The LNER Encyclopedia

Well, don't want to piss on your chips too much but you won't see an A4 or even an A3 on there before the War. In 1937 the V2s were just starting to take over. Initially 4771 was stationed at Top Shed to work as far as Peterborough, 4772 at Peterborough to work to (I think) York and 4774 at York to work further north. As more became available at these sheds then they'd have been added to that link. Absent a V2 you'd have seen a K3, those having been the main motve power until the V2s arrived. A4s were still being built and deployed to top link services and A3s were only just cascading down the pecking order of Areas and workings. Only when there were a raft of A1s and A2s available would they have been available for this service.

In terms of stock, contemporary photographs usually show a cut of containers leading, then mainly vans and the odd sheeted open. There was almost always an ex-NER CCT in the rake, sometimes more than one. The train collected fruit traffic at Sandy in season, so north of there you'd have fruit vans and maybe a sheeted open leading. Mainly LNER vans but not exclusively. There's a picture on Ebay right now (seller 'deva-bob') showing the sort of thing I mean. There are two of those NER CCTs in that photo.

Fair enough; but then again, Rule One of model railways applies as well.

Given that post-war but pre-Nationalisation A4's are rare on the ground unless you modify them, too.

I'd always assumed the Scotch Goods was made up of these:

Only after the sun was below the yardarm, surely?

Danby Wiske wrote: ↑Thu Sep 21, 2023 11:59 am I'd always assumed the Scotch Goods was made up of these:

Ho ho ho. Insofar as it has long been the case that way insufficient barley is grown in Scotland to produce sufficient water of life to satisfy demand, then (whisper it) English barley has to be used. But this originates well to the North of London, and is not significantly perishable so unlikely to be added to an express freight service intended for high value manufactures and rapidly perishable agricultural produce. But I think you knew all this.

Side note. I believe from a few distillery tours over the years, that it is only a few selected named Barley varieties that are considered worthy of the honour of metamorphosing into the splendid single malt whiskies.

There were 2 trains conveying block loads of barley from East Anglia to various destinations on Speyside finally terminating at Burghead. They were 6S40 daily and 6S43 as required. How does it get there now, anyone know?

Hatfield Shed wrote: ↑Thu Sep 21, 2023 1:34 pm Insofar as it has long been the case that way insufficient barley is grown in Scotland to produce sufficient water of life to satisfy demand, then (whisper it) English barley has to be used.

Aha! So now we know the real reason why the Scots didn't vote for independence. They're waiting until they've achieved self-sufficiency before they close the border...

Well the Scotch Goods picked up at Sandy and the Barley from there had been heading to Highland distillery for quite some time although it went by a difference service.
In the 70's it moved over to the 'Polybulks' with several at a time being loaded and shunted with a tractor.

I have seen a Deltic on 4S04 at Grantham in the 1966/7 era. How far the locos travelled before being changed I don't know. I wonder if it was a throwback to early ER days, when an A4 would often be rostered for that service, and certain drivers would try to catch up with the passenger train in front.