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Steam Locos

mw0njm. said:
looks like this
South Eastern & Chatham Railway P-class No.178 - Bluebell ...
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adap2it said:
Not sure what this is...
View attachment 147839

Dave A
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You were obviously at Bluebell Railway. I am always pleased to see one of the West Country, Merchant Navy or Battle of Britain class in their original Bulleid 'spam can' form. The de streamlining of the class did not detract from their ability or looks, but somehow their original form somehow typified Bulleid's ability to move design forward in the post war years and also appear different to what Stainier & Gresley had done pre-war. You will notice that although GWR were my railway of choice, I did not mention their only attempt at streamlining....!!!!

Bob
 
Radiorails said:
Oh! You mean the 'Teddy Boston' attempt, Bob. ;)
But GWR locos did not need streamlining, they were elegant and fast. :D
SPAM Cans find Devon hills an issue at times, they are 'slippers'.
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GWR was superior design and best Welsh anthracite, the worst slippers were the Jubilees and Patriots out of Bristol especially on a wet day. Apparently, although I never saw them after the triple stop at Braunton, platform to short for the ACE & Devon Belle when with a full complement of coaches on a wet day a banker was often needed to take them with a West Country on up to Woolacombe & Morthoe, meanwhile the GWR 2-6-0s on the trains from Taunton would sometimes avail themselves of the banker, but apparently could get up there without slipping.

Bob
 
On this occasion it was an A4. It became too frequent, causing disruption to the heritage lines services, so a diesel banker is used on every occasion that a 'flat lands' loco hauls a charter train.
It was former GWR loco 5239 (2-8-0T), named appropriately Goliath, that did the rescues.
 
The line has a 37 now but it had a 25 at the time of the video. I did an exchange of locos with another nearby heritage line a couple of years ago. The loco Goliath was from the service train and could not complete its journey until the SPAM can and its train was moved to the passing station. Likewise the A4 (and others). Now the diesel is a banker with visiting charter trains to avoid disruption to an intensive timetable.
 
Radiorails said:
The line has a 37 now but it had a 25 at the time of the video. I did an exchange of locos with another nearby heritage line a couple of years ago. The loco Goliath was from the service train and could not complete its journey until the SPAM can and its train was moved to the passing station. Likewise the A4 (and others). Now the diesel is a banker with visiting charter trains to avoid disruption to an intensive timetable.
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was the 25
D7535 MERCURY
i don't dream of Jeanie ....I dream of 37s :grinning:
1598601084650.png
 
It seems to me that being a supporter of a railway company is quite akin to being a supporter of a football team. You have your likes and dislikes, probably formed in childhood, and nobody will cause you to deviate from them. While understanding that the GWR did adhere to good engineering and design, I have to say that my view of them is one of contempt, in that they seemed to spend money for the sake of it. They were, in my myopic view, only slightly better than the Midland, and I never understood the meal they made of their early diesel locomotives, seemingly adopting complication for its own sake. Perhaps growing up within earshot of the Nor'western main line has something to do with it, especially as all the Webb compounds were by then well and truly scrapped and his influence had all but disappeared.

When we made trips to London in the 1950s to take my brother to see various specialists, Dad seemed to favour the Great Way Round, and I have to say that I recall being quite impressed by the sight of KG V at the head of a rake of coaches on Wolverhampton Low Level, but my trips to and from London in the sixties were always via Euston, as were my business visits in latter years.
 
Our childhood colours or views of most things. Having the GWR at the bottom of my back garden and spending lots of time in the summer riding the towpath of the Stratford Canal, pausing for a long while at the halts between Shirley and Henley-in-Arden, has had a lasing effect on my preference.
I have lived within whistle sound of the GWR since moving to Devon in the mid nineteen fifties.
My memories of other lines are that the LMS was mainly of miserable looking dirty black freight locos.
Of course I was curious about minor lines, seen on vacations, such as the Weston, Clevedon & Portishead, Southwold, Wisbech & Upwell and most lovable of all the Kelvedon & Tollesbury Light.
Sadly the Lynton &Barntaple had closed before my birth but it is slowly being restored with parts of the original now in operation.
 
"Miserable looking dirty black freight locos"

Oh yes, we had our fair share of them, dragging coal away from the Cannock Chase collieries, and I think Bescot had one piece of rag that was shared around the engine cleaners when HMQ or the divisional manager were about. There were also some rather weedy 2-6-2 tanks that struggled pulling 4 across the Chase to Walsall. There was an upside though, climb on your Triumph Palm Beach and buy a Mars bar and a bottle of pop and spend the day watching the West Coast Main Line at Elmhurst or Colwich Bridge and you got to see some sights, even the Deltic prototype in its blue and yellow days, and of course the chance of a City or a Duchess with 14 behind it. I have a picture somewhere of one of these with a train so long that it has had to pull forward at Stafford to allow access to the coaches at the back.

We went to Carlisle on a day trip behind the Duchess of Sutherland, most impressive and a proper railway breakfast and dinner, expensive, but what the heck. I'm a bit concerned to book at the moment, until the boffins come up with a vaccination for this awful pandemic, but at least I can potter about recalling the past.
 
There were many of those LMS freight locos to be seen in the Potteries. I used to visit relatives there. It was such an extreme difference from the rural area that I lived but I have to admit enjoying that difference. Colliery lines, Shelton Steel works and the Loop LIne all had their grimy charm.
Express locos have never been top of my bill, although I have been pleased to see shiny crimson former LMS locos and A4's on charters to Devon. It must be that GWR influence as I have only a fleeting interest in most post 1950's BR builds.
For readers not familiar with the nations railway system I add that all major four companies were nationalised on 1/1/1948. Three fell in line but the GWR carried on for a few years as though nothing had changed: even their locomotive numbers did not change, which I guess, added to that attitude. ;)
 
Johnfromstaffs said:
It seems to me that being a supporter of a railway company is quite akin to being a supporter of a football team. You have your likes and dislikes, probably formed in childhood, and nobody will cause you to deviate from them. While understanding that the GWR did adhere to good engineering and design, I have to say that my view of them is one of contempt, in that they seemed to spend money for the sake of it. They were, in my myopic view, only slightly better than the Midland, and I never understood the meal they made of their early diesel locomotives, seemingly adopting complication for its own sake. Perhaps growing up within earshot of the Nor'western main line has something to do with it, especially as all the Webb compounds were by then well and truly scrapped and his influence had all but disappeared.

When we made trips to London in the 1950s to take my brother to see various specialists, Dad seemed to favour the Great Way Round, and I have to say that I recall being quite impressed by the sight of KG V at the head of a rake of coaches on Wolverhampton Low Level, but my trips to and from London in the sixties were always via Euston, as were my business visits in latter years.
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John, your comments are appreciated as a GWR disciple, I do understand you points. As a devout IKB (and his father) reader you will note his approach was not unlike you suggest. While he did spend readily (and took a lot of heat) the results he achieved were incredible shifts or improvements in technology, locomotion facilities and services. In many cases less is spent with far fewer gains in the long term. I am not advocating reckless spending but at least in the early days GWR got the results that everyone shared
 
It's not the railway so much as the "We're Brunswick Green we can do no wrong" brigade that get under my shirt.

In terms of IKB, I think that the most impressive structure he was involved with has to be Maidenhead Bridge. Those superb flat arches, I bet there were some knees knocking when the supports came out!
 
Johnfromstaffs said:
It's not the railway so much as the "We're Brunswick Green we can do no wrong" brigade that get under my shirt.

In terms of IKB, I think that the most impressive structure he was involved with has to be Maidenhead Bridge. Those superb flat arches, I bet there were some knees knocking when the supports came out!
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But not as hazardous a project as the Royal Albert Bridge. The bridge still is impressive outshining its modern road neighbour.
 
Johnfromstaffs said:
It's not the railway so much as the "We're Brunswick Green we can do no wrong" brigade that get under my shirt.

In terms of IKB, I think that the most impressive structure he was involved with has to be Maidenhead Bridge. Those superb flat arches, I bet there were some knees knocking when the supports came out!
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John, I have read numerous biography's on IKB, my last trip to China I took three books with me....Read them all on the way there. With everything there are pluses an minus, I thought IKB moved to needle + more than most.
While not directly on the subject but dealing with the Industrial Revolution, I am reading a great book by Simon Winchester- The Perfectionists. If you have not read it, might be worth a look. There is an excerpt on Amazon (I'm sure other places).
PS I also spotted LMS because they went through Handsworth Park.
 
Radiorails said:
Our childhood colours or views of most things. Having the GWR at the bottom of my back garden and spending lots of time in the summer riding the towpath of the Stratford Canal, pausing for a long while at the halts between Shirley and Henley-in-Arden, has had a lasing effect on my preference.
I have lived within whistle sound of the GWR since moving to Devon in the mid nineteen fifties.
My memories of other lines are that the LMS was mainly of miserable looking dirty black freight locos.
Of course I was curious about minor lines, seen on vacations, such as the Weston, Clevedon & Portishead, Southwold, Wisbech & Upwell and most lovable of all the Kelvedon & Tollesbury Light.
Sadly the Lynton &Barntaple had closed before my birth but it is slowly being restored with parts of the original now in operation.
Click to expand...
what happy times.Alan i was one of the lucky ones who rode on the footplate of a loco from snow hill to Bordesley in 1950s.
 

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As I have said before, it seems to me that we just post war kids got the lot. Enough money (just) to be fed and looked after, education and enough steam power about even to be slightly blasé about it.

At that time our neighbour’s son was a top-link fireman who worked on the West Coast Main line. He was a big lad, my Mum used to say his dinner plate looked more like a serving platter. We had an entry to the stable yard which pierced the terrace and the noise made by his Flying Standard Ten parked there very early in the morning reverberated around my bedroom, but you don’t bother about that sort of thing when you’re eight, and you can talk to a man who fires on the Royal Scot!
 
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