Roger Griffiths and John Hooper offer an introduction to the dedicated fleet and work
of pilot engines that served Crewe Works, as well as shining the spotlight on the
comings and goings of the various steam classes within the allocation in L&NWR, LMS
and BR days.
Crewe Works pilot No 3009 – an L&NWR Ramsbottom class ‘835’ 0-4-0ST ‘4ft shunter’
of 1872, with short chimney, cab roof (gained in 1911), and open coupling rods – stands
at the north end of Crewe station, facing south, and is head-to-head with a Whale
‘19in Goods’ 4-6-0. The backdrop includes the ‘Spider Bridge’, a footbridge complete
with 18in gauge railway that from 1878 linked the station with the Old Works, which
itself was in the ‘V’ of the West Coast main line and the original path of the main
line to Chester, which from 1868 was bypassed at its easternmost point, leaving part
of the original section of line to become a dedicated route through much of the vast
Crewe Works site – from east to west it served the Old Works, Deviation Works and
Steel Works. With the works as a whole stretching out for around 1½ miles, there was
a requirement for pilot engines to feed a multitude of needs for smooth operation,
and these even included internal passenger duties – the vehicle attached to No 3009
is a ‘Crewe Cab’ passenger vehicle for the movement of works’ staff. The ‘Cab’ is
a four-wheel, covered well wagon with internal seats and what look like toolboxes
at each end. The duty involved the transit of workers from Crewe station to the works
and within the Crewe Works site, from the Old Works, all the way to the western end,
a task which the writers believe ended either with World War II or possibly before
nationalisation. N H Lee Collection/LNWRS
The locomotive works at Crewe was commenced by the Grand Junction Railway in 1840
with, three years later, the first of what eventually would total 7,331 steam locomotives
being built (followed by diesel and electric types). The works was expanded by the
London & North Western Railway (L&NWR) in 1860, and piecemeal in later years so that
by 1920 it was a collection of foundries, shops and sheds, later rationalised to some
extent and greatly expanded upon by the London, Midland & Scottish Railway, for example
a new erecting shop in 1926. At its height, Crewe Works employed between 7,000 and
8,000 workers.
After the LMS attempt at tidying up, BR added improvements such as, in 1959, a new
scrapping shed conv
