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No. 60146 Peregrine

Darlington Works No. 2065 was the 17th Peppercorn A1 to be constructed at Darlington. It was about half-way through the building programme of the class; with the Doncaster examples, 27 A1s had already been built. The first record of what was to become No. 60146 was the boiler (No. 3948) being mounted on 28th February 1949. A pair from each works was completed in April, the other Darlington example being No. 60149 while the Doncaster-built ones were Nos. 60125 and 60126. Resplendent in LNER-style apple green with black and white lining and ‘BRITISH RAILWAYS’ in white on the tender it entered service on 11th April 1949 along with No. 60125. Initially allocated to Doncaster shed (DON), there are few records of its first months other than returning to Darlington for three days the next April for non-classified repairs. Work took it between Tyneside, west Yorkshire and London and 1st May 1949 saw it on Darlington shed. Ten days later it double-headed the up fish train past Heaton with Class B1 No. 61013. On the 28th No. 60146 worked a passenger train into King’s Cross. It worked a Harrogate to King’s Cross train on 18th June. The fish train working with No. 61013 was repeated on 11th August, then there was a 9th September turn, the 10:15hrs King’s Cross to Leeds, and an up parcels into the ‘Cross’ on 7th January 1950 indicating that No. 60146 had worked quite a variety of turns. Sightings on shed covered much of its operating area including Doncaster, Darlington, Heaton, Copley Hill, Grantham and New England.

A short- lived move to Copley Hill (37B) came on 30th April 1950 but it was reallocated to York (North) shed (50A) on 4th June. It was seen between Newcastle and King’s Cross on passenger turns like 9th August’s 09:18hrs King’s Cross to Newcastle 11 coach train. It left Stockton at 14:42hrs on an up passenger four days later. Our first record of No. 60146 on a named train was ‘The Norseman’ on the 19th. It reached the Border country on 30th September but was seen failed on Tweedmouth shed. No. 60146 returned to Doncaster in November 1950 for its first heavy intermediate overhaul, leaving the works bearing the name Peregrine.  Naming was like its build date, just over half way through the class with 28 A1s already named when No. 60146 was one of four named that month. It was one of six A1s to be named after birds noted for swift or powerful flight, a suitable analogy for a powerful Pacific locomotive. Like three others, No. 60146’s name had been carried by an A4, Peregrine had been carried by the A4 re-named Lord Farringdon in 1948. At the same time as naming No. 60146 had been repainted in BR express passenger blue, looking rather different when it exited Doncaster Works on December 15th from when it went in.  The Durham coast route was covered with the light six coach 12:15hrs Newcastle to York on 16th February 1951. 26th March saw No. 60146 used on an up special passing Peterborough. A more taxing load for Peregrine was the 20 coach down passenger seen at Darlington on 19th June at 22:19hrs. Newcastle seems to have been its northern limit with many sightings there in 1951.

 In the middle of its career, Peregrine arrives at Grantham with a Pullman train – Bill Reed

After only a year of its new guise Peregrine was outshopped from Doncaster on 4th December after general repairs but now in BR green, an overhaul which included the locomotive’s first change of boiler, leaving with boiler No. 29859.  Soon after a number of runs were made into King’s Cross with one afternoon working from the capital to Leeds.  Less auspicious was its arrival in King’s Cross at 13:03hrs on 19th June 1952 when it was declared a failure. More prestigious was pulling the down ‘Queen of Scots’ on 17th January 1953 into Newcastle and taking it from Leeds to Newcastle on 8th April. A trio of goods workings now appear, up ones past Darlington on 8th December and 31st March 1954 and a down goods passing New Barnet on 7th October before the locomotive concluded the year back at ‘The Plant’ for a further general overhaul, including the fitting of boiler No. 29805. More goods workings were seen in the first nine months of 1955 with four at Newcastle, one each at Aycliffe in County Durham, Darlington, York, Doncaster and then arriving into King’s Cross with the 02:00hrs goods ex-Niddrie. Other passenger workings during the mid-1950s include bringing York to Edinburgh trains into Newcastle at 12:20hrs, taking the 07:20hrs ex-Colchester forward from York to its Newcastle destination and bringing the ex-Liverpool round into Tyneside via the Durham coast. More unusual was for Peregrine to bring the 09:06hrs Ely to Newcastle into York on 28th July 1956 then double-heading back with Class V2 No. 60896 on the 14:35hrs from York to Cambridge. On 4th August it hauled the 08:20hrs down from King’s Cross then went on to the 10:55hrs Skegness to York. A glut of named trains appear to have been handled in August and September including the up ‘Norseman’, the up ‘Northumbrian’ into King’s Cross, the down ‘Tynesider’ and the 10:00hrs down ‘Flying Scotsman’ from the capital. The first four days of October found No. 60146 diagrammed on the 08:20hrs King’s Cross to York/Hull and that November it underwent another ‘General’ at Doncaster, acquiring boiler No. 29849 in the process. On 5th January 1957 it was entrusted with the Newcastle to King’s Cross parcels, arriving at 10:22hrs. That May the later BR crest was applied to the tender, presumably while in Doncaster Works for non-classified repairs. On the 31st it was seen being towed from the Works to the shed along with Class A1/1 No. 60113 Great Northern, Class K3 No. 61834 and Ivatt ‘4MT’ No. 43130 by Class O2/3 No. 63969.

A few workings from August 1957 give some idea of the breadth of work. On the 3rd Peregrine worked two additional trains, an eight coach down passenger which passed Northallerton at 11:40hrs and returned through there at 17:35hrs with an up train which had run via the Durham coast. A week later a Newark observer saw it head north on the 09:40hrs King’s Cross to Newcastle train to return later with the up ‘Heart of Midlothian’. On the 22nd and 28th No. 60146 arrived at Newcastle with a passenger from York, returning at 12:10hrs for York with a parcels train. A ‘Heavy Casual’ repair at ‘The Pant’ that October saw the locomotive fitted with boiler No. 29872.  More named trains were the up ‘Flying Scotsman’ on 14th November 1958 and the up morning ‘Talisman’ on 3rd February 1959. Possibly taking over from a diesel failure, No. 60146 took over the 23:20hrs ex-King’s Cross from English Electric Type 4 1Co-Co1 D201 at York on 2nd February. Peregrine continued its range of passenger, parcels and goods workings across its territory, being seen on shed at Haymarket, Gateshead, Neville Hill, York, Doncaster and King’s Cross.  No. 60146 concluded the decade with a further visit to the works for a general repair, this time leaving with boiler No. 29868 fitted.

No. 60146 runs through Doncaster on 1st August 1963 – Nick Totty

However, 1960 brought several more named trains associated with Yorkshire. 4th February had No. 60146 on the 09:20hrs down ‘White Rose’ from King’s Cross, three days later it was on the down ‘Harrogate Sunday Pullman’ then two days later it was on the up ‘Queen of Scots’ into the capital on which it was also seen on the 13th and 20th. It was also seen arriving at King’s Cross at 12:15hrs ten times from May to December on the up ‘Tees-Thames Pullman’. Rather different was its load of five horse boxes and brake van seen at Killingbeck on 30th April. The locomotive received its final general overhaul and boiler change during April/May, leaving with its last boiler, No. 29865.  Several visits were made to Scarborough; the first when it was seen in steam there on 16th June 1962, the second on 11th July when it was sent there for storage but recalled to York. On 18th August it brought the up ‘Scarborough Flyer’ into Grantham. Its mix of work plus extras continued with the Hebburn to King’s Cross special on 21st September working back to Tyneside the next day with the down Anglo-Scottish Car Carrier. From October more goods workings featured than before, the 7S02 Gainsborough to Uphall Shell tanks on 6th October and 3rd November, the up seed potatoes on 23rd and 24th November plus a down Class C goods on the 27th and 28th. Meanwhile on 26th October it had been standby loco at York. From 18th March 1963 Peregrine was stored at York South shed until 28th July when it was transferred to Neville Hill (55H). It worked to Tyneside, being seen at Gateshead shed on the 30th. The 3rd August found a different sphere of operation as it worked the 06:35hrs ex-Birmingham to Glasgow St. Enoch forward from Leeds, later seen on Corkerhill shed.

An undated view of Peregrine, in later condition,  on York shed – Bill Reed

The locomotive at Normanton in 1965 – Roger Bastin

After less than three months No. 60146 was back on York shed’s books on 13th October. A few uncommon workings took place. On the 15th it hauled the 1V47 16:05hrs Newcastle to Bristol train to Derby. Next day it went light engine from Derby to Royston shed then took the 16:45hrs coal train to Normanton. Peregrine’s last works visit was from 31st January 1964 to 14th March at Darlington Works. Most trains continued to be  the usual mix on the East Coast route like the up fish from Edinburgh to Newcastle on 26th March, the up freight on the Leamside line at Tursdale on 18th April, 1st May’s York to Newcastle parcels or the 11:28hrs Peterborough to Edinburgh on 18th August seen passing Newark. Several trips over the Waverley route were made, the 10:15hrs Edinburgh to St. Pancras taken by No. 60146 as far as Carlisle on 29th April and 29th May.  A number of extras were worked such as 21st December’s Newcastle to Edinburgh’s parcels then Christmas Eve’s additional 1M60 Newcastle to Manchester as far as Leeds returning with the extra 1N57 15:30hrs ex-Manchester into Newcastle. Sightings in 1965 are relatively few, two light engine turns passing Darlington and Newcastle, the last recorded passenger train being the 09:42hrs Newcastle to Liverpool from its starting point on 3rd March; the last parcels was a down one at 09:25hrs in Newcastle on 28th May and the final goods was on 4th June with a down train passing Ricknall.  After that No. 60146 was seen at York shed a number of times from 5th June, being stored from 18th August.  Withdrawal came on 4th October, one of ten A1s to go that month. They were some of the later A1s to be withdrawn as 36 had already gone by then.  No. 60146 was seen lying withdrawn in York shed yard up to 13th November. It was sold to T.W.Ward of Killamarsh for scrap.

Shorn of nameplates, No. 60146 is ‘stored’ at York shed in August 1965 – Alan Sharp

With a service life of over 16 years 4 months, No. 60146 beat the class average by more than a year. Had dieselisation not come so rapidly no doubt it could have done many years more service.

This history was compiled by Phil Champion based on a database compiled by Tommy Knox and with reference to the RCTS book “Locomotives of the LNER Part 2A” as background.  Revised and updated by Graham Langer, July 2020.