Steam trains

By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics and access other forums reserved for members. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today by clicking here.

Posted: Sun Jun 30, 2013 9:11 am

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-23109971

Posted: Sun Jun 30, 2013 6:26 pm

Never have figured out what it is that makes a steam locomotive so interesting to people. I'm spending a day longer at my first hotel just in order to see one go past. Then we'll chase it up the line a couple of more times, hoping to photograph it here for all of a minute

Posted: Sun Jun 30, 2013 10:35 pm

When a steam loco is in steam then and moving along the tracks then it is alive, that is where the romance of railways comes from, in a museum, stationary and not moving and is dead, then its lost its appeal.

Posted: Mon Jul 01, 2013 8:40 am

I'm off to see all 6 surviving A4 streamliners gathered around the turntable at York railway museum next week. As the article says, one has been brought back from Canada and one from the USA for the event. I will try and report back with photos.

I declare an interest here, as I have been known to get up at 5am to go and help light a steam loco on a local preserved railway, then spend a long day as part of the loco crew. To be on the footplate when the driver is giving it full bananas is quite something.

Posted: Mon Jul 01, 2013 11:20 am

I'm positively drooling at the thought of steam trains. Used to belong to the local historical railway society for many years. Only left when it started to get too political and to much back stabbing amongst various cliques.

They have one of my favourite engines - a 60 class (aka a Beyer Garratt). When I was a member it was a static display but for the past couple of years it has slowly been worked on to bring it back into operational condition. Might take a few more years as all the money needed for repairs are from donations.

Posted: Mon Jul 01, 2013 7:55 pm

Roycropper you are not the only one going to York next week, manage to get the wife to come, meeting my former work mates as well.
One of my mates use to be a fireman on the East Coast mail line.

Wife is getting her own back next month, I'm being dragged to see a concert by her favourite group, "Status Quo", think I will leave my hearing aids at home. Wink

Posted: Tue Jul 02, 2013 8:55 am

/\/\ I saw Quo on their 'farewell' tour at Blackpool.

In 1978. Confused

Someone at the front was rocking with his head in the bass bin. I bet he wonders why he's deaf now. My wife has been dragged round York railway museum, she usually leaves me there, and comes and drags me out of the Warehouse at closing time.

@ dbest3, all clubs and societies get political and cliquey, railway societies are no exception. Beyer Garratts were built in Gorton Manchester. There's one in the museum here, but I've never seen one in steam, most are a funny gauge for overseas.

I'm going in to do some steam loco cleaning on Saturday. My wife can't understand how I come home stinking of diesel, but the only way to get them clean underneath is to stand under them in an inspection pit and brush them with diesel, usually stolen from a nearby shunter. I often get a go at firing them, chucking a shovel full of coal to the front of a long firebox is harder than it looks, and if you let the water level drop too far it turns into a bomb. No pressure then (it stops if you have no pressure, the brakes come on first).

Posted: Tue Jul 02, 2013 11:42 am

A 4 minute vid for your reminiscence/enjoyment http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23137106

Speaking of concerts I'm going to see The Who at Wembley Arena on Monday.

Posted: Tue Jul 02, 2013 3:32 pm

^ Pity no moment shown.

Some years ago a friend and I were speaking to a depot foreman, when he worked as a locomotive fireman, him and his mate were given the job of bringing Mallard from Peterborough to Doncaster at a reduced speed after it's record run on the 3rd of July 1938.

Posted: Tue Jul 02, 2013 4:37 pm

Mallard had to be taken off the train at Peterborough, as the high speed had melted the inside big end bearing.

The special train turned up at Kings Cross to be greeted with puzzlement by the press, as it was being pulled by a small Ivatt Atlantic, that happened to be spare at Peterborough.

The wedge-shaped streamlining on the A4 was inspired by a Bugatti rail-car which Gresley (the designer) had observed in France.

I've traveled from York to Scarborough behind Mallard, and sat in the very comfy driver's leather lined bucket seat.

Posted: Tue Jul 02, 2013 4:45 pm

^^^That is so beautiful; I can't believe they made trains like that in 1938. Why can't we have nice things now?

It does remind me of this though:

Posted: Tue Jul 02, 2013 11:41 pm

Damn.That is a purely magnificent beast.We have our share on this side of the Atlantic,but that is a hard act to follow.

Posted: Wed Jul 03, 2013 8:33 am

As a kid we used to go on holiday every year in a cottage right next to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. It happened that the guy next door was a driver for one of the locomotives. Upon finding out that my Dad was a steam fan, he offered him a ride on the footplate, all the way from Grosmont to Pickering (virtually the whole length of the line).

My Dad was giddy as a child all day...unforgettable.

Posted: Wed Jul 03, 2013 9:44 am

There was another one of the class that held another record until 8/8/1989 when "Flying Scotsman" beat it in Australia.

That was A4 4902 "Seagull" which held the longest non-stop run by a steam locomotive in the world, still a British record.

As they use to run between London and Edinburgh non-stop picking up water on the way, from troughs set between the running rails.

One day they had a land slip between Edinburgh and Berwick on Tweed and their route was diverted, as this meant a longer distance arrangements were made for extra water stops.

But they had not taken the pride of the train crews into account.
There were two crews on each non-stop express a Scottish and an English one, they got together and worked it out they could do the run non-stop.
The crews on "Seagull being the first to try, other crews also managed to do the trip non-stop.

Posted: Wed Jul 03, 2013 5:22 pm

Quote:

Speaking of concerts I'm going to see The Who at Wembley Arena on Monday.

Who?

(Don't blame me....it had to be said.....)