The Famous Lickey Incline in the 1930s

Source: Railway Wonders of the World

Gresley P2 Cock O' the North

Two organisations are planning to build a replica of Sir Nigel Gresley's class P2 Cock o' the North, that was completed in 1934 by the London & North Eastern Railway at its Doncaster works.

Firstly, there is The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust that has built the completely new 'A1' Tornado to the original design and with the help of the latest technology, for details click here. Secondly there is the Doncaster P2 Locomotive Trust - Cock O' The North LNER 2001, for details click here. Both appear to have made rapid progress since announcing their projects.

To read a contemporary article about the thinking lying behind the design of the P2s have a look at an article published in Railway Wonders of the World published in the 1930s, click here for the article

Lickey Incline on Facebook

Alan Spencer, a fireman based at Bromsgrove MPD from 1963 till 1970, has set up a Facebook page at ‘The Lickey Incline and Bromsgrove MPD’

View SW, towards Bromsgrove etc.; ex-Midland Birmingham - Bristol main line. At 1-in-37, few lines - let alone main lines - were burdened with a steeper incline and virtually all Up trains here had to be sent up from Bromsgrove with at least one banking engine; these were not coupled and they dropped off at the summit at Blackwell. On this comparatively light train, the 14.22 stopping train from Worcester Shrub Hill to Birmingham New Street, Stanier Class 5 4-6-0 No. 45040 is managing so well with just the current Bromsgrove banker (Class 9F 2-10-0 No. 92079) that it is blowing off as it passes.

© Copyright Ben Brooksbank and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence