Sixty years or so have passed since fundamental changes took place on British Railways (BR) in the 1960s exemplified by the replacement of steam by diesel and electric traction, but the railway system underwent a much deeper transformation and decline reflective of changes in society including de-industrialisation and a road transport revolution. The controversial ‘Beeching Report’ of 1963 devastated passenger services but the traditional freight network was also largely destroyed, leading to reductions in employment and fragmentation of railway communities in areas such as Wolverhampton. This article focuses on the period 1962 to 1967 and my early trainspotting experiences which started with Saturday mornings on platforms at the Western Region (WR) station of Wolverhampton Low Level, although more locally were trains on the Kingswinford Junction to Oxley Branch Junction line. These experiences provided significant insights into the operation of a post-war nationalised BR, already in the throes of change, and which by the end of the 1960s would be a very different railway.
My earliest memories of steam trains at Wolverhampton are in the late 1950s from the arches overlooking the Low Level's northbound departure platform. The Colonnades formed part of the subway connecting the London Midland Region's (LMR) High Level station to the Low Level and I fondly remember seeing ‘King’ and ‘Castle’ Class locomotives with their lovely green paintwork and polished brasswork but also Hawksworth's handsome ‘County’ Class locomotives with their distinctive straight nameplates. WR engines at this time were reasonably well kept but when I first started visiting Wolverhampton Low Level regularly in the autumn of 1962 decline had clearly set in. The ‘Kings’ had recently been withdrawn and my trainspotting days started too late to see them at Low Level on London trains. On one of my early visits we took a diesel multiple unit (DMU) to Dunstall Park station which was adjacent to Stafford Road engine shed. We walked straight off the platform into the shed yard to be presented with a striking line of withdrawn ‘King’ Class locomotives facing towards the Low Level, some with chimneys sacked over. Coal was piled high in their tenders because after hauling their last trains the engine crews did what they normally did, coaled and turned the locomotive ready for another London trip which did not come. Gradually the ‘Kings’ were towed away for scrapping at the nearby works of Cox and Danks at Oldbury.
As was the case with express locomotives at this time, their condition was generally good and for the ‘Kings’ the late 1950s and early 1960s were their most successful, having had extensive modifications including double chimneys and improved lubrication. I was fortunate to see No.6018 in steam alongside Stafford Road coaling stage on Saturday 27th April 1963 when it had been brought back into service to haul the Stephenson Locomotive Society's (SLS) Farewell to the ‘Kings’ special on the following day. The canal towpath allowed easy access to the coaling stage area which was on the other side of the LMR viaduct from the running shed and No.6018 was quietly simmering away. Surprisingly it was not broken up at Swindon Works until 1965. It was a pity that more locomotives in good condition like No.6018 were not purchased directly out of service, but £3,000
