Looking north to Stockton sheds 1939. Stockton shed closed in June 1959 and the bulk of the remaining locomotives were transferred to Thornaby 51L and Darlington 51A.
Stockton in Steam
Picture Stockton Archive
A Pictorial History of Stockton-on-Tees
The model of the ‘Hush-Hush’ is now at home in Darlington ‘Head of Steam’ at the old North Road Station.
Yes Eric, that’s the one, BR Number, 60700
There was, until the building was demolished, a small museum at the bottom of East Street in Darlington. On display in the window was a large engineers model of the ‘Hush Hush’ in what was described as ‘Improved Engine Grey’ livery. From what I can remember, it had an unusual wheel layout of 4-6-4 as against the Pacific 4-6-2 of the Gresley A4s, A3s and many other main line express locomotives. It is also said that not only the engineers had problems with the boiler, firemen dreaded the firebox as it swallowed coal at an alarming rate. I must obtain Brown’s book, ‘Hush-Hush’ and read a bit more about this experimental locomotive.
Originally as built, with a marine water tube boiler, this resembled the later P2’s constructed by Gresley for the Edinburgh to Aberdeen run. As already said by Alan B. it was going to be called British Enterprise. When it was rebuilt, with a conventional boiler, it resembled an A4 Pacific having the sloped front and in this guise was going to be named Pegasus. In this form it still retained it’s 4 – 6 -4 wheel arrangement, the only tender locomotive with this wheel arrangement to run on British metals.
Hi Bill, I remember this ‘unnamed streak’ in the Ian Allans spotters book. The engineers had a lot of trouble with the boiler. Its BR number was 60700.
There is a decent entry on Wikipedia on this loco, under ‘LNER Class W1’, where it mentions that the loco was rebuilt with new boilers to resemble a normal A4. Did this then become the ‘Unnamed Streak’ as we Newtown spotters would call it?
A photo of the amazing high pressure locomotive, LNER Class W1, No. 10000, earmarked name ‘British Enterprise’, about to pass Stockton shed and North Shore signal box (both above) in 1935 appears on page 82 of the 2010 book ‘Hush-Hush’ by William Brown (Kestrel Books). The locomotive is heading north, passing a short freight train, and twenty-nine North Shore signal arms can be counted at the north end of Stockton Yard controlling traffic in both directions. This unusual locomotive must have looked like the ‘engine from Mars’ to poor, young Stockton spotters of 1935. No. 10000 would have just passed Stockton Gas Works shunter No.3 seconds before the described photo was taken. Ironically, this gas works shunter acquired in July 1930, former LNER Class Y7, No. 945, was named ‘William Brown’ on 15 October 1945 in honour of the late Councillor William Brown of Stockton Corporation Gas Works Committee. The outdoor foreman at Stockton Gas Works from the 1920’s was another William Brown. A photo of engine ‘William Brown’ minus name plate appears on Picture Stockton titled ‘Locomotives of Stockton Gas Works, c.1950’.
The shed photo dates from the late 1950s I think because B.R.smokebox number plates can be made out as can the guard plates for the AWS unit just behind the coupling also one engine at least is a B1 which dates from the early 1940s.