Peterborough North

[Clive Mortimore]

It has to be one of Mr Whale's very fine rebuilds of Mr Webb's 4 cylinder compound class B locomotives, a class E.

[JamieR4489]

O4/5. It combines the grace of the O4s and the ruggedness of the O2s.

[stewartingram]

8F from the LMS, and the good old WD 2-8-0.

 

Stewart

[bigwordsmith]

Sadly I'm going to have to agree with Stewart on the 2-8-0 - 8F from Mr. Stanier

[31A]

Well it's a pity the North Eastern didn't have any 2-8-0s - so I'll go with the GN O2!

 

[Grafarman]

Another vote for a Stanier 8F...followed by a Collett 2884, but only because I've seen 3802 up close and personal...!

[manna]

G'Day Folks

 

O2, with the GN cab, but the Gresley O1 is only half inch behind.

 

manna

[A Murphy]

04/1, the original. O4/7 as a close run second 

 

Alastair M

[great northern]

I don't think we should be too parochial with this. Obviously this is a GN themed thread, but if there are locos of other companies/regions which we think are the best, no apologies needed for nominating them.

[Market65]

Thank you, Gilbert, but my contender is the 02 with the GN cab. A lovely locomotive.

 

Rob.

[CCGWR]

Graceful has to be the GW 2800 but I would say the 2884 is better looking just from the cab perspective. However, the 47xx is the best, just beasts, especially with a Collett 4000g tender.

 

Connor

Edited May 11, 2020 by CCGWR

[thegreenhowards]

The O2 with GN cab and tender for me. I’m not being parochial, I just love Gresley’s designs!

 

The O6 (how’s that for parochial!) is a pretty close second and I also love the clean lines of the Thompson O1. I must be alone in not liking the O4 - I find it looks rather old fashioned (if a steam engine can ever be modern).

 

Andy

 

[Metropolitan H]

It has got to be the GWR 47xx class - 2-8-0 with 5ft 8in wheels for big fast van trins and passenger etc.

 

No contest.

 

Regards

Chris H

[St Enodoc]

I've tried to resist but can't any longer...

 

WD

[mullie]

WD and 8f for me

[jazzer]

This is a difficult one . It’s amazing that anything designed for 100% utility , not looked after , never cleaned, crusted in limescale, and generally abused, can not only still look great but so many variations can still compete for best looking.

Its almost unfair to pick one in favour of another.

I like the GWR 28xx and 47xx , but  the Stanier 8F was one of the few locos that Sir William managed to make look as good or better  than the other companies equivalents of I’ll go for that .

[30368]

Attractive and graceful 2-8-0? I think these are troublesome adjactive's when applied to a 2-8-0. I rather like the look of most of Gresley's designs and the O4/5 design had an almost classical simplicity of form appropriate to its job. The S&DJR 7F design is interesting but like a big 4F really - didn't they have the same size axle journals as the 4F??

 

Attractive and graceful for me (and I am no fan of the GWR but clearly Churchward was one of the truly great loco engineers) is best expressed by the 28XX class with the 47XX second because the boiler looks ungainly in my view. I have rejected the 2-8-0T's as not qualifying.

 

Pity there is no SR contender, shame Mr Urie's 2-8-0 was not built, guess it would have been based on the S15?

 

Kind regards,

 

Richard B

[trw1089]

I’m not sure graceful comes to mind, but Dub D and 8F are pretty close, but the Dub D pips Stanier’s workhorse because of its closer wheel spacing and clean lines.

 

Cheers

Tony

[great northern]

I'm sure you will all remember Sir Archibald Loco-holic, our railway loving millionaire magnate. Well, he had an Uncle who lived near Sheffield. I say had, because the old skinflint died a while back. His widget factory had made him even richer that Archie, and he liked locomotives too.  Anyway, Archie got a letter telling him that his uncle had left him something, a memento of their shared love of trains, and so off he went to the factory, just off the Sheffield - Doncaster line, and sought out a minion to find out where it might be. After some dark looks and mutterings about bl***dy old slave driving nutters, he was directed to a large building in a remote part of the site. The doors had obviously not been opened for some years, but after a struggle, he got inside, and to his amazement, he found this.

 

 

 

 

It didn't look like this at all, in fact it was as it had been when withdrawn in 1947. Archie had steadily been getting even richer, and some might say more addled in the head, so he went off to Doncaster, where he had some useful friends, and in great secrecy got them to overhaul and repaint it in its former glory. Now he has done a deal with BR, and it will apparently get the occasional run out either on the E.Lincs or the M&GN. So here it is, shortly to go on New England shed, where it will be based.

 

I suppose you want the truth now. I've been tempted to get a C1 ever since they were first announced, but couldn't make my mind up. I was thinking about the NRM black BR one, but they'd sold out while I was still messing about trying to decide, and that was going to be that. However, when this lockdown started, I thought I would have a look and see if any were still available. After all, it is an integral part of the history of the ECML. It would also give me a boost, and something to look forward to. Took a while to get here, as TMC are short handed like everyone else, but by coincidence it arrived this morning, was disinfected and unpacked, and on the layout very quickly.

 

Sir Archie insists that it is kept in pristine condition, but nevertheless , when it becomes feasible, I shall ask Tim to give it a slightly more in service look.

[great northern]

I see that during the course of today I have managed to make my 10,000th post on here. Some kind of landmark that, but I'm not quite sure what. I shan't look back to see what percentage of it has been drivel.

[jwealleans]

That's it, it's started...... 1938, here we come......

[Bazza]

Hi, Very pleased you got your Ivatt Atlantic, a very attractive loco. Behind that footstep by the driving wheels is a finger width gap between the driving wheel flanges. No wonder Bachmann went for undersize wheels. I'm a Western Region modeller but I bought one of these too. And I nominate the 47XX as the most impressive 2-8-0 in Great Britain.

 

Bazza

[Woodcock29]

I like a lot of the 2-8-0s and have models of lots of different ones including from foreign railways out west even. But we need to look to home territory, whilst I love the O4, when it comes to picking my favourite it has to be an O2, but which version?

 

At the end of the day I've chosen the O2/2.

 

Andrew

[great northern]

1 hour ago, jwealleans said:

That's it, it's started...... 1938, here we come......

Only about 250 coaches needed Jonathan. Are you volunteering?

[great northern]

Sitting here with mug of tea, and starting to warm up after my walk. That wind is freezing. Still, it got me walking even quicker than usual. Our teatime image is again of 60105, the train being the 6.20 Leeds, not what some idiot was trying to tell you earlier.

 

 

Taken much earlier in the day than usual, this is much more successful into the light, though even now a signal is begiining to be bleached out.

Edited May 11, 2020 by great northern
to correct spelling