1968

SD7784 : The Fifteen Guinea Special leaves Dent Head Viaduct

taken 58 years ago, near to Stone House, Cumbria, England

The Fifteen Guinea Special leaves Dent Head Viaduct
The Fifteen Guinea Special leaves Dent Head Viaduct
The very last (standard gauge) steam-hauled train promoted by British Rail ran on Sunday 11th August 1968. Universally (but unofficially) known as the 'Fifteen Guinea Special' because of what was then regarded as an outrageous ticket price (equivalent to almost £340 in 2024), the train ran from Liverpool, to Manchester, and on to Carlisle over the Settle & Carlisle line. It returned by the same route. Remarkably, BR did not give this auspicious train a special name - the locos merely carried its reporting number of 'IT57'! See: LinkExternal link.
The third leg of the trip, from Carlisle back to Manchester over the Settle & Carlisle line, was double-headed by LMS Black 5s 44871 & 44781. The train has just cleared Dent Head Viaduct and is approaching Blea Moor Tunnel.
Happily 44871 was bought for preservation soon after its last BR trip and was based at Carnforth until c2006. It then moved to the East Lancs Railway at Bury and has been based there ever since although it has travelled widely around the country, see: LinkExternal link.
The other Black 5 44781 was not so fortunate, it was broken up a few months later - the only one of the 4 'Last Day' steam locos not to survive into the preservation era.
Dent Head Viaduct

10 arches, 100 ft high, 199 yards long.
Dent Head Viaduct was built between 1869 and 1875 for the Midland Railway Company and carries the Settle to Carlisle Railway across the head of Dentdale. The viaduct is built from massive blocks of Dent marble and crosses over the quarry that produced it.
Grade II listed. LinkExternal link


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Martin Tester and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Geographical Context: Uplands Railways Primary Subject: Railway Train other tags: Settle - Carlisle Railway Line Special Train Railtour Gricer End of Steam Last Day of BR Mainline Steam Stanier Black 5 44871 Click a tag, to view other nearby images.
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Grid Square
SD7784, 171 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Martin Tester   (more nearby)
Date Taken
11 August 1968   (more nearby)
Submitted
Monday, 15 April, 2024
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SD 7766 8406 [10m precision]
WGS84: 54:15.1036N 2:20.6624W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SD 7751 8383
View Direction
Northeast (about 45 degrees)
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Image Type (about): cross grid 
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