Image ID: 15143

Retford Flat Crossing, 1959

Retford Flat Crossing
Retford
England

This view was taken looking east, showing (left) locomotive 63601, one of the popular Robinson O4 2-8-0s first introduced in 1911, waiting to proceed across the well-known flat crossing at Retford. This crossing, by which the Sheffield-Gainsborough line crossed the East Coast Main Line on the level, was eventually replaced by a dive-under in 1965. Retford South signal box can be seen in the background. On the right and stored with their chimneys covered are Class O2 2-8-0s numbers 63962 and 63928. They are situated on a grassgrown siding that was a truncated remnant of a spur that had once provided a west to south link onto the ECML. Although out of use, the O2s were probably merely in summer storage, awaiting an increase in coal traffic over the winter months, as they were not finally withdrawn from service for a further four years.

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Retford Library