Bip 88 Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 Have I mentioned the couple I sit with at the club, he was once an engine driver. I was talking to him last evening and apparently he has two videos of himself on the footplate of a Mary rose engine. I think it’s the Mary Rose, I’ll know better next week when he brings in the videos for me to copy onto disc. From what I could glean he delivered empty oil wagons up to Hull and brought back full ones. Bip. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rob237 89 Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 Princess Margaret Rose?...worked on the West Coast Main Line - not a Hull visitor...sorry Cheers Robt P. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bip 88 Posted November 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 Maybe I didn't make myself very clear, he was involved with the restoration of said engine. maybe it wasn't the Mary Rose but it sounded like it last night after I had four pints of brew. Will know more next weekend when i can play the videos. Taking empty oil wagans and returning with full ones was his day job. Bip. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rob237 89 Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 Right, with you...Princess Margaret Rose certainly subject to much restoration, which got it back to main line working order. Cheers Robt P. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bip 88 Posted November 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 No 6203 Princess Margaret Rose built LMS Railway 1935 Bought by Billy Butlin in April 1963 after running 1.5 million miles in service mostly working the crack express trains between London and Scotland. Cosmetically restored at Crewe Works and taken by rail to Pwllheli where it arrived in May 1963. It was located next to the amusement park & boating lake. Butlins offered the loco on loan to the Midland Railway Centre (Butterley, Derbyshire) in April 1974 and work began (using volunteers from the railway) in January 1975. It was a long & laborious process that involved laying 500 yards of special track to connect up with the main line railway. Over 1,300 man hours were consumed during the next 4 months. It finally departed the camp on 11th May 1975 and was towed by a diesel along the main line to its new Derbyshire home. It remained there on static display until 1985 when Butlins offered to sell it outright for a price of £60,000. This was accepted and a new charitable Trust was formed for the purpose and work began on restoring it to running order. This was completed in 1990. Still based at the Midland Railway Centre and owned by the Princess Royal Class Locomotive Trust. Thanks to Clive Hanley for providing this link to a recent photo of the locomotive. Web site link... Bip. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
firbeck 859 Posted November 25, 2008 Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 Good old Butlins, we owe so much to them, without Sir Billie's foresight in preserving Stanier Pacifics and Royal Scot at his camps, we would be in trouble as far as these wonderful locos are concerned, all BR wanted to do was have one stuffed and preserved in Birmingham Transport Museum which is where City of Birmingham resides to this day, sadly pushed up and down a piece of track via a hydraulic ram, how inspirational. I worked at Butlins in Minehead in 1969 and Duchess of Hamilton was looking decidely sad, the campers weren't interested, it was covered in bird droppings, but it survived and that's all that matters. It will soon emerge in all it's streamlined glory. It wouldn't have surprised me if at the time no Princesses would have survived, but thanks to Sir Billy, we have an additional example of this small class of locomotives. A lovely bloke, he gave me a ten bob tip when I served him in the restaurant, half a days wages in those days. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bip 88 Posted December 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2008 I have in my possession two videos Showing the Princess Margaret Rose as she was before the overall [no skin on….naked] and as she was in 1990 after the refit, all very interesting to those of you who are steam shed anoraks of which I’m not I hasten to add. Both videos showing the transformation are amateur made. They look like to me as they have been shot at Toton sidings and another place I don’t recognise but will ask the owner when I see him again. My friend who I sit with in the shaftsbury club is the engineer albeit eighteen years ago now mind; unfortunately time and tide and shovelling coal has taken its toll on him, he finds it very difficult to walk without a stick these days, in fact he uses taxi’s to go anywhere. I ‘m hoping in time to transfer these two videos onto a disc, that’s if I can hang on to them long enough, may take several weeks to do this only because at the moment I don’t know where my leads are to do the job nor do I have one of those tape to disc recorders. If anybody’s interested in owning one of these said discs I will be glad to post one to you at no expense to oneself… Ps….Rob 666 don’t bother asking refusal might offend. Bip. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rob237 89 Posted December 2, 2008 Report Share Posted December 2, 2008 "...anoraks of which I’m not I hasten to add..." I'd always considered the real anoraks to be those who play bingo and take photo's of supermarket car parks... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
firbeck 859 Posted December 2, 2008 Report Share Posted December 2, 2008 Did you know that the boiler fitted to Princess Margaret Rose was the same one originally fitted to 46202 Princess Anne which was involved in the infamous Harrow disaster in 1952. 46202 was withdrawn after the accident, rather surprising since it was new, having just been converted from the Turbomotive. While the damage was bad, the boiler couldn't have been too badly mangled as it would have been scrapped along with the unfortunate other victim, Jubilee Windward Islands. Coincidentally, the original boiler from 'Rose' is now fitted to the other preserved Princess, Princes Elizabeth. It wasn't unusual to swap boilers around during a heavy overhaul, I think that Flying Scotsman, currently involved in a massive rebuild, may be having a spare boiler fitted which came from another A3. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
plantfit 7,602 Posted December 2, 2008 Report Share Posted December 2, 2008 Here you go firbeck, The Flying Scotsman in August this year, minus it's boiler as you say and pretty much everything else Rog Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scriv 168 Posted December 2, 2008 Report Share Posted December 2, 2008 Good old Butlins, we owe so much to them, Agreed. I have a couple of photos somewhere of "Royal Scot" arriving at Butlins (Filey I think, can anyone please confirm?) on a Pickfords low-loader. I'm guessing that this would date it to about May/June 1962. Pics were taken by my Mum and one of them shows a baby Scriv in his pram! Scanner not working at the moment but I'll try to get 'em on here ASAP. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beefsteak 305 Posted December 2, 2008 Report Share Posted December 2, 2008 The Royal Scot was at Butlins , Skegness. No arguments , as it is the only Butlins I have ever been to and I have a photo of me standing on it cirrca 1964/5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
firbeck 859 Posted December 3, 2008 Report Share Posted December 3, 2008 You're right Beefsteak, Royal Scot arrived at Butlins, Skegness, on a Pickfords low loader from Crewe, 18th July 1963 and was met at the camp by the pipes and drums of the 1st Battalion, Royal Scots. It moved to Bressingham, Norfolk, 16th March 1971. The first time I saw it was in Nottingham Shed, 1960? and the last time was when I had a cab ride at Bressingham 30 odd years ago. The other loco at Skeggy was 30102 Granville a B4 from Southampton docks, now at Bressingham. Princess Margaret Rose was at Pwhelli along with A1X 32640 Newport, now on the Isle of Wight. Duchess of Hamilton, currently being re-streamlined, was at Minehead along with A1X 32678 Knowle, now on the KESR. Duchess of Sutherland was at Ayr along with A1X 32662 Martello, now at Bressingham. Butterley also has a couple of former Clacton based minature locos, Princess Elizabeth and Queen Elizabeth. I don't recall the public taking much notice of Hamilton and Knowle when I worked at Minehead in 1969. They were tucked away from the main entrance sitting under the chair lift where people ( and seagulls ) took great delight dropping things on them. You could go up the steps and peer into the cab, but not go in, otherwise they probably would have been missing a few gauges. From memory they seemed to be kept pretty clean, probably by 'Bogger Bill' the insane Butlins toilet cleaner. I'm surprised that being next door to Woodhams famous scrapyard that a loco wasn't obtained from there and put into the Barry Island camp, with several hundred stored across the road, they probably didn't think it was worth it. The other two camps that appeared to be engineless were Clacton and Bognor for some reason. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beefsteak 305 Posted December 3, 2008 Report Share Posted December 3, 2008 I spoke to my mum last night ,re the photo of me on The Royal Scot, and she assures me it is still in 'The Box' in the loft. She tells me it was my 3rd birthday so it would have been June 1964. She also told me that she had a photo of my nephew, in roughly the same pose as me, on the footplate, on the Torquay to Dartmouth steam line a few years ago . Whether she is still there I don't know. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
firbeck 859 Posted December 3, 2008 Report Share Posted December 3, 2008 Royal Scot has always been kept at Bressingham since it's arrival from Butlins and ran under it's own power for a few years on a small section of track. Having obtained a large Lottery grant, it was dismantled, the boiler went to Chatham, the wheels off somewhere else and the remaining bits are being dealt with at Bressingham. It was supposed to be finished by the summer but I think that there's been a problem with the boiler repairs and a cracked frame. I assume it will be taken to Loughborough for a bit of high speed running in on the GCR. A famous loco that ran on the Paignton-Kingswear line for the summer was Flying Scotsman back in 1973, we were on holiday down there that year and had a trip behind it and were issued with a commemorative certificate, it was a bit wierd to see it clanking down a GWR branch at the time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
firbeck 859 Posted December 3, 2008 Report Share Posted December 3, 2008 I've just found a good one, try www.leytransport.i12.com/npaper.htm. You'll have to type it in, for some reason the direct link won't work from here, leave off the npaper bit and theres loads of interesting stuff on there. Scroll down and theres a picture of Royal Scot being taken through the streets of Skeggy on a low loader. It seems it was towed by rail to Boston, had it's motion fitted then towed by two steam locos from Boston shed to Skegness. Some other interesting Butlins and railway stuff in Lincs on there too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scriv 168 Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 it was a bit wierd to see it clanking down a GWR branch at the time. "Clanking" being the operative word with that thing! I remember when it was at GCR some years ago, at the same time as "Blue Peter"; the two engines were like chalk and cheese in terms of ride quality, as far as being on the footplate was concerned. In fairness "Scotsman" was in pretty bad shape then, and apparently rides much better since her overhaul. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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