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Comment by Andy Thompson on June 12, 2009 at 15:53

Gentlemen. May I throw this into the mix? Click here to view

Andy

Comment by Dick Bodily on June 12, 2009 at 10:54

Si

I have seen various pictures of such workings. They originated from Northampton and were usually run on race days to Warwick racecourse, so this one is almost certainly serving a Towcester race meeting. Whether it ran from Northampton Castle as did the Warwick specials or from Blisworth to Towcester I don't know. Normally the loco would have just one 2 coach auto unit and be regularly used on the Northampton Castle - Leamington (via Blisworth and Weedon) service. Similar trains were used on the Northampton Castle to Blisworth services. I think Andy has a picture of it or a similar working at Towcester station platform where you can clearly see that the loco is a Webb 2-4-2T. Northampton shed had a few right up to the early '50s. One of my earliest railway memories is of being taken to Castle station to meet my much older cousins who had travelled up from Cornwall. The engine that brought them from Blisworth was Webb tank 46666 and they having started their journey behind a relatively modern looking Collett Small Prairie tank thought that this engine was 'as old as the Rocket'. By the time I was spotting I think the Leamington service had disappeared but the auto trains from Northampton to Blisworth, Kettering, Wellingborough and Bedford were more modern units and propelled by Northampton (2E) Ivatt 2MT tanks or Bedford (14E) Standard 2MT tanks.

Dick

Comment by Andy Thompson on June 11, 2009 at 21:11

Si. It seems you know more than I! It is, though - one of my favourite photos. I live in Devon and auto trains where a big thing, especially around Plymouth
Andy

Comment by Si Donal on June 11, 2009 at 20:41

I assume this view is taken in the early 1930s. The train is a push-pull or motor train. The driver can sit in the carriage, driving using control levers to the fireman in the locomotive. The locomotive is assumed to be a Johnson 1P 0-4-4T but may be a motor fitted ex-LNWR Coal Tank 0-6-2T.

Assuming the lamp in the view is a tail lamp (supported by the signal being cleared for the Blisworth direction) it does beg the question whether there is a motor train carriage at the leading end. If so is this train capable of going through to Northampton? This would involve two reversals at Blisworth zig-zagging across the West Coast Mainline! If not, I wonder why there is such a profusion of motor train carriages on this service.

I also would love to know whether this train terminated at Towcester or whether it carried on to Stratford.

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