class 5 4-6-0, almost universally known as the Black Five, is a class of steam locomotive. It was introduced by William Stanier in 1934 and 842 were built between then and 1951...
locomotives, 44781 and 44871, double-headed the train back to Manchester Victoria. The train departed Carlisle at 15:44 – 14 minutes late – and arrived in Manchester at 19:00, 12 minutes late. Re-joining the train, 45110 then worked the remainder of the journey back to Liverpool Lime Street, arriving only 9 minutes late at 19:59.
Significance
The end of steam-hauled trains on British Railways was a turning point in the history of rail travel in Britain. The BR steam ban was introduced the day after the railtour, on 12 August 1968, making the Fifteen Guinea Special the last steam-hauled passenger train to be run by BR on its standard gaugeStandard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
network (though BR would continue to operate three steam locomotives on the narrow gauge
Narrow gauge
A narrow gauge railway is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow gauge railways have gauges of between and .- Overview :...
Vale of Rheidol line
Vale of Rheidol Railway
The Vale of Rheidol Railway is a narrow-gauge gauge heritage railway that runs for between Aberystwyth and Devil's Bridge in the county of Ceredigion, Wales...
until it was privatised in 1989). After this point all trains in Britain would be hauled by diesel
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
or electric
Electric locomotive
An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or an on-board energy storage device...
power, with the exception of privately owned heritage railway
Heritage railway
thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...
s and privately run charters that are now able to run on the mainline provided that the steam locomotive has received necessary certification. The only steam locomotive to which the ban did not apply was Flying Scotsman
LNER Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman
The LNER Class A3 Pacific locomotive No. 4472 Flying Scotsman was built in 1923 for the London and North Eastern Railway at Doncaster Works to a design of H.N. Gresley...
due to a clause in the contract in which she was purchased from BR in 1963.
Several other railtours had already marked the end of steam haulage on other parts of the British (not UK) network. During most of these railtours, the Fifteen Guinea Special included, the line was flanked with large crowds due to the high popularity of steam engines and the belief that it was highly unlikely that they would be allowed back onto the network, although in the event steam specials on BR lines were introduced only three years later in 1971.
All but one of the locomotives that hauled the train passed into preservation. 45110 now resides on the Severn Valley Railway
Severn Valley Railway
The Severn Valley Railway is a heritage railway in Shropshire and Worcestershire, England. The line runs along the Severn Valley from Bridgnorth to Kidderminster, following the course of the River Severn for much of its route...
and has been named RAF Biggin Hill. 44871 is (as of winter 2009) mainline operational and 70013 Oliver Cromwell is now part of the National Collection and was restored to mainline running in 2008. It is based on the Great Central Railway
Great Central Railway
The Great Central Railway was a railway company in England which came into being when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension . On 1 January 1923, it was grouped into the London and North Eastern...
. The only one not preserved, 44781 was used for filming of the film The Virgin Soldiers
The Virgin Soldiers
The Virgin Soldiers is a 1966 comic novel by Leslie Thomas, inspired by his own experiences of National Service in the British Army.The novel was turned into a film The Virgin Soldiers in 1969, directed by John Dexter, with a screenplay by the British screenwriter John Hopkins. It starred Hywel...
, for which it was derailed and hung at an angle for visual effect. After filming was completed, an ethusisiast tried to purchase her, but was unable to find the money needed, so she was then sold for scrap.
Although this was the last main-line steam train by British Railways, the organisation continued to operate steam trains on the narrow gauge
Narrow gauge
A narrow gauge railway is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow gauge railways have gauges of between and .- Overview :...
Vale of Rheidol Railway
Vale of Rheidol Railway
The Vale of Rheidol Railway is a narrow-gauge gauge heritage railway that runs for between Aberystwyth and Devil's Bridge in the county of Ceredigion, Wales...
. This line was sold to a private operator in 1989.
Re-Run 2008
2008 was the 40th Anniversary since 'IT57' and end of steam on British Railways and to celebrate a re-run of the tour ran on Sunday August 10 (as August 11 was a Monday in 2008). It again ran from Liverpool Lime Street-Manchester Victoria-Carlisle-Manchester Victoria-Liverpool Lime Street.Locomotives to run and routes
Original Locomotives and Routes
- LMS Class 5 45110LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0 5110London Midland and Scottish Railway Stanier Class 5 4-6-0 No. 5110 is a preserved British steam locomotive. It has carried the name RAF Biggin Hill in preservation, though it never carried this in service....
Liverpool Lime Street-Manchester Victoria - Britannia Class 70013 Oliver CromwellBR standard class 7 70013 Oliver Cromwell70013 Oliver Cromwell is a British Railways standard class 7 preserved steam locomotive. The locomotive is notable as one of the four steam locomotives which worked the last steam railtour on British Railways in 1968 before the introduction of a steam ban.-Career:One of 55 of the "Britannia"...
Manchester Victoria-Carlisle - LMS Stanier Class 5LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0The London Midland and Scottish Railway's Class 5 4-6-0, almost universally known as the Black Five, is a class of steam locomotive. It was introduced by William Stanier in 1934 and 842 were built between then and 1951...
44871 and LMS Stanier Class 5LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0The London Midland and Scottish Railway's Class 5 4-6-0, almost universally known as the Black Five, is a class of steam locomotive. It was introduced by William Stanier in 1934 and 842 were built between then and 1951...
44781 Carlisle-Manchester Victoria - LMS Class 5 45110LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0 5110London Midland and Scottish Railway Stanier Class 5 4-6-0 No. 5110 is a preserved British steam locomotive. It has carried the name RAF Biggin Hill in preservation, though it never carried this in service....
Manchester Victoria-Liverpool Lime Street
Re-Run Locomotives and Routes
- LMS Stanier Class 8FLMS Stanier Class 8FThe London Midland and Scottish Railway's 8F class 2-8-0 heavy freight locomotive is a class of steam locomotive designed for hauling heavy freight...
48151 Liverpool Lime Street-Manchester Victoria. - Britannia class 70013 Oliver CromwellBR standard class 7 70013 Oliver Cromwell70013 Oliver Cromwell is a British Railways standard class 7 preserved steam locomotive. The locomotive is notable as one of the four steam locomotives which worked the last steam railtour on British Railways in 1968 before the introduction of a steam ban.-Career:One of 55 of the "Britannia"...
. Manchester Victoria-Carlisle. - LMS Class 5 45407 LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0 45407LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0 45407 'The Lancashire Fusilier' is a LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0 locomotive engine built at Armstrong Whitworth in 1937.It is one of 18 surviving Black 5's.- Shed allocations :During its working life no...
(as first choice, LMS Class 5MT "Black Five" 4-6-0 44871 was under overhaul) and LMS Class 5 45231LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0 5231London Midland and Scottish Railway Stanier Class 5 4-6-0 No. 5231 is a preserved British steam locomotive...
(as LMS Class 5MT "Black Five" 4-6-0 44781) Carlisle-Blackburn. - LMS Stanier Class 8FLMS Stanier Class 8FThe London Midland and Scottish Railway's 8F class 2-8-0 heavy freight locomotive is a class of steam locomotive designed for hauling heavy freight...
48151 Blackburn-Liverpool Lime Street
LMS Class 5 45110
LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0 5110
London Midland and Scottish Railway Stanier Class 5 4-6-0 No. 5110 is a preserved British steam locomotive. It has carried the name RAF Biggin Hill in preservation, though it never carried this in service....
was not used as it is not mainline registered. However, 45110 ran over the Severn Valley Railway
Severn Valley Railway
The Severn Valley Railway is a heritage railway in Shropshire and Worcestershire, England. The line runs along the Severn Valley from Bridgnorth to Kidderminster, following the course of the River Severn for much of its route...
on August 11th 2008 with a special 1T57 service. The day saw 45110's last day in service with its at-the-time boiler certificate.
External links
- http://www.flickr.com/photos/allan5819/3381350195/ Two photos comparing the 1968 and 2008 IT57 Fifteen Guinea Specials, both of Oliver Cromwell arriving at Carlisle station.
- http://www.flickr.com/photos/allan5819/3381327441/ Two photos of the 1968 and 2008 IT57 Fifteen Guinea Specials at Carlisle station, each taken from the same spot.
- http://www.flickr.com/photos/26458066@N03/5699361940 Photo (11 Aug 1968) of the Black 5s '44781' and '44871' emerging from the tunnel into Blackburn station on the double-header leg of the run.