North Eastern Railway – Sets of 10 6x4
ins Pre-group Black+White Prints
In the second half of the
nineteenth century a talented professional photographer R H Bleasdale worked in
the North East of England. He was a dedicated railway enthusiast and had good
contacts with the NER management. As his heavy half plate camera and a supply
of glass plates were so bulky, it was easier to bring the engines to the
camera, than vice versa! He might take half a dozen views of engines that were
specifically posed for him. As well as the negatives for himself, he often took
identical negatives for the NER which survived in the NER archives, and went to
the NRM. His son R E Bleasdale took over the photographic business and later
moved to Warwick. In 1924 he sold his NER negatives to the Locomotive
Publishing Co, which passed to Ian Allan. A third set of overlapping negatives
was sold to a local enthusiast in Leamington, who, as a young man, had taken
views of his own before the Great War. After his death, the collection was
bought by the Robert Hendry archive.
Because these were mostly half
plate negatives, printing required a massive enlarger and it could take thirty
minutes to do justice to a single view. Commercially it was not economic to
offer prints for sale, but with modern digital technology we have started to
remaster these views. Some are well known but in washed out versions, and
seeing them breathe new life has been a thrill.
North Eastern Railway Set BW1 Pre-Group locos 10 6x4 ins Black+White
Prints
0-4-0ST No 1871 has its original
number, 960, marked on the sandbox. It was built by Manning Wardle in 1874, and
renumbered as 1781 in April 1889, being sold in December 1891. No 857 is a 964
class 0-6-0ST built by Black Hawthorn in 1873. It was renumbered in 1888. No
481 was a Fletcher 398 class 0-6-0 goods of 1880 with the later class 634
frames. It has a Fletcher bell mouth dome and stovepipe chimney. No 1291 is an earlier 1875 class 398, but has
the later Worsdell boiler fittings and less ornate cab. Fletcher’s successor
was Alexander McDonnell from Inchicore, a tactless man, and when his 38 class
4-4-0s proved underpowered he was soon on his way. No 180, of 1884, shows
classic Inchicore lines, including the rectangular number plates McDonnell
favoured. No 557, which was the work of T W Worsdell, was the first of the G1
class 2-4-0s in 1887, and was later rebuilt as a 4-4-0. The late Ken Hoole had
a faded copy of this lovely view. No 674 is an A class 2-4-2T of 1886 and is
seen at Whitby the following year. The NER compound 4-2-2s were eclipsed in fame
by the GNR, Midland and GWR bogie singles, but were fine engines. No 1525 is a
class J single with Joy valve gear and large steam chest. No 1629 is one of
Wilson Worsdell’s class M1 4-4-0s of 1893. Its tender survives in company with
the preserved No 1621. No 1684, of 1902, was a class T1 0-8-0 with slide valves
and survived until 1950. A copy of these notes accompanies the set. These views
are copyright; Reproduction is prohibited without our prior written
permission
North Eastern Railway Set BW2 Stockton & Darlington 10 6x4 ins
Black+White Prints
How
better could we start a portrait of the Stockton & Darlington Railway than
with No 1 Locomotion of 1825
as plinthed near North Road station in 1857. Within a couple of years, the
S&D had progressed to six coupled mineral engines with tenders fore and
aft. No 33 Shildon was built
by the S&D in 1846 and was exhibited at the 1875 celebrations at
Darlington, where it is seen, but alas was broken up two years later. No 35 Commerce was built a year after
No 33 but was a much more modern design. It too took part in the 1875
celebrations. These early engines led to the celebrated 1001 class as the NER
called them. Long boilered 0-6-0 No 175 Contractor
was the first engine built at North Road in 1864 and became NER No 1175,
lasting until 1908. Copies of this view are known but with the works backdrop
eliminated. No 194, Alice, of
1866, became NER 1194. I have seen poor prints of this view, but on the
original it is possible to count the rivets! See the posters on the wall for
Allan Line emigrant boats to Canada, hats and portraits! No 1017 had been S&D
No 17, of 1870, replacing an 1838 mineral engine. The ornate S&D boiler
fittings have been replaced by Fletcher designs giving it a clear NER look.
Worsdell also took a hand in updating the 1001 class, and No 1040, S&D No 40 of 1866 had the more modern Worsdell
look when photographed at Whitby. Although primarily a coal line, the S&D
needed some passenger engines. No 117 Nunthorpe
was built by Gilkes, Wilson in 1856 and was scrapped in 1880. In 1860, Robert
Stephenson provided a pair of 4-4-0s with side window cabs for the exposed
Stainmore line. No 160 Brougham
is at Alpha Place, Saltburn. Enginemen hated the enclosed feeling and later
engines, including 163 Morecambe
of 1861 had a plain weatherboard! A copy of these notes accompanies the set.
These views are copyright; Reproduction is prohibited without our prior written
permission
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North Eastern Railway Set BW3, Early Fletcher & Absorbed Engines 10 6x4 ins Black+White Prints
The
North Eastern Railway was formed in 1854 by the amalgamation of several early
railway companies, eventually absorbing over fifty different companies to
create a regional power base. The loco superintendent, Edward Fletcher rebuilt
many of them, to create a loco roster of incredible diversity. After a while
Fletcher adopted an elegant oval number plate but some early engines had
rectangular plates with reversed corners. We open with 0-6-0ST No 5 with a
rectangular plate. The original view is so sharp that one can read “NORTH
EASTERN RAILWAY, MAKERS 1869 GATESHEAD WORKS” No 6 was ordered from R & W Hawthorn
by the Great North of England Railway in 1846, became York. Newcastle &
Berwick Railway No 6 and NER No 6 and was replaced in 1882. GNER No 37 was a
Stephenson long boiler 0-6-0 goods of 1844 which became NER 37 and was replaced
in 1887. GNER No 73 probably started life as a 2-4-0 in 1839, but is seen as an
outside framed 2-4-0T. YNB No 175 was built by Nasmyth Gaskell in 1848, rebuilt
by Fletcher in 1869 and replaced in 1883. YNB No 183 came from Nasmyth Gaskell
in 1848 and was replaced in 1881. YNB No 206 of 1851 was a Nasmyth 0-6-0 which
lasted until 1883. When photographed it still had a simple weatherboard and not
even a rudimentary cab. A few moments will reveal the differenced between these
former YNB goods engines. NER 207A started life as YNB No 207 and was a
Hawthorn 2-4-0. It went on the duplicate list in 1878, was rebuilt in 1879, photographed
on 29 August 1881 and broken up in 1883. A cab of angle iron and timber, with a
sheet iron roof stayed to the steam manifold, has been provided! With YNB No 231, it is possible to read
RAILWAY FOUNDRY LEEDS 1854 on this classic E B Wilson engine. It was
assimulated into the NER 13 class and broken up in 1888. Our final engine, NER 0-6-0ST
No 461, started as Newcastle & Carlisle Railway 0-6-0 No 12 Carlisle, of 1860 as the R & W
Hawthorn makers plate reveals.It was rebuild by Fletcher as an 0-6-0ST in which
form we see it with a curious framework to support a tarpaulin to provide
protection for the crew. It was replaced in 1885. A copy of these notes
accompanies the set. These views are copyright; Reproduction is prohibited
without our prior written permission
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North Eastern Railway Signalling Set A 10 6x4 COLOUR Prints
The NER was divided for many years into three divisions, each of which pursued separate signalling policies and unlike other large companies such as the GWR, LNWR or Midland did not manufacture its own equipment using contractors instead, Longhirst signal box was on the East Coast Main Line north of Morpeth. It was a Northern Division type N1 box, which is oversailed, ie projects out, at both ends. This imposed severe structural demands, and both ends are sagging. Such boxes usually indicated a space problem when the box was built or later enlargements done without the cost of a new box. Saltmarshe, on the Hull-Goole line is a Southern Division type S2 box and differs from Longhirst in almost every respect! Although it looks normal when viewed from the station, the level crossing is at an acute angle and the end of the box was chamfered with an overhung gable roof. The box received a 20 lever McKenzie & Holland frame, but lever No 1 was removed to provide space for the barrier control unit. The makers name is visible on the RH end of the quadrant plate. Corby Gates on the Newcastle-Carlisle line received a BR (North Eastern Region) type 17 box of 1955 with brick and concrete stairs and toilet block. It received a reconditioned 26-lever McKenzie & Holland frame.Corby Gates works to Carlisle power box to the west, but to the east uses traditional block, the bell and bell case being visible below the signal box diagram. Notionally Corby Gates has a McKenzie & Holland frame, but the WB&SCo lettering suggests it is in part a much later Westinghouse Brake & Signal frame to McKenzie design, and the lettering LNER 1950 shows it is a posthumous LNER example as well! Brampton Fell is a 1918 Northern Division type 4 box so is to another different design. It too has a McKenzie & Holland 20 lever frame, but the detail view shows Westinghouse components as well as M&H parts! A copy of these notes accompanies the set. These views are copyright and may not be reproduced without prior written permission.
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