Just about the most famous steam engine of all time is the Flying Scotsman taken by my cousin John Hardy, 9 May 1964. The Flying Scotsman had just been overhauled at Darlington Works and she was pulling a ‘steam special’.
The location is the railway crossing next to the former Norton-on-Tees railway station. The buildings to the right of the photograph are part of the long gone village of Calf Fallow, pronounced Carr Falla by the locals. The white building is owned by the Stockton Stone and Concrete company.
Photograph and details courtesy of John Hardy and Martin Birtle.
This is ‘Pegler’s Pullman’ of 9/5/64. Alan Pegler was the owner of 4472 having bought her from British Railways in January 1963. It was a means of getting 4472 from Doncaster to Edinburgh – via Stockton and Sunderland – for a special working from Edinburgh to Aberdeen on 16/5/64. While in Scotland 4472 was painted by the famous artist Terence Cuneo on the Forth Bridge. The morning London train from Stockton left at 08.33 and reached King’s Cross at 13.20 in 1961, a time of 4 hours 51 minutes.
I dont think this is in Norton as there was a footbridge leading from Station Roadd to Calf Fallow and the Concrete works
I checked your query with my cousin John Hardy and he says that the Norton Station buildings complete with footbridge were demolished about 2 months before this picture was taken.
Thanks for the update Martin
I’m not sure on locations, Norton in relation to Stockton, but two years prior to this photo, I recall Flying Scotsman arriving at Stockton station on the summer Saturday morning train from South Shields to London Kings Cross, and at Stockton the train was joined by coaches from Saltburn. The engine was still in BR livery and with front smoke fenders, and had the number 60103. I was in seventh heaven seeing this famous engine. It was withdrawn from service only a few months later.
Martin, the London train from Stockton came from Sunderland, Hartlepool Norton to Stockton station. It was a pick up train for the northern stopping stations on to Northallerton, York then limited stops to London Kings Cross. I travelled that route many times having relatives in London and with the army.
All steam then and anything from 9 to 11 hours journey, to us steam trains were the normal way from A to B. I was interested and liked the travel but never became obsessed by them as some did. One memorable month in the army it was Brancpeth to Stockton for leave then Stockton to Chester for two weeks then Bridgend South Wales, a week and on to Bordon in Hampshire to be put back on the train to Stockton on leave until my course started. Over the years rail travel was the way I moved and the journey to London came down to 8 then 6 hours travel. my last run to London was three hours.
We used trains as we used buses changing as required to continue the journey, they were packed solid, dirty, cold in winter, often old rolling stock had no through carriage’s so toilet facilities were awkward to say the least and on most we never saw a Buffet or dining car, you took the food with you.
I can understand nostalgia for the engines for the rest never, my last long rail run was Stockton to Austria and back by sleeper, clean, warm, food on the train and lovely cabins with washing facilities, my thoughts were if only it had been thus when doing rail travel almost weekly.
According to my cousin John Hardy who took this photograph the passengers on this special were the workers and families from the Darlington Works which had overhauled the Flying Scotsman. She was now privately owned after being discarded by British Rail.
I think your cousin’s a little confused – the thank you excursion was nearly a year later on the 10th April 1965 and ran from Darlington to Peterborough down the ECML returning via Sleaford; that train did not pass through Stockton. This excursion, on 9 May 1964, was hauled from Doncaster to Edinburgh Waverley, via Stockton. The return journey was hauled by A4 60009 “Union of South Africa” from Edinburgh to Doncaster straight down the ECML. Further details of both trains are available on the excellent Six Bells Junction website at http://www.sixbellsjunction.co.uk/