Carnforth Lancashire 70013 15th June 1968

Carnforth shed, Lancashire. British Railways Britannia Class 4-6-2 70013 Oliver Cromwell & an unidentified Stanier Black 5 in light steam at the north end of the shed blacken the late afternoon atmosphere as they await their next duties. I visited the shed in the evening en route back to Manchester Victoria on a Northern Railfans trip.

The tall concrete building is the ash lift, an efficient way to clear away the piles of ash & char from engine disposals which could quickly accumulate in a large shed like Carnforth. Small tubs were filled by hand and then hoist up the tower & tipped into waiting 16 ton wagons for onward disposal. The much larger concrete coaling tower is just out of shot.

70013 has now (May 2008) been restored at the Great Central Railway at Loughborough after spending most of the time since August 1968 at Bressingham in Norfolk. The plan is to run-in the loco on the Great Central ready for main line train duty in 2008 to commemorate 40 years since the end of steam on BR.