Royal Scot at Skegness Traffic Lights
1971 – The train about to leave Butlin’s Holiday Camp is the 13.00 hours for the Blessingham, Steam Museum. This picture shows the “Royal Scot” all set for its last big journey yesterday (Tuesday) morning. Its first stop was at the traffic lights in Skegness, where Coun George Walker, Chairman of the Urban Council, gave it a civic farewell from the kerb side. (Photo: Wrates Studios.)
ONE OF the only two surviving Royal Scot locomotives left Butlin’s Holiday Camp, Skegness, at midday yesterday (Tuesday) on a 3-day journey for a new life. It was being taken to the steam museum at Bressingham near Diss, Norfolk, where it will be restored to its former glory and be run under its own steam again for the delight of visitors.
The locomotive, which has been at Butlin’s for about nine years, is seen by visitors only during a short period of the year and it was felt better to have it on view all the year round. Hence the move.
Sunter Bros Ltd, of Northallerton, have taken other locos to the museum, including the Cromwell and the Duchess of Sutherland — which was held up recently by a court injunction.
They are transporting the Royal Scot on a 200-mile route which takes it through Louth, Grimsby, Caenby Corner, Lincoln, Newark, St Neots Royston, Newmarket and Thetford.
The driver, Mr John Robinson, said on Monday that they had brought their own rails for it. These would be laid up a ramp and the loco, which weighs about 80 tons, would be drawn up by a winch which develops 335 brake- hp. The 3O-ton tender was taken away on Monday morning.
Once on the 64-wheeled trailer the long slow journey by road would begin. The route had been difficult to plan, he said because of low bridges.
The entire cost of the operation is being borne by the museum. But Butlin’s are getting some publicity from banners fixed to either side of the loco stating where it has come from and where it is bound for.
The Royal Scot was designed by Sir Henry Fowler in 1927 and 71 of these crack expresses were built.
Mr H. Oakes, manager of the holiday camp, commented: “We have maintained it well but it’s standing out in the winter. We tried protecting it with tarpaulins at first but the first big gale than comes, the tarpaulin is ripped off. I think, the company’s attitude is right.”
The picture below shows the Royal Scot being eased around the traffic lights at the Ship Hotel, Skegness.
THE ROYAL SCOTT LOCOMOTIVE, my father worked as a security officer at Butlins around this time so used to go to Butlins a fair few times as it was free entry for me. I loved to go and see the Royal Scott, as this day and age its not often you get to see a steam locomotive up close, but Butlins allowed visitors to clamber up onto the foot plate where the engine driver and fireman work the controls and stoke the boiler to make the steam to haul this monster along the tracks. Butlins of course didn’t have it operating or fired up it was just an attraction and stood on a small section of track. To my surprise Butlins employed the engineer that worked on the Royal scott when it was operational and was able to talk to him about his experiences on the Scott. He told me it was the best job in the world, to go in the morning and fire up the beast and to know that he had control of all that power. He told me that they used to open the boiler doors, then put rashers of bacon and crack a couple of eggs onto a shovel used for stoking, then feed it into the boiler where in two minutes their breakfast was cooked, a practice most engine drivers used to do. When it was decided to take the engine away I was sad in one way that it left Skgness but was glad that it was going to be restored to its former glory like it should be and not left to rust away . It was a great looking engine and the more of these locomotives we save the more our up and coming generations can see what a marvelous piece of engineering these mighty warriors of steam power were, hauling passengers, goods, and frieght to feed the needs of the country, but as roads improved and motorways were built it became cheaper to haul goods by road on juggernauts, and as desiel was cheaper to use than coal they built desiel locomotives, making engines like the Royal Scott redundent, but enthusiasts have managed save a few of them from the scrap yard and my praise goes out to all them that have worked hard to keep these locomotives in working order today. (THE ROYAL SCOTT)
Thanks, Robert for that valuable insight into this piece of history. I actually have the story and a picture of the Royal Scott when it was first brought to Butlins, so I’ll put it on my priority ‘to do’ list.
46100 was bought by Billy Butlin of Butlin’s holiday camps after withdrawal and after cosmetic restoration at Crewe Works, was set on a plinth at Skegness. It was painted in LMS crimson lake livery, which although it was the original livery it received, it did not carry it after being rebuilt (only one rebuilt Royal Scot ever carried LMS crimson lake livery and that was 6170 Royal British Legion). 6100 arrived in Skegness at 18 July 1963 piped in by pipers from the 1st Battalion, The Royal Scots.
6100 left Skegness for the Bressingham Steam Museum on 16 March 1971 and was returned to steam in 1972. It ran until 1978 when it became a static exhibit again. It was sold by Butlin’s to Bressingham in May 1989. It was restored to working order again in April 2009, the final stage of restoration being completed by Pete Waterman’s LNWR Heritage workshops in Crewe