10D LOSTOCK HALL MPD
THE POST-STEAM ERA
Although the demise of BR steam had long been forecast, when the end actually came in August 1968, many of those involved with railways felt a distinct sense of unreality - it being extremely difficult to comprehend that steam really had ended – one week it was there, the next week it had gone.
This potted history draws to a close in recording that, as from Monday 5th August 1968, all the remaining footplate crews still required for work were officially transferred to the signing-on point nearby at Preston Station. Although Lostock Hall had taken over the provision of most motive power since 1961, the old office at Preston shed (the remainder of the building being destroyed by fire) had eventually been transferred over to a room on the station’s platforms and had continued to supply crews. Harold Sedgebeer, the last shed-master, retired at this time and the first Area Managers' organisation became responsible for traffic arrangements in the Preston area.
At Lostock Hall, the rows of withdrawn and abandoned steam locomotives outside the shed, awaiting their final call for the cutter's torch, made visitors feel like they were intruding upon a mass grave. It was, in fact, to be another 9 months or so after the closure to steam, before the final few went on their way.
As at the other ‘final three’ depots, several locomotives ending their days on Lostock Hall’s allocation, survived to tell the tale. These were: Nos 43106, 44806, 45000, 45110, 45212, 45305, 45407, 47564, 78019 and D2868. The tender of No 44950 also survived, being a roller-bearing version, it was of the correct type to be matched with the preserved No 44767 and, consequently, was purchased later from Messrs Drapers of Hull.
Nos 45407 and 44806 were removed from 10D on the evening of 7th January 1969, being towed to Carnforth by No D5242 and into the preservation era. On the same day, Nos 45287, 48253 and 48294 weren’t so lucky, departing to Cohen’s of Kettering. The following day, Nos 44971, 45055, 45260 and 45305 departed for Drapers and yet one day later, No 44816 also departed for Cohen’s. The clear-out of the remaining steam locomotives continued at a somewhat pedantic pace, with only No 73069 going to Cashmore’s at Newport on 13th February and where it became the final steam locomotive to be cut up.
At the beginning of March, the shed still contained 12 engines. However, 10th March saw No D5238 remove Nos 44713, 44950, 45073 & 45269 to Drapers, whilst 16 days later, No D5262 followed with Nos 44874, 45318, 45386 & 45444. The last machines at Lostock Hall, Nos 44894, 45017 & 45388 remained until 28th April 1969, when they also moved on to Drapers, these being the very last of any non-preserved standard-gauge steam engines to leave a BR shed.
As enthusiast Mr Robert Anderson observed, the absence of any photos of that historic movement is probably explained by the booked departure time of 04.15hrs from Lostock Hall, although a stop at Healey Mills, probably for 'examination', from 07.45 to 10.05hrs could have tempted some photographers out. Mr Anderson did add, however, that, just over a week later, Nos 44894 and 45017 had actually been broken up, but that No 45388 was only to survive for a few more days, being disposed of on 13th May. That loco was, of course, the last steam locomotive to be cut up by Albert Draper & Son.
The late Bill Wilson (driver of 45017 on one of the SLS specials on the final weekend), reckoned that the residents of Lostock Hall and nearby Tardy Gate didn’t want to see the end of the steam locomotive at their local shed, but, on the other hand, they were glad to see the last of the Sunday night smoke, a pall of which covered the village when engines were being lit up in readiness for the following week’s work.
It wasn’t only the shed that was closing, however, but Lostock Hall Wagon Works, goods yards and carriage sidings as well. Bill added that most of those made redundant were offered jobs elsewhere, but many, he said, saw sense and took the money instead.
For some time, diesel locomotives had already been stabled in the open on sidings either side of the main-line north of Preston station, but there was naturally still a requirement for maintenance and re-fuelling – facilities that were only available at Lostock Hall. For this reason, part of the maintenance staff remained at the shed to provide such a service. Fred Swindells came from Carlisle to Lostock Hall to take over from Harold Sedgebeer, in the role of Traction Inspector.
For a while the "Out- door department" did some maintenance on track machines for a while and that is why Nos 1 & 2 roads were partitioned off from the rest of the shed.
Even this, however, was destined eventually to disappear and some 20 years after the last steam loco-man had booked off duty, the remaining staff departed. Having lain empty, derelict and partially roofless since 1988, the building was finally demolished in January 1990.
Coincidentally, the ‘Railway Hotel’ in Lostock Hall, a few short steps across Watkin Lane from the now overgrown and fenced-off former shed entrance and a one-time well-frequented watering-hole for countless generations of railwaymen, closed its doors on the night of 4 August 2008, 40 years to the day after the depot itself closed to steam, and was put up for sale. Several former 10D footplatemen were present for this sad occasion and, thus, very fittingly, may well also have proved to be the pub’s final customers. The ‘Railway Hotel’ is believed to have been converted into living accommodation for underprivileged teenagers - perhaps a reflection of the social 'progress' which has been made since 1968?
Former fitter, Charles Findlay, says that, when the shed closed to steam, a reduced fitting staff stayed on. There were 4 RSIs, (Rolling Stock Inspectors) in charge and these used the back office, formerly used by the shed clerical staff. They provided round-the-clock cover and consisted of Derek Loundes (a Londoner), Dave Parkes (originally a Blackpool Central shed apprentice with Charles), Gerry Cooke (a local lad) and Brian Cookson from Carnforth.
The fitting staff moved into the old drivers' mess-room. They proceeded to maintain the diesel-shunter fleet and to do 'A' & 'B' exams on the main-line fleet, as required, as well as locos sent for repair or repairs arising from fuelling inspections. The RSIs also took out the steam-crane breakdown gang to derailments all over the North West. As Charles adds, they kept their steam days ‘area’. As happened at Fleetwood anything that was of use was cannibalised.
When the shed shut to diesels, Charles feels that there would have been four refuellers left, namely, Fred Parker, Brian Parker, (no relation), Harold Martin and Tommy Baldwin. As an aside, Charles recalled Class 40 No D210 being allocated to 10D for a while in 1967 and he adds that, many years later, he had the dubious distinction of finding the fault that directly led to its eventual withdrawal from traffic
Lostock Hall carried on until 1971, servicing diesels, but when the new Springs Branch Traction & Maintenance Depot gradually came to assume that function, four of the fitters then went to Preston Station and the remainder transferred to Springs Branch and elsewhere, or followed their footplate brethren into inevitable redundancy.
Following the end of steam, the depot continued to service and re-fuel diesel traction. In these July 1971 pictures we see [left) Class 40 Nos 391 & 217 and [right] Class 25 No 7549.
More July 1971 pictures depict [upper left] Lostock Hall Class 08 ‘longstager’ No D3369 (transferred to Lostock Hall upon closure of Preston shed) and [above & left] Class 02 Nos D2863 & D2861, with another Class 08 No D3768 in the background. These particular 170hp 0-4-0 locos, built by the Yorkshire Engine Co, of a group of four (Nos D2860 - D2863) that were allocated from new to Fleetwood, to shunt the fish dock & power station sidings, particularly in places where even the short wheelbase of some 6-wheeled locomotives (such as the Class 08) still proved to be too extreme for the very sharply curved trackwork.
With the cessation of that traffic and the closure of Fleetwood shed, they moved further afield. A couple were sent to Lostock Hall as direct replacements for the two Class 0F 0-4-0 saddle-tanks Nos 47002/8 that worked the equally torturous curves in Greenbank Coal Sidings. Being some 6 tons lighter than their predecessors (at only 28 tons), they seemed ideal for the task and, for a while, several did tend to spend much of their time stabled in the remains of the much closer Preston shed.
Shortly after demolition, all that remains are the concrete pathways between the inspection pits. As can also clearly be seen, the site of the former carriage shed and sidings, to the left of the picture, is now a housing estate and a public footpath runs across the land where the tracks to the old carriage shed used to run.
Even after those last few rusting relics of a past age had departed and many of the rails had been removed, the ghosts still lingered. Shortly before all the steam-age infrastructure was swept away, Bob Gregson was one of the few who cared enough to eventually came back to say his own farewell to 24C/10D.
Lostock Hall Revisited – a short lament to a well-loved depot, by Bob Gregson
Diesel locomotives continued to use Lostock Hall depot until 1973, when all motive power was transferred to the north of Preston Station and it was then used as a Carriage & Wagon repair depot, following the closure of the old C&W Works at nearby Todd Lane South. The Preston breakdown train and maintenance vehicles were also still based here, until a fire destroyed a section of the roof covering 6 of the 8 roads. The 2 remaining roads were partitioned-off from the roofless section and, there, the business of vehicle maintenance continued up until January 1988, when all operations ceased and the building was closed down altogether.
In April 1988, I decided to revisit old haunts. Having passed by countless times over the years, I now felt obliged to pay my respects after so long an absence. It was a beautiful, fresh spring morning, similar to the one I experienced during my first visit of some 26 years previously, but with a silence more profound than that of 5 August 1968. For the first time in my life, I had the entire place to myself.
I passed through the opening by the old oil stores and entered this ruined temple of nostalgia. Memories of better times came flooding back, as I stood amongst the decaying wreckage. Nature was slowly taking over; young trees, plants and grasses growing in profusion, spreading a green shroud over the rusting steel and rotting timbers.
The partition doors to the old L&Y section were open and here, apart from the atrocious work of vandals, I noticed, very little had changed over the years. I walked across the yard to the shed-master's office with its characteristic bay window facade, and here too the vandals had been hard at work; papers, books and furniture strewn across the floor, and everywhere a sea of broken glass - not a window pane intact! I passed through to the signing on lobby and stood there awhile in the gloomy silence, deep in thought wondering how many generations of railwaymen had passed this way. Visions of familiar faces from long ago flitted before my eyes. A sudden chill in the atmosphere awoke me from my grip of melancholy and I walked out into the warmth and sunlight – back into the world of the living.
For the railway enthusiast of the late 1960s (and many professional railwaymen, too),
the passing of steam had left a great void, one that most already knew, the few preserved
railways then in existence could never fill with quite the same authentic ‘feel’.
Now, some forty plus years later, and even with the return of main-line steam along
selected routes around Britain, for the majority of those who remembered it, they
will agree that the real steam age has departed forever and will never return.
The
only access to the derelict site effectively being by means of the former shed entrance
gateway in Watkin Lane and in a particularly difficult location between two hump-backed
bridges, this would create a serious hazard to traffic using such an extremely busy
highway that the road is today. Therefore, planning permission for any development
(business or residential), that requires road access, was never likely to receive
approval.
However, although having been owned for several years by John Silcock, a travelling fairground operator, who clearly had such ambitions in his sights, this person was ultimately thwarted in attempts to utilise it in connection with his own business interests. Therefore, the now heavily overgrown land was at long last placed back on the market in early 2009 and, with no serious takers in the offing, it is rapidly becoming a serious eyesore to local residents.
There has since been conjecture locally of various proposals … these ranging from an old folk's home and allotments, to even a rail-connected maintenance facility. One major consideration to a potential purchaser is the fact that, arising from its 86 years of servicing railway locomotives, apart from the large amount of rubble present, the land is also contaminated.
Whatever the ultimate outcome, as these notes are being written in early 2011, the filled-in pit roads of Lostock Hall Motive Power Depot do still bear silent witness to the age of steam, albeit now through a rapidly advancing forest of ever-encroaching vegetation. Let's but hope that South Ribble Council are successful in their aims … whatever these ultimately might transpire to be!
After closure, the shed building at Lostock Hall was taken over and used for the work that had previously been carried out at Lostock Hall C&W works, the latter now being demolished.
Its continued presence, albeit with the removal of many previous sidings and, inevitably, the demolition of the coaling and ash disposal plants, continued to provide a silent memorial to a bygone era.
When most of the fitting staff was transferred to Preston Station in 1971, 3 or 4 people were left at Lostock Hall, with Brian Hough as 'C' grade supervisor encompassing everyone. Initially they were there for re-fuelling duties round the clock. However, when the fuelling plant closed, Brian Hough, Brian Parker and Mick Goodall then became a light breakdown gang and did out-based exams and repairs on wagons. (This was, of course after the wagon works was shut and demolished.) Following electrification into Preston Station, those now based at Preston also started to deputise for Brian.
Unfortunately that’s all we have in this section for now, so before you continue on to the next page, please do consider the following.
What you have just been reading is, of course, only a small part of the story of Lostock Hall MPD …. all of it having been gratefully received from the mere handful of contributors who have so generously assisted us to-date.
There are obviously many more stories out there just waiting to be told … only these haven’t as yet been passed on to us! Therefore, in order to start filling-in many of the missing pieces in the, still very incomplete, jigsaw, please do now consider making a contribution of your own.
Items of information and scanned photographs would be most welcomed. Alternatively, you might wish to share your footplate experiences by meeting up for a pint and a natter in pub, or, failing that, through merely participating in our “Discussion Forum” (as many already have done). Regardless of how you make contact and irrespective of whatever manner you feel you may be able to assist, please DO get in touch!
NOTE: All information contained within these pages is original material - prepared specifically for the Lostock Hall MPD Website (www.LostockHallMPD.org.uk) and which remains strictly the express COPYRIGHT of the website administrators. Likewise, all photographs used remain the COPYRIGHT of the photographers identified. No item must be reproduced, or quoted from (in whole or even in part), in the absence of express prior permission being granted. (Please refer to the “Get In Touch” page in order to obtain the contact addresses of the administrative team.)
I wandered along by the inspection pits, trying to visualise how it all had been in happier times. Everything of interest in the yard had long since disappeared save for two decapitated cast iron lamp standards that once illuminated the water columns. These were originally gas lamps and had probably been there since the shed was built. And there they remained, still standing side-by-side, like sentinels, faithfully guarding the entrance to the very last steam shed, their withered arms pointing defiantly towards the encroaching mass of trees and vegetation.
The building was eventually demolished in January 1990. Today, merely the outline of the concrete walkways between the filled-in inspection pits bears silent witness to the age of steam. It is difficult to imagine that the area once contained a busy eight-road engine shed, coaling plant and turntable, etc and once having an allocation of 50 plus locomotives.
1968 marked the 50th anniversary of the end of the First World War, and I remember seeing footage of the old veterans revisiting the Flanders fields, and hearing comments such as, “It's changed a bit since then” and “Who will remember it when we've gone?” A similar theme was passing through my mind as I stood by the filled-in 'trenches' (inspection pits) at 10D.