On Shed February 2011 edition
"Preserving the steam locomotive legacy..and more..on film"
FEBRUARY 2011
FRONT PAGE PHOTOGRAPH
Climbing away from LittleMill Junction (Fred Lewis)
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Contents:
Welcome editorial and site news
Video Highlights
Photographic Highlights
Around The World in 80 Railways: No. 9: Berlin to Warsaw
LIRR ride to Ronkonkoma
On This Day
Tornado- A1 Locomotive Trust Press Release
HENGIST -A BRITISH RAILWAYS CLAN CLASS 6MT 4-6-2 PACIFIC STEAM LOCOMOTIVE
Along The Trans Siberian Railway
For The Modellers
Half a century ago - West Coast Main Line spotting in 1961- Dick Bodily
Christian Wolmar Comment ========================================================================
A warm welcome to our 486 members (on 18th January 2011 compared with 453 at 18/12/10) and 1,466 friends on Steamtubes Facebook page, plus 444 followers on Twitter. We can now enjoy 2,030 videos and 8,663 photos on Steamtube, and share in the group pages too. A total of 50,000 page views were noted for November 2010.
We have been especially pleased to have Morrie Greenberg join us...the nostalgic steam compilations of 40s, 50s,60s steam have been a big hit with our members and visitors to the site.
You will likely have noticed that our home banner and page has been further refined and amended to help all our members and visitors to quickly see what is on offer.
The "762" Club, "Flying Scotsman" and Steamtubes DVD Productions can be easily accessed from the front page links.And we have included a link to UK Heritage Railways and UK Steam Tours.
The Railway Children charity can also be accessed from the front page..please consider making a purchase of our (and TRFF)s "Steam Trains in the West Country" DVD...£3-25 from the sale of each DVD goes to the Railway Children to help them with their important work. We would encourage all to consider how Steamtube wants to be able to put something back to rail related causes.
In this connection, perhaps we might consider how to support the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway. The Gotherington landslip is currently under repair, and will cost £1 million.....Now the G&WSR finds it has to deal with another significant landslip at Chicken Curve, on the Toddington side of Winchcombe station. This is estimated to take several months to repair , and another £500,000. Your suggestions would be most welcome. Visit the G&WSR website at http://www.gwsr.com/.
Two steam locomotives are featured in this edition of "On Shed", but not for the same reason!
Firstly, Tornados status and return to the mainline is explained in a press release from the A1 Locomotive Trust.
Secondly, we introduce Hengist........more later!
And misfortune strikes at Newport Docks......
May we remind everyone about POTM (Photographer of the Month), free listings on Steambay (where you can advertise your unwanted railwayania), Steam Tube Productions DVDs, and the Links page where they can list their own links to their own railway related sites - all the benefits of being a Steamtube member
Now lets take a look at whats on offer in "On Shed" this month....
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Video Highlights
Morrie Greenbergs nostalic videos have been well received. Here is an example of life as it was...
The BFI collection has come up with some evocative films from the end of the 19th century.
This view from an engine front through Barnstaple in 1898 has attracted over 300 views...
And this 1932 film of the "Michelin auto-trein" from Marc Bostyn,will remind SMJ afficianados of the short lived Ro-Railer which ran from Stratford SMJ station to the LMS owned Welcombe Hotel on the Warwick Road a couple of miles out of the town.
And Ronis two uploads were well worth the waiting!!
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Photographic Highlights
35028 Clan Line (Keith Lancaster)
SNCF: 141 R 420 (Marc Petit)
Isle of Wight Railway (Gary Miele)
45690 Jubilee Leander at Sheffield Midland in 1962 (Gordon Crapper)
Two Kings at Paddington..(Fred Lewis)
Hard Uphill Work (Marc Bostyn)
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Around The World in 80 Railways
No. 9: Berlin to Warsaw
This leg of our journey will take us due east from Berlin..to Warsaw.
The Euro-City trains operate three times a day from Berlin to Warsaw. The journey takes approximately 6 hours
Think Berlin, and you probably think of the Berlin Wall...and if you think that, then you probably recall the fall of the Wall......
Since then, travel has opened up across former seemingly impenetrable borders....
Now a five hour trip on the Berlin- Warsaw Express can take you to the heart of Poland.
The Berlin-Warsaw Express is arriving at Berlin Mainstation
TSM1593 on YouTube
Train Travel In Poland
Gliwice Station Poland PKP TRAINS 110908
A day spent filming trains in Poland ,,a very busy station with freight and passenger services in and out constantly a mixture of coal, steel,departmental trains and intercity passenger services ,arriving from Poznan in the west and from Krakow Gliwice Station Poland.(XxBec3509 on YouTube)
Steam enthusiasts can always enjoy the Wolsztyn Experience.
Current services are 2 round trips a day from Wolsztyn to Poznan funded by Wielkopolska Regional Government and operated by PKP Cargo, some 200 miles of steam train operation per day. During the next two years there is a proposed rebuilding of the track bed from Wolsztyn to Poznan When firm dates are known and the effect on the steam service is known details will be posted here at http://www.thewolsztynexperience.org/
Here is an example of what you might expect on this excellent steam train experience:
Steam at Wolsztyn, March 13-15 2007..Slow night train through Poland at Katowice.(Ronik24 on YouTube)
Now, we can move on to Around the World in 80 Railways..Part 10.
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LIRR ride to Ronkonkoma
The recent winter weather has given Steam Tubes army of photographers opportunity to get that classic winter steam shot.....
But here is a winter scene with a difference, found on YouTube, uploaded by PinePowerLI under the title: LIRR ride to Ronkonkoma after the snow .....Enjoy...
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ON THIS DAY
06/02/1964 1964: Green light for Channel Tunnel
The British and French Governments have announced their commitment to build a tunnel under the English Channel.
Both countries now have the capital and technical skills to bring the project - first mooted 162 years ago - to life but their official statements do not give a definite timetable.
British Transport Minister Ernest Marples told the House of Commons: "It remains to be decided when and how best the expense involved can be sustained."
The scheme - first proposed by Napoleon as an invasion strategy - has the keen support of French President Charles de Gaulle.
Precise details of design, engineering and financing still need to be confirmed, but the Channel Tunnel is most likely to be a twin-tunnelled rail link, costing at least £160m and taking five years to build.
The Channel Tunnel finally opened, a year late, in 1994, leaving Eurotunnel with debts of £925m a year later.
By 1999 Eurotunnel declared its first net profit.
It was voted the best construction achievement of the 20th century in a survey of 400engineers in March 1999.
13/02/1952
Bristol Castle (7013) substitutes for 4082 Windsor Castle on King George VI ‘s funeral train..bearing 4082’s nameplates etc, which were never returned to the actual locomotive.
26/02/1977
The final members of Class 52 diesel hydraulic locomotives (Westerns) ran on BR bringing to an end the independence of the Western Region and the GWR and the end of Swindon rule . From: John Stone
Westerns Galore - A John Edkins film.
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28/02/1975
A London Underground train has crashed at Moorgate, killing the driver and at least 29 passengers and injuring more than 70 in the worst-ever Tube disaster.
The 0837 train from Drayton Park to Moorgate was packed with commuters going to work when it overshot the platform and ploughed into a dead-end tunnel at 0846.
Passengers on platform nine said the train appeared to shudder and accelerate as it arrived at the station.
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Tornado- A1 Locomotive Trust Press Release
(Wednesday, 12 January 2011 16:24)The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust today announced that Tornado’s boiler would be returning to its manufacturer, DB Meiningen, in Germany, following the discovery that more extensive repairs to Tornado’s firebox were needed than originally anticipated when the winter maintenance was planned. Although the full extent of the repairs has yet to be agreed with DB Meiningen, they will include the replacement of several hundred fixed stays and a number of flexible stays as well as repairs to ??cracks in the two back and two front corners of the foundation ring. Only a very small number of weeping stays were identified out of the more that 2,000 in the firebox and therefore the overwhelming majority of the firebox stay replacements are precautionary to prevent further unplanned work during periods in traffic. The boiler will be lifted from Tornado’s frames later this week at the NRM, York, and sent by road and ferry to Germany where a full assessment of the required work will be made and a rectification plan agreed with Trust engineers. The Trust decided to return the boiler to its manufacturers due to their intimate knowledge of the construction of this type of firebox and the resources they have available to rapidly effect the agreed repairs. The firebox has already been inspected by the Trust’s boiler inspector and representatives from its VAB, insurance company and operators.
Mark Allatt, chairman, The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, commented:
"Although these problems with Tornado’s firebox are part of learning about the locomotive in today’s operational environment, they are a source of great disappointment to all of Tornados supporters and customers and our customers passengers. As a part of our commitment to get Tornado back on the main line as soon as possible the Trust decided that the most appropriate course of action was to return the boiler to its manufacturers. We are working as hard as we can to bring Tornado back to full health and onto the main line at the end of April."
Tornados boiler is now en-route to DB Meiningen, Germany. Upon arrival early next week it will be inspected and a plan of repair work to the firebox agreed with A1SLT engineers.
Source: A1 Locomotive Trust.
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HENGIST -A BRITISH RAILWAYS CLAN CLASS 6MT 4-6-2 PACIFIC STEAM LOCOMOTIVE
This is a project that will see a British Railways Standard Class 6 Mixed Traffic engine built for service on preserved heritage lines.
The following material, taken from The Standard Steam Locomotive Companys website, introduces us to this class...(http://72010-hengist.org/index.html)
The first British Railways Standard Class 6, 4-6-2 Mixed Traffic engine was turned out at Crewe Works in 1952 at a cost of £20,426 and carried the number 72000.
It was designed and built under the direction of Mr R. A. Riddles, Member for Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Railway Executive. The parent design office was Derby, but, as in the case of other B.R. standard locomotives, all the Regional drawing offices contributed to various sections of the design.
No. 72000 had two cylinders, 19.5in. dia., by 28in. stroke, coupled wheels 6ft. 2in. diameter and 225 lbs/sq in boiler pressure, giving a starting tractive effort of 27,520 lbs. This made the design suitable for passenger and fast freight working of the type handled by the L.M.R. Class 6 engines and the harder turns worked by the regional Class 5 locomotives.
The chassis was identical to the larger Britannia Class engine, except for minor details, but the boiler was smaller, and this enabled the maximum axle load to be kept down to 19 tons, giving the engine a route availability at least as good as the various regional Class 5, 4-6-0 engines.
Ten of these engines were built as part of the 1951 Locomotive Renewal Programme, numbered 72000 - 72009, and all were allocated to the Scottish Region. They were named after Scottish Clans.
Historical Notes
British Railways planned to build a total of 118 Class 6 Clans to work alongside 91 Class 7 Britannias. The first 5 of the next batch of 15, lot 242 were destined for the Southern Region, the remaining 10 for the Scottish Region which was scheduled to receive a total allocation of 40. The Southern Region had one hundred and forty modern Bullied Pacifics and extensive electrification, the need for a further 5 small Pacifics is odd, however there is evidence that the cost of re-building the remaining West Country Class Bullieds* was being weighed up against the cost of turning out new machines, also the rebuilding increased the weight which reduced the Bullied route availability.
The S. and D. route at the time under Southern Region control was in need of about five class 6 locomotives. Borrowing engines and having to resort to a lot of double heading over this steep and twisty route, not disimilar to the steep and twisty line to Stranraer over which the Clans excelled. A Crewe built loco for a line traditionally supplied by the LMS seems appropriate and such traditions are engrained in railways, and this is borne out by Ivo Peters memoirs who recalls a rumour that Bath Green Park shed was being allocated five Clans.
In 1954 there was an international steel shortage which all but halted locomotive production. During this lull the government decided to bring dieselisation forward, cancelling orders for new steam railway locomotives, starting with express passenger types, i.e. the Clans and Britannias. There is evidence that the next batch of Clans and Britannias had been started and were in fact cut up before completion.
*Bullied Pacifics were extensively re-built by British Railways, to replace the novel chain drive valve gear and oil bath with standard valve motion and remove the air smooth casing. A running plate was added and the engines re-styled to look like a B.R. Standard Britannia Class. The alterations reduced maintenance costs and improved reliability but added 6 tons to the overall weight.
Clans in Service
In August 1952 Mr K.R.M. Cameron, Running and Maintenance Officer on the Scottish Region, wrote a report on the Clans in service. The official runs were taken on all Clans in both directions between Glasgow and Carlisle, when they were first put to work in the Region. In essence the report is a glowing one, just a few minor niggles such as draughtiness, position of the chain on the firing flap and the cylinder overload valves required adjustment. The records of the runs do however draw attention to the difference between what a professional locomotive inspector considers a good run, and what an enthusiastic lay train timer considers a good run, a difference in viewpoint which probably accounts for why the enthusiasts thought less of the locos than did the Regional Motive Power Department.
Mr. Camerons assessment of the boiler and firebox;Few repairs have been necessary where the boilers of the class 6 engines are concerned, and no real difficulties have been experienced. He confidently states that,the firebox arrangement with its short wide firegrate is most efficient, and an ample supply of steam is assured for a minimum of fuel consumed, which is just about all that could be hoped for from any boiler. He also observes that to the crews, who were so used to long narrow boxes,the performance obtained from the new type of boiler comes as a revelation. The only problem he noted was,the tendency with most Fireman until they become accustomed to the excellent steam producing qualities of the boiler, is to over-fire the engine, all these observations must have pleased E. S. Cox who lead the design team.
In conclusion Mr. Cameron the Running and Maintenance Officer for the Scottish Region rounds off his overall impression of the engines, it is correct to say that the British Standard Class 6, 4-6-2 locomotive, is capable of producing excellent results. He was pleased by the average coal consumption figures derived from the test runs (including one odd run which he draws attention to where the engine was obviously over fired) which returned an impressive 31.8lbs per mile*. He noted that the engines were light on water giving the crew considerable freedom between watering points, and goes on to conclude, The figures obtained for evaporation ratio are in consequence fairly high and there is no question that its free steaming capabilities are the outstanding feature of the new engines and over a long period, as Firemen become thoroughly accustomed to the working of the engines, considerable economics in fuel consumption will be realised. It is difficult to see how the report could have been any more glowing.
E.S.Cox in his book (British Railways Standard Steam Locomotives pub. Ian Allen) with respect to the same report, wrote the following; Such runs encountered by our timing enthusiast would be rated pedestrian to a degree, and if regularly repeated would earn the class an indifferent reputation. On the other hand the same running, consistently repeated, would be the Motive Power Officers ideal of how a railway should be properly run. He sums up by saying, The Clans earned full marks from their owning region; the same performances would probably contain hardly anything worth tabulating to interest the readers of the Railway Magazines.
If you want to be involved in this project - and Steam Tube has been able to help a project member (Tony Dance)obtain some technical details - then contact the project team on the above named website.
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ALONG THE TRANS SIBERIAN RAILWAY
Our journey along the Trans Siberian railway continues, bringing us nearer to the eastern end at Vladivostock.......
In this sequence, we travel near to and alongside Lake Baikal, the worlds deepest fresh water lake. Located near to the Mongolian border, Lake Baikal holds approximately 20% of all the liquid freshwater reserves on earth.....
More next month....
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For The Modellers
Another episode from this Simon Martin series..
"Hand of the Fair Maid" - Original Air Date, 10th September 2007.
This is the fifth episode of "The British Railway Series", in one part, with partially restored soundtrack. There are annotations showing the many problems with the filming and various character/face mixups and similar!
You can find more information on the original Episode Five here: http://www.britishrailwayseries.com/e...
Music composed by Kevin Macloed.
The contents of these videos, including all text and photos (except where credited otherwise) are ©Simon Martin 2010
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Disaster at Newport Dock.
Freightliner has been taking delivery of new GE locomotives...the Class 70s....
A recent mishap whilst unloading at Newport Dock, Wales (early January 2011), resulted in considerable damage to 70012...leaving it looking a little banana like..
The following clip shows the loading process...
The photograph shows the engine after the mishap....
Visit http://piermaster.blogspot.com/2011/01/mv-beluga-endurance.html for some photos of the good ones!
Read more "Railway Matters" at "Steam Tube News and Railway Matters channel"
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Half a century ago - West Coast Main Line spotting in 1961
By 1961 nearly all the principal expresses on the old LNWR main line were booked for the ubiquitous EE Type 4 diesels, later to become Class 40s. How I hated their two tone horns which reminded me just how rapidly these underpowered monsters had monopolised the slowed easy pre – electrification schedules on the West Coast route since 1958. But there was still much steam to be seen and no spotter then believed that they would start scrapping the ‘Coros’ the following year.
A visit to Northampton Castle early in January produced two EE Type 4 diesels (Class 40) on expresses a few of which took the Northampton loop at the time. Outer suburban trains seen were headed by Sulzer Type 2s (Class 24) but steam reigned supreme on freight including Aston (3D) Jubilee 45709 ‘Implacable’on an up wo
On Shed February 2011 edition
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