Steam Dreams is a charter company that operated day excursions by rail using steam locomotives for all or part of the journey.
In this shot, B1 class locomotive 61306 'Mayflower' stands at platform 10 at York railway station, having just completed it's run from Ealing Broadway to York. The return run later in the afternoon was taken by a diesel locomotive, with 'Mayflower' going to the railway museum for the night.
Built for the London & North Eastern Railway, 61306 'Mayflower' is one of two surviving B1 Class locomotives.
The B1's were designed as mixed traffic locomotives capable of hauling express passenger trains as well as freight traffic. As powerful, go anywhere engines, the B1's worked across most of the UK rail network from East Anglia to Scotland.
'Mayflower' was built in 1948 by the North British Locomotive Company in Glasgow but was delivered post-nationalisation and acquired the number 61306 by British Railways. She was first allocated to Hull Botanic Gardens Depot followed by a spell at Hull Dairycotes Depot before being finally transferred to Low Moor Depot, Bradford. She was the last B1 in service, her final trip was hauling the 'Yorkshire Pullman' from Leeds in September 1967.
'Mayflower' was immediately purchased for preservation and was initially based at Steamtown in Carnforth. She was fully restored for mainline operation and worked a number of railtours in the 1970's. Acquired by Steam Dreams owner David Buck in 2014, she returned to the mainline in 2015 before being withdrawn for an extensive overhaul. Resplendent in LNER apple green livery and British Railways branding, she returned to full mainline operation in early 2019.
What a story! This looks impeccable still after all these years. I find steam trains romantic contrary to modern ones. Btw we have no trains here - when the buses were introduced the trains couldn't compete and finally stopped operating.
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, which put this shot on the Popular Page.
It wasn't a great day for getting a shot of this locomotive. The sun was low in the sky and behind the locomotive, so I was pleased to be able to get this result.
@pyrrhula Ferry, the LNER railway company had a different way of naming locomotive classes to anyone else. C1 is the correct European notification, but the LNER made things more complicated. All locomotives with this wheel arrangement were class B, with different types given a number, starting from B1 to B17. There was no logic to the number sequence. This class was the youngest with this wheel arrangement, but given the lowest number. I hope this helps.
@fishers Thanks. We count by numbers the not driving wheels in front. In this case 2. The big driving wheels has a letter. In this case 3=C. If you`ve small wheels on the locomotive at the rear they also got a number. So you can have a 2D3 for excaple.
But this is an British compagny.
November 20th, 2019
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Am enjoying seeing the trains through your eyes
I thought this is a 2C
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, which put this shot on the Popular Page.
It wasn't a great day for getting a shot of this locomotive. The sun was low in the sky and behind the locomotive, so I was pleased to be able to get this result.
Ian
Ian
But this is an British compagny.