MY LIFE IN TRAINS
Lineside and Station Sequences
Part Fifteen
Coppermill Junction – 2 April and 9 April 1960
and one from Bishopsgate 2 April 1960
On this day, and a week later, I walked down Walthamstow High Street, past all the market stalls, St James Street station on the Chingford line, and the Sainsbury’s where my mother worked serving on the counter – before the age of supermarkets and self-service – and down Coppermill Lane onto Walthamstow Marshes. My goal was Coppermill Junction where the lines from the Lea Valley to Liverpool Street and Stratford diverged. Although primarily an Eastern Region route, a little way to the north was a link from the London Midland Region which brought freights heading for East London goods yards and the London Docks.
I took plenty of photos over the two sessions, all of steam, but I never went back to Coppermill Junction.
And I’ve included one photo from later on the first day, taken in Bishopsgate, with some surprise inclusions.
All Photographs by Alan Lewis Chambers ©
12:08 Electrification is well under way as LNER B1 4-6-0 No 61371 heads an express from Liverpool Street through Clapton Junction
onto the Lea Valley line and Coppermill Junction on 2 April 1960.
12:20 MR Jinty 0-6-0T No 47223 heads a freight through Copper Mill Junction on its way from the London Midland to the Eastern Region.
12:30 LNER N7/3 0-6-2T No 69715 emerges from the Lea Valley marshes haze with a Liverpool Street to Hertford stopper
at Coppermill Junction on 2 April 1960.
13:03 LNER K1 2-6-0 No 62068 heads a mineral train from the Lea Valley towards Temple Mills at Coppermill Junction on 2 April 1960.
13:14 LNER L1 2-6-4T No 67725 passes Copper Mill Junction with a down local on 2 April 1960.
13:20 Near Copper Mill Junction on 2 April 1960, GER J19 0-6-0 No 64663 heads a short freight towards Temple Mills.
13:26 LNER N7/3 0-6-2T No 69707 passes Copper Mill Junction with a down local on 2 April 1960.
13:40 LNER K3 2-6-0 No 61939 speeds through Copper Mill Junction with a Cambridge express on 2 April 1960.
13:46 BR Class 4 2-6-0 No 76030 tender first hauls a stopping passenger train (with an extra 'routing' lamp) out of London
at Copper Mill Junction on 2 April 1960.
13:48 Grubby WD 2-8-0 No 90660 trundles slowly past Copper Mill Junction on 2 April 1960.
13:51 LNER K3 2-6-0 No 61820 powers a Cambridge line freight through Copper Mill Junction on 2 April 1960.
14:06 LNER N7/4 0-6-2T No 69611 heads through Copper Mill Junction on 2 April 1960 - a Wood Street engine on a football special
from Chingford to Northumberland Park for Spurs versus Luton Town.
14:14 GER J69/1 0-6-0 No 68552 passes Copper Mill Junction on 2 April 1960 with a London bound freight.
14:34 LNER N7/3 0-6-2T No 69707 passes Copper Mill Junction light engine on 2 April 1960.
14:38 LMSR Black 5 4-6-0 No 44852 hauls a London Midland Region bound class F freight through Copper Mill Junction on 2 April 1960.
14:40 LNER B1 4-6-0 No 61300 on an express to Liverpool Street passes GER N7 0-6-2T No 69707 at Copper Mill Junction on 2 April 1960.
14:51 LMSR 4F 0-6-0 No 44052 hauls an up freight at Copper Mill Junction on 2 April 1960.
15:10 BR Class 4 2-6-0 No 76033 storms through Copper Mill Junction with a Cambridge line stopping train to Hertford on 2 April 1960.
15:21 LNER B1 4-6-0 No 61096 heads an up Class C parcels train through Copper Mill Junction on 2 April 1960.
15:28 GER J15 0-6-0 No 65465 pauses at Copper Mill Junction on 2 April 1960.
15:33 LNER B1 4-6-0 No 61254 passes Copper Mill Junction heading for Liverpool Street on 2 April 1960.
15:37 GER J19 0-6-0 No 64664 passes Copper Mill Junction with a freight on 2 April 1960.
15:44 LNER L1 2-6-4T No 67729 runs through Copper Mill Junction with a Cambridge line stopping train to Hertford on 2 April 1960.
15:49 Copper Mill Junction on 2 April 1960 - LNER J39 0-6-0 No 64783 is about to be overtaken by LNER L1 2-6-4T No 67714.
15:56 LNER K3 2-6-0 No 61831 passes Copper Mill Junction on 2 April 1960 with a London bound freight.
16:00 LNER J39 0-6-0 No 64767 hauls a Cambridge line freight past Copper Mill Junction on 2 April 1960.
16:07 One of the original MR Jinty 0-6-0Ts, No 47223 hauls an inter-regional freight north towards the LMSR at Copper Mill Junction on 2 April 1960.
15:15 LNER N7/5 0-6-2T No 69671 heads a down suburban train out of Liverpool Street at Bishopsgate on 2 April 1960. The ‘gangster’ cars are parked outside the Kray’s family home – I took the photo and lived!
14:14 GER J20 0-6-0 No 64680 heads a short freight through Copper Mill Junction towards Temple Mills on 9 April 1960.
14:15 LNER N7/3 0-6-2T No 69615 passes Copper Mill Junction light engine on 9 April 1960.
14:16 GER J69/1 0-6-0T No 68571 heads a short freight towards Temple Mills near Copper Mill Junction on 9 April 1960.
14:26 By the time I had a camera, the Gresley B17 4-6-0s had almost vanished - here B17/6 No 61657 'Doncaster Rovers'
heads an express from the Cambridge line towards Liverpool Street on 9 April 1960.
14:34 LNER K1 2-6-0 No 62051 passes Copper Mill Junction with a down freight on 9 April 1960.
14:40 LMSR Black Five 4-6-0 No 44891 passes Copper Mill Junction with a freight from the London Midland on 9 April 1960.
15:09 LMSR Ivatt 2-6-0 No 43153 Heads towards Stratford at Copper Mill Junction with a local train on 9 April 1960.
15:15 GER J19 0-6-0 No 64657 rolls slowly past Copper Mill Junction towards Stratford on 9 April 1960.
15:48 LNER N7/3 0-6-2T No 69720 heads a Lee Valley local passed Copper Mill Junction on 9 April 1960.
15:53 LMSR Crab 2-6-0 No 42759 heads towards Stratford, probably bound for the Docks, near Copper Mill Junction on 9 April 1960.
MY LIFE IN TRAINS
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Great collection, Alan.
Love the Kray Twins' piccie! That's got real social history!
The K1 side on piccie from a distance is thoughtful.
How old were you when you did this trip?
Fascinating to see the loads hauled by Jinties and tiny J69s back then.
I had no idea K1s and Standard 760xxx served in this area. K1s always seemed to be NER locos to me.
I started trainspotting a few months after these pics were taken, late July or v early August 1960, but largely missed out on GE steam. Did Cambridge in, I suspect, Feb 1961, but the shed was full of dumped L1s and various J class 0-6-0s. Only saw one steam hauled freight (A B1) all day. So I imagine within 12 months of you taking these piccies, more or less everything had disappeared by then.
Congrats and thank you for posting. Kester
Superb pictures and recollections. I never had the benefit of seeing all this (too young),.
I have a particular interest in the North London Line when steam still ran. I'd love to hear if you have any recollections of the trains and loco types that travelled through Victoria Park and onward via Dalston!
Best Wishes
Alan