Loose_Grip/Pete's photos with the keyword: Heath

It takes years of real neglect to get as filthy as this unidentified Stanier Black 5. The cleaners (if there were still such things at Newton Heath loco shed in 1968) hadn't been near the cylinder and wheels of this example & no doubt it went to its grave with the accumulated grease & grime. The scrap men (and look away if you're sensitive) would set fire to the grease before cutting the engines up. This would burn away everything first so that their torches didn't start fires while they worked.

It's near the end for Newton Heath steam shed in Manchester. Stanier 8F 2-8-0 48529 catches the light streaming through the holes in the roof into the gloom of the shed interior. This image was used on the cover of "Steam's Last Apprentice" by Victor Penketh published by Wibble Publishing in 2013. An excellent read about Victor's life on the railway from 1959 to the end of steam in 1968 .

Cabside number Stanier Black 5 4-6-0 44845, built at Crewe in 1944. I am contemplating the last day of steam at Newton Heath & the fact that the filthy cab won't ever be cleaned again. I don't think that left hand window has ever been cleaned! This engine still had 50psi of steam in its boiler but by the end of the day would be cold & ready for its last journey to the scrapyard.