Time Capsules - Old Photographs from the past

Wrexham motive power depot. This shed provided the motive power for the line from Wrexham Central to Bidston, a route linking north east Wales with Merseyside. This route was run by the Great Central Railway prior to 1923 and this would seem to explain why Eastern/North Eastern region tank engines are stationed here. 69362 was an N5/2 class 0-6-2T; the design was by Parker of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway, dating back to 1891. The MS&L later became the Great Central. In 1948 the locomotive was shedded at 6E - Wrexham, although another source names 6E as Chester West. Possibly Wrexham was a sub-shed, but with its six roads it seems quite a large one. The N5s had all been withdrawn by the early 1960s.
The locomotive at the head of the line on the right may be 84000, a 2-6-2T introduced in 1953, and so only a couple of years old - a youngster compared with the N5

This was named (Wrexham) Rhosddu and provided the locos for the Wrexham to Seacombe (via Shotton) passenger trains amongst it's goods duties.

On Chester District Sheds:
6A Chester Midland - ex-LNWR shed at south (Crewe) end of station.
6B Mold Junction - on the N Wales coast mainline near Saltney
6C - Birkenhead
6D - Chester Northgate - provided locos for services to Manchester via the former Cheshire Lines route. On site of Northgate Arena at a higher level than the other sheds.
6E - Chester West - former GWR shed - Later 84K. North (Birkenhead) end of Chester Station.

Rhosddu was around this time coded 84K with Croes Newyyd 84J - under Wolverhampton District

No Wrexham shed in the 6 series - all coded under 84 for many years.

Wrexham. A shot taken by Ben Brooksbank in 1959 shows the view towards the terminus at Wrexham Central, from whence these locomotives hauled services to Seacombe: www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2048484

The depot served the Wrexam Mold and Connars Quay Railway that later became part of the G.C.R

A really interesting photo. It looks like four N5s as well as a J67/69 and a BR standard tank. 6E was the code for Wrexham in early BR days, with Chester GW as 84K. These codes were exchanged when regional boundaries were changed in 1958, so that 6E became Chester and 84K Wrexham.

See picture #1520 for one of the N5 0-6-2Ts out on the line - at Buckley Junction.

I think the loco on the extreme left in the picture is a former Great Eastern locomotive . For those interested compare the height of the boiler from the frames of this loco against the GCR tank engines in the pic

Yes John - some 0-6-0T were probably kept for the Connahs Quay branch on the banks of the Dee for dockside work - curiously in earlier years this was performed by ex GCR J62 locos, initially in saddle tank form, later rebuilt into side tank form - but outstationed for Bidston shed over the border on the Wirral.

Thanks for your very informed comment .
The loco on the extreme left in the picture is looking more and maor a GER engine but I cannot think how it got there. The boiler is set too low for it to be a GCR loco , compare it with the other locos in the picture

The numbers of the locomotives can be seen clearly on a photo in April edition of Railway Bylines . The article is one on the N5-N6 classes I can confirm my comments made previously re the loco on the far left is being an ex G.E.R loco class J69

Sorry forgot to add that the ex.G.E.R J69's number is 68595

In 1948 there were seven J67/69 engines on the Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) area and Rhosddu. I think there was also one allocated to Birkenhead Central on the Mersey railway.

Ah yes Bob.. and the 11F's on the Cheshire lines- curiously also frequented the Sheffield- London run.. (as it happens only surviving (506) now up 'throad at Barrowhill). Glad to find you're still on the rails old chum

Bob, The Mersey Railway one was numbered M.E.R 3 - later absorbed into LNER stock - think it was actually a similar J66 - used for ballast and engineering trains - on gradients up to 1 in 27. !

MER 3 = LNER no. 7297.
In later days the ballast and engineering trains were usually hauled by Jinties.

Nice to hear from you again Steve & Pete. I hope I am not wandering too off topic. At sometime in the '50s a J66/67/69 was allocated to Birkenhead Mollington Street - was this tied up somehow with the Mersey railway engine? I had always assumed that when the MR engine was moved away it's duties would haave been taken over by a deisel shunter. Never heard of the Jinties being used, any idea when the last working was?

have a look here at Birkenhead Central - the jinties were still on pw duties in the 60's - I have a picture of 47674 on the 3rd rail at Birkenhead North.
Also have a photo of interior od Mollington street of Kitson 47005 - but with tank engine with a small bunker in front of it with a nimber starting 685xx - but the photo cuts off at that point ! - from the 50's as 47005 was not built until 1953 - makes me think J69.

Pete, did you mean to post a link to those pictures? L'd love to see both.

In 1960 47005 was shedded at 6c Birkenhead and by this time seemingly the J69's by this time had gone to that engine shed in the sky

There is a photograph of the loco MER 3 a J66 in Part 8A of Locomotives of the LNER

Bob - did we talk about J94's previously ?
The 47005/685xx photo is in a Bradford Barton book - 'London Midland Steam on Shed - Vol 1'
47674 is an actual photo bought from ebay - might be worth a search on there. You can see Tees Street housing behind. My Nan lived in Station Road (Birkenhead North), that is....

That's right. The book is "London Midland Steam Locomotives". I've just had a look - probably missed "685" because of the glare on the number.
Most interesting!

Some information gleaned from John Gahan's book "The Line Beneath the Liners" will tidy up this diversion into Mersey Railway territory. Ex Metropolitan Railway 4-4-0Ts were used for Departmental duties until 1939 when J66 7297 took over. This was used until 1951 when it was condemned at Stratford Works and J67 68583 substituted. 68583 moved from Birkenhead Central to Mollington Street in 1956 and on to Bidston in 1957 and was withdrawn from there in 1958. A Brush Type 4 was tested in the tunnels in March 1968 in connection with the proposed improvements to the system (If this had been a few months earlier I'm sure that Birkenhead would have turned out a 9F!)

Have seen a Brush 4 (47) and in the 80's a EE Type 4 (40) at James Street undergound on the loop line. Saw a Windhoff MPV there too most recently. Excellent work on the J67 !

An EE4? That must have been a sight!

There's an evocative photo of 68585 at Buckley Old station in 1957 in North Wales Branch Line Album (Ian Allan). As far as pw trains on the Wirral/Mersey system are concerned I recall that Jinties quite often worked as far as Birkenhead Park up to about 1966. There was great excitement locally around that time when the working timetable supplement showed a pw train going to Liverpool Central Low Level and rumour had it that a Black Five was diagrammed to work it. But did it ever run?

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