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Best looking locomotive

69843

By 69843,
in Modelling musings & miscellany

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Rugd1022

Rugd1022

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The Western Class 52 : from every angle it was (and still is) a beautiful piece of modern design work, every single line and curve was so well thought out and that superb 'face' combined with the 'Mk1 coach profile' is sheer class personified. Looking at one now it still seems ahead of it's time and to me it doesn't look anything like half a century old. I've been looking at them now for nigh on forty years and they still 'hit the spot' visually, every time. The fact that they make such a wonderful noise as well is the icing on the cake, but in another fifty years time they will still look fabulous.

 

Great Western 4-6-0s : a wonderful outline with that tapered boiler, particularly the Halls, Granges and Castles, which I'd wager are better proportioned overall than the Manors and Kings. Great looking engines all of them though, especially in BR lined green which I think suited them more than the original GW lining style did.

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LH&JC

LH&JC

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On the assumption I can't submit Fowler road locos, I'll go for Lambton Tanks 5 & 29, the right mix of form & function with no stupid brass or copper getting in the way! :devil: When it comes to diesels, I really like the look of the Deltics, especially in TTG with small yellow panels or blue with white window surrounds. As I'm out of depth with electrics & probably already unpopular for suggesting Traction Engines on a railway forum I'll go for MER No.23, in Rebuilt form! :jester:

Edited by LH&JC
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APOLLO

APOLLO

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Yes I'll put the Western at No 2 after Kestrel.

 

 

Now that streamlined NYC hudson above is a real cutie, but here is America's Britannia, the NYC Niagara 4-8-4. !! Nicest looking Yank steam loco ever built.

 

NYC6024.JPG

 

Brit15

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newbryford

newbryford

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Handsome is as handsome does - a 9F with a BR1C tender.

 

A class 60 in original triple grey. Appearance matches performance (once they got the teething troubles out of the way, but let's not go there)

 

Cheers,

Mick

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Physicsman

Physicsman

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Apollo's photo of the stunning NYC Niagara - which I know nothing about - goes to reinforce Talltim's earlier comment about the parochial nature of the majority of our choices. Maybe it would have been better if we'd had 2 threads running: best-looking British and best-looking World.

 

My non-UK knowledge is very limited. That US "Brit" is very beautiful to my eyes - makes me wonder how many foreign locos I could appreciate (as much as a Britannia or A2) if I did but know about them. Thanks Apollo!

 

Jeff

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JZ

JZ

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For diesels, absolutely no doubt, a Western. Closely followed by a Hymek.

For steam, now that's a lot more difficult. For sheer presence, it has to be an SP AC-10/11/12 cab forward 4-8-8-2. But there are many others. I have always been a fan of the rather more humble standard 4mt 2-6-4T. A rebuilt MN just exudes power. And I quite fancy the DR 05 class 4-6-4 in their original streamlined form, both conventional and cab forward.

And what about DMUs ? Swindon class 123s were very handsome units, as is the class 158. What about the DR/DB SVT137 ?

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Giles

Giles

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All valid entries... (well most, anyway...)

 

But only because everyone's obviously forgotten the only real contender - the unstreamlined Duchess, in maroon...... The epitome of power and elegence, never bettered......

 

(and I really like narrow gauge.....!)

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kevinlms

kevinlms

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All valid entries... (well most, anyway...)

 

But only because everyone's obviously forgotten the only real contender - the unstreamlined Duchess, in maroon...... The epitome of power and elegence, never bettered......

 

(and I really like narrow gauge.....!)

 

 

At last, I wondered when someone would come up with the winning entry!

 

 

 

Not so sure about the NG bit. Although Puffing Billy is about 3/4 hours drive from me, which is pretty good. They also have G42, a 2'6" Garratt - another species of loco that has very few that don't look right. Ironically the LMS ones being some of the worst examples, they look alright but beset with problems of the LMS's own making.

 

 

Kevin Martin

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lonesome_whistle

lonesome_whistle

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Great Western 4-6-0s : a wonderful outline with that tapered boiler, particularly the Halls, Granges and Castles, which I'd wager are better proportioned overall than the Manors and Kings. Great looking engines all of them though, especially in BR lined green which I think suited them more than the original GW lining style did.

 

I'd agree with this - I certainly think that the King isn't as gracefully proportioned as the 4-6-0s mentioned although, conversely I do think the Manor's smaller boiler suits it quite well (aesthetically anyway, they weren't the best of steamers as built!)

 

Having said all that, in my opinion the best looking of all the Great Western 4-6-0s were the Saints.

 

I do also like the functional brutishness of heavy freight locomotives whether they be a 9F or, as already mentioned by Zunman, SP Cab-Aheads and big sixties US diesels. There's something rather striking about a matched set of F-units in Santa Fe warbonnet colours too.

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bike2steam

bike2steam

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But only because everyone's obviously forgotten the only real contender - the unstreamlined Duchess,......

 

I'd 'ave said that if 'looking' wasn't in the original post.

Edited by bike2steam
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buffalo

buffalo

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I agree with others - the Class 52/Westerns are a nice looking class.

But...

Nothing can beat a Class 60 in Loadhaul livery :angel:

There's no accounting for taste, is there? As far as diesel's go, I can agree on the Westerns, but a Class 60 could only be a winner in a "most bland", "most uninspiring" or "least noticeable" category. Maybe it's time to start those threads as well? :no:

 

Nick

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Physicsman

Physicsman

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Nickel Plate Berkshire:

nkp779.jpg

Perfect fast frieght engine.

 

Very impressive, Simon, and I'm sure the technical spec is superb. But it looks like something the Borg (Trek) built!

 

Jeff

Edited by Physicsman
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GC Jack

GC Jack

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As has been said the ultimate subjective subject:

 

For me three I think but it could be so many.

 

Pre-Grouping: Caley Dunalastair:

 

BR Steam: Standard 5

 

Diesel: Has to be a 50 in large logo livery.

 

Jack

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bluebottle

bluebottle

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Nickel Plate Berkshire:

nkp779.jpg

Perfect fast frieght engine.

I wonder if Lima were keen aspirants to the ideals of the bauhaus movement - form follows function?

(I read Simon's typo as "Perfect fast fright engine!)

To be fair, I like this more than I do most US locos; it does look well-balanced, though I think that the simple highlighting of running plate and wheel rims helps a fair bit.

At the risk of being labelled as parochially-minded, I still prefer the best of British loco design. Perhaps I may be allowed to quote from Brian Haresnape, a trained artist who wrote many books on locomotives. This from the section on the "Britannia" class in his "Ivatt and Riddles Locomotives":

"Everything about the design was as functional in layout as possible, with a cross-blend of American and Continental features evident in the finalised appearance, but with a true touch of British refinement in the detailing which somehow produced a handsome and well-balanced design, despite all the exposed piping and the high running plate."

 

Gordon

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