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| Steam in the United Kingdom | ||
| by John Craft | ||
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| Birthplace of the Steam Locomotive. Home to the fastest steam locomotives ever built. England, Scotland and Wales are the first stop on many rail enthusiasts' first international pilgrimage, and with good reason. The scenery is marvelous, the locomotives attractive, and no one will argue with a four-cylinder Pacific running 75mph isn't compelling. If you haven't been, start packing your bags now - British steam is at its best in the winter months. | ||
Travel Tips On Line Resources Photo Locations Non-Rail Tips Personal Recommendations | ||
| The Trains | ||
| Although industrial usage of steam locomotives continued into the 1980s in some locations, mainline steam in Britain ended in 1968. From 1968 to 1971, only one steam locomotive - Alan Peglar's ex-LNER 4-6-2 "Flying Scotsman" - was permitted on British Railways. Since ex-Great Western "King" class 4-6-0 6000 led the breaking of the steam ban, steam has flourished in the UK. Dozens of engines have run on the main line, hundreds more on preserved railways. The "preserved railway" (tourist railroad) scene in the UK is miles ahead of the US efforts. Authenticity is paramount on most UK lines, both in the rolling stock used and in the appearance of the station areas. Most larger preserved railways schedule "Galas" in the spring and fall, with visiting engines and extra trains, often freight consists. One line has even rebuilt a double-track mainline, expanded in one stretch to four tracks! Preserved railways are thick on the ground in England. Most preserved railways attempt to recreate the "feel" of the line they operate. Thus the Worth Valley Railway, a former Midland Region / LMS branch line, often features a "Jinty" 0-6-0 on its passenger consists. (British Railways was divided into several "Regions," roughly corresponding to the maps of its four consituents: the Great Western, the London-Midland-Scottish, the London & North Eastern, and the Southern,) The Great Central Railway, a former LNER main line later transferred to the Midland Region, features operations of both types - LMS-design "Black Five" 4-6-0s can be found, as can BR "Standard" classes. Even LNER A3 class "Flying Scotsman" made a visit to the line before its return to the main line; A3s were common on this line prior to its closure. This page covers standard gauge operations, but there are several narrow gauge railways still operating in Wales. Read Erik Ledbetter's travel guide here. | ||
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| Travel Tips | ||
| When To Go: It all depends on what you want to shoot. January - March: A slow time for preserved railways, but an excellent opportunity to shoot main line steam. Snow is a not-infrequent visitor to the north of England, and a snowy Friday preceding a main line run guarantees a bumper crop of photographers. April - May: Main line trips are plentiful during this time. "Galas" begin in late April and are common through May. "Steam on the Met," two weekends of steam operation on the London Transport Metropolitan Line, is in late May. Summer: lots of preserved railway operations, main line excursions curtailed somewhat due to fire risk. The almost-daily trips over the very scenic Fort William - Mallaig line in Scotland begin in late June. The last weekend of August, a holiday weekend, usually features more main line steam and additional runs on preserved lines. Mid-September - October: Perhaps the best time, with preserved steam still running frequent schedules and main line trips on the increase. The Fort William - Mallaig trips run through the end of September, after which there are often special runs in Scotland to return the engines and cars south for the winter. November - December: Preserved railway operation slows down, with the notable exception of the weeks around Christmas. "Mince Pie Specials" are a staple of preserved railways, with extra trains and daily operations. Main line excursions also run often during this time. | ||
| The Language: Don't laugh - Oscar Wilde was right when he described Americans and the British as "separated by a common language." You won't have any problem getting around, but there are many differences you'll enjoy learning. | ||
| The Weather: The UK's reputation as constantly rainy is a bit overdone. One difference between shooting in the US and in the UK: the weather during a day is less variable in the US - if it's good it's good, if it's bad there's not much hope. In contrast, many cloudy days will feature "holes" - your goal is to find and exploit them. This may mean heading to a different line than you had planned to visit. | ||
| Maps: The Ordnance Survey produces the excellent "LandRanger" series of 1:50,000 topographical maps. In a country of recreational walkers, these maps are available in most bookstores; typical cost is GBP4. For general navigation, both the Ordnance Survey and the auto clubs (AA and RAC) produce "motoring atlases" at 1:200,000 covering the whole country. Another excellent option is the OS Interactive CDROM atlas of Great Britain. From this program you can create your own maps, or use a laptop to navigate. But the mother church for map fanatics is Stanford's in London (on Long Acre near St. Martin's Lane in the West End), which stocks maps and guidebooks from all over the world. Even if you don't need a map, drop in and browse around. Finally, track down a copy of "BR Main Line Gradient Profiles" by Ian Allen Publishing if you plan to do much travelling about. Nothing but extremely detailed mile-by-mile diagrams of rail lines - by correlating station points with a LandRanger map, it's easy to figure out where that short-but-steep grade is located. In London I'd look at the Ian Allan bookshop next to Waterloo Station, or Motorbooks in Cecil Court between Charing Cross Road and St. Martin's Lane in the West End (Leicester Square tube). | ||
| Getting There: Flying into the UK, you are most likely to arrive in London (Heathrow or Gatwick). Both airports have direct rail connections to the city center. Another gateway you shouldn't overlook is Manchester Airport - convenient to the north of England, it also has excellent rail connections. Edinburgh and Glasgow are also options for trips to Scotland. | ||
| Lodging: The tourist motel is rare compared to the huge number of motels at the typical US Interstate exit, and chains are even less common. One good chain is Thistle (see "Online Resources," below). Far more common are Bed and Breakfast accomodations. Directories are common in US bookstores - choose luxury or budget or both. Guestaccom is one of many associations of B&Bs available. | ||
| Food: "Ethnic" food is easy to find in most English towns of any size, with Chinese and Indian being the most common. Pub food is found everywhere, although the quality will vary. (Check to see if people are eating or merely drinking - a crowd is NOT indicative of good food.) | ||
| Money & Prices: Forget the traveller's checks or large wads of cash. BY FAR the safest, simplest and least expensive way to get cash overseas is your plain old ATM card. | ||
| Hotels tend to run about GBP55-100 ($90-$150) for a business hotel outside London, about double that in London. Bed and Breakfast accomodations run GBP20-40 per person. Petrol (gasoline) runs 50-60 pence/litre, about $4 per gallon. Lunch in a local pub, including a pint of beer, will cost about $10. | ||
| Online Resources | ||
| Use the following links to plan your trip to the UK: | ||
| http://www.march.demon.co.uk/tours/index.htm - David Randles UK Main Line Steam Page - If it's happening on the main line you'll find it here. | ||
| http://homepages.uel.ac.uk/1278/Rly-Pres/ - Heritage Railway Association Pages - Mark Dewell maintains the gold standard of Internet rail sites - practically every UK preseration site has a link here. The "events diary" lists special events at preserved railways, and you can also find an interactive database of preserved locomotives. | ||
| http://www.paddington83.freeserve.co.uk/Fmslo.html - Friends of the Mainline Steam Operators - Planning to shoot mainline steam in the UK? For 10 British Pounds you can receive a phone number to learn the schedules of mainline movements. Well worth the price even for a short visit. | ||
| http://www.btinternet.com/~rpsi/newrpsi.html - The Railway Preservation Society of Ireland - The RPSI maintains a small fleet of steam locomotives and operates main line excursions throughout Ireland. | ||
| http://www.rail2000.com - Millennium Cavalcade - The next big parade of steam is planned for the August Bank Holiday - 40 locomotives will participate in the processions. | ||
| http://bahn.hafas.de/bin/db.s98/detect.exe/bin/db.s98/query.exe/e? - Deutsche Bahn (German State Railways) - Look up schedules for trains all over Europe. This is the English-language page. Railtrack's less detailed version can be found here. | ||
| http://www.steamcentral.com/trav-ukn.htm - SteamCentral - the companion piece to this Travel Resource pages is Erik Ledbetter's look at narrow gauge steam in Wales. | ||
| http://www.mindspring.com/~eledbett/wales/index.htm - Trainspotting in Wales - Erik Ledbetter's photo essay and diary of a tour of the Welsh narrow gauge railways. | ||
| http://www.thistlehotels.com - Thistle Hotels - quality accomodations throughout England. | ||
| http://www.guestaccom.co.uk/ - GuestAccom - a listing of Bed and Breakfast accomodations. | ||
| http://www.ordsvy.gov.uk/ - Ordnance Survey - the full range of OS maps available online. | ||
| http://www.mapsworldwide.com/ - MapsWorldwide - the full range of OS maps available online here, and many other British and European maps available. | ||
| http://www.mapquest.com - MapQuest - order maps online. | ||
| http://www.omnimap.com - Omnimap - order maps online. | ||
| http://www.ianallan.com/publishing/index.htm - Ian Allan Publishing - find a large assortment of rail-related books and magazines. "BR Main Line Gradient Profiles" isn't listed for sale, but it couldn't hurt to ask via email. | ||
| http://www.xe.net/currency - Universal Currency Convertor - self-explanatory. | ||
| http://www.mastercard.com/cgi-bin/atm/ - MasterCard ATM Locator - Find ATMs wherever you're going. | ||
| http://www.bt.com/ - BT Directory Enquiries - The online British Telecom directory. | ||
| (Links are provided as a convenience and do not imply any endorsement of products or services offered on the linked sites.) | ||
| Photo Locations | |
| It's simply impossible to give details on every main line visited regularly by steam, or cover every preserved railway. So I've written this section to correspond to the four BR Regions. Before beginning, though, let me make one blanket statement: DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT WALKING ON MAIN LINE RAILROAD PROPERTY. Trespassing laws in the UK are quite free compared to those in the US; centuries of common law precedent puts the burden on the landowner to prove damage if he brings trespass charges against someone. The big exception is the railroad right-of-way. Don't even go inside the fences; if you are spotted by a railway employee and reported, you may not suffer personally, but steam has been banned from a line more than once due to trespass on the tracks. Get close to the fence if you must, or visit the stations where the locomotive will be watered if you want a close-up view. Trespassing restrictions are a bit more lax on preserved lines although some are very strict with linesiders. For example, to get permission to lineside the Great Central one must pay a fee, get an ID, take a safety course, and be wearing an approved high-visibility vest. Now, on to the trains: | |
| Midland Region: Main line Midland Region covered the industrial heartland of England, and extends from London to the Irish Sea at Holyhead and into Scotland. Of the more scenic lines that see steam regularly, the Settle-Carlisle line is the queen. Built by the Midland Railway in the 1870s to compete with the London & North Western, it features high stone bridges and high-speed running through the incredible scenery of the Yorkshire Dales. Beginning at the Scottish border city of Carlisle, the line originally was a main line all the way to London; network changes in the 1960s eliminated of the Leeds-Sheffield section and downgraded the rest to local service only. The Settle Junction - Carlisle portion still features manually-operated signal boxes (interlocking towers), and is "closed" at night. With only six trains each way daily on this double-stack main line, there is plenty of capacity for steam excursions, detoured trains during trackwork on the parallel L&NW "West Coast Main Line," and the daily freight on the line. | |
| | Nearing the summit at Ais Gill on a southbound run, "Princess Royal" class 4-6-2 46203 "Princess Margaret Rose" has her train well in hand. The valley unfolding in the background is known as the "Mallerstang;" The Thrang Country Hotel (see "Personal Recommendations," below) is just around the curve in the distance. Wouldn't this four-cylinder beauty look marvelous in late-BR Brunswick Green? |
 | The huge viaduct over Batty Moss at Ribblehead, North Yorkshire, dwarfs the trains that travel across it. Construction of this viaduct claimed the lives of several workers who were buried in nearby Chapel-le-Dale, and a monument is dedicated to them there. |
 | Northbound out of Appleby station, "Princess Margaret Rose" causes a "lambpede" as she accelerates. |
 | As you can see, 46203 was a regular on the "S&C" in the early '90s. Here she's southbound at Birkett Common. |
 | The line from Crewe to Holyhead, along the North Wales Coast, is also scenic, and features trackage along the city wall and medieval castle of Conwy. |
| Midland Region: Preserved Railways Several lines including the Worth Valley and the East Lancashire, feature an LMS atmosphere. | |
 | There's not much to quibble about at Ramsbottom Station on the East Lancs - from the water tank to the signal box to the "Railway Hotel" across the street, the feel is pure steam-era. Here "Crab" 2-6-0 42765 takes water on one of her first runs. |
 | To an American a 2-10-0 on a passenger train looks funny. But while built as freight haulers, the "9F" class BR Standards regularly achieved 90mph in passenger service - not bad for an engine with 60" drivers. |
| Built by the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway, BR no. 52322 is shown on the East Lancs at Burrs with a demonstration freight. "Crab" 42765 is "banking" on the rear. |
 | "Jinties" were the LMS version of the American 2-8-0 - an engine for all uses from switching to freight to branchline passenger trains. They were the standard power on the Worth Valley, and here no. 42729 passes the textile mills in Bronte country. |
| Southern Region: Main Line Steam on the Southern Region is alive and well thanks to a well-cared-for group of locomotives. Southern Railway 4-6-0s came in several classes, all of them extremely handsome. The Pacifics don't appeal to everyone, but there's no denying the power of a four-cylinder "Merchant Navy" as it climbs a 1% grade at 50+mph. | |
 | The "King Arthur" class is especially handsome, a fact you can't discern from this unusual view at Clayton Tunnel near Brighton. The building you see is a part of the tunnel portal, now a residence, and was actually for sale at the time I took this picture - great place to live if you're a heavy sleeper . . . |
 | "West Country" Pacific 34027 "Taw Valley" is hauling a railtour on a London - Southampton - Salisbury circle tour, passing the town and castle of Arundel. |
 | "Merchant Navy Pacific 35028 "Clan Line" is also shown here skirting the White Cliffs of Dover near Folkestone. Remnants of the temporary slips used to launch the Normandy invasion are common along the coast here. |
 | This pair of Southern 4-6-0s looks quite a sight climbing from the coast at Roland's Castle, on the line from Portsmouth to Guildford. |
 | Another aspect of the Southern Region scene were "Boat Trains" from London to connect to cross-Channel ferries or ocean liners. The Pullman-equipped trains like the "Golden Arrow" are recalled with the Venice-Simplon Orient Express Company train, often steam-hauled to the coast. Lunchtime specials in the London area are also scheduled regularly. |
| Southern Region: Preserved Railways Spend a day on the platforms at the Bluebell Railway's Horsted Keynes station and you might think that it is still the 1940s. | |
 | N15 class 4-6-0 847 is headed south with a consist of BR Southern Region coaches. |
 | U class 2-6-0 31625 ends its first day in service after overhaul on a series of private photo trains. The Mid-Hants Railway operates a portion of the former Alton-Winchester line. |
| Western Region: Main Line The Great Western was perhaps the most haughty of the regions - its engines did not get renumbered after nationalization in 1948, and it did not get combined with another large railway in the 1923 Grouping. Today "King" Class 4-6-0 6024 "King Edward II," "Hall" classes 4-6-0 4965 "Rood Ashton Hall" and 5972 "Olton Hall" operate regularly on the main line. "Castle" class 4-6-0 5029 "Nunney Castle" should be back out on the main line next year. | |
| Western Region: Preserved Railways Western Region flavor can be found in Wales, where the Llangollen Railway operates a portion of an abandoned GWR main line, and in Devon and Cornwall, where several railways maintain the GWR flavor. | |
 | The station of Berwyn on the Llangollen Railway sits astride a 1.2% grade on the approach to a tunnel, all hard by the River Dee. "Pannier Tanks" were as common as dirt on the old Western Region, used for everything from local switching to branchline trains to helper service. Here No. 7754 pulls away with a mid-day dining train banked by BR 2-6-0 76079. |
 | Returning from Glendyfrydwy, No. 76079 pulls the train across the river Dee and approaches Llangollen . . . |
 | . . . without disturbing the sheep while the kids wave. (No, it's not posed.) |
 | The Paignton & Dartmouth Steam Railway is perhaps the most commercially-oriented preserved railway in the UK. Even so, the level of authenticity is amazing. Here GWR 2-6-2T 5239 approaches Kingswear, just a ferry ride across the river Dart from Dartmouth. |
 | On the Gloucestershire-Warwickshire Railway, built on the abandoned GWR main line between Stratford-upon-Avon and Bristol, 0-4-2T 1450 has a typical branchline mixed train in hand for a private group of photographers. No. 1450, built in 1935 for branchline duty, was designed to be operated from a control cab in a coach as well as the locomotive cab. She is certified to run on the main line, and did so on the picturesque seaside line between Exeter and Newton Abbott during Easter weekend in 1998. |
 | No. 1450 enters Greet Tunnel with its short train at the regulation 25mph. |
| Another excellent preserved line is the Severn Valley, running from Kidderminster to Bridgnorth west of Birmingham. This scenic line features a large variety of Western Region power. | |
| Eastern Region: Main Line The former-LNER East Coast Main Line was never very scenic, and today's overhead electrification doesn't add to any beauty. The other LNER main line, built by the Great Central, was abandoned in the 1960s, so LNER engines can be shown to best advantage on preserved railways. | |
 | One exception is the secondary main between York and Leeds that passes through Harrogate. Here "Bahamas" passes over a viaduct nestled between riverside buildings and the ruins of Knaresborough Castle in the background. |
 | With the single-track fill of the East Lancs at Burrs substituting for the East Coast Main Line, BR "A4" class 4-6-2 60007 "Sir Nigel Gresley" looks just fine in her 1950-era BR lined blue livery. A member of this class, "Mallard," achieved 126mh on a publicity run, the fastest confirmed speed ever attained by a steam locomotive. |
| The one exception to the above is the near-daily operations during the summer on the ex-LNER line from Fort William to the port of Mallaig in the West Highlands of Scotland. Once the home of LNER 2-6-0s, replaced by LMS-design "Black Five" 4-6-0s, this line rivals the Settle-Carlisle for scenery. | |
| Eastern Region: Preserved Railways Perhaps the most scenic Eastern Region preserved railway is the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. With non-LNER power on most trains, however, it's tough to catch just the right photo. | |
| Steam on the Met: Held most years in the last two weekends of May, "SOTM" features shuttle trains on outlying points of the London Transport Metropolitan line. (The Metropolitan Line shares roadbed with the former LNER main line from London to Amersham.) | |
 | In past years the day's first movements, positioning moves from the Harrow-on-the-Hill station to Amersham and Watford, were made side-by-side. Here BR "Standard Tank" 2-6-4T 80079 and "Standard 4" 4-6-0 75014 race through Pinner. |
 | The long grade from Rickmansworth to Amersham makes for nice performance as 2-6-4T 80079 passes the beautifully-painted signal box on the Chorleywood platform. |
 | A Metropolitan Railway locomotive, Metropolitan Railway coaches - but nowhere near London. 0-4-4T No. 1 is on the Worth Valley Railway in this picture, but has operated in at least one "SOTM." |
| Ireland Northern Ireland makes up part of the United Kingdom, and the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland is based in the Belfast suburb of Whitehead. RPSI's three steam locomotives roam both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland on a regular basis. | |
| Non-Rail Tips | |
| Giving any level of detail to this subject would require a separate web site. Confining ourselves to non-rail attractions near preserved lines or scenic main lines, here is a partial list: First, the cities: London, York, Bath and Chester are well worth visiting. This list could quickly get out of hand by adding places like Canterbury, Salisbury, and other tourist destinations. If you want to take in some architecture but get off the beaten path, consider Rye, on the Channel coast; Ludlow, in the Welsh border country; and Bury St. Edmunds, in East Anglia. In the Llangollen area, enjoy a ride on the canal or drive over Horseshoe Pass (stop at the ruins of Valle Crucis Abbey en route). In the southwest Salisbury should be on anyone's list, as should a drive between Cranborne and Tollard Royal. You'll also find regimental insignias carved on the hillsides between Wilton and Shaftesbury. The Torbay area is beautiful if rather touristy, but you're not far from Dartmoor or the North Devon Coast. The Worth Valley Railway runs through Haworth, where the Bronte sisters lived; their home is open to the public. My personal favorite, however, is the area around the Settle-Carlisle line. Find accomodations in the area, and you can get one or two excellent photos of a main line train, devoting the rest of the day to hiking, shopping in Settle, Hawes or Appleby, or just sitting in the pub at the base of the famous Ribblhead Viaduct. Hard-to-reach villages like Dent offer an experience most tourists miss on their trips to England. | |
| Personal Recommendations | |
| First, let me explain how I travel, so you can adjust my recommendations as you need to. I don't often travel alone - either my wife comes with me, or I join forces with one or two friends. I'm not willing to suffer to conserve money, so I'm not looking for the cheapest hotel or restaurant. Nor do I seek out American touchstones like McDonalds and Holiday Inn; being in a non-English-speaking environment doesn't intimidate me at all. Finally, I don't exclude a little tourism once a few nice photos are in the bag. | |
| Cars & Hotels: All the car rental companies you're used to have a presence in UK airports and city centers. If this is your first time driving in the UK, get over your jetlag first, and consider picking up your car at an airport agency to avoid navigating in downtown London, or Leeds, etc. If on the other hand you don't mind city driving, getting a car in the city center is very handy, and some rental agencies can be found in or near rail stations. As to hotels, a few personal favorites follow: Chester: Castle House, on Castle Street. Five bedrooms in a house dating to the 16th century. +44 01244 350354 (011-44-1244-350354). Salisbury area: The Fleur de Lis Inn in Cranborne, 16 miles south of Salisbury. Dating from the 17 century, featured in the writings of Thomas Hardy, and the home of Poppy, a completely spoiled cat who likes to lick butter wrappers. +44 01725 517282 (011-44-1725-517282). Ais Gill: The Thrang Country Hotel. Ais Gill is the summit of the Settle-Carlisle line, and this out-of-the-way place is a five-minute walk from one of the most beautiful rail scenes in the UK. | |
| Trip Strategy: For a concentrated visit to capture maximum variety, late September to early October is perhaps the best choice. Weather is generally good, main line steam is running in quantity after the summer break, and Galas are planned by the major preserved lines. The weeks prior to Christmas also offer excellent opportunities for main line and preserved operations in low light (very low - sunset on the Settle-Carlisle in December is about 3:30pm). The spring gala season is another excellent time to visit. While shooting on a busy preserved line can be extremely productive, temper your expectations when shooting on the main line. Steam tours run at 60mph, and some locomotives are cleared to operate at 75mph. By contrast, many of the roads you drive will be good for averaging only 30mph. This is especially true on the Settle - Carlisle. A good day on the S&C will net you one shot between Carlisle and Appleby, one between Appleby and the Garsdale water stop, one between Garsdale and Settle, and a few more on the slower Settle Jct. - Preston section (not a part of the S&C, but worth a chase due to the castellated tunnel portal at Gisburn and the large brick viaduct at Whalley). But I can't emphasize enough that if a tour is running on the S&C while you're there, DO IT - ride, chase, stand on the platform, whatever. This is an incredibly atmospheric area, and even grubby days produce memorable trips. There are also dozens of private photo charters planned each year by fans like Geoff Silcock and Nick Hollingsworth. They're excruciatingly accurate representations of British steam in the 50s and 60s - Silcock often renumbers locos and arranges for rolling stock to be painted in order to recreate an actual train. Reasonably priced at GBP 20-50, if you can find out about these trips they are well worthwhile. (For the GWR train with 1450 pictured above, I just drove up on the day and joined the group.) Try posting a query on one of the UK-oriented newsgroups or bulletin boards if you plan to go. | |
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