Worst looking locomotive topic. Antidote to Best Looking Locomotive topic.

[maico]

.

Edited May 16, 2020 by maico

[The Johnster]

Hope I never acquire it...

[rodent279]

Reminds me of that whale that goes around with it's mouth open, feeding on plankton all day. Can't remember the name of the whale now.

[maico]

The ETR version, on the other hand, looks remarkable modern for a train entering service in 1936 and very quick at 126 mph

 

Edited May 9, 2020 by maico

[rodent279]

Was it someone on this thread that said they had seen a book on Russian stream locos, but couldn't get to the library at the moment?

Edited May 19, 2020 by rodent279

[The Johnster]

On 08/05/2020 at 22:17, rodent279 said:

Reminds me of that whale that goes around with it's mouth open, feeding on plankton all day. Can't remember the name of the whale now.

Blue.  Largest animal that has ever lived, bigger than any dinosaur.

[SHMD]

..sounded more like this one to me.

 

 

 

Kev.

[rodent279]

4 minutes ago, SHMD said:

..sounded more like this one to me.

 

 

 

Kev.

That's the one!

[Hroth]

On 08/05/2020 at 21:23, maico said:

The front of the Italian ATR 100 is a bit of an aquired taste

 

Sporting the Hannibal Lecter look.....

[pete_mcfarlane]

I'm reminded of the English Electric P1A and its gaping maw of an air intake. 

 

[whart57]

On 08/05/2020 at 21:23, maico said:

The front of the Italian ATR 100 is a bit of an aquired taste

 

 

Well if it's large radiators you are after:

 

 

And not much more handsome in profile

 

 

But they eventually got it right

 

[runs as required]

On 08/05/2020 at 21:23, maico said:

The front of the Italian ATR 100 is a bit of an aquired taste

 

On 08/05/2020 at 22:39, maico said:

The ETR version, on the other hand, looks remarkable modern for a train entering service in 1936 and very quick at 126 mph

 

 

16 hours ago, whart57 said:

 

Well if it's large radiators you are after:

 

 

And not much more handsome in profile

 

 

But they eventually got it right

 

 

Following a tip-off by an Italian friend, wife and I were delighted to ride that beautiful prewar ETR 200 a few years back during one of our memorable Italian holidays bumming round minor FS lines with an Horario (The deal was never to be on a train at mealtime, and a promise to find a b&b in time for a prosecco before an evening meal).

The train was appropriately (and proudly) in service on the old over-the-top Pistoia to Bologna line replaced by Mussolini's long Appennine tunnel direct to Forence.
The interior was an Italian art-deco extravaganza in shades of pale green . There was apassengers' view forward through the cab, via a strikingly deep blue tinted glass screen, to the line twisting through the mists above the snow line.

Unforgettable - and we were enjoying a wonderful al fresco Bolognese pasta by 12.30 (another tip off).

2

As regards the Fiat diesel AL car (and don't forget we had to buy back our own WCML APT from Fiat badged as their Pendelino), no one has yet mentioned that its - to me endearing cartoon character face - is Fiat's car brand 1930 radiator seen here on the best selling Ballila

 

Apparently Breda's version of the AL diesel railcar was wholly licenced from the GWR AEC Southall railcar.

 

I think the really sad thing about the last picture quoted above is that derivatives of these ALn cars still still run in the otherwise now totally wrecked Italian minor lines in SE Sicily - on screen: the glorious land of Camilleri's Inspector Montellbano.

 

 

.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 24, 2020 by runs as required
formatting probs

[pH]

I can't see that any of these three locos have featured already, but apologies if they have.

 

The Reid-Ramsey turbine electric:

Photo: http://www.douglas-self.com/MUSEUM/LOCOLOCO/reidrams/reidrams.jpg

Details: http://www.douglas-self.com/MUSEUM/LOCOLOCO/reidrams/reidrams.htm

 

The Reid-MacLeod turbine locomotive, built using parts of the Reid-Ramsey engine:

Photo: http://www.douglas-self.com/MUSEUM/LOCOLOCO/reidmac/morant1.jpg

Details: http://www.douglas-self.com/MUSEUM/LOCOLOCO/reidmac/reidmac.htm

 

The Kitson-Still steam-diesel locomotive (an engine everyone could like - or not!):

Photo: http://www.douglas-self.com/MUSEUM/LOCOLOCO/kitson/kitson1.jpg

Details: http://www.douglas-self.com/MUSEUM/LOCOLOCO/kitson/kitsonst.htm

[rodent279]

I actually rather like the Reid-MacLeod turbine. Oddly purposeful looking.

Edited May 25, 2020 by rodent279

[Flying Pig]

10 hours ago, pH said:

The Kitson-Still steam-diesel locomotive (an engine everyone could like - or not!):

 

An interesting experiment in thermodynamics and clearly styled by a steam designer raised in the tradition that the engineering plant didn't need hiding.  Imagine your favourite diesels with the bodywork mostly removed.

[lepidotos]

On 15/03/2020 at 08:08, The Johnster said:

which precludes the spectacularly ugly Bulleid CIE Turfburner (I have no problem with the look of 'Leader'), Paget, GER Decapod etc.

I don't think the Turfburner or Decapod are too bad, myself. At least not pre-rebuild Decapod... might be my American perspective here (as in, we have some real nasty-lookers over this way, and they're inoffensive compared). It's kind of hard to actually pick a single one, the western hemisphere isn't really known for good looking steam locomotives. I've narrowed it down a little here, but even then some of these are just categories.

Links lead to Wikimedia Commons

UP 844 is one, for feeling a bit fowardly lanky and awkward with those wall-like smoke deflectors.

While I'm all for the new-build, it doesn't help my opinion of how the PRR T1 looks. That opinion is a poor one.

Really just any time we've tried to do streamlining doesn't (yes, that last one is Canadian, but Canadian rail is basically U.S. rail) really work, aside from maybe the Hiawatha Atlantic. Though really that's just due to my lack of appreciation for streamlining in general, outside specific circumstances.

On the other hand, pure function-over-form isn't a recipe for success either, as seen in the New York Central L1 class.

And finally, any tender locomotive with more trailing wheels than leading ones, such as this S2 class Berkshire.

Runner up: While generally it looks fine, the LBSCR E4s' water tanks protruding far past the cab is something I'm really not keen on. It's fine that they're that wide, but at that point the running boards aren't much use for getting from one end of the locomotive to the other, so I don't see why the cab and coal bunker couldn't have just been made flush with the tanks.

Edited May 26, 2020 by lepidotos

[The Johnster]

13 hours ago, lepidotos said:

the western hemisphere isn't really known for good looking steam locomotives

Oi!  The entire GWR was located in the western hemisphere, west of the Greenwich Meridian...

 

The E1 was by no means the only locomotive in the UK that had tanks that overlapped the running plate; TVR 'O' series and the BR standard 4MT 2-6-4 tank come to mind.  The objective was of course to increase the capacity of the tanks without compromising the fore and aft balance of the loco, which increased range and put the weight above the driving wheels where it had the most effect on tractive effort. 

 

The need for footplatemen to leave the cab to oil around while running had disappeared with the introduction of mechanical lubriciators, IIRC one of the many good ideas from your side of the pond, in the 1890s, but many of the older drivers continued to do it.

 

I rather like UP's 844, which may be in line for the title of longest serving standard gauge steam locomotive with only one owner, and I rate the visually similar NYC Niagaras as the ultimate steam loco; 1,000 tons at 100mph service timetable booked times.  I have to agree with you about the Pennsy T1 and streamlined locos in general, but the Pennsy also produced the K4, the loco on which Gresley's pacifics are based, which to my mind combines a 'form follows function' ethic in combination with a very well balanced and proportioned aesthetic; they were pretty successful in service as well.  

 

I don't like streamlining on steam locos but have less objection on diesels or electrics, and love the GG1, another Lowey styled Pennsy.  The EMD F series are a 20th Century icon.  I'm usually approving of early box diesels and electrics, but don't like steeple cabs (or camelback steam).  Crocodiles, which I love, are not steeple cabs.  Budd Railcars are a bit bland, as are our Bulleid inspired emu and 'sprinter' stock.  I rather like the US designed and Canadian built EMD Class 66; the high set body over big bogies conveys bulk and muscle, a look shared with our 47s, 56s, and the Russian 'Mary'.

 

But most current US diesels are a bit too form-follows-function even for me, and similar looking locos are found worldwide.  

[tomparryharry]

Ah, good looking locomotives! Undoubtedly, the best looking American locomotives are the ones imported by the Barry Railway.....

 

Curiously, I have a soft spot for the South African locomotives, being a mixture of American & British practice, all mixed up on 3'6" gauge. Whenever I need cheering up, a video of the Class 26 Red Devil always works for me.

 

British railway services never had to compete with the airways, so we didn't get soggy sandwiches & thermos on a DH Rapide. Instead, we had full-blown catering services on the Cornish Riviera Limited. Our American cousins had equally sumptuous services on the long distance stuff, to directly compete with the DC-2's of the day.

[Steamport Southport]

18 hours ago, lepidotos said:

 

And finally, any tender locomotive with more trailing wheels than leading ones, such as this S2 class Berkshire.

Runner up: While generally it looks fine, the LBSCR E4s' water tanks protruding far past the cab is something I'm really not keen on. It's fine that they're that wide, but at that point the running boards aren't much use for getting from one end of the locomotive to the other, so I don't see why the cab and coal bunker couldn't have just been made flush with the tanks.

 

Possibly because they needed somewhere to put the Westinghouse Air Brake and it needed to be near the cab as they often needed to whack it with a hammer. 

 

They became more reliable later. But initial reliability problems was one of the reasons for them not being adopted by most UK railways. By that time most British railways had adopted vacuum brakes instead.

 

 

Jason

[Geevor Clayton Loco]

On 15/03/2020 at 17:39, Andy Kirkham said:

 

I'd agree about the Q1, it was an "alternative" aesthetic deliberately contrived to make a point and should be judged on its own terms.

 

What I find most disturbing are what you might call "Frankenstein" locomotives that look as if they've been put together from ill-assorted spare parts. There seem to have been quite a few Irish examples such as

 

 

and...

 

 

The open ended bearings on the 4-4-0 look almost identical to the triang ones. Or is the loco in the picture just missing the end caps?  

[lepidotos]

12 hours ago, The Johnster said:

Oi!  The entire GWR was located in the western hemisphere, west of the Greenwich Meridian...

 

If it's any consolation, so was the LMS. But alright, I'll specify a bit and say "the New World".

 

12 hours ago, The Johnster said:

The E1 was by no means the only locomotive in the UK that had tanks that overlapped the running plate; TVR 'O' series and the BR standard 4MT 2-6-4 tank come to mind.  The objective was of course to increase the capacity of the tanks without compromising the fore and aft balance of the loco, which increased range and put the weight above the driving wheels where it had the most effect on tractive effort. 

 

It's not so much that, the 4MT quoted is fine because the cab and bunker came along for the ride and it looks balanced as a result. It's that the cab and bunker aren't as wide as the water tanks.

Edited May 28, 2020 by lepidotos

[pH]

10 hours ago, Steamport Southport said:

 

Possibly because they needed somewhere to put the Westinghouse Air Brake and it needed to be near the cab as they often needed to whack it with a hammer. 

 

They became more reliable later. But initial reliability problems was one of the reasons for them not being adopted by most UK railways. By that time most British railways had adopted vacuum brakes instead.u

 

 

Jason

 

I've seen a coal hammer being applied to the ejector on a Fairburn tank, so not just air brakes.

Edited May 28, 2020 by pH

[The Johnster]

10 hours ago, lepidotos said:

 

22 hours ago, The Johnster said:

Oi!  The entire GWR was located in the western hemisphere, west of the Greenwich Meridian...

 

If it's any consolation, so was the LMS.  

 

Not the entire LMS; the ex London, Tilbury, and Southend was part of the LMS group, and penetrated some way east of the Meridian, having been connected closely with, and mostly owned by, the Midland. 

[The Johnster]

7 hours ago, pH said:

 

I've seen a coal hammer being applied to the ejector on a Fairburn tank, so not just air brakes.

If you spend time around steam locos, you’ll see most things having the gentle administration of the steam hammer applied to them sooner or later.  Everything was stiff or it would be shaken out of setting when the loco was running.  Bulleid and Riddles were the only CMEs to address this, and give thought to the ergonomics of the cab layout.  Bulleid’s pacifics were particularly advanced, with soft blue electrically backlit gauges and dials to preserve the drivers’ night vision. 

[whart57]

23 hours ago, The Johnster said:

the western hemisphere isn't really known for good looking steam locomotives

Oi!  The entire GWR was located in the western hemisphere, west of the Greenwich Meridian...

 

 

 

And your point is?