No 71000 duke of gloucester a 70th birthday retrospective

With the low winter sun highlighting both engine and train, No 71000 Duke of Gloucester passes Settle Junction signal box at almost 60mph as it attacks the 15 miles at 1 in 100 of the Long Drag to Blea Moor on Saturday, 4 December 1993. Matched to a rake of maroon coaches, the authentic look of the 1950s has been recreated, with the exception that No 71000 is now the world-beating Pacific that its designers hoped it would be. Seen 13¼ miles beyond Skipton, the train started out from St Albans behind class ‘47’ diesel No 47717 and upon arrival at Bradford (Forster Square) No 71000 came on and then worked north to Carlisle, before running to Hexham and Doncaster, where class ‘91’ electric No 91005 would take over for the leg through to King’s Cross. Of note is that the preserved class ‘8’ Pacific now carries non-standard brass numerals on its cab side-sheets, as opposed to hand-painted numbers.

John Whiteley

The fastest steam departure that one of the writers experienced from Skipton was with the winter ‘Cumbrian Mountain Express’ of 17 November 1990 in the charge of British Railways Standard ‘8P’ Pacific No 71000 Duke of Gloucester. With a load of 13 BR Mark I coaches and ‘Ethel’ Bo-Bo No 97252, some 525-plus tons, the acceleration was memorable. The sharp staccato exhaust beats rapidly increased in tempo as No 71000 passed the site of Skipton North Junction, and as the train powered towards Gargrave the exhaust was more akin to a Sulzer diesel engine than a three-cylinder steam locomotive.

Despite spending many pleasurable hours on the platforms of Willesden Junction station, regularly visiting Willesden shed (1A), peering over the road bridge adjacent to Camden shed (1B), and watching the comings and goings at Euston station, the same writer never saw Duke of Gloucester at work in BR service. The only occasion that he did see it before withdrawal was on Saturday, 13 May 1961 at the exhibition of locomotives and rolling stock in Marylebone goods yard held to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the Institution of Locomotive Engineers, when it was on display alongside No 92220 Evening Star, No 60022 Mallard, Midland Compound No 1000, ‘Deltic’ No D9003, ‘Hymek’ No D7000 and the experimental gas turbine 4-6-0 No GT3. The other writer was equally unlucky, only glimpsing No