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great northern
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I think for an engine that was still working long after it was built it would have to be the J72. First built by the NER and still in production in the 50s. However, I don’t think the design shaped the future of the railways or influenced later designs. For that I’d vote for APT.

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I must go for the HST too, the train which revolutionised Inter City for BR, bringing in exceptionally smooth riding carriages at 125 mph, and air conditioning for everyone whether first or second class. It still looks modern even today on GWR or Scotrail.....

 

Rob.

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2 hours ago, great northern said:

The poll was again decided by an overnight vote from down under, which meant that Class 20 edged ahead of Class 15 by 8 votes to 7. There was only one vote for a shunter!

 

So, today's poll, the idea for which came from Trevor Page, and an excellent one it is. This may exercise your little grey cells a bit more, and it would be interesting to see the reasons for your decision, not just the loco concerned.

 

Here we go then. Designs which have stood the test of time.  So we are looking for locos  that were, or are, still doing the work for which they were designed at the beginning of their lives, many years on. Passenger or goods work, both are equally important. Which have had the greatest impact on the future of our railways, and which most influenced the development of design after their inception?

HST.

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HST even if it is Triggers Broom now with it's ghastly bus sound decoder.

 

What it demonstrated so clearly was simple solid engineering as an evolution rather than revolution works - compare with the APT which was too clever for it's own good and as a result got itself into the spotlight.  The APT should have been the future but it landed at just the wrong time due to it's long development and with the HST in fleet service it probably stopped electrification in it's tracks for everything but the ECML.

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Just to be different I would vote for the 73. If electrification schemes had gone ahead as planned we wouldn't have needed bi modal trains but such is politics.

 

The flexibility they give and their long service deserves recognition in my view alongside the HST which is a brilliant design.

 

Martyn

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I also vote for the HST, still going after over 40 years of service, made a huge impact on Intercity train travel in Britain even being used on the Cinderella Cross Country services! I miss the Valenta howl....

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My vote is divided:

 

Electric - LU (ex Metropolitan Railway) "Met-Vick" Bo-Bo Electric Loco No.12 "Sarah Siddons", built 1924, still owned and operated by the direct successors of its original owners - and never withdrawn!

 

Steam - Ffestiniog Railway "Double Fairlie" type 0-4-4-0 introduced 1869 and still considered the main loco class - specifically No. 10, Merddin Emrys, built by Festiniog Railway Company, (Boston Lodge), in 1879. In service.

 

Diesel - Class 43 HST Power car for the reasons given by others.

 

Regards

Chris H

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I think this should really go to the HST as others have said...but I hate them for killing off the Deltics, so I refuse to vote for one.

 

I will instead vote for the NER/LNER J27. Built from 1906 and still going strong to the end of steam in the NE.

 

Andy

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I've only just caught up having been attending to a broken down car and 'family stuff'. I'm not sure if I'm eligible to vote having given Gilbert the idea ;) :) but I'm going to plump for the HST.

 

An iconic design still to be found doing the job for which it was intended. Has been described as 'The Design that Saved British Rail'. Far more comfortable than anything that came after. Yes, they have been re-engined and had various other mods but Castles, A3s and Class 73 had (have) various mods too. I think the fact that these designs *could* be modified for current needs also counts as a plus point. I hadn't thought of the 73 but I agree that it is a worthy candidate too.

 

I have to admit that I went for a farewell trip on an HST. Reading to St Erth for St Ives. Smashing day out, overnight in St Ives on a sunny April evening. Back to Exeter St Davids on another 125 then up the Southern line and (my then) home via Salisbury.

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Hmmm... "stood the test of time", huh?

A split nomination for me.

For passenger stock, LU '38 stock. Still moving paying passengers 82 years later, albeit in a different location than originally deployed.

For freight, it has to be the humble 08. A design that dates from the 1930s, and all examples were built between 1952 and 1962. More importantly, there has /never been a fleet replacement/. These aren't a few survivors working alongside their replacements, we simply never bought any replacements, and they are still working.

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HST, it has to be a HST. There is no other locomotive or unit or train that has done basically the same task day in day out for over 40 years. 

 

Everything else has seen a great decline and the fleets still running mainline today are vastly reduced when compared to their heydays. Time is now finally catching up on the HST but I'm sure there will still be plenty running fast InterCity services for many years to come.

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11 hours ago, great northern said:

The poll was again decided by an overnight vote from down under, which meant that Class 20 edged ahead of Class 15 by 8 votes to 7. There was only one vote for a shunter!

 

So, today's poll, the idea for which came from Trevor Page, and an excellent one it is. This may exercise your little grey cells a bit more, and it would be interesting to see the reasons for your decision, not just the loco concerned.

 

Here we go then. Designs which have stood the test of time.  So we are looking for locos  that were, or are, still doing the work for which they were designed at the beginning of their lives, many years on. Passenger or goods work, both are equally important. Which have had the greatest impact on the future of our railways, and which most influenced the development of design after their inception?

I'd have to say the GW castles for steam 1st ones built in 1923 with batches being built into BR days. During this period they also remained in front line passenger service. Surely a record for an express passenger class.

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My vote is for the class 86 (Hungarian class 460) , in service since 1965 and still in use with Freightliner, Floyd Zrt in Hungary and Bulmarket in Bulgaria.

 

They revolutionised the WCML, embarrassing BR having spent so much on other AC electrics which were made redundant within years of being introduced.  They hauled the MKIII coach making them equivalent to an HST in comfort, and far less noise and fumes. They are also very capable freight engines. 

 

Of course the humble 350 hp 0-6-0 shunter is also high up there alongside the MR Johnson Goods, the 2F.

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HST, it has to be a HST. There is no other locomotive or unit or train that has done basically the same task day in day out for over 40 years. 

Well said by  "LNER &BR" . Although the J72 was built in two centuries and lasted almost until the end of steam in the North East, it did not have the impact t on transport of the Class 43.

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When it comes to domination of the ECML, the Gresley A1/A3 and the HST are in equal place for duration of service.  
When I was younger I derided the HST for replacing the Deltic’s, but you have to admire the engineering.

Also, consider the HST did all its high speed running on conventional railway, (straightened out in places), not dedicated High Speed Lines.  Yes, compared to the latest items, the acceleration curve is poor, but a HST looks far more impressive dashing across the landscape.

 

Paul

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The poll result. I'm not surprised at the identity of the winner, but I am at the margin of victory. HST gathered 11 votes, and nothing else got more than two or three. Very few steam locos even got a mention, even though there were some which were still performing the same duties, and very competently too, for which they had been designed 40 years previously.

 

However, HST may have ensured the survival of at least long distance rail travel in the UK, and for that we should be very grateful.

 

What to do today? The remaining suggestion in my inbox is that we finish off diesels by considering the various prototypes built from the late 1940s onwards. Of course the Fell may just romp away with this:mosking:, but let's give it a go. The most attractive design of diesel prototype, perhaps with innovative features thrown in. Some of them didn't work, and others didn't lead to anything further, but that is irrelevant here. The most striking and innovative please.

 

Any more ideas please? This does seem to be giving interest and pleasure, so I'd like to keep it going. Two very good suggestions gave us yesterday and today's polls, so more in that vein if you can.

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Prototypes - hmm should we specify that as 'Prototypes that never turned into production machines?" otherwise DP1 and Falcon are the obvious winners as they went on to become production machines.

 

Could we even exclude them as really they were more 'pre-production' models than prototypes?

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