Extinct loco's we wish that had been saved.

[pH]

20 minutes ago, Wickham Green too said:

Disqualified ! .......... there are two of those on the Lakeside .........................

True - I had forgotten about them. I think I blanked them when they were painted in those weird colour schemes! It’s good to see them now both in the colour schemes they were withdrawn in. (I would still like a Derby-built one in “66 district grunge”, though.)

[Northmoor]

On 24/12/2020 at 21:33, ianmacc said:

A class 304. I was brought up in Macclesfield and all my trips to Manchester and Stoke involved a 304 with its bouncy seats, wooden panelled  windows and doors and those heaters that burned the skin off your calves!  One was preserved but the vandals destroyed it and it was cut not long after. Nearest survivor is a 308 driving trailer but the interior is totally different. 

Nice to see a couple of people wanted to preserve a 304.  We really did try in the AC Loco Group but mistakes made by us out of inexperience, a few key people changing their minds or making promises they couldn't possibly afford to deliver and some unbelievably myopic attitudes from other preservationists meant yes, it got vandalised before it could find a secure home.  A real shame as 304021 was a 1960s time-warp.  One day those involved will write the story, although we might wait for a few people to depart this world for fear they could get very upset at their reputations being tarnished.  Better we just learn and move on; the ACLG has achieved a huge amount since.

 

Other non-steam I would want were a Class 16 (because they're extinct) and at least one more of the 15s that survived for so long as heating units.  800hp is ideal for most preserved lines.  Likewise more middle-sized tank locos of the Big Four (not GWR, they're well-represented) and BR Standards, which is why I support the 82045 project.  The LNER generally fared badly in preservation.

Edited December 25, 2020 by Northmoor
Extra text

[2750Papyrus]

Moel Tryfan.

 

Single Fairlie from the NWNGR/WHR scrapped by the Festiniog Railway in the early days of the preservation era.

 

[johnofwessex]

OK, my main interest these days is the S&D but my nominations would be

 

1. The LMS Twins, 10000 & 10001 as the firsy UK main line diesels

2. An I3 as the first superheated loco

3. More 2251's, rather nice looking loco's & a handy size for most preservation jobs

[Ben B]

One from the past; the Lickey Banker, "Big Bertha".  As an important one-off, it's such a shame it couldn't have been squirrelled away at Derby somewhere (mind you, that didn't save items like the North London 4-4-0 tanks, so maybe not).  What can I say, I had a watercolour print of "Big Bertha" on my wall when I was little, and was genuinely upset at age three when I asked to see the real thing and the train-mad relative who'd bought me the print said the loco had been scrapped.  I think it was the first time I realised that a locomotive could get the chop.  OK so as a preserved loco it would be next to useless on a preserved line (though maybe the KWVR could use it as a banker on gala days!) but it would look amazing somewhere like the MOSI in Manchester, or the NRM.

 

One from more recent times;  this beast visited the KWVR for the 50th Gala, and was utterly stunning.

 

 

I vaguely remember seeing this rusting, faded, and very much neglected when I was younger (in the yard at York maybe).  I know it's back to being stuffed and mounted now, but when it was running, it was magnificent- it should have looked so utterly out of place on a Yorkshire MR branch line, and to be fair it was... but it looked glorious!  (I've attached one of my shots, of the unit climbing out of Keighley for Oxenhope).  And I know attitudes towards preserving 'modern' stuff now are different to how it was even a decade or two ago, but... Imagine how magnificent this would look with both power cars and a matching rake of trailer cars on the mainline?  All the more horrible knowing how late the second power car survived, only chopped in the 1990's!  At least this one car survived, but as the prototype for arguably the most successful train built in the UK in the late 20th Century, and one that ushered in an age of resurgence in UK rail transport, it would have been nice to see both cars preserved...

Edited December 26, 2020 by Ben B
Spelling/grammar correction

[CKPR]

My mundane choice would be one of the Furness 0-6-0s that plodded on (with L&Y replacement boilers) into the late 1950s.

[great central]

Following up the comment about the LNER being poorly represented, can I suggest both the Thompson L1 and Gresley V1 or V3? Ideal for preserved lines, along with an ex GC A5.

[MarkC]

5 minutes ago, great central said:

Following up the comment about the LNER being poorly represented, can I suggest both the Thompson L1 and Gresley V1 or V3? Ideal for preserved lines, along with an ex GC A5.

The A1 Trust are looking at eventually building a V3, as I recall

[great central]

Just now, MarkC said:

The A1 Trust are looking at eventually building a V3, as I recall

 

Yes I think it will follow on after the V4, which of course needs the P2 to be completed first. 

Can I add K2 and/or K3 to my suggestions as well. That a K3 lasted until 1966 as a stationary boiler at Colwick is all the more regrettable, if only it had been sold to Woodhams.....

[Will Crompton]

A class 74 electro-diesel. I'll get me coat.

[John-Miles]

Midland 2P and 3F. Also I would like to suggest fewer Manors should have been preserved. I get fed up of going to preserved railways and their main offering is a Manor. It's almost as if nothing else ever existed and the lack of variety is boring. (I know I am well out of sync with mainstream opinion but that's the price of being cranky).

[D826]

Met F Class 0-6-2, because my Dad drove them, and I have a photo of him driving L52 near Gt Missenden in the early 1950s, taken by CRL Coles. 

 

A WR County 4-6-0, - I always liked the look of the straight splashers, and once my above mentioned father drove pannier tanks he was a disciple to the mantra that NOTHING bad ever came out of Swindon Works.  He loved the Panniers, (Red variety), said they would pull anything, but said stopping was the skill - and talked about the teamwork of good driver, fireman and guard with the coal and pway trains he drove.

 

For diesels, a full class 120 DMU set, and a North British Warship, both the D600 and 800 variety to complete the hydraulic set in preservation.

 

Cheers.

 

Matt W

[ianmacc]

3 hours ago, Will Crompton said:

A class 74 electro-diesel. I'll get me coat.

I think the class 74 was the most recent main line modern image class to go extinct. 
 

Classes 21 and “41” in Barry in 1980. Class 74 in 1981.

Edited December 26, 2020 by ianmacc

[Wickham Green too]

I'd advance the class 151 as a more recent extinction ........ yes, a unit rather than a loco and it didn't exactly do a lot of miles in traffic - but a rather stylish design !

[TravisM]

On 27/12/2020 at 16:45, Wickham Green too said:

I'd advance the class 151 as a more recent extinction ........ yes, a unit rather than a loco and it didn't exactly do a lot of miles in traffic - but a rather stylish design !

I have to agree with you regarding the Class 151, far more stylish than the Class 150’s.  I was told that no more were built apart from the two prototypes as Met-Camm were either going through the process or had been awarded the contract for the Class 156’s.

Edited December 28, 2020 by jools1959

[cheesysmith]

The 151, the prototype built by looking at what was wanted, based on the DMU services around the factory. Light aluminium body and hot shifting multi stage gearbox for better acceleration on busy commuter line, Vs the BR design of standard body shells and copying the ultra reliable drive train already proven under the NS DMUs for the cheapest modern DMU to get it past the government bean counters.

[cheesysmith]

Actually the above post has reminded me, I do hope some sprinters are preserved as the miles they did out of the box to keep the local BR network running as the old DMUs virtually disintegrated was nothing short of increadible.

[Northmoor]

7 hours ago, cheesysmith said:

Actually the above post has reminded me, I do hope some sprinters are preserved as the miles they did out of the box to keep the local BR network running as the old DMUs virtually disintegrated was nothing short of incredible.

I totally agree; the 158/159s in particular have done exceptional work and all represent part of railway history.  Travelling back and forth up the North & West route on 158s might not have had the charm of a 33 + Mark 1s but was quick and comfortable.  I can think of a couple of railways that if they seriously wanted to operate "public" services, a couple of 156s would be ideal.

[S&DJR Brian]

Johnson 0-4-4 Tank would have been lovely. Would look great at Midsomer Norton nowadays.

[billbedford]

Are there any locos that wouldn't find a place on this list?

[great central]

2 hours ago, Northmoor said:

I totally agree; the 158/159s in particular have done exceptional work and all represent part of railway history.  Travelling back and forth up the North & West route on 158s might not have had the charm of a 33 + Mark 1s but was quick and comfortable.  I can think of a couple of railways that if they seriously wanted to operate "public" services, a couple of 156s would be ideal.

 

If you start saving your pennies now, there's likely to be a number of 156s and 158s available in a couple of years. All the EMR fleet is slated for replacement by 'new' 170s, given that there are some of the 153s now stored with limited likelihood of further use I doubt there'll be takers for all the released units, especially given the downturn in passenger numbers.

[Zomboid]

4 hours ago, Northmoor said:

I can think of a couple of railways that if they seriously wanted to operate "public" services, a couple of 156s would be ideal

A 159 would be highly appropriate for Wareham to Swanage trains

[slilley]

On 26/12/2020 at 13:45, Will Crompton said:

A class 74 electro-diesel. I'll get me coat.

Well a bit of Class 74 does survive. The Paxman engine from 74009 is in Class 14 D9526.

[ianmacc]

21 hours ago, Wickham Green too said:

I'd advance the class 151 as a more recent extinction ........ yes, a unit rather than a loco and it didn't exactly do a lot of miles in traffic - but a rather stylish design !

Agree it was a nice looking unit and survived a long time after withdrawal before succumbing to the cutter’s torch.  If we are including units then a whole lot have gone extinct since 1981 and will continue to do so. 

[ianmacc]

20 hours ago, jools1959 said:

I have to agree with you regarding the Class 151, far more stylish than the Class 150’s.  I was told that no more were built apart from the two prototypes as they were either going through the process or had been awarded the contract for the Class 156’s.

Interesting. I thought it was simply because they were just not as good as the 150s in operational testing.