North Country Continental

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Hatfield Shed
LNER A4 4-6-2 'Streak'
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Re: North Country Continental

Post by Hatfield Shed »

65447 wrote:If the new series of American journeys is anything to go by, railways/railroads hardly figure these days.
I haven't caught all of these by any means but the two I saw, one relating to the LIRR, the other dealing with the parallel Erie Canal and subsequent railway (it terminated in Rawjesturr celebrating the Kodak Brownie) were good for railway content I felt. GE's optimiser simulator was interesting.
Johnbucknall
NER Y7 0-4-0T
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Joined: Fri Jan 13, 2017 8:06 pm

Re: North Country Continental

Post by Johnbucknall »

I remember as a young kid in the early sixties that it ran daily from Liverpool Central, referred to as the Harwich Boat Train, and usually hauled by. Black 5 (could have been Jubillee on occasions but not sure). I had seen it hauled by a Peak diesel electric loco as well. By the early 1970s it ran from Manchester Piccadilly again hauled by a Peak - daily service which departed early afternoon. In both instances I believe it ran with BR Mk 1 stock (although there might have also been some ex-LMS when it ran from Liverpool and I have also seen some pictures with ex-LNER stock).
65447
LNER A4 4-6-2 'Streak'
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Location: Overlooking the GEML

Re: North Country Continental

Post by 65447 »

It's been running on BBC2 at 6.30 p.m. this last week (commencing 9/1/2017) and no doubt will be repeated in due course. Missed 2 and half of the episodes due to the silly scheduling time but from those that I did see the 'North Country Continental' element was entirely absent and the route followed was not the original. Unfortunately the annoying foreground musical interludes still persist.

Currently available on BBC iPlayer: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b ... d=b00xgqxy

Edit - apologies, for I should have stated that BBC iPlayer is only available to TV licence payers in the UK.
Last edited by 65447 on Sat Jan 14, 2017 4:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Hatfield Shed
LNER A4 4-6-2 'Streak'
Posts: 1664
Joined: Fri Dec 23, 2011 3:34 pm

Re: North Country Continental

Post by Hatfield Shed »

The most NCC element occurred in the concluding programme, with the why of the development of Parkeston Quay by the GER.

It's a generalist interest programme. My wife, who enjoys rail travel, finds it a very attractive illustration of places to go by rail; and she is probably closer to the target audience than those posting here.
60022Mallard
LNER N2 0-6-2T
Posts: 53
Joined: Fri Mar 12, 2010 8:44 pm

Re: North Country Continental

Post by 60022Mallard »

At Bury St Edmunds those of a certain age called it either "The Brit" or later just the boat train. The Brit because it was the only regular working of such a loco through Bury. (They did also turn up on the Colchester - Glasgow). Among those of that certain age "The Brit" remained in use long, long after steam finished!

Previously I believe it was a "Sandy" out and back working to Sheffield Victoria for an electric loco forward. I would be interested to know its route through Manchester when it carried on to Liverpool.

By 1970 the GER class 37 worked the train throughout to Manchester including over Woodhead. If anyone has a list of which E26000 worked the first train after westward passage of the boat train in the days of the final week I would be interested to know as I descended from the boat train and had my only ever haulage by a 26000 one day very shortly before New Years Day 1970.

Sometime later in the 70s it was rerouted via Nottingham and Chesterfield. Was this when the reported Peak workings came in to save running round the 47 (by then) at Sheffield Midland?
Pyewipe Junction
GCR D11 4-4-0 'Improved Director'
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Location: Canberra, Australia

Re: North Country Continental

Post by Pyewipe Junction »

60022Mallard wrote:At Bury St Edmunds those of a certain age called it either "The Brit" or later just the boat train. The Brit because it was the only regular working of such a loco through Bury. (They did also turn up on the Colchester - Glasgow). Among those of that certain age "The Brit" remained in use long, long after steam finished!

Previously I believe it was a "Sandy" out and back working to Sheffield Victoria for an electric loco forward. I would be interested to know its route through Manchester when it carried on to Liverpool.

By 1970 the GER class 37 worked the train throughout to Manchester including over Woodhead. If anyone has a list of which E26000 worked the first train after westward passage of the boat train in the days of the final week I would be interested to know as I descended from the boat train and had my only ever haulage by a 26000 one day very shortly before New Years Day 1970.

Sometime later in the 70s it was rerouted via Nottingham and Chesterfield. Was this when the reported Peak workings came in to save running round the 47 (by then) at Sheffield Midland?
I may have mentioned this before, but to the best of my knowledge the the Harwich - Liverpool was only ever known as 'The Boat Train' in Lincoln in the 1950s and 60s.

I have also seen a photo of this train in the 1970s apparently using the Lincoln avoiding line. Was the stop at Lincoln eventually cut out?

During the last days of steam I believe the train was steam-hauled from Guide Bridge to Manchester Central (usually by an LMS class 4 2-6-4T, previously an A5) where it reversed.
60022Mallard
LNER N2 0-6-2T
Posts: 53
Joined: Fri Mar 12, 2010 8:44 pm

Re: North Country Continental

Post by 60022Mallard »

Extending it to Liverpool presumably required two sets of stock, while Manchester only required one - certainly in class 37 haulage days.

Reference the Lincoln avoiding line picture, if the headcode is visible, the boat train was 1M72 northbound and 1E87 southbound for many years. I would not have expected such a large source of potential traffic as Lincoln to be missed out on a service which actually facilitated multiple journey opportunities and connections along its largely secondary line routeing.

i have travelled round the Lincoln avoiding line on a class 37 hauled Merrymaker from East Anglia
60022Mallard
LNER N2 0-6-2T
Posts: 53
Joined: Fri Mar 12, 2010 8:44 pm

Re: North Country Continental

Post by 60022Mallard »

Further thoughts on Lincoln.

If I recall correctly the Colchester - Newcastle service, which ran in East Anglia a little in front of the boat train, and hence duplicated Ipswich to Gainsborough and v.v. at the same time of day, was eventually cut back to start at Lincoln with connection by the boat train from the south.
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