Wigan Album

Fantastic! Austerity saddle tank making volcanic progress up the bank.

Ignore my previous post. If you look closely, the wagons are empty. As Mick says, the loco is shunting.

i wonder if it's spitfire or hurricane in this picture ?

It's a train Cullie, not a plane.....and anyway, thus looks like quite a nice day by Bickershaw standards. Grrrrrrrrr !

They are planes cullie.

I would guess there were two loco's,named Spitfire and Hurricane.

Smokey Joe might be more fitting. But yes, Hurricane and Spitfire were the work-horses at Bickershaw. Hard to tell which one's which from this photo.

Spitfire was scrapped at Bickershaw in 1976.
Hurricane was scrapped at Walkden Yard in 1981, parts of it went to Lakeside and Haverthwaite railway.

This loco, as stated, is No7 and so far as I know was never named. See Wigan World item 19674 for a better view.

Forgot to mention info from; Industrial Railways of the Wigan Coalfield.
Good picture as well' Mick

When I was a kid we would occasionally go to bickershaw and spend the afternoon on spitfire and hurricane - we'd go from the pit to the British rail about about a mile away then drive back on the footplate

It was regular thing every summer

Then we went after British rail had got rid of steam and they said " sorry lads were getting so many now we have been told to stop you coming "

Very sad to see they have both been scrapped