"One of the reasons the bankers were more intensively used before 1980 was the existence of unfitted freight, which was an untold problem on the Lickey due to the danger of runaways."
It’s one of the most famous railway locations in the UK, but most of the history that built and perpetuated the Lickey Incline’s reputation for train-related excitement, is now trapped in the past. In this article I’m going to recapture some of that past. This is a picture-rich journey through a 37-year period that would culminate in the ultimate destruction of the great location’s aesthetics: electrification. Get a drink, take a seat, and let’s head back to our starting point in the early 1980s…
At the location between 1980 and 1984. The top two shots from Vigo, and the bottom two from Lickey Summit, Blackwell. Blackwell station had formerly stood on the site in the lower shots, but by the late 1970s it was just a rather overgrown waste ground. To the left of the ‘Peak’ in the bottom right shot, is the hut that had housed the railman on brake-pinning duty (see ‘Banking’ section for more).
The Class 50s had daily workings on the Lickey from the mid 1970s, after their transfer from the London Midland to the Western Region. They were renowned for their stirring ascents. Their intensity of service here peaked in the mid 1980s, and then quickly diminished in the latter part of the decade. They had no significant presence by 1990.
The HSTs tentatively arrived in 1981, began significant service in 1982, and by the middle of the decade had become deeply entrenched in the DNA of the daily CrossCountry traffic. Wearing the contemporary InterCity Exectutive livery in spring 1986, power car 43145 gathers pace having scaled the bank and rounded the curve at Blackwell.
From the late 1980s, InterCity livery scaled up its presence across the Class 1 passenger network, steadily eroding Rail Blue from the picture. Loco hauled passenger trains in particular saw mixes of IC and Rail Blue stock, as is the case in this view of 47834 FIRE FLY at Vigo.
Maverick liveries boomed too. This unusual Midline livery adorned Tyseley ‘Bubble Car’ 55033 as it crawled up the incline in summer 1990. The service was a Bromsgrove to Barnt Green shuttle, which routinely employed ‘Bubble Cars’. Even single car diesel mechanical units struggled with the gradient, and there was still a joke told on DMMUs at Bromsgrove station at the time, that if one more passenger boarded the service it would have to wait for the bankers. DMMUs were banked on occasion.
At the bottom of the bank, the same period was characterised by the imposing presence of Bromsgrove Oil Terminal. In this shot, two Trainload Petroleum Class 37s wait to continue south with a train of tanks in summer 1990. The train would reverse out of the oil terminal, crossing onto the southbound main in the process, and then switch direction to head south without any loco uncoupling required. The bridge at Bromsgrove station was brand new at the time, with the two-platform update having just been carried out.
In the early 1990s, the Swindon – Longbridge car parts trains were still operated by single Class 47s. This is 47294 fresh off the climb at Blackwell with one such run, before the era of RfD double-headers and KSA ‘Cube’ wagons.
The initial Virgin Trains era of 1997 to 2002 saw Virgin’s red and charcoal livery gain increasing prominence in the field of loco-hauled passenger work. These scenes show 47814 Totnes Castle at Finstall, 47822 Pride of Shrewsbury at Vigo, 47817 The Institution of Mechanical Engineers at Vigo, and 47844 at Blackwell. The course of 2002 saw all of these services switch to Voyager operation.
Virgin red HSTs became a common sight over the same period. Here’s power car 43068 The Red Arrows leading a CrossCountry set off the base of the incline, under St Godwalds road bridge, and through the old Bromsgrove station. For twenty years from June 1969, this station had only one platform, on the northbound side. During that period, southbound stopping trains had to cross onto the northbound line to call at Bromsgrove. The station then reopened in this two platform format in May 1990.
The new Bromsgrove station opened in July 2016, situated just to the south of the old one. In the shot above, taken from the St Godwalds bridge on 27th May 2016, London Midland’s 150107 calls at the old station, with the altogether grander replacement almost ready for opening in the background. After the new station opened, the old one was almost immediately dismantled.
Since they primarily ran in the evening and at night, capturing mail trains around the Lickey was definitely not a winter sport. Around the turn of the century, there were three postals between 19:00 and 19:20 at Bromsgrove. They were Class 47-hauled until the spring of 2000, at which point the Class 67s took them over. In the above shot, Class 47/7 No. 47792 Saint Cuthbert races south past ‘Bankers Bridge’, representing that late phase in the history of widespread mail by rail.
For many enthusiasts, good times on the Lickey Incline ended with the arrival of the Virgin Voyager. From their overwhelming invasion of this line in 2002, the Class 220s and 221s would glide up the bank with no fuss and barely more than a low-key hum. Not only did they effectively end loco passenger haulage (which had still accounted for numerous Class 47 ascents per day in 2001) – they also quickly wiped out Paxman-engined HSTs at the location.
Post-Voyager, apart from the short-lived remainder of mail traffic, the only regular non-multiple unit activity was freight. And due to the far-reaching renewal of freight motive power that began in 1998, the vast majority of freight ascents would be hauled by either Class 66s or Class 60s. The only exceptions were DRS workings, which continued to employ Classes 20, 37 and 47 long after EWS had ceased doing so. Unfortunately, whilst DRS did have regular services here in the early 2000s, they did not run anything like daily, and were extremely unpredictable for timing. Above you can see 20311 and 37607 at Bromsgrove on the Bridgwater – Sellafield flasks in June 1999, 20310 and 20315 on the approach at Stoke Works with the Berkeley – Crewe flask in July 2006, and 37510 at Finstall with a Stoneblower move from Stoke Gifford to Ashford in May 2007.
Default traction for the Bridgwater – Sellafield nuclear flasks in 2000 was a pair of 20s, although it was not unusual for one of the Type 1s to be subbed for a Class 37. Here’s the train shot from the Burcot-side field at Vigo on 27th April Y2K, in the hands of 20310 and 20312.
Class 60s aside, EWS freight on the Lickey quickly shifted away from ex-BR power in 1999. At the end of ’98 there were no regular Class 66 turns on the Lickey. But the new year brought an immediate switch for the Longbridge – Swindon trains from Class 47 to GM power. The rest of the year saw Class 37-hauled trains like the Cliffe Vale – St Blazey china clay empties and the Hull – Baglan Bay acid tanks following suit. Older Type 5 turns like the Immingham – Swansea Burrows also succumbed to the so-called “Red Death”. And the Toton – Round Oak metals flow – formerly using variable ex-BR traction – became much more consistent, employing either Class 60 or Class 66.
Above, in the latter part of the short transition period, 58049 leads the Toton – Round Oak past ‘Bankers Bridge’, Bromsgrove, with a Class 66 tagged onto the rear. Newton Works, seen behind the trees on the left, was demolished in 2003 to make way for the current housing estate.
DIESEL BANKERS
The steep 1 in 37 gradient and gruelling two mile length of the Lickey Incline has always presented ascending trains with problems, and heavy, loaded freight still requires additional motive power to scale the Lickey Incline today. The classic incarnation of Lickey ‘banking’ sees one or more locomotive(s) dropping onto the rear of a northbound train at Bromsgrove, and pushing it as far as Lickey Summit, Blackwell.
The protocol would require the train to stop at Bromsgrove, but not at Blackwell, as the banker(s) could drop off the back of a moving train. Wherever the bankers were stabled, section-clearance protocol required them to cross onto the southbound line and return to Bromsgrove after banking a service. For the many years the bankers were actually stabled at Bromsgrove, this in itself returned the locos to base. But in later years when the bankers were stabled at Saltley, they’d have to bank, then run back down to Bromsgrove, then cross onto the northbound, then climb the Lickey for a second time, and continue back home.
It was sometimes very useful to have a pair of 37s permanently on hand at Bromsgrove. Above left, the bankers are seen at Blackwell, returning after duty. Above right, they've bailed out a failed 50021 on the Glasgow - Bristol sleeper and are seen at Cheltenham Spa.
Steam bankers were replaced with diesels in the 1960s – a decade that also saw mandatory banking relaxed in favour of selective banking, based on perceived need. Very early on in the era of diesel banking, the brand new Class 37s were deemed potentially suitable and accordingly tested. At this time, diesels would still be used in modular fashion, like the steam locos before them. That is, the number of bankers would depend on the train being banked. Some trains would go up with one diesel banker; some would go up with two; some with three. ‘Hymeks’ had established themselves as a default banker by the latter 1960s. The 37s then mounted a comeback drive as the ‘Hymeks’ became thinner on the ground due to withdrawal. Use of the third banker ceased from the beginning of July 1973.
This is where the Saltley-stabled banker(s) would end up after duty: either under or right next to 'Bankers Bridge' at Aston Fields, Bromsgrove, in what's essentially the southbound loop. The loco(s) would then wait for a gap in main line traffic, reverse, cross to the northbound main line and run light back to Birmingham.
After that, the modular format was dropped, and BR settled on a permanently connected pair of 37s. A single 37 appeared on occasion, and the practice of using a single loco (37 or otherwise) increased from the mid 1980s.
As late as 1986, banking locos were still at times stabled at Bromsgrove, although by then they didn’t need to be. There had been a gigantic reduction in banking on the Lickey between the end of the 1970s and the mid 1980s.
One of the reasons the bankers were more intensively used before 1980 was the existence of unfitted freight, which was an untold problem on the Lickey due to the danger of runaways. Even a relatively modest unfitted load on the climb was a risk with a single train engine, because of braking concerns in the event the loco failed. Hence, the bankers would routinely be deployed.
Class 60s back and front start a heavy load of coal hoppers out of the Bromsgrove siding, February 2002.
For descending unfitted freight it was even worse. All such consists were required to stop at the top of the bank, upon which a railman would emerge from a lineside hut and manually “pin down” the wagon brakes to create enough drag to prevent a runaway. The process then had to be reversed at Bromsgrove. It was a lot of hassle, and it was still going on as the 1970s closed.
After the demise of unfitted freight in 1980, use of the bankers noticeably decreased, and this trend continued as more powerful train engines became available. New Type 5s, along with Type 4s decanted due to renewal on the passenger network, reduced the incidence of underpowered freight trains. And the passenger trains that had still been banked at the end of the ‘seventies as BR struggled to eliminate Type 2s and even Type 1s from Class 1 operations, rapidly vanished. This was due to the HSTs amassing in increasing number, and better loco diagramming which avoided the previous need to source passenger motive power from freight trains.
A view from Finstall looking towards St Godwalds and the old Bromsgrove station, from the B4184 Bromsgrove to Redditch road. This is the base section of the Lickey Incline, challenging 60055 and its banker 66056 with the Margam to Corby steel on 7th May 2008. Without any overhead wires, this was a belting shot in late spring sunshine at around 10am.
Meanwhile, it was possible to further reduce the need for banking by sending some freight via alternative routes. So the use of Lickey bankers by 1984, was negligible in comparison to what it had been in 1979. Late 1970s, the bankers would be up and down like proverbial yo-yos. Mid 1980s, you could spend half a day on the Lickey and not see one banked train.
It was thus, by the mid ‘eighties, no longer necessary to permanently stable banking motive power on site. True on-demand banking was born as Bromsgrove fully closed as a stabling point in October 1986 – handing the honour to the remote location of Worcester. The period after this change saw a prevalence of single 47s sent up for banking duty.
Subsequently, Saltley became the main stabling point for the Lickey banker(s), and the traction trend shifted back towards the 37s. The above shot shows a single 37 nearing the bank for duty after making the trip from Saltley on 18th July 1990.
In the mid 1990s, scheduled daytime banking ended outright, and all freight requiring assistance went up at night. Banking assistance would still be provided on demand during the day, in exceptional circumstances.
After a long absence, regular daytime banking returned to the Lickey in April 2000 when the Burngullow – Warrington tanks began taking scheduled weekend diversions. This came shortly after banking motive power was switched from two Class 37s or a single 58, to a single Class 60. Soon after the diversion period, routine daytime banking resumed. Above, 60027 is seen giving the Burngullow – Warrington a shove at St Godwalds Road, May 2000.
The single Class 60 bankers gave way in 2003, with single, purpose-modified Class 66s taking over the duty...
The Class 66s modified and allotted for banking duty were 66055, 66056, 66057, 66058 and 66059. It immediately became extremely rare to see any other 66, let alone a different loco type, banking on the Lickey. Above, 66055 banks 66207 and its heavy load on the Margam to Corby steel coil train, 1st May 2007.
THE FINAL CATENARY-FREE DECADE
The period between 2006 and 2016 gave photographers their last decade on the Lickey without any sign of catenary masts. Regular traffic had been extremely predictable since 2004. By then, the Voyagers had a monopoly on Virgin CrossCountry, mail services had ended, and the multiple unit variety had almost completely dissolved with the cessation of Welsh Alphaline traffic. The picture in passenger activity was one of almost wall to wall Class 170s and Voyagers. It was an event just to see a 156 or a 158! Even the regular freight was now incredibly predictable. The EWS Class 56s had been withdrawn, leaving the Brierley Hill - Scunthorpe steel empties in the exclusive care of the Class 66. Indeed, almost everything on the daily roster was now Class 66-hauled, with just the odd one or two Class 60 turns breaking the monotony.
Photographers broadly ceased going out for long lineside sessions, and instead turned up for specific, one-off trains, based on advance ‘gen’. Charters, railtours, stock moves, structure-gauging runs… These were the few areas where loco variety still held strong. But none of this stuff was regular. So you’d turn up, get that one shot, and then go home. A very different world from the 1970s, when a full day at Blackwell promised endless excitement. Above, 67029 is caught at Vigo returning from Bath on the Northern Belle – 17th June 2006.
One saving grace of the mid 2000s was the Great Western HST refurbishment programme, which reconditioned the power cars and stock separately, and required many trips from the WR up to Loughborough or Derby – and vice versa. Cotswold Rail dealt with the power car runs, while GBRf provided haulage for the stock. Here on 25th July 2006, Costwold Rail’s Anglia liveried 47714 whisks 43125 and 43026 past Vigo en route to Loughborough.
The following spring, Network Rail DMU 901002 creeps up the hill on an analytical mission.
Year-round HST traffic resumed in 2008, after Arriva had snatched the CrossCountry operation away from Virgin the previous autumn. Initial sets in use were entirely formed from unrefurbished former Midland Mainline vehicles, but refurbishment was fairly swift, completing by early 2009. Amid the transition on 9th October 2008, refurbished power car 43285 tails an unrefurbished stock set north through the early autumn mist.
Cotswold Rail, subsequently falling under the banner of Advenza Freight, also handled stock moves to Long Marston, as well as freight traffic on the Lickey. On a snowy 4th February 2009, Cotswold Rail liveried 47810 Captain Sensible is seen from Pikes Pool Lane, Finstall.
Another relief from modern tedium provided by Advenza Freight came when the company took over the Stockton to Cardiff scrap flow. In 2008 and until the end of summer 2009, staple power was Class 57, with 47s depping on many occasions. From the end of summer ’09, Class 66s took over, and soon after that Advenza shut down for financial reasons. Above, 57006 works the empties up the bank without the need for assistance, on 25th June 2009.
Even in 2010, Class 31-powered structure-gauging trains were still alive, although by this time, the earlier top and tail formations had given way to loco+DBSO sets. Here on Summer Solstice ’10, Rail Blue 31106 drifts down towards Bromsgrove at the rear of a typical Network Rail consist.
From the late 2000s, regular freight traffic actually became more varied, if only in terms of livery. Businesses such as Freightliner, DRS, Colas, Fastline and GBRf joined Advenza in increasing presence, eroding the EWS stronghold. Nearly all of the traffic was still Class 66-hauled, but here in March 2011, Colas 47749 heads for Long Marston with a short rake of hoppers for store.
Moving towards the mid 2010s, Network Rail’s analytical trains continued to attract interest. Although the Class 31-powered highlights of the previous decade were moving out of the picture, the New Measurement Train retained a regular schedule, and is seen above on 17th July 2014 with 43013 tailing 43062.
Newer visions such as the Class 70 could be observed on the Lickey forward from 2010, with early regular appearances coming courtesy of Freightliner’s Rugeley to Stoke Gifford coal run. But by the time of the above shot on 15th April 2015, 70005 is past its infancy and no longer raising eyebrows.
On the same day, we see preparations well in motion for the new Bromsgrove station, as DRS 37610 and 37606 top and tail a Network Rail movement away from the famous descent. Soon, this wonderfully open photographic location would be blocked off by a maze of overheads. The end of an era was almost upon us.
Just time for a final look at the rebuilt location before the wires go up. CrossCountry 170117 meets London Midland 170509 at the new Bromsgrove station.
And here we are in the future. It’s still possible to photograph trains from this classic lineside haunt at Vigo, but it’s not the same. The clutter of electrification and the restriction on angles over the length of the bank and beyond, have changed the Lickey Incline, forever.