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Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

'Deltic' at Harringay West station, 1959


Love the view of this one with the old church in the background.

Information from Geograph for the train enthusiasts amongst you.
"View eastward from the platform, ECML. This was the impressive prototype of the English-Electric/Napier 3,300 hp Co-Co express locomotive (later Type 5, Class 55), on trial on the ECML in 1959, well before the class began regular service between King's Cross and Edinburgh in 1963, ousting the Gresley A4 steam locomotives. (Finsbury Park Diesel Depot had not been built, so Hornsey Depot had to service the 'Deltic, and later the other early Diesels)."

Photo by Ben Brooksbank and licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence.

Views: 466

Tags (All lower case. Use " " for multiple word tags): harringay station, st paul's church
Albums: Historical Images of Harringay After 1918 | 1 of 3 ( F)
Location: (Show Map)

Comment by matt on May 8, 2011 at 20:16

... used to stand on the viewing platform in Finsbury Park (by the tennis courts - no longer there) ...

Ah so that dis-used tarmac area were tennis courts once upon a time. Apparently that area is back on the agenda with the council to be used for a 5-a-side football centre (but without the extra parking area originally proposed).  

Comment by Old-Age-Emporium(OAE) on May 8, 2011 at 20:45
A wonderful backdrop of a Real Church and Railway Hotel, forty years before Jewsons, London Shelton and that aluminium hatted haybarn came to blight our landscape.
Comment by StephenBln on May 8, 2011 at 22:26

The driver of this locomotive was Joseph (Jo) Coe (1897-1976) who lived at 39 Oakdale Road, N4.

When I worked as a Saturday boy in his shop, he told me stories about being the first driver at Top Shed (Kings Cross Depot) to have been trained and driven the Deltic.. 

He was geordy, born in Chester-Le-Street and had worked his way down the line  from Co.Durham to Harringay. 

 

I too used to stand on the viewing platform in the Finsbury Park and remember the KIngs Cross depature timetables on show with the notice - Trains pass this point five minutes after leaving Kings Cross. 

Comment by Arkady on May 10, 2011 at 13:52
What happened to the old church?
Comment by Liz on May 10, 2011 at 13:56
It burned down. We have pictures of the fire and more of what the old church looked like in the Gallery.
Comment by Jeremyb on May 10, 2011 at 14:06
Happily, for the serious train enthusiasts amongst us, this loco still exists and is preserved in the National Railway Museum, York.
Comment by Glenn Wallis on February 10, 2023 at 2:53

The loco was designed and built by The English Electric Company as a demonstrator and was powered by two high-speed Napier diesel engines designed for motor torpedo boats. It ran extensive trials on the London Midland and the Eastern Regions of BR. BR's engineers were still learning about diesel traction and high-speed engines were not favoured. The LM region rejected the loco and the Eastern might well have followed suit, but their new General Manager, Gerald Fiennes, decided to order 22 locos and to up-grade the East Coast Main Line to 100mph. The 'Deltics' powered the fastest ECML expresses until the advent of the world beating 125mph High Speed Trains in 1976. The last locos were withdrawn in January 1982.

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