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A view of 105's at Hull Paragon in the late 1950's. |
| The Cravens Remembered |
| Those who experienced
the Cravens will no doubt remember them for their poor
riding characteristics and rattling windows. In
retrosepect, we can now look back on the class with a
certain amount of nostalgic affection. Although they e
were not as commonplace as the 114's in Lincolnshire,
they were often seen at various locations, sometimes
alone, coupled to 114's or coupled together with other
105's. Indeed, when when they were new, five sets
(51255/60-3 & 56413/18-21) were coupled together on
August 2nd, 1958, to work the 0650 Grimsby to King's
Cross and the 1552 King's Cross to Grimsby wia the East
Lincolnshire line. With a few exceptions, those allocated to Lincoln depot were from batch three and in 1978 the following were allocated there: (Motor Brake second) E51280 / 51281 / 51282 / 51286 / 51287 / 51296, and (Driving Trailer Composites) E56431 / 56444 / 56446 / 56454 / 56472(from batch 4). The photographs below illustrate these units from the late 1970's until their withdrawal in the 1980's. A very detailed history of the Class can be found on the Railcar Assocation's Site. |
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A view of 105's at Hull Paragon in the late 1950's. |
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A very rare view of a Cravens set on the M & GN at Long Sutton. (Photo : The Pictorial Guide to Dmu's) |
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A close up view of the drivers controls in a 105 cab |
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An interior shot of a Cravens set - in this instance DTC 56456 which is preserved at the Llangollen railway. (Photo kindly provided by Stuart Mackay of The Railcar Website) |
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| E53375 (orignally
50375) was one of the first batch of Cravens and originally resided in North East England before transfer to Norwich and, finally, Lincoln. It is seen at platform 3 at Skegness before working a local service to Grantham. |
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| No less than two of the
class at Skegness. Nearest is E54434 (previously E56434) and E51279. The gent sat on the front of 54434 is obviously looking forward to a good forward view, something lost with the introduction of the Second Generation Dmu's. |
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51284 departing from Skegness. |
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| At Boston on a grey
winter's day, passengers board a Craven's set which displays the destination "Manchester" - although, in reality, was actually Doncaster. This is a particularly nostalgic view for since it was taken in c.1980, the footbridge has been replaced by a modern version and all the buildings seen on the left of the picture, cleared. |
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| A Class 105, which
appears to have additional lights added, stands on platform 5 at Peterborough North station. |
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| A Cravens set arriving
at Spalding on a short run from Peterborough on the day of the Tulip Parade c.1980. Railway enthusiasts are already starting to gather in preparation for the twenty or so excursions due to arrive that day. |
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| A class 105 heads north
from Spalding bound for Sheffield. Track lifting is much in evidence in this view as the sidings were gradually removed. The line nearest the photographer and heading right was once part of the East Lincolnshire Main line to Boston and Grimsby which closed to passengers in October 1970. Further images of the area can be found at Spalding - a Retrospect in this site. |
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| At Sleaford a Cravens
set prepares to depart for a journey up the GN & GE Joint Line to Lincoln. |
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| Two Cravens meet at Sleaford |
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| A nice view of a 105
set at beneath the attractive tower at Lincoln Central. |
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Still at Lincoln Central, a view from the footbridge of E51276. |
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| A 1978 view of a set which had just worked a service from March |
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| The middle roads at
Lincoln are generally used by freight trains so it was unusual to see this Cravens set heading through the station over these metals. It is believed that this unit was on its way to being dumped at the nearby Holmes Yard (see photographs below). Unlike the 114's, the Cravens were not refurbished and some, as the above illustrates, missing large areas of paint, looked rather scruffy. |
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| With a somewhat less
than ozone friendly departure, this set makes its way out of Lincoln Central bound for Sheffield. |
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| Arriving from Newark
Northgate, this set passes over the busy High Street crossing at Lincoln, a very attractive view which had probably changed little over the years. |
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| A winter evening and a
Class 105 stands at platform 2A at Sheffield Midland station before departing to Cleethorpes via Doncaster and Scunthorpe. |
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| A reminder of the pre
158 era; a Cravens at Leicester working a Birmingham to Cambridge service. This turned out to be a rather painful experience for the writer as the rough quality of ride and a sharp stop resulted in a beaker of hot tea being spilt over my lap - ouch ! |
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| Following withdrawal
from passenger duties, some Cravens saw further use in a departmental capacity. Above illustrates on at Cambridge in use as a Parcels Unit, whilst below, at Doncaster, another is being used as a Route Learner. |
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| At Holmes Yard in Lincoln, eight Cravens await scrapping. | ||
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| The required removal of
asbestos made the preservation of Cravens a difficult and expensive task. Fortunately some have been preserved. 56456 is at the Llangollen Railway whilst 51485 + 56121, featured aboved whilst at Bishop's Lydeard on the West Somerset Railway, now resides at the East Lancashire Railway. |
