The Hull to Merseyside Freightliner (4M66/4E69)
20th October 1969-1st October 1971
This page is dedicated to a short lived routing of Freightliner 4M66/4E69, a train that provided a nice variation from the constant coal traffic through Featherstone, and indeed along the length of the former L&Y from Hull across the Pennines towards Manchester and ultimately Garston, Liverpool.
The train ran initially beginning on Monday 20th October 1969 with 4E69 Garston-Hull running in the early evening from Merseyside, arriving onto Humberside at around 23:00, before a swift turnaround saw 4M66 return during the early hours, the whole diagram getting carried out by a single loco, often for week(s) at a time. The early days of this working were hard to identify in terms of locomotive as it always ran under the cover of darkness, though booked traction was usually a Class 47, commonly from the Stoke Division (D05) but Class 47's from other areas were not unknown. Class 40's also made occasionally appearances in the early days of this working, usually from the Liverpool Division (D08).
Prior to the rescheduling of these trains in 1970 a Peak did manage to make two appearances,on consecutive days,presumably covering for the booked D05 Class 47.
No.1840 (47190) of D05 made a high number of appearances on this train and was one of the more regular Stoke Class 47's to be seen.
The first recorded sighting of a Healey Mills Class 40 was Friday 24th April 1970, 352 worked the train in both directions, though it was replaced by the booked Class 47 by the time the train ran again on Monday 27th.
A rare occurrence on Friday 1st May 1970 saw 1107 (47524) of 52A Gateshead haul 4E69, perhaps on a move to get it back towards it's home depot, this was the only recorded sighting of a 52A loco on these trains.
Thursday 14th May 1970 saw Birmingham Division's (D02) 1719 (47128/656/811) make a rare appearance on 4E69 and 4M66 return.
May 1970 continued with it's inconsistent theme,as Old Oak Common's 1639 (47055/652/807/57304) made a single appearance on 4E69 and 4M66 on Friday 15th May, this was certainly the most "exotic" locomotive to appear on 4E69 at the time.
Healey Mills' 352 (40152) managed to put in a further 4 appearances in May 1970 as it worked the train from Monday-Thursday, 18-21st before the booked traction finally regained control on Friday 22nd May, for the first time since Wednesday 13th May, that honour fell to 1955 (47511/714).
For the following weeks Stoke Division managed to provide the booked traction, apart from a couple of occasions where Nottingham Division (D16) Class 47's were used. The next unusual Class 47 to appear was Thornaby's (51L) 1788 (47307) which worked the trains on Wednesday 16th and Friday 18th June respectively, though bizarrely Nottingham's 1859 (47209/393/57604) worked the diagram on Thursday 17th!
Wednesday 24th June saw another Class 40 appearance, this time Liverpool's 377 (40177), there was then a further Whistler appearance on Tuesday 30th June, as Liverpool's 399 (40199) worked the diagram.
Friday 3rd July saw Gateshead's 286 (40086) work the diagram,the first sighting of a 52A Class 40 on 4E69.
The following week saw a complete lack of consistency as Nottingham's 1809 (47328/396) worked the train on Monday 6th July before Healey Mills' 350 (40150) worked the train on Wednesday 8th July,whilst Thornaby's 1788 reappeared for the 3rd and final time on Friday 10th July 1970.
Thornaby provided a different Class 47 on Tuesday 28th July as 1792 (47311) made it's only appearance on 4E69.
Monday 3rd August saw the first BR Blue loco on these trains as 293 (40093) of the Manchester Division (D09) worked 4E69/4M66, it was fresh out of the paint shops. 293 also worked the train on Tuesday 4th August.
The final day of booked Class 47 haulage was Friday 28th August 1970,as Nottingham Division's 1857 (47207) worked the diagram.
Following the August Bank Holiday 4E69/4M66 resumed on Tuesday 1st September utilising Healey Mills Class 40's as the new booked traction. Over the Bank Holiday 55C had gained 394 and 399 which joined Healey Mills other 13 Whistlers bringing the depot's total up to 15 locos. From this date 4E69 and 4M66 would be a solid Class 40 turn, with exceptions few and far between.
The honour of been the first booked 55C Class 40 to work the train fell to 399 (40199),fresh from it's transfer from Liverpool on Tuesday 1st September, indeed it may well have been that it was transferred in the course of working this train, which passed by Healey Mills itself. 399 would work the whole week up to Friday 4th September.
Monday 7th September saw the train retimed, and presumably switched to have Hull as it's origin with it now leaving Humberside at around 17:30 and arriving at Garston around 23:00, returning in the early hours, reaching Hull at around 08:00. 55C's 350 (40150) worked the first 4M66 in the new path, and it is from this point that 4M66 will become the focal point of our observations.
The first full week of single loco operation was W/C Monday 7th,so all in all a successful start to operations for 55C with these trains, 350 doing the honours throughout.
Monday 14th September saw the first usage of 8H03 Healey Mills-Hull as a transit move to get a loco into position to work the evening's 4M66 to Garston. 399 was used in this instance and was in charge of 4M66/E69 until Wednesday 16th when 394 (40194) made it's first appearance on these workings, holding on for the rest of the week.
399 and 394 (along with a couple of appearances by 293) shared the turns until Tuesday 3rd November when a Class 47 made a very rare appearance on both 4E69 and 4M66, indicating that the booked Class 40 may have failed on Monday 2nd. Normal service quickly resumed however as 350 hauled the train on Wednesday 4th November.
394 worked virtually every 4M66/E69 for the following 6 weeks and saw out 1970 on this working with only 350 making the occasional appearance up to the end of the year.
It wasn't until Friday 1st January 1971 when 394 was finally removed from these duties, as it was seen returning light engine to Healey Mills,along with 6736 (37036) on Saturday 2nd.
It seems that 55C was operating on the basis of attempting to use one loco per month on these trains,as 349 (40149) was the only loco to feature in January.
Friday 29th January saw BR Blue liveried 354 (40154) in ex-works condition work the diagram,though 349 soon reappeared on Monday 1st February, only for 354 to once again replace it on Friday 5th, before returning light engine to 55C on Saturday 6th February.
The remainder of February saw 349, 354 and 394 share the work on 4M66/E69.
By far the most unusual appearance on 4M66 was that of 55C's 6749 (37049) on Wednesday 17th March 1971,this was the only time that a Class 37 worked this train, 349 had worked the train on the 16th and 394 would work it on Thursday 18th, having run light engine as 0M66 to Hull during the afternoon.
Another uneventful month passed before Manchester's 291 (40091) worked the diagram on Thursday 15th and Friday 16th April,it then returned light engine to Lancashire on Saturday 17th.
291 again worked 4E69/4M66 on Wednesday 26th and Thursday 27th May prior to the spring bank holiday weekend.
The final few months of 4M66/E69 all ran smoothly with Healey Mills Class 40's alternating on more or less a weekly basis. The final 4M66 ran on the evening of Friday 1st October 1971, with 355 (40155) in charge, ironically the only appearance it ever made on 4M66/E69, despite been a 55C loco.
The table seen below is a guide to which locos appeared on 4M66 and 4E69 in this period, it's not a definitive list, as some dates the train was unidentified/missed, but it gives a good indicator for how the train ran. 394 and 399 of Healey Mills were by far the most used locos on these workings.
Beyond October 1971 these workings ran via the Woodhead route as it was the only Trans-Pennine route capable of taking shipping containers.
The train ran initially beginning on Monday 20th October 1969 with 4E69 Garston-Hull running in the early evening from Merseyside, arriving onto Humberside at around 23:00, before a swift turnaround saw 4M66 return during the early hours, the whole diagram getting carried out by a single loco, often for week(s) at a time. The early days of this working were hard to identify in terms of locomotive as it always ran under the cover of darkness, though booked traction was usually a Class 47, commonly from the Stoke Division (D05) but Class 47's from other areas were not unknown. Class 40's also made occasionally appearances in the early days of this working, usually from the Liverpool Division (D08).
Prior to the rescheduling of these trains in 1970 a Peak did manage to make two appearances,on consecutive days,presumably covering for the booked D05 Class 47.
No.1840 (47190) of D05 made a high number of appearances on this train and was one of the more regular Stoke Class 47's to be seen.
The first recorded sighting of a Healey Mills Class 40 was Friday 24th April 1970, 352 worked the train in both directions, though it was replaced by the booked Class 47 by the time the train ran again on Monday 27th.
A rare occurrence on Friday 1st May 1970 saw 1107 (47524) of 52A Gateshead haul 4E69, perhaps on a move to get it back towards it's home depot, this was the only recorded sighting of a 52A loco on these trains.
Thursday 14th May 1970 saw Birmingham Division's (D02) 1719 (47128/656/811) make a rare appearance on 4E69 and 4M66 return.
May 1970 continued with it's inconsistent theme,as Old Oak Common's 1639 (47055/652/807/57304) made a single appearance on 4E69 and 4M66 on Friday 15th May, this was certainly the most "exotic" locomotive to appear on 4E69 at the time.
Healey Mills' 352 (40152) managed to put in a further 4 appearances in May 1970 as it worked the train from Monday-Thursday, 18-21st before the booked traction finally regained control on Friday 22nd May, for the first time since Wednesday 13th May, that honour fell to 1955 (47511/714).
For the following weeks Stoke Division managed to provide the booked traction, apart from a couple of occasions where Nottingham Division (D16) Class 47's were used. The next unusual Class 47 to appear was Thornaby's (51L) 1788 (47307) which worked the trains on Wednesday 16th and Friday 18th June respectively, though bizarrely Nottingham's 1859 (47209/393/57604) worked the diagram on Thursday 17th!
Wednesday 24th June saw another Class 40 appearance, this time Liverpool's 377 (40177), there was then a further Whistler appearance on Tuesday 30th June, as Liverpool's 399 (40199) worked the diagram.
Friday 3rd July saw Gateshead's 286 (40086) work the diagram,the first sighting of a 52A Class 40 on 4E69.
The following week saw a complete lack of consistency as Nottingham's 1809 (47328/396) worked the train on Monday 6th July before Healey Mills' 350 (40150) worked the train on Wednesday 8th July,whilst Thornaby's 1788 reappeared for the 3rd and final time on Friday 10th July 1970.
Thornaby provided a different Class 47 on Tuesday 28th July as 1792 (47311) made it's only appearance on 4E69.
Monday 3rd August saw the first BR Blue loco on these trains as 293 (40093) of the Manchester Division (D09) worked 4E69/4M66, it was fresh out of the paint shops. 293 also worked the train on Tuesday 4th August.
The final day of booked Class 47 haulage was Friday 28th August 1970,as Nottingham Division's 1857 (47207) worked the diagram.
Following the August Bank Holiday 4E69/4M66 resumed on Tuesday 1st September utilising Healey Mills Class 40's as the new booked traction. Over the Bank Holiday 55C had gained 394 and 399 which joined Healey Mills other 13 Whistlers bringing the depot's total up to 15 locos. From this date 4E69 and 4M66 would be a solid Class 40 turn, with exceptions few and far between.
The honour of been the first booked 55C Class 40 to work the train fell to 399 (40199),fresh from it's transfer from Liverpool on Tuesday 1st September, indeed it may well have been that it was transferred in the course of working this train, which passed by Healey Mills itself. 399 would work the whole week up to Friday 4th September.
Monday 7th September saw the train retimed, and presumably switched to have Hull as it's origin with it now leaving Humberside at around 17:30 and arriving at Garston around 23:00, returning in the early hours, reaching Hull at around 08:00. 55C's 350 (40150) worked the first 4M66 in the new path, and it is from this point that 4M66 will become the focal point of our observations.
The first full week of single loco operation was W/C Monday 7th,so all in all a successful start to operations for 55C with these trains, 350 doing the honours throughout.
Monday 14th September saw the first usage of 8H03 Healey Mills-Hull as a transit move to get a loco into position to work the evening's 4M66 to Garston. 399 was used in this instance and was in charge of 4M66/E69 until Wednesday 16th when 394 (40194) made it's first appearance on these workings, holding on for the rest of the week.
399 and 394 (along with a couple of appearances by 293) shared the turns until Tuesday 3rd November when a Class 47 made a very rare appearance on both 4E69 and 4M66, indicating that the booked Class 40 may have failed on Monday 2nd. Normal service quickly resumed however as 350 hauled the train on Wednesday 4th November.
394 worked virtually every 4M66/E69 for the following 6 weeks and saw out 1970 on this working with only 350 making the occasional appearance up to the end of the year.
It wasn't until Friday 1st January 1971 when 394 was finally removed from these duties, as it was seen returning light engine to Healey Mills,along with 6736 (37036) on Saturday 2nd.
It seems that 55C was operating on the basis of attempting to use one loco per month on these trains,as 349 (40149) was the only loco to feature in January.
Friday 29th January saw BR Blue liveried 354 (40154) in ex-works condition work the diagram,though 349 soon reappeared on Monday 1st February, only for 354 to once again replace it on Friday 5th, before returning light engine to 55C on Saturday 6th February.
The remainder of February saw 349, 354 and 394 share the work on 4M66/E69.
By far the most unusual appearance on 4M66 was that of 55C's 6749 (37049) on Wednesday 17th March 1971,this was the only time that a Class 37 worked this train, 349 had worked the train on the 16th and 394 would work it on Thursday 18th, having run light engine as 0M66 to Hull during the afternoon.
Another uneventful month passed before Manchester's 291 (40091) worked the diagram on Thursday 15th and Friday 16th April,it then returned light engine to Lancashire on Saturday 17th.
291 again worked 4E69/4M66 on Wednesday 26th and Thursday 27th May prior to the spring bank holiday weekend.
The final few months of 4M66/E69 all ran smoothly with Healey Mills Class 40's alternating on more or less a weekly basis. The final 4M66 ran on the evening of Friday 1st October 1971, with 355 (40155) in charge, ironically the only appearance it ever made on 4M66/E69, despite been a 55C loco.
The table seen below is a guide to which locos appeared on 4M66 and 4E69 in this period, it's not a definitive list, as some dates the train was unidentified/missed, but it gives a good indicator for how the train ran. 394 and 399 of Healey Mills were by far the most used locos on these workings.
Beyond October 1971 these workings ran via the Woodhead route as it was the only Trans-Pennine route capable of taking shipping containers.
Sightings:
| LOCO | FIRST APPEARANCE | LAST APPEARANCE | TOTAL |
| 1969 | 10th November 1969 | 11th November 1969 | 2 |
| 1743 | 14th November 1969 | 1 | |
| 1958 | 27th November 1969 | 1 | |
| 1849 | 28th November 1969 | 12th August 1970 | 3 |
| 399 | 5th December 1969 | 23rd July 1971 | 26 3rd |
| 1837 | 2nd January 1970 | 11th August 1970 | 3 |
| 1927 | 16th January 1970 | 1 | |
| 1836 | 29th January 1970 | 18th August 1970 | 3 |
| 1956 | 12th February 1970 | 1 | |
| 1947 | 24th February 1970 | 1 | |
| 1940 | 25th February 1970 | 9th July 1970 | 2 |
| 1941 | 26th February 1970 | 15th June 1970 | 2 |
| 1840 | 3rd April 1970 | 9th April 1970 | 5 Highest Class 47 |
| 1802 | 20th April 1970 | 22nd April 1970 | 3 |
| 352 | 24th April 1970 | 20th May 1970 | 4 |
| 1107 | 1st May 1970 | 1 | |
| 1962 | 13th May 1970 | 1 | |
| 1719 | 14th May 1970 | 1 | |
| 1639 | 15th May 1970 | 1 | |
| 1955 | 22nd May 1970 | 27th May 1970 | 2 |
| 1948 | 26th May 1970 | 3rd June 1970 | 2 |
| 1965 | 29th May 1970 | 1 | |
| 1831 | 26th March 1970 | 24th August 1970 | 3 |
| 1869 | 2nd June 1970 | 1 | |
| 1832 | 5th June 1970 | 1 | |
| 1944 | 8th June 1970 | 1 | |
| 1829 | 10th June 1970 | 1 | |
| 1839 | 11th June 1970 | 1 | |
| 1754 | 12th June 1970 | 1 | |
| 1835 | 16th June 1970 | 1 | |
| 1788 | 17th June 1970 | 10th July 1970 | 3 |
| 1852 | 22nd June 1970 | 1 | |
| 1859 | 18th June 1970 | 23rd June 1970 | 2 |
| 377 | 24th June 1970 | 1 | |
| 1945 | 26th June 1970 | 1 | |
| 1833 | 29th June 1970 | 1 | |
| 1632 | 1st July 1970 | 1 | |
| 286 | 3rd July 1970 | 1 | |
| 1809 | 6th July 1970 | 1 | |
| 350 | 8th July 1970 | 27th November 1970 | 17 4th |
| 1792 | 28th July 1970 | 1 | |
| 1850 | 30th July 1970 | 1 | |
| 1942 | 31st July 1970 | 1 | |
| 293 | 3rd August 1970 | 7th October 1970 | 7 |
| 1858 | 5th August 1970 | 27th August 1970 | 2 |
| 1854 | 10th August 1970 | 1 | |
| 1953 | 17th August 1970 | 21st August 1970 | 2 |
| 1951 | 19th August 1970 | 1 | |
| 1843 | 25th August 1970 | 26th August 1970 | 2 |
| 1857 | 28th August 1970 | 1 | |
| 394 | 16th September 1970 | 2nd July 1971 | 71 HIGHEST |
| 349 | 4th January 1971 | 30th July 1971 | 65 2nd |
| 6749 | 17th March 1971 | 1 ONLY CLASS 37 | |
| 291 | 15th April 1971 | 27th May 1971 | 5 |
| 355 | 1st October 1971 | THE FINAL 4M66/4E69 |
1 |
PHOTOS:
All photos taken in May/June 1971 by Alan Walker in the Featherstone area.
