Age of Steam

[Fynger 841]

Just found in the yahoo news ( Theres a video too )

Britain turned back the clock almost 50 years as a £3 million steam train chugged into London.

The Tornado, the first mainline steam locomotive to be built in this country for nearly five decades, steamed from Darlington to London's Kings Cross at the end of a week in which Britain's modern-day rail services have been severely disrupted.

The apple-green engine, which was built with donations from enthusiasts over 18 years, pulled the Talisman train into London half-an-hour later than expected due to electrical problems near Peterborough.

Stopping to pick up passengers in York - and to refill its water tanks there, in Retford and in Peterborough Yard - the steam train took more than six hours to complete the 250-mile route.

The journey was far longer than the regular 8am train operated along the same route by National Express East Coast, which was delayed by seven minutes and took less than half the time.

Hundreds of onlookers, many of whom had been waiting for more than two hours, crowded platform one at Kings Cross as the first steam train to enter the capital in more than 40 years arrived.

Passengers cheered and waved as the steam filled the roof of the station.

Many of its 500 passengers said they were delighted that they had chosen style over speed.

John Warren, one of the first people to step off the train, said the engine was "absolutely phenomenal" and that more steam trains should be running on our tracks.

Built by a team of volunteers over nearly 20 years the A1 60163 Tornado is the 50th Peppercorn class A1 locomotive all of which were designed to cope with the heaviest passenger trains on the East Coast Main Line.

The train, which is expected to become "as legendary as the Flying Scotsman and Mallard", can reach a top speed of 100mph and will enter traffic on the nation's main line network on April 18.

[plantfit 7,602]

Hi Kev, Good bit of info there, Knew it was going down the ECML yesterday so took a drive to North Muskham and settled in a lay by near the track, good view of the line in both directions, It was reported to be arriving at Kings Cross just before 14.00 hrs so I figured it would be passing Newark 2 1/2 hrs earlier, Just for good measure I settled at Muskham for 10.30hrs, sat there until 12.00hrs to be told "it passed here at 10.15 hrs" never mind, she'll be doing that run quite regular in the summer so hopefully see it then

Rog

[Fynger 841]

An early train ?.....surely not

[littlebro 234]

Here she is Kev

[Fynger 841]

Err....that vid dint 'go'....looked at some of the others tho.

[littlebro 234]

Typical Sunday night, YouTube gets temperamental. The links good.

[Beefsteak 305]

Just been scanning through when I am likely to get a 'Steamy' through here, and there is one on the 8th April!!, guess where I am ??

Next best is this

THE ROYAL SCOT

Milton Keynes-Carlisle

46233: Crewe-Shap-Carlisle and return

No further details on times yet , but I shall endeavor to get a couple of snaps if possible.

(Is this the same Royal Scot that I remember all those years ago at Butlins Skegness??)

[Ashley 288]

46233 is Duchess of Sutherland, came through Nottingham last October(ish) have idea the one at Butlins was Princess Margaret Rose?

[Beefsteak 305]

I thought that The Royal Scot was the name of the train!!!

If it's the Duchess of Sutherland ,thats the one that I photographed last year isn't it?? I'll go and check.

[Ashley 288]

doubt they had the whole train at butlins! Royal Scot was a class of LMS Loco's and first numbered 46100 was also named Royal Scot. The Royal Scot Train was the name given to the train that left Euston for Glasgow every day at 10am

[Beefsteak 305]

Yes it was although there was no initial 4 on it's number plate.!

[Beefsteak 305]

I can't remember exactly but it was about 1965 that I saw it there !! As I said, it was my dad that told me it was the Royal Scot, was there a train with that particular name aswell??

[Ashley 288]

Yes it was although there was no initial 4 on it's number plate.!

quite right, when I said first numbered I meant numerically not that it had that number when first built, I could have said "first built loco" but often not the case? ie they might start building 6001 6002 and 6002 same day and 6002 or 6003 would be first finished or "built"

[firbeck 859]

What Beefsteak means is that Royal Scot, the loco, was numbered 46100 in BR days, but in it's LMS guise and time at Butlins, it was 6100.

It would appear that it has finally been restored to running order and has been running in on the West Somerset Railway at Minehead, it would have been nice to have seen it taking it's first mainline run on 'The Royal Scot', wouldn't it.

It has been restored to it's spurious LMS livery as many of you remember it at Butlins at Skegness, personally as it never actually ran in service in it's current form like that, I don't like it, I would sooner it have been restored to BR green as it was when shedded at Nottingham in the early 60's.

If you don't understand what I mean, Royal Scot was originally built with a parallel boiler and didn't look much like it does now, having been reboilered to Staniers taper boiler design in the 50's, so it never ran in LMS colours in the shape it's now in. The other restored Royal Scot, 46115, Scots Guardsman, has been restored and runs in it's proper BR colours of Brunswick Green.

See what I mean, Royal Scot as built, though in this picture it is a little bit tooled up for it's trip to the USA, headlight, name on front, Westinghouse pump etc:-

In BR days having been reboilered in 1950:-

As it is running now:-

Not quite right is it.

[Fynger 841]

What were the 'blinkers' on the front for....or just a 'pretty' bit ?

[firbeck 859]

How come you called them blinkers Fynger, that was our little description for them when we were young spotters.

Official name, smoke deflectors, put onto the loco to stop smoke and steam blowing sideways and obscuring the drivers view, most express locos had them, though I can think of a few that didn't, all the GWR engines for instance, the designers must have got their design right from the start.

[Scriv 168]

Not quite right is it.

So what?

There are any number of preserved steam locos running around that aren't "quite right"; for instance, most of them are highly polished and in virtually "ex-works" condition, when realistically they lasted about a week in that kind of nick.

If we stuck with your thesis (and I do sympathise with your opinion even if I don't agree with it) then virtually every preserved steam locomotive would be painted in the last livery it was in before it was withdrawn from service; since the vast majority were withdrawn in BR days the whole scene would be a sea of unlined black and various dark greens.

Preserved railways make their money from the general public who pay to see what is basically a 12 inch to the foot scale Hornby train set. A fair number of the people who take vast numbers of photographs and insist on correct liveries do not (and I speak from experience as a former GCR volunteer) contribute any more than they have to in order to satisfy their indulgence; I do not wish to infer that anyone on these boards is thus inclined though.

I confess to shuddering myself at "Thomas" weekends as done to death by my local (Gwili) railway but the fact is that such things pay the lions share of the rent. I personally like the "Royal Scot" in the LMS livery; it might not be strictly correct but there are so few locomotives about which have any claim towards that beautiful maroon that I can easily forgive a modicum of licence.

[Fynger 841]

I called em 'Blinkers' cos thats what they look like...Horse blinkers.

SCRIV..you mentioned 'Thomas'....thing thats allways baffled me is if kids see a train ..its a train. Thomas the 'Tank Engine ??....why do kids just accept that ..ive never heard one kid say...No its not its a TRAIN.

[Scriv 168]

Thomas the 'Tank Engine ??....why do kids just accept that ..ive never heard one kid say...No its not its a TRAIN.

They were "just trains" to me, too, because I was never subjected to the "Thomas" stories as a kid. That's not to say that I've anything against them, although I've always thought that Revd. Awdry would have done us a greater service if he'd managed to educate kids into understanding that trains are anything but cuddly, they're dangerous and they kill stupid kids who play on railway lines.

Sadly of course they are, today, just trains, without character or individual identity. I confes that it one of my regrets in life that if I ever did see a steam locomotive in active service on British Rail, I was too young to either appreciate or remember it.

Another odd question for you; why do people (including rational adults who should know better) persist in waving at trains when they never do at buses?

[Ashley 288]

my wife waved at a tram yesterday! We went from market square to bulwell, crap ride and so slow till they get off road and those continuing ****** "this tram is for hucknall, this stop is slum city" announcements would drive me potty if used daily, send em to Crich!

[Beefsteak 305]

Our Charlotte waved at a tractor today as I overtook it,!!!!! (went for a drive out this afternoon)

A few weeks ago we were crossing a nearby rail footbridge as a cargo train approached , I picked up our Charlotte and SWMBO had Adam , I said to the kids "If you wave at the train it'll toot back at you" as he got nearer (And could see the kids waving) I gave the driver the tugging downwards with your arm action, and the man duly responded with a loud TOOOOOOOT!!!! on the horn . My kids were most impressed!!!

[firbeck 859]

I agree with what you say Scriv, it would be a pretty dull preservation movement if everything was painted up as it was when they were withdrawn, but the problem with Royal Scot is that it looks nothing like it did in LMS days. When Scots Guardsman was languishing in Dinting it was painted up in black wartime LMS colours and very striking it looked too, after all, some Scots had been reboilered by then. I've been trying to think of something else that changed its appearance drastically and I can think of Compound 1000, which never ran looking like it does now in MR days, I gather that on withdrawal that plans were afoot to give it back an original boiler but they couldn't be bothered in the end.

I'd be interested to see when they finally get Flying Scotsman back on the road, whether they paint it up in LNER apple green, but have it running with those German style smoke diflectors, sorry Fynger, blinkers, which weren't introduced until the 60's.

The NNR are currently working on their B12, which was drastically altered in LNER days, it's been running in apple green and BR black, I've often wondered whether they might be tempted to paint it up in GER blue.

[Beefsteak 305]

Re The Flying Scotsman, didn't Pete Waterman buy her and re paint her in some wrong colours , causing the self richeous brigade to go wappy??

[Ashley 288]

Who say's they have to be in working colours? I rather like the bright colours in Thomas The Tank Engine, would have thought they could have done Tornado in a bright yellow and all the restored streaks different colours so easily known? say Mallard in red?

[firbeck 859]

I always thought that Flying Scotsman should be painted up to look like Gordon, why not, thats what Gordon was based on after all, I wouldn't like to see it given a haughty face and bricked up in a tunnel though.

Beefsteak, I'm not sure what Pete Waterman did to FS, possibly them blinkers, I know that there was a bit of controversy when Alan Pegler first bought it and ran it with two tenders, but that was because those nice people at BR had made it difficult to refuel and recoal it during long runs. ( nearly said re-arm,< 'Not with your blood sergeant'> sorry, wrong thread ).