Wigan Album

Looks like it is on the down line near to Roundhouse sidings

I was thinking the same. Is that Rabbit Rocks in the background AKA Kirkless/Top Place?

Sure does look like it Loz

By the way Philip,the white board on the top of the smokebox door,will more than likely be the actual reporting number identification or headcode for the service that the loco is working.

These reporting number headcodes consisted of 4 characters & were made up of a number from 1 to 0 (to indicate class/importance of the train being worked)then a letter (to indicate the destination area of the train being worked) & then two numbers (for the service diagram number).

These acted a bit like a call sign & were used by railway operations staff to identify individual train services.

Hope this is of use to you Philip.

Thanks for all the info. Baldylocks, I never saw a 'semi' on this line, but a few Eastern Regions came through very rarely. The main traffic used to be 'Austerities' and tanks. Thanks again.

Philip, the Whelley loop line was also known as the Wigan avoiding line and was mainly used for freight trains, hence the lack of "semis". The white board on the front suggest that it is a "special" rather than a regular timetabled train.Is it a 9f, looks more like a Britannia to me but it is hard to say.

It's definitely a 9F. The wheel spacing gives it away - engines with a 4-wheel bogie always have a short space between the second bogie axles and the leading driver. I tried Focus Magic on the number, but all I could see was that the first digit is round like a 9 and not flat like a 7. I remember seeing 9F's running passenger trains from the Whelley line on to the WCML at Standish Junction on the week-ends - probably excursions to Blackpool. They only did this in the summer, because the 9F's, being goods engines, had no train heating connections.