Pacific Ocean Drained?

[ikks]

I was there (Tamworth field) in the late fifties and the two names for the signals were "clanger(s) or "peg(s)" , I never heard the word Duchess used for Stanier's Magnum Opus all of the various varities of Coronation Pacifics were always Semis to us spotters at least. Wonderful times.

 

Mike

[Compound2632]

Clangers - that's it. From my father's account this was specific to the main or fast lines, heralding the approach of something notable.

[Steven B]

Loose the tender and there are plenty of 4-6-2s to have a go at:

LNWR Prince of Wales

NER Y Class

LB&SCR J1

GCR 9N (LNER A5)

Caledonian 944 class

LSWR H16

 

[The Johnster]

14 hours ago, BernardTPM said:

Didn't Buliied build one or two Pacifics?

He did, but not pre-war which is what I was talking about.  

[The Johnster]

I had an aunty Nora in Tamworth and was taken by her husband, Uncle Bob, to the field in the late 50s, about 58 or 9 I think, which would make me 7 or 8 years old, but it made a memorable impression on me.  We didn't have locos that big or trains that fast in South Wales!  The spotters called the Duchess pacifics 'Semi's' in those days, and I never understood this at the time.  I later found out that 'Semi Streamlined' Duchesses were those with the sloping smokebox top, but there were none of those left by the time I visited; the name had obviously been passed down by generations of spotters...

 

Of named trains, I recall the 'Caledonian', with a maroon liveried loco to match the coaches; I'd never  imagined such a thing existed!

[BernardTPM]

18 minutes ago, The Johnster said:

He did, but not pre-war which is what I was talking about.  

Sorry, yes.

[The Johnster]

11 hours ago, ikks said:

I was there (Tamworth field) in the late fifties and the two names for the signals were "clanger(s) or "peg(s)" , I never heard the word Duchess used for Stanier's Magnum Opus all of the various varities of Coronation Pacifics were always Semis to us spotters at least. Wonderful times.

 

Mike

Signals were called boards on the WR, though my spotting adventures in the late 60s in the north of England familiarised me with 'pegs'.  Never heard of clangers, but it's a very suitable name for something that makes exactly that noise when returned to danger...

[ikks]

On 02/08/2019 at 16:56, Compound2632 said:

Clangers - that's it. From my father's account this was specific to the main or fast lines, heralding the approach of something notable.

Yes, Ithink you're right, the excited shout from the assembled throng was , when the home signal went off was "clanger on the main" and when the distant on the same post went off the cry was "double clanger" and everyone migrated towards the railings.

" but there were none of those left by the time I visited".....Johnster there were still two as I recall at that time....Lancaster and Manchester, the last being given the full cylindrical smokebox sometime in 1960. I would have seen them in the former state but fortunately I don't remember them. From photos I have I think they looked very ordinary!!

 

Rgds........Mike

Edited August 3, 2019 by ikks

[melmerby]

On 02/08/2019 at 08:09, ikks said:

I was there (Tamworth field) in the late fifties and the two names for the signals were "clanger(s) or "peg(s)" , I never heard the word Duchess used for Stanier's Magnum Opus all of the various varities of Coronation Pacifics were always Semis to us spotters at least. Wonderful times.

 

Mike

 

Likewise.

Clanger normally referred to one particular set of signals which returned to on with a more noticeable clang.

Not Duchesses - ever. Semi, usually, or sometimes Corrie/Coronation.

[Gibbo675]

22 minutes ago, ikks said:

Yes, Ithink you're right, the excited shout from the assembled throng was , when the home signal went off was "clanger on the main" and when the distant on the same post went off the cry was "double clanger" and everyone migrated towards the railings.

" but there were none of those left by the time I visited".....Johnster there were still two as I recall at that time....Lancaster and Manchester, the last being given the full cylindrical smokebox sometime in 1960. I would have seen them in the former state but fortunately I don't remember them. From photos I have I think they looked very ordinary!!

 

Rgds........Mike

Hi Mike,

 

Looking at the build dates, the Streamliners were built in five batches as listed below:

1. 6220-6224, 1937.
2. 6225-6229, 1938.
3. 6235-6239, 1939.
4. 6240-6244, 1940.
5. 6245-6248, 1943.

Given that a smoke box ought to last approximately fifteen years before becoming conditionally beyond repair, 1960 seems about the maximum limit for a replacement of such a component carried by a locomotive built in the early to mid 1940's as were 6243 and 6248. Most having been replaced by the mid 1950's. It is possible that the two mentioned locomotives may have been given lower half replacements as was a common repair for the top half may have been in good enough condition to be retained.

 

Gibbo.

[ikks]

Lancaster got the round smokebox in 11/58 ,

Manchester 5/60 without going into too much more detail, a number of others we altered in earlier 1958.

 

Mike

[The Johnster]

To be honest, I'm not sure that I'd have noticed at that age with a loco bearing down on me that quickly, but I remember seeing about 4 of the pacifics, no Lizzies, during the hour or so I was there with Uncle Bob.  I was looking for Princess Elizabeth of course; I had 3 black ones at home!  I wouldn't have noticed the difference between a Scot and a Patriot, or a Black 5 and a Jubilee, in all probability, but the action was more or less continuous and I was only vaguely aware of the Midland on the high level...

[Steamport Southport]

On 02/08/2019 at 08:09, ikks said:

I was there (Tamworth field) in the late fifties and the two names for the signals were "clanger(s) or "peg(s)" , I never heard the word Duchess used for Stanier's Magnum Opus all of the various varities of Coronation Pacifics were always Semis to us spotters at least. Wonderful times.

 

Mike

 

I was far too young to see steam.  But I have talked to quite a few ex drivers and firemen from the period over the years.

 

Apart from using the power classification such as 7P or 8P, they called them Duchesses or Big Lizzies, occasionally Cities. Coronations were the streamlined ones. None ever called them a semi, that was a trainspotters term.

 

They never called them Princess Coronations either.

 

Princesses were called Princesses (obviously), Lizzies or Corkies. The latter was something to do with the cork in the oiling points often working loose and needing to be replaced.

 

I've also never heard a proper railwayman refer to a 5MT as a Black Five or a Jubilee/5XP/6P as a Red Five. Black Eight is a definite no-no.

 

 

Jason

[Steamport Southport]

As for the OP.

 

I can't see there being much demand for the Raven A2s and they would have a real problem with curves. DJH did a very limited edition kit and it's never been reissued. I can see the Thompsons selling though, even if they are a bit ungainly. Although if you really wanted one then kits are available from PDK and DJH for most of the varieties.

 

The Great Bear and Turbomotive would sell very well IMO.

 

One everyone has forgotten. 46202 Princess Anne. I've already got most of the bits for that so I'm fine.

 

Maybe it's time for the WC/BB and rebuilt MN to be given a revamp though? They're getting on a bit now. Also the A1 and A3 needs a bit of attention to cure the "ski slope". The Clans as well. Plenty of traction in the Pacifics yet.

 

 

 

Jason

[autocoach]

2 minutes ago, Steamport Southport said:

 

 

 

 

Maybe it's time for the WC/BB and rebuilt MN to be given a revamp though? They're getting on a bit now.

 

 

Jason

Living not far from the shores of said Pacific Ocean, I was at first somewhat alarmed at the title of this topic. 

 

The WC/BB revamp must (emphatic imperative intended) include an 1945-47 original cab version and some attention to the mechanical aspects of the drive rods. Most of the spam cans I am interested in still had the original cab well into the early 1950's.  My current fleet of WC's (all two of them) are laid up out of service with out of quarter drivers caused by binding rods.  And, I have recently lost too much manual dexterity to fully utilize RT's impending etch for the original cabs.

[The Johnster]

Locomens’ and spotters’ nicknames for things would make a good subject for a book, or at least a big magazine article!  For instance, when I worked as a guard at Canton in the 70s, we called anything a spotter might’ve referred to as a Peak, class 44/5/6, as a Crompton, irrespective of which transmission equipment it had.  Bristol men also called them that, and I don’t recall the Saltley or Derby blokes we ran into at Gloucester calling them anything different. 

 

When Canton got Cromptons a few years later, they were called class 33s. There must be many instances of this sort of thing from all over the country. 

[laurenceb]

10 minutes ago, The Johnster said:

Locomens’ and spotters’ nicknames for things would make a good subject for a book, or at least a big magazine article!  For instance, when I worked as a guard at Canton in the 70s, we called anything a spotter might’ve referred to as a Peak, class 44/5/6, as a Crompton, irrespective of which transmission equipment it had.  Bristol men also called them that, and I don’t recall the Saltley or Derby blokes we ran into at Gloucester calling them anything different. 

 

When Canton got Cromptons a few years later, they were called class 33s. There must be many instances of this sort of thing from all over the country. 

Silver Link did one about 40 years ago

[melmerby]

1 hour ago, Steamport Southport said:

 

 Coronations were the streamlined ones. None ever called them a semi, that was a trainspotters term.

Jason

Although "Semi" was common spotters terminology, I could never really understand how it arose.

I was told "Semi-streamlined" but plainly they are far from that and a good few never had a slope top being non-streamlined from new.

By the time I was spotting many slope tops had been replaced anyway.

[The Johnster]

Similarly, when I was a spotter I referred to Brush Type 4s.  No railwayman I ever met had ever heard of these, but they had heard of Sulzers.  

[Compound2632]

5 hours ago, melmerby said:

Although "Semi" was common spotters terminology, I could never really understand how it arose.

I was told "Semi-streamlined" but plainly they are far from that and a good few never had a slope top being non-streamlined from new.

By the time I was spotting many slope tops had been replaced anyway.

 

I thought it was because they had been semi unstreamlined - the job had not been completed with a new smokebox.

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

On ‎03‎/‎08‎/‎2019 at 17:35, autocoach said:

Living not far from the shores of said Pacific Ocean, I was at first somewhat alarmed at the title of this topic...

I believe you have 200 million years to run yet. Then you can model the Gigantic Pacific Mountains line.

 

If this thread's contributors are any reflection of the market, looks like redos are the hot ticket to sort out ski jumps, ignored spamcan variants and return of the clans ...

[Flying Pig]

Someone will eventually work out how to get a pacific with outside rear frames round trainset curves, probably using quantum technology so that the rear truck can be simultaneously on the track and between the frames.  That will require a complete retooling of all existing models.  Owners with derailment problems will be told to adjust their complex amplitudes via CV 255+255i. DC users will moan bitterly on RMweb. 

 

The return crank will still point the wrong way and the motion bracket will still look like something made by Triang, so presumably at some stage those will be fixed with another retooling.  The above mentioned closing of the Pacific Ocean will delay production of these models, as Chinese factories are subducted into the Earth's mantle.  Would-be purchasers will not be happy and will vent their frustration on RMweb.

 

The ski slope problem will inevitably continue to worsen, probably due to dark energy as the universe expands and hence beyond Hornby's control.  DCC concepts will sell small self-adhesive black holes to fix the problem by bending spacetime locally. RMwebbers will moan that they cause derailments on 1st radius curves.

 

In some distant future epoch, people will stop buying new A3s, the seas will boil away and the Sun will engulf the Earth. A modern spec V2 will come to market.  RMweb users will moan about the price.

 

[KalKat]

That is wonderful!

 

 

Emma

[Dunsignalling]

Unless they decide to build some straight A3s, I'd think the next Pacific to emerge from Hornby is likely to be a reworked rebuilt MN, after all, the current one is rapidly approaching its 20th birthday.

 

There is plenty of scope for making it "different" courtesy of the three tender variants they've so far ignored, not to mention never having covered any of the first ten in rebuilt form.

 

I expect to see a couple more variations on the air-smoothed theme first though.

 

John

 

  

Edited August 10, 2019 by Dunsignalling

[autocoach]

4 hours ago, Dunsignalling said:

I expect to see a couple more variations on the air-smoothed theme first though.

 

John

 

  

Prey that it is so.....