06/06/2026
On this day in history – 6 June 1953, a Northern Rubber Special train ran from Retford to Windsor & Eton Central. The train was hauled by Great Central Railway Large Director 4-4-0 No 62666 ‘Zeebrugge’. The train ran via the Great Central route to High Wycombe, where this photograph was taken by Brian Morrison.
The train then continued to Windsor via the branch line to Maidenhead and Slough west curve. It paused at Bourne End where passengers had the option of leaving for a river cruise to Windsor and joining the train for the return journey. The locomotive‘s headboard reads ‘Northern Rubber Special‘.
On the return journey the train was hauled by No 62666 from Windsor to London King’s Cross via Acton and the North London Line. From King’s Cross the train was hauled to Retford by an Eastern Region Pacific (4-6-2).
‘Zeebrugge’ was one of six members of the Large Director class named after battles of the First World War. The raid on Zeebrugge on 23 April 1918 was an attempt to sink blockships to prevent German submarines from leaving the harbour.
The Northern Rubber Specials were organised by Alan Pegler, whose family company was Northern Rubber. Alan (1920-2012) was a lifelong railway enthusiast who organised the rescue of the Festiniog Railway in 1954, and in 1963 became the first private owner of No 4472 ‘Flying Scotsman’ when he bought the locomotive from British Railways for £3,000.
