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The stars of 1975 – Part One

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The Kitson-Still the hybrid engine

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The stars of 1975 – Part Two

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Robin Hood rides again at West Somerset gala

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Duke of Gloucester returns to steam

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Keeping it in the family – Part Two

Newly overhauled De Winton 0-4-0VBT Chaloner shunts in the yard at Pages Park to collect the carriages for the ‘Leedon Flyer’ during the Leighton Buzzard Railway’s autumn gala on September 28 2024. GRAHAM NUTTALL

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Keeping it in the family – Part One

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From here to eternity

Newly overhauled ‘Merchant Navy’ No. 35005 Canadian Pacific, minus its smoke deflectors, steam pipe cladding, nameplates and smokebox numberplate, in steam in Ropley yard on the Mid-Hants Railway on March 1. JEREMY DE SOUZA

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Canadian Pacific returns to steam at Mid-Hants

‘A1’ No. 60163 Tornado passes through Skipton en route to Carnforth on March 7. EDDIE BOBROWSKI

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Stockton & Darlington: Better than the first

Krupp 0 6 0T Tom with a Van Hool bus in the colours of the Vicinal, used up until the 1970s. KEVIN HOGGETT

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Six in steam at Maldegem steam festival

Pendennis Castle and Flying Scotsman run side-by-side down the Avon Yard, near Northam, Western Australia, on the return from a day trip to Northam from Perth on September 24 1989. GARY MERRIN

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Rivals to reunite at Didcot, but still no main line for ‘A3’

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**PART ONE**  
Fifty years ago, BR remarkably allowed steam to run to Shildon under its own power for the big S&D 150 event. HOWARD JOHNSTON witnessed it all, and now tries to rediscover the key exhibits.

Strict health and safety rules were a lower priority in 1975 when BR allowed uncertified steam locos back onto its main lines to attend the ‘Rail 150’ Cavalcade and Exhibition at Shildon during the Bank Holiday week of August 24-31.

Those were the days when inspections were not so rigorous to secure ten-year certificates. Indeed, it has been speculated that a couple of the locomotives that notched up hundreds of miles to get to the show had not even had their boilers lifted after coming out of Barry scrapyard. Having devoted months of logistical planning to get the engines and vintage rolling stock from across the country, including Scotland, BR had such confidence in the owners that it didn’t give much thought to diesel haulage. As with the Rainhill exhibition five years later, it was a treat for linesiders that can never be repeated.

Crowd management was also in its infancy half a century ago, and the organisers must be congratulated because there were no mishaps of any consequence, even though an estimated 250,000 travelled to the North East for the spectacle. Steam had only ended on BR steam seven years previously in August 1968, and few were prepared for the sight of more than 30 polished engines running past them in a two-hour long show. However, whose bright idea was it to set out the tiered seating facing directly into the searing sun, which made photography near-impossible? People on the other side of the track who had not paid admission got the best views.

Eric Treacy, Bishop of Wakefield and one of our most revered steam photographers, was among those overwhelmed by having such close contact with engines he recalled from the 1940s and 1950s. He also admitted his disappointment at a few notable absentees. He mourned the lack of an LMS ‘Duchess/Coronation’ 462, but there were none available (No. 6229 _Duchess of Hamilton_ was fresh out of Butlin’s holiday camp at Minehead and in a shabby state, and No. 6233 _Duchess of Sutherland_ was still at Bressingham). Also missing, he said, were a GWR ‘Castle ‘or ‘King’, because of weight and gauge clearance issues perhaps?

Those with a keen eye for celebrities at the private/press launch would have noticed British film actor Kenneth More, artist and engine owner David Shepherd, Bishop Treacy, ‘Thomas the Tank Engine’ creator and author the Rev Wilbert Awdry, and photographer Derek Cross. _Flying Scotsman_ owner Alan Pegler was also there, and part of the Cavalcade commentary team.

There was a universal dislike of BR’s prototype Class 252 High Speed Train, which arrived filthy and was too long to go through local carriage washers. Attempts to clean it by hand made matters worse because the handful of quickly allotted staff could only reach window height. Its appearance as the climax of the three-mile Cavalcade from Shildon to Heighington was met with loud ‘boos’.

At the end as well as the start, there were no crowd dispersal issues as people were routinely shuttled back to Darlington in sixteen 12-car DMUs.

Fifty years on, it is significant that one of the highly burnished Cavalcade engines – SR ‘S15’ No. 841 ‘Greene King’ – no longer exists, having been condemned with twisted frames, and surrendering its boiler to a classmate. The prototype High Speed Train has been also been disbanded, and one of its power cars was broken up in 1990. All the main line diesels that hauled the excursion trains have been scrapped (with two exceptions – Class 47s Nos. 47596 and 47727), and most of the shuttle DMUs likewise. Very few of the BR Mk 1 support coaches that arrived with steam are also still with us.

And 2025? Anyone considering assembling a similar locomotive line-up today would experience great difficulty. Many of the 1975 engines are unfit to run, have changed hands once or several times, and are at new locations. A handful have current main line certificates, but the rest are on static display in museums.

### **Main line, museum, and worse: What’s happened to the exhibits?**

_(Engines listed in order of appearance)_

#### **1975 No. 1** **_Locomotion_** **replica**

**1975:** Beamish  
**2025:** Ruddington  
**Status:** Operational  
A replica of the engine that hauled the first train over the S&DR in September 1825 was constructed at Beamish to deputise for the fragile original, which was clearly unable to be steamed for the Cavalcade. The creation of engineer Mike Satow, it has been widely travelled, including to the United States and Japan. Following recent restoration, Locomotion has been running trials on the Great Central Railway (Nottingham) at Ruddington. Its axles and chimney have been replaced, and firebox and motion repairs carried out. Beamish

#### **Bagnall ‘Austerity’ 060ST NCB No. 2502/7**

**1975:** Seaham  
**2025:** Marley Hill  
**Status:** Awaiting overhaul  
Industry was represented by a Hunslet-design ‘Austerity’ originally built for the Ministry of Supply (Works No. 2779, No. WD75256 at the Longmoor Military Railway), from Vane Tempest Colliery at Seaham, which closed in 1993. It was repainted with striped bufferbeams. The engine is now ‘Gamma’ at the close-by Tanfield Railway, and is stored at Marley Hill shed, painted black as its No. 20.

#### **LMS ‘Black Five’ No. 4767 (44767) ‘George Stephenson’**

**1975:** Thornaby  
**2025:** Carnforth  
**Status:** Under overhaul  
Ian Storey’s unique ‘Black Five’ with Stephenson link motion was named ‘George Stephenson’ at Shildon on August 25 by William Whitelaw MP (grandson of an LNER Chairman, and later Conservative Deputy Prime Minister) to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Stockton & Darlington Railway, and it still carries the plates. No. 44767 has visited many preserved lines since then and enjoyed long periods on the main line, including many stints on the Fort William-Mallaig run. Last steamed in 2014, it was sold to the West Coast Railway Company in 2018, and new cylinders and a tender tank are on the repairs list. Thornaby

#### **NER ‘T2’ 080 No. 2238 (63395)**

**1975:** NYMR  
**2025:** NYMR  
**Status:** Under repair  
The unglamorous LNER ‘Q6’ heavy freight engine arrived at Shildon from Grosmont in a trio that also included ‘K1’ No. 2005 and ‘P3’ No. 2392, having recently undergone a mechanical overhaul and large flue tube replacement. The journey included a stop at Thornaby depot for attention to its tender. Withdrawn in 1982, it returned to steam again in 2008. It is currently being fitted with a new right-hand cylinder, after its original item failed in May 2023, and the 0-8-0 is expected to return to service soon. NYMR

#### **NER ‘P3’ 0-6-0 No. 2392 (65894)**

**1975:** NYMR  
**2025:** NYMR  
**Status:** Operational  
The last of a class of 115 sturdy engines that saw out North Eastern steam in September 1967, the ‘J27’ spent many years allocated to York. After an initial overhaul, it was withdrawn immediately after the cavalcade for boiler repairs, and has been on hire to such diverse places as the Llangollen, Bo’ness & Kinneil, and Nene Valley railways. Its most recent overhaul was completed in 2018, outshopped in BR condition as No. 65894 with a new tender body and steam-heating equipment, and was repainted into the LNER condition as No. 2392 in 2023.

#### **LNER ‘K1’ 2-6-0 No. 2005 (62005)**

**1975:** NYMR  
**2025:** Carnforth  
**Status:** Under overhaul  
The restoration of the engine that precariously finished up its BR career as a stationary boiler was completed by NELPG members at Thornaby depot a year before the cavalcade. It was painted in non authentic lined-out LNER Apple green livery, later changed to standard BR lined black. No. 62005 has been a main line stalwart over the ensuing decades and a regular sight on the West Highland line. Last steamed in 2021, it is close to the end of a half-million-pound rebuild that includes major firebox work and new tyres, and should be back in service later this year, returning to its familiar ‘Jacobite’ duties. NYMR

#### **Caledonian Railway ‘439’ 0-4-4T No. 419 (55189)**

**1975:** Falkirk  
**2025:** Bo’ness  
**Status:** Operational  
The popular (and colourful) Scottish McIntosh ‘439’ class suburban passenger tank had already been restored, in 1971, before it was selected for participation at Shildon, and it partnered LNER ‘D49’ No. 246 Morayshire for the exhilarant main line run south. The 0-4-4T has been a roving ambassador for the Scottish Railway Preservation Society over the years, having paid visits to such diverse places as the Churnet, Chinnor & Princes Risborough, Bluebell and Spa Valley railways. Its most recent overhaul was completed in October 2018 and it is currently being repainted into LMS Crimson Lake as No. 15189. Falkirk

#### **LNER ‘D49’ 4-4-0 No. 246 (62712)** _**Morayshire**_

**1975:** Falkirk  
**2025:** Bo’ness  
**Status:** Under overhaul  
The ‘D49s’ were once common in the North East, but _Morayshire_ – the final ‘D49’ in BR service – ended its working life in Scotland, from where it steamed from on August 4 1975 with Caledonian No. 419 and three vintage coaches Eyebrows were raised at _Morayshire_’s distinctive, almost dayglow, shade of LNER green paint. The 440’s original Falkirk base was closed in favour of the Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway in 1979, and No. 246 continued running on the main line until 1983. Last steamed in 2015, its overhaul is currently ongoing at Bo’ness.

**1975:** Tyseley  
**2025:** Tyseley  
**Status:** Awaiting overhaul  
As London Transport No. L94, No. 7752 famously hauled the last steam train on the ‘Met’ in June 1971 and was repainted in full GWR unlined green for the 1975 cavalcade. It travelled under its own power from Tyseley, combining with Ivatt ‘2MT’ No. 41241 and a rake of three Keighley & Worth Valley coaches at York. Since then, No. 7752 has run often on the main line and worked on other railways, but bowed out of traffic in late 2021 for overhaul.

#### **GWR ‘Manor’ 460 No. 7808** _**Cookham Manor**_

**1975:** Didcot  
**2025:** Didcot  
**Status:** Static display  
Although the longest preserved ‘Manor’ and the only one of the nine survivors to have been purchased directly from BR, No. 7808 is not on any priority list to return to steam in the foreseeable future, having last been used in 1983. _Cookham Manor_ was in sound mechanical shape for its 500-mile round trip from Didcot to the North East in 1975, arriving in splendid fashion at the head of a rake of five veteran coaches.

#### **GWR ‘Modified Hall’ 460 No. 6960** _**Raveningham Hall**_

**1975:** Carnforth  
**2025:** Margate  
**Status:** Awaiting overhaul  
It only took three years to restore this wartime ‘Hall’ from Barry condition to become a Shildon Cavalcade participant, and a few questions were asked about its overall suitability after it failed twice on its journey north from its then-base at Carnforth. It was a familiar sight on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire, Severn Valley, and West Somerset railways over the intervening years. No. 6960 last steamed in July 2021 and its currently in storage at owner Jeremy Hosking’s One:One Collection in Margate, awaiting its turn in the overhaul queue.

#### **LNER ‘V2’ 262 No. 4771 (60800)** **_Green Arrow_**

**1975:** Carnforth  
**2025:** Danum Gallery, Library & Museum, Doncaster  
**Status:** Static display  
The Gresley ‘V2’ was shunted from pillar to post in the eight years following its initial restoration into LNER Apple green at Doncaster in early 1963. Once intended for display at a museum in Leicester, it was returned to working condition at Norwich shed, and later based at Carnforth for main line use from 1973. It was therefore easy for it to motor over to Shildon with four support coaches. Carnforth Time was called for _Green Arrow_ in 2008 owing to its cracked cylinder monobloc, and in February 2021 it was relocated to the Danum Gallery, Library & Museum at Doncaster. Although the National Railway Museum has not ruled out a return to steam, as yet there are no plans to overhaul No. 4771.

#### **LNER ‘B1’ 460 No. 1306 (61306) ‘Mayflower’**

**1975:** Carnforth  
**2025:** Crewe  
**Status:** Operational  
The expected treat of the arrival at Shildon of ‘Mayflower’ double-heading GWR No. 6960 _Raveningham Hall_ on August 11 1975 failed to materialise because the ‘Hall’ was taken off at York with a hot box. The BR-built ‘B1’ had been transformed with a repaint from BR black to smart LNER lined Apple green with a red nameplate. The ‘B1’ has since had extensive main line use, and changed hands a number of times, notably to Gerald Boden, David Buck and, in 2022, to Jeremy Hosking. It is now part of his Locomotive Services Group and a regular sight at the head of Saphos Trains railtours.

#### **LMS ‘8F’ 280 No. 8233 (48773)**

**1975:** Severn Valley Railway  
**2025:** Severn Valley Railway  
**Status:** Static display  
The remarkable Second World War and BR end of steam veteran already had seven years of preservation service under its belt by the time of the 1975 cavalcade, having arrived at the Severn Valley Railway direct from BR in full working order, and it hauled trains during its official reopening in May 1970. After some necessary mechanical attention, the Stanier 280 appeared at Shildon in the guise of No. 8233, its original LMS number, and worked from the SVR to Shildon with Ivatt ‘4MT’ No. 43106 and three coaches in tow. No. 48773 has since enjoyed several stints in traffic, as well as main line use from the late 1980s until 2000, but has been silent since its boiler ticket expired in January 2008. It is currently on show at The Engine House at Highley; an estimated £1 million is needed to revive it. Severn Valley Railway

#### **War Department ‘Austerity’ 2 10 0 No. 600** _**Gordon**_

**1975:** Severn Valley Railway  
**2025:** Severn Valley Railway  
**Status:** Static display  
A somewhat colourful entry owing to its blue and red livery, applied while in service at the Longmoor Military Railway, _Gordon_ (named after General Gordon of Khartoum) was intended for war service overseas, but never made it beyond Southampton. Initially restored at the SVR in 1972, it did, however, get to Shildon, under its own power, and again to Rainhill in 1980. The Riddles 2 10 0 has had two ‘tickets’ in preservation, from 1972 until 1984, and 1990 until 1999, and is another static exhibit at the SVR’s Highley Engine House. An eventual return to steam is currently a long-term prospect.

#### **Metropolitan Railway Bo Bo No. 12** _**Sarah Siddons**_

**1975:** Ruislip  
**2025:** Ruislip  
**Status:** Operational  
Mentioned for completeness is the Metropolitan Railway electric locomotive _Sarah Siddons_, which needed a tow from London to Shildon behind Class 25 diesel No. 25263, It came with a 1973 Piccadilly Line three-car unit, consisting of vehicles Nos. 165, 365 and 565, and the engine was towed in the cavalcade by ‘WD’ No. 600 _Gordon_. It is still a main line engine (it was repainted at Eastleigh last year) but has not run since 2019.

#### **LNER ‘A4’ 4 6 2 No. 4498 (60007)** _**Sir Nigel Gresley**_

**1975:** Philadelphia  
**2025:** Crewe  
**Status:** Operational  
The ever-present 100th Gresley ‘Streak’ was in fine fettle for its participation in the 1975 cavalcade (in LNER Garter blue livery), having only recently returned to main line action following the lifting of BR’s infamous steam ban in 1971. Bowing out for overhaul the month after the cavalcade, _Sir Nigel Gresley_ has been an almost omnipresent sight on the main line and heritage railways in the years since, and emerged from its most recent overhaul in March 2022. However, it hasn’t appeared in LNER Garter Blue since the mid-1990s, having carried lined BR blue almost exclusively ever since, aside from a brief stint in LNER wartime black,

#### **GNR Stirling ‘Single’ 422 No. 1**

**1975:** NRM, York  
**2025:** NRM, York  
**Status:** Static display  
The iconic GNR single wheeler was not in steam at the cavalcade, but hauled by No. 4498 _Sir Nigel Gresley_. There had been a minor scare when it was derailed on the Darlington turntable soon after arrival on August 22, but no damage was done. A favourite of the late John Bellwood, the NRM’s CME, No. 1 was remarkably returned to steam at the Great Central Railway from 1981-82, and at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway from 1983-85, before bowing out for good. Now a static exhibit again, one aesthetic change from its appearance at Shildon in 1975 was being paired with an authentic Stirling tender in May 2014, having spent decades paired with a non-authentic Sturrock vehicle.

#### **LNER ‘A3’ 462 No. 4472 (60103)** _**Flying Scotsman**_

**1975:** Carnforth  
**2025:** York  
**Status:** Operational  
Although it was already world-famous, Flying Scotsman had to compete for attention at Shildon with so much else to see. The engine had steamed in from Carnforth with LNWR 240 Hardwicke for company. The ‘A3’s’ career since 1975 is well documented and not worth repeating at length here, but its latest overhaul was completed in October 2022 and, after over a year spent on the side lines at both the National Railway Museum in York and Locomotion, Shildon, it has recently returned to full operational condition. However, it is as-yet unknown whether it will play an active role in the ‘Railway 200’ festivities, and it last appeared in single-chimney condition as No. 4472 in March 1993. Carnforth

**1975:** York  
**2025:** Shildon  
**Status:** Static display  
In its early years, the LNER was good at saving historic engines, and express passenger No. 910, the first of a class of 55, was laid aside for the 1925 S&D centenary procession. It had also appeared at the 1875 event. The 240 was present again half a century later for a third time, albeit not in steam but coupled behind _Flying Scotsman_. The engine remains in the National Collection, and after a spell on display back on ‘home territory’ at Kirkby Stephen East on the former Stainmore Route from 2011 until 2024, it is currently receiving cosmetic attention at Locomotion, Shildon.

#### **GNR ‘C2’ 442 No. 990** _**Henry Oakley**_

**1975:** York  
**2025:** York  
**Status:** Static display  
Britain’s first proper ‘Atlantic’, which always keeps the name of the Great Northern Railway general manager in our minds, had the honour of hauling Stirling ‘Single’ No. 1 along the East Coast Main Line to Shildon. No. 990, the first of Henry Ivatt’s 20 ‘Klondikes’ created the Doncaster family likeness that continued beyond his successor Gresley and right to the end of the LNER’s existence. Withdrawn from regular service in 1937, No. 990 was briefly reactivated at BR’s behest for two ‘Plant Centenarian’ railtours marking the 100th anniversary of Doncaster Works in 1953 before returning to static display. Revived for the 1975 cavalcade, it remarkably ran at the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway from 1977-78 before bowing out for good. It is currently on display at the NRM in York.

In **Part 2,** we will continue exploring the 1975 locomotives, with details of the static exhibits, and the fate of some of the coaching stock.

Hybrid engines and bi-mode locomotives are nothing new. One of the most notorious examples of early experimentation into multiple fuels and ways of driving a locomotive was the Kitson-Still locomotive of 1928. Today largely forgotten, was this one-off 262T a total failure, or simply ahead of its time?

Main line steam came to an end in August 1968, rather later than many railway engineers had predicted at the start of that century. Around 1900, Francis Webb of the LNWR stated that the West Coast Main Line would be electrified within the next 10 years, while Vincent Raven made more concrete plans for the electrification of the East Coast Main Line between Newcastle and York, and Newcastle and Carlisle, and even built a locomotive.

But their hopes would take much longer to fulfil, largely thanks to the impact of the First World War and the Great Depression. How Britain’s railways eventually divested themselves of steam was the result of decades of political wrangling and engineering development, sometimes leading to dead ends and much wasted money on the way. One such dead end was the Kitson -Still locomotive.

Anyone who has stood next to a steam locomotive, or has worked on one, will know how hot they are. This is because, even with the boiler lagged, heat is still lost through thermal radiation. The external combustion engine is notoriously inefficient. Fuel is burned outside the engine – in the case of a steam locomotive, to boil water which makes steam. Heat, and thus energy, is lost at multiple stages, and doesn’t do any useful work of driving the engine.

Indeed, a reciprocating simple expansion non-condensing steam engine has an efficiency of between 1% to 7% at best. This is because the steam only pushes the piston once before it’s exhausted up the chimney; it has not given up all its energy, and like most of the heat from the fire, goes to waste. Energy is also lost through mechanical losses in converting the reciprocating motion of the piston in the cylinder to the rotary motion of the wheels.

Conversely, internal combustion engines burn their fuel inside the engine, usually in a cylinder which means more of the fuel is available to do work – invariably, push a piston up and down, just as the steam does in a steam engine. This makes them much more fuel efficient, from 11% to 45%. Even the least efficient petrol engine is more fuel-efficient than a steam engine.

Although the first known practical usage of an internal combustion engine goes to the Franco-Swiss engineer Francois Isaac de Rivaz in 1804, it is arguably German inventor Niklaus Otto who is best remembered for his work with internal combustion engines, developing the four-stroke cycle in 1876. The four-stroke cycle works like this: admission, compression, power, exhaustion. Or: suck, squeeze, bang, blow. The four-stroke cycle increased the efficiency and power output of the internal combustion engine.

Two main types of internal combustion engines were developed: petrol and diesel, the latter developed by Rudolph Diesel. Both work on the four-stroke cycle devised by Otto but differ in how the fuel is ignited to create the power stroke. With a petrol engine, an electric spark is used, but in the diesel engine the air in the cylinder is compressed, and as it is compressed it heats up to a high temperature, at which point the fuel is injected and immediately combusts, providing the power stroke. Diesel engines have a drawback in that they tend to be larger and heavier than petrol engines, offset by being far more fuel efficient. Diesel has a higher calorific value than petrol which means engines need less fuel to operate, but how they use the fuel is more efficient as well. Diesels also tend to have a higher torque which makes them excellent for moving heavy loads. Plus, the lack of an electrical system can make them more robust and reliable.

Compared to steam engines, which require hours to warm up and raise steam, as well as the filthy process of disposal at the end of the day, internal combustion engines offer virtually instant power. They also only really need one operator: there’s no need for a driver _and_ a fireman. How these engines power the wheels varies. The final drive from the wheels can be mechanical-electrical, where the engine is coupled to a generator which provides current for electric traction motors; or hydraulic, using a torque converter.

Thanks to cheap labour and sitting on millions of tons of high-quality coal, Britain was slow to move to new technologies. However, the Great Depression, rising labour costs, and roads starting to compete with rail led to many railway companies looking to reduce their overheads.

Many British locomotive companies started to investigate the new internal combustion technology. Kerr, Stuart of Stoke-on-Trent built Britain’s first purpose-built standard gauge diesel locomotive in 1929, a narrow-gauge version having been produced the year before. Happily, both have survived into preservation. Kerr, Stuart advertised its revolutionary new products as labour and cost-saving giving, in the words of one of its advertising brochures “fifteen shillings change” from every pound. Metropolitan Vickers, in association with British Thomson-Houston, built the first diesel-electric locomotives in Britain in 1932 for the Ford Motor Company, the same year the Hunslet Engine Company of Leeds produced its first diesel-mechanical shunters for the LMS. Other longstanding Leeds engine builders such as Hudswell, Clarke and John Fowler were also quick to adapt to the new technology.

But while diesel locomotives were considered suitable for shunting, due to their low speed and that the technology was still unproven, Kitson & Co. of Leeds decided to perhaps hedge its bets and developed a wholly unique hybrid steam-diesel locomotive which combined two tried-and-tested technologies – a locomotive it hoped would have an application outside of the goods yard, and be able to run on the main line.

Yet, as the company’s Colonel Kitson Clark noted, irrespective of the transmission used – hydraulic, mechanical, or electric – the steam engine had one major advantage: it could deploy maximum torque upon starting. That torque, however, drops off as the locomotive and its train accelerate. Conversely, the internal combustion engine is at its most efficient when running constantly at its ideal load and speed. In other words, both types of propulsion had major advantages and disadvantages. The Kitson-Still was designed to unite the best of steam, and the best of diesel into a unique hybrid machine.

Kitson & Co. was begun in a converted mill in Hunslet, Leeds, in September 1837 by James Kitson, Charles Todd, and David Laird. Kitson and Todd were both alumni of the Round Foundry in Leeds, which built the first commercially successful locomotives for the Middleton Railway in 1812.

Under the guidance of James Kitson and later his second son – another James, later Lord Airedale – the firm was always ready to diversify its portfolio building steam trams and railmotors. It also specialised in the articulated Kitson-Meyer, a rival to the mighty Beyer, Garratt. But, unlike its neighbours in South Leeds, Kitson didn’t really investigate the possibilities of internal combustion. After the First World War, the firm saw a huge decline in orders for steam locomotives and, while it had sufficient orders to stay afloat, these were difficult times for Colonel Kitson Clark. It is likely that the Kitson-Still demonstrator was seen as the saviour for the firm, but it was also the straw which broke the camel’s back.

> “It is likely that the Kitson-Still demonstrator was seen as the saviour for the firm, but it was also the straw which broke the camel’s back”

The basis of the Still engine was to overcome the poor power-to-weight ratio suffered by many early diesel engines. Steam would start the engine, and act as a booster when needed, but the main fuel was diesel, which could present cost savings compared to a conventional engine of either type.

In other words, it had twin advantages of being able to deliver maximum torque at starting (thanks to steam) and change over and run on diesel with the engine running at its optimum speed and load. The Still hybrid thus offered a way forward at a time when steam was, if not dying, then starting to lose its edge and the new diesel technology was still untested and suffering from reliability issues.

The Still hybrid engine used double-acting pistons, one side operated by diesel fuel and the other side by steam. The engine was started using steam, and once running, diesel was injected into the diesel side of the cylinder, the steam supply shut off and operated on diesel alone. The engine had been patented in 1917 by William Still and announced to the technical press two years later. In the original version, waste heat from the diesel engine exhaust, and hot water from cylinder water jacket was used to boil the water to generate steam, doing away with the need for a separate boiler and firebox.

The engine was put into commercial production and found use as a marine application powering vessels of the Blue Funnel Line built in 1924 and 1928 respectively. Although their builders, the Scotts Shipbuilding & Engineering Company of Greenock, had promised cost-saving through the use of the new technology, the requirement to carry marine engineering officers certified with both steam and diesel engine qualifications – meaning extra crew members and wages – and the extra complexity with consequent higher maintenance costs offset the fuel savings. Thus, after a short while, conventional diesel engines were later installed in their place. At this point, warning bells should have started to ring.

But unheeded they went. In 1926, Kitson & Co. saw potential for the Still engine in a railway setting. The resulting locomotive would be technically brilliant but, to paraphrase George Stephenson, used “too much ingenuity.”

The Kitson-Still project was led by Colonel Kitson Clark, who took a deep personal interest in the project. To assess the Still engine, one was purchased and installed in the machine shop at the Airedale foundry. This test bed was inspected by several notable engineers during the development period, including Sir Nigel Gresley who also showed great interest in it.

This was not the first time that a Still engine had been studied for railway use. Former LNWR CME H.P.M. Beames of the LMS had, in 1920, investigated the Still engine as a possible locomotive power-plant, but financial and other constraints meant the company was unable to fully look into the project.

The Kitson-Still locomotive was in steam parlance a 262T, but perhaps could equally be described as a 1-C-1. Propulsion was via an eight-cylinder horizontal engine with the cylinders arranged in two banks driving a central crankshaft. Gears, a layshaft, and coupling rods transferred power to the three driven axles. Steam was supplied from a small-diameter oil-fired boiler. The exhaust from the diesel engine fed through tubes in the boiler, and the boiler water also circulated through the cylinder cooling jacket. This gave a remarkable high level of thermal efficiency, of around 40%. This was far more than conventional locomotives which could manage around 7% at best, and Kitson was quick to extol the virtues of its new locomotive in terms of cost-saving.

The engine was started using steam from the boiler and, once it had reached around 5mph, could be switched over to diesel. The design meant that the locomotive could be operated as a conventional steam engine using steam in the cylinders, or diesel, or when a ‘boost’ was needed as fully hybrid. Steam was also used to power ancillaries such as the brakes, and the whistle. The maximum design speed was 43mph, but as test crews got to know the locomotive better, speeds of around 55mph were regularly achieved.

Denoted KS1 by Kitson, the Kitson-Still made its first public appearance on April 22 1928 at an exhibition of locomotives and rolling stock organised by the LNER as a charity fundraiser at Leeds New station. Some 21,000 people attended, raising over £540 for the NER ‘Cottage Homes & Benefit Fund.’

After the exhibition, KS1 was put on trial between Leeds and Wakefield, its train consisting of a six-wheel observation saloon and six articulated coaches, given a gross weight of 118 tons behind the drawbar. These trial runs showed that the boiler was sometimes short of steam, and the driver could not judge the position of the crank so that it occasionally stopped top-dead centre. Modifications made at the Airedale Foundry were designed to cure this problem and the boiler pressure was raised from 180lb/sq. in to 200lb/sq. in.

Following the completion of this work, KS1 went out on test again, between Darlington and Starbeck, near Harrogate. The LNER dynamometer car was sent with it to record its performance: test runs on August 8/9 and 14/15 1928 were to assess oil and water consumption. Further runs were made on September 24 and 28, and October 1/2 to assess its reliability with loads which were progressively increased from 183 tons (including the dynamometer car) to 403 tons. It managed to restart this load on a 1in33 gradient from a signal stop.

The LNER report on these test runs shows that KS1 had a higher fuel consumption than Kitson had hoped, or as demonstrated from stationary test runs on rollers at the Airedale foundry. The high fuel consumption led the LNER to carry out rolling resistance tests on the locomotive, by pulling it ‘dead’ behind the dynamometer car which concluded that it had a much higher rolling resistance than a contemporary steam locomotive or diesel-electric locomotive: “This severe handicap, combined with the poor boiler performance, accounted for the inadequate results obtained from this locomotive.”

After this, the locomotive returned to the Airedale Foundry and no further runs were undertaken until 1933. After further modification, KS1 was moved to York. It operated a daily freight service between York and Hull, leaving York at 12.50pm via Market Weighton and then the 4.50pm return working via Selby and Church Fenton. On these trains, the dynamometer car was again used to record results, but still they were not as good as the manufacturer had hoped for. Despite this, it was found to consume about a fifth of the fuel (by weight) compared to a typical coal-burning steam locomotive. In its marketing and development, Kitson planned to target those countries with good oil supplies but little or no coal.

But things for Kitson were looking bleaker and bleaker. Development of the Kitson-Still locomotive had taken the best part of 10 years and had consumed resources, both financial and technical, that the firm could little afford to waste. The project grew ever-more complicated as the firm tried to make the locomotive work, pinning all its hopes on the experimental machine. Finally, in 1934, the receivers were called in and, after 97 years, time was called on Kitson & Co.

The Kitson-Still locomotive was just too complicated. And, like many other internal combustion locomotives suffered from a poor power-to-weight ratio, weighing 88.4 tons, and its power output of 800bhp under diesel power and 1,000bhp under steam and with a combined output of 1,300bhp compared poorly with both conventional steam locomotives and the rapidly evolving diesel. It was heavy, weak and expensive. Even if the project had succeeded, given the cost and complication of the locomotive, it would be unlikely that the oil-rich coal-poor colonies and territories for which Kitson & Co. intended it would have been able to afford or maintain them for very long. A more robust, simple design would have been preferable.

Unlike many of its contemporary prototype and experimental locomotives, in traffic KS1 never failed mechanically and always completed its journeys. The biggest problem with the locomotive was its weight. It was too heavy and too well-engineered for purpose, and this ate into the energy output, rendering any savings through extra efficiency redundant. Had the weight been less but with the same power output, the savings would have been larger and the locomotive more attractive to potential customers.

The engine also suffered from being built at the wrong time. The Great Depression took its toll on all businesses in the 1930s and development of the Kitson-Still certainly slowed, with the locomotive being effectively being stored for five years, from 1928-1933. This gave other manufacturers and railway companies the time needed to develop other forms of internal combustion locomotive, which gave them the advantage over the Kitson-Still.

As railway historian Ken Hoole wrote: “Unfortunately, its protracted trials delayed its development long enough to enable the ordinary diesel locomotive to gain ground and the Kitson-Still engine was put aside, to become another memory.” The final word perhaps goes to Andy Hardy: “With the development of other forms of internal combustion locomotive and transmission systems, it was obvious that the Still system was not an economic one to pursue. However, the locomotive must be considered a success. The technology was investigated and developed to build a working locomotive, one that undertook both test and commercial trains without fuss or failure.”

> “The Still engine in both railway and marine application was too complicated, and this complication ate up any possible cost savings”

But the demise of Kitson & Co. wasn’t quite the end of the story for the Still hybrid locomotive. One Captain Durtnall took out a patent from a similar hybrid engine developed in Italy which was trialled in Britain in 1923 on a demonstrator built by Hawthorn, Leslie. It was not a success, and the chassis was used as the basis for a conventional 060ST, _Stagshaw_, now preserved at the Tanfield Railway.

Schneider Frères in France proposed a 480 version at the same time Kitson were building KS1 in Leeds. It was 45 feet long overall and weighed in at 90 tonnes. Unlike the Kitson-Still, it used a two-stroke rather than four-stroke cycle and had at first four, later six, cylinders. Its starting characteristic was improved by admitting steam on both sides of the piston, and had a maximum design speed of 90kph. But despite its size, its power output was only a meagre 1,250hp. So, as with the Leeds example, it never entered revenue-earning service, something of an _éléphant blanche_. Various attempts to utilise the technology were made in the USSR, Switzerland and the USA, but none of them were a success.

The Kitson-Still locomotive was a brave attempt to revitalise a dying firm. Kitson & Co. – like many other firms after it, such as Beyer, Peacock – stuck with steam for too long. They failed to innovate and embrace new technology.

And, when they did, jumped on the wrong bandwagon. The Still engine in both railway and marine application was too complicated, and this complication ate up any possible cost savings. It was heavy, underpowered and expensive. While, at the time, it looked like a viable future, the slow pace of development of the Kitson-Still locomotive compared with the rapid evolution of the diesel locomotive (either with mechanical or electric drive) meant that it would always be obsolete no matter how well Kitson got it to work. It was completed at a time when the LMS was trialling diesel shunters from multiple builders and when the LNER was experimenting with Armstrong-Whitworth’s diesel electric 1-Co-1main line locomotive.

The writing was on the wall for steam globally: France had electrified in 1923; America and Germany began to dieselise in the 1930s, challenging steam’s monopoly, and petrol-electric railcars were also in use. The Kitson-Still remains a unique example of ingenuity by one of Britain’s oldest locomotive-building firms.

**PART TWO** (Missed part one? :a[**Read here**]{href='https://www.steamrailway.co.uk/blog/features/the-stars-of-1975/' })  
Fifty years ago, BR allowed steam to run to Shildon under its own power for the big S&D 150 event. HOWARD JOHNSTON reveals that some invited engines – including National Collection ‘Battle of Britain’ _Winston Churchill_ – didn’t make it.

More than 30 of our most famous steam locomotives ran in the cavalcade at the ‘Rail 150’ festival at Shildon on August 31 1975. But it can now be revealed that the original intention was to have more than twice that number.

Bulleid ‘Battle of Britain’ 4 6 2 No. 34051 _Winston Churchill_ was on the initial invitation list, a rather bold move considering that it has still not been steamed 50 years later. LNER ‘A2’ No. 60532 _Blue Peter_ and GWR ‘Castle’ 4 6 0 No. 4079 _Pendennis Castle_ were two other celebrity no-shows because they could not be got ready in time.

No matter. Months of meticulous planning ensured that the week-long festival, the third of its kind after 1875 and 1925, was an outstanding success, thanks to the dedication to detail by British Rail staff at all levels, and private railways and owners who willingly loaned the exhibits. The key criteria was that the locomotives could run to the North East under their own power (road haulage of large railway items was in its infancy, and BR certainly did not have the resources to provide diesel haulage). There was the added challenge of finding enough qualified drivers and firemen some seven years after the end of regular steam in the North West.

Half a century on it is not easy to establish the identities of all 65 locomotives intended to participate, but access to an official list published in spring 1975 at least give details of some of them. The Severn Valley Railway, provider of several engines, was also asked for pioneer BR 4 6 2 No. 70000 _Britannia_ and LNER ‘Mogul’ No. 3442 _The Great Marquess_, which were both Bridgnorth residents at the time. The SVR has since explained _Britannia_ needed too much work. It had arrived there in 1971 in a quite battered state, and repairs to its firebox were a long job. The SVR was, however, able to offer WD 2 10 0 No. 600 _Gordon_ after a hurried repaint in Longmoor Military Railway blue, and working engines, Stanier ‘8F’ 2 8 0 No. 8233 (48773) Ivatt 2 6 0 No. 43106, just needed a quick spruce-up.

Southern Railway ‘Spam Can’ _Winston Churchill_ was intended to be accompanied to Shildon by ‘Q1’ 0 6 0 No. 33001, but both would stay in a shabby state in the old Pullman works at Preston Park, Brighton for another year or so. The East Somerset Railway was approached for ‘Schools’ 4 4 0 No. 928 _Stowe_, but it too was in an unsuitable condition.

Also advertised to appear (but they didn’t) were Midland ‘Half Cab’ 0 6 0T No. 1708, and the National Collection’s 1874 Stockton & Darlington ‘long boiler’ 0 6 0 No. 1275, which had been in the 1925 cavalcade.

Although other engines couldn’t run in the cavalcade, they did make it to Shildon for static display, some actually arriving by road. Mainland Europe was represented by the Danish State Railways Hartmann 0 4 0WT No. 385; the Middleton Railway sent NER ‘H’ 0 4 0T No. 1310 and LNER Sentinel No. 54 (68153); the KWVR dispatched its 1893-built Hudswell, Clarke 0 4 0ST _Lord Mayor_, and Beamish its 1871 Head Wrightson 0 4 0 vertical boiler ‘Coffee Pot’. The SVR’s ex Port Talbot Railway 0 6 0ST No. 813 was not on the original list, but nevertheless welcome. Early non-steam was represented by 1916 Baguley petrol 60hp four-wheeler _Jacob_ from Dinting, and 1934 Drewry diesel WD240 (LMS 7050, now at the NRM).

Much of the credit for the smoothness of BR’s local operations goes to Darlington’s Area Manager, the late Archie Brown, who commented that August 31 1975 was the “most exciting, exhilarating and satisfying day that I experienced in all my 40 years of railway operational involvement.”

Visitors were funnelled in their thousands through Darlington station. Its vastness allowed it to fulfil the regular East Coast Main Line timetable, plus local servies to Eaglescliffe, Middlesbrough and the Esk Valley line to Whitby. Platform 1 was used for ‘Rail 150’ specials from King’s Cross (4), St Pancras, Plymouth, Bristol, Liverpool, Manchester, Leicester, Ipswich, Sheffield, Keighley, Chesterfield, Grantham, Doncaster, and Huddersfield. Platform 4 was allocated to intensive shuttles to Shildon on the branch to Bishop Auckland, in normal times only used sporadic local services.

Seventeen specials were run; the procession of locomotive-hauled trains arrived, disgorged their contents, and sped off to suitable stabling points for running round and servicing for the journey home. The yards at Heaton, York, Tyne Yard and Leeds Neville Hill were all heavily stacked, and one has to wonder how BR found so many coaches.

The ‘Rail 150’ celebrations continued for another month, with BR running excursions with steam haulage between Sheffield and Newcastle, using LNER Nos. 1306, 4472, 4498 and 4771.

## **Main line, museum, and worse: What’s happened to the exhibits?**

In the last issue, we listed the order of appearance of the first 21 locomotives in the cavalcade. This is the second part.

Engines were tightly timed to run at two-minute intervals between Shildon and Heighington, restricted to 5mph, and crews under strict instruction to maintain the correct space behind the preceding exhibit. They also had to sound their whistles when they passed trolleys carrying the television and film crews.

### **LNWR ‘Improved Precedent’ 240 No. 790** **_Hardwicke_**

**1975:** Carnforth  
**2025:** Shildon  
**Status:** Static display  
Returned to steam just weeks before the Shildon event, this Webb-designed 240 was already a history maker, having achieved over 90mph during its 2hr 6min run over the 141 miles between Crewe to Carlisle in the August 1895 ‘Races to the North’, a record that stood for almost 40 years. Preservation was guaranteed when it was withdrawn in 1932, and although it had a short career on main line railtour duty up until 1982, it seems a pity that it is now just a static exhibit.

### **Midland Railway ‘Compound’ 440 No. 1000**

**1975:** NRM, York  
**2025:** Barrow Hill  
**Status:** Static display  
The pioneering 1902 Midland ‘Compound’ was a rose among thorns between 1959-62, having been restored at Derby to Crimson Lake livery (with an S&D ‘7F’ tender) for main line specials before static retirement at Clapham Museum. It was moved to York in 1975, and revived for the ‘Rail 150’ cavalcade.

Laid aside again in 1983 after extensive use on main line specials, No. 1000 has been displayed at a variety of preservation centres, including the ill-fated Dinting Railway Centre, Bo’ness, Highley, the Derby Litchurch Lane ‘175’ event in 2014, and most recently Barrow Hill. It would be a popular engine if the finance was available to return it to steam.

### **LMS ‘Jubilee’ 460 No. 5690** _**Leander**_

**1975:** Dinting  
**2025:** Carnforth  
**Status:** Under overhaul  
This three-cylinder ‘Jubilee’ was a familiar sight on the North East-South West cross-country route for 18 years until withdrawn from Bristol Barrow Road shed in 1964, and spent eight years at Barry before its rescue by businessman Graham Oliver and restoration at great expense at Derby Works.

_Leander_ had a long spell on the main line, but participation in the 1975 cavalcade was a highlight. After ownership by the Severn Valley Railway from 1983-94 it was taken over by Dr Peter Beet and operated by West Coast Railways. Its boiler certificate expired in 2024, but that’s not the last you’ll hear of it.

### **LMS ‘Princess Royal’ No. 6201** **_Princess Elizabeth_**

**1975:** Ashchurch  
**2025:** Carnforth  
**Status:** Under overhaul  
The mighty Stanier ‘Pacific’ that could haul 600 ton-expresses of 17 coaches over Shap and Beattock on the West Coast Main Line was an early preservation entrant when it was withdrawn in 1962. It is, reputedly, written into the owning society’s constitution that ‘Lizzie’ will never be painted in anything but LMS Crimson Lake, so a green No. 46201 seems forever out of the question.

After storage at Ashchurch and Hereford, it was restored in time for ‘Rail 150’, and has broadly been a main line regular ever since, including hauling Queen Elizabeth herself during her Diamond Jubilee tour in 2012. It was withdrawn in July 2021 with boiler issues, but while the repair bills have been monumental, its return to service is in prospect.

### **Wantage Tramway Company 040WT No. 5**

**1975:** Didcot  
**2025:** Didcot  
**Status:** Static display  
The oldest and smallest locomotive in steam at Shildon arrived on a Lowmac wagon without its chimney. Built in 1857 for the Sandy & Potton Railway, the well tank was sold to the LNWR in 1862, then on to the Wantage Tramway in 1878, when it famously ran from Crewe under its own power.

Although visually resplendent, No. 5 was taken out of service shortly after the 1975 cavalcade with serious firebox defects, last steaming at Didcot in 1976. Now painted WTC red, the George England-designed engine is back on display at Didcot Railway Centre.

### **Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway ‘21’ 040ST No. 51218**

**1975:** Keighley & Worth Valley Railway  
**2025:** Keighley & Worth Valley Railway  
**Status:** Static display  
The immaculate tiny Aspinall ‘Pug’ was one of the stars of ‘Rail 150’, with its crews taking great care to manage its meagre coal and water supply, and ensuring that its axleboxes didn’t overheat by driving it too fast.

No. 51218 was still in good order when it was withdrawn from service at Neath in 1964, cheaper to buy for preservation than ‘Radial’ No. 50850. The first arrival at the KWVR’s Haworth shed, it was retubed for the 1975 Shildon gala. This revival was short-lived, and it didn’t return to steam properly until 1997, running until 2006. It has a replacement saddle tank, but awaits a business plan for a return to steam.

### **London, Brighton & South Coast Railway ‘Terrier’ 060T No. 72** _**Fenchurch**_

**1975:** Bluebell Railway  
**2025:** Bluebell Railway  
**Status:** Operational  
Considered an extremely elderly engine even back in 1975, the Stroudley ‘A1X’ 0 6 0T is now a remarkable 153 years old, and yet another full scale rebuild (completed in October 2022) has included an all-new firebox and cylinder block and repaint in LBSCR umber livery. The itinerant ‘Terrier’ appeared at Shildon in all-over black with the name _Fenchurch_ on its tanks, and its coal noticeably whitewashed. Cosmetically returned to ‘A1’ condition in 2001, nowadays No. 72 is a regular performer at the Bluebell Railway, which has been its home since withdrawal from BR service in May 1964.

### **SR ‘S15’ 4 6 0 No. 841 ‘Greene King’**

**1975:** Chappel & Wakes Colne  
**2025:** NYMR  
**Status:** Dismantled  
The Southern Maunsell ‘S15’ 4 6 0 had an extra role at Shildon, being used for cavalcade rehearsals to check distances and timings. Hurriedly restored in Essex from derelict Berry condition between 1972-74 and named after the Bury St Edmunds brewery, it ran north in early July for wheel turning at Doncaster Works and then Gosforth, and finally Thornaby for tidying up.

No. 841 then spent some time at the Nene Valley Railway before returning north to the NYMR in 1978. Last steamed in 1994, No. 841 is unlikely to ever steam again. After its frames were discovered to be distorted, its boiler was transferred to classmate No. 825, while the frames languish in the headshunt at Grosmont, where they are rapidly returning to nature.

### **SR ‘Merchant Navy’ 462 No. 35028** **_Clan Linex_**

**1975:** Hereford  
**2025:** Stewarts Lane  
**Status:** Operational  
Purchased from BR in 1967 in full working order, _Clan Line_ was the only ‘Merchant Navy’ active at the time of the cavalcade, and arrived with a rake of four coaches that included fibreglass prototype No. S1000S. At the time, only two of the 10 other survivors had been rescued from Barry scrapyard, No. 35005 _Canadian Pacific_ in March 1973, and No. 35029 _Ellerman Lines_ in January 1974; the latter to become a sectioned exhibit at the new National Railway Museum.

_Clan Line_ has had a very active career in preservation, having been in service from 19711980, 1984-1991, 1994-2001, 2006-2015, 20172022, and 2024 to the present day.

**1975:** KWVR  
**2025:** KWVR  
**Status:** Operational  
One of the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway’s flagship engines has always stood out in the crowd because of its distinctive LMS-inspired red livery, first applied for the inaugural ‘Worth Valley’ train in June 1968. The cavalcade marked its first return to the main line since it was withdrawn from Skipton shed, and the last time the Ivatt ‘Mickey Mouse’ tank has run on the national network.

No. 41241’s latest overhaul was completed in 2018, and it was outshopped in the same KWVR livery it wore back in 1975.

### **LMS (BR-built) Ivatt ‘4MT’ 260 No. 43106**

**1975:** Severn Valley Railway  
**2025:** Severn Valley Railway  
**Status:** Awaiting overhaul  
The BR-built Ivatt ‘Mogul’ that famously began its career on the Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway system was no stranger to the main line in the 1970s, and worked to Shildon with ‘8F’ 280 No. 8233.

Preserved direct from BR at tne end of main line steam in August 1968, the ‘Flying Pig’ also took part in ‘Rocket 150’ at Rainhill in 1980, and has run over 120,000 miles in preservation, visiting many preserved lines. Its extended boiler ticket expired in January 2024 and it is expected to be some time before its overhaul commences.

### **BR Standard ‘4MT’ 460 No. 75029 ‘The Green Knight’**

**1975:** East Somerset Railway  
**2025:** North Yorkshire Moors Railway  
**Status:** Under overhaul  
Wildlife painter and conservationist David Shepherd became well-known in 1967 following his purchases of Riddles ‘9F’ 2100 No. 92203 ‘Black Prince’ and double-chimney 460 No. 75029 straight from BR service, and the pair had a variety of homes before settling at the East Somerset Railway.

The Standard 4’s arrival in steam at Shildon was delayed by a hot box at Gloucester, so its planned excursions over the Esk Valley Line to Whitby never took place.

By chance, No. 75029 is now permanently based in the North East. It has been out of service at the NYMR since 2015 with a defective firebox, and is now subject to £200,000 appeal for a return to steam that is expected to cost twice that.

### **BR Standard ‘9F’ 2100 No. 92220** **_Evening Star_**

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