Blue 7f 2-8-0

[RailWest]

>>>.....as the WSR has painted 88 in unprototypical S&DJR livery it could paint it in MR livery.....

 

'88' is the property of the Somerset & Dorset Railway Trust, but leased to the WSR. All decisions about livery for the locomotive are made by the S&DRT, traditionally by a vote of the membership at an Annual General Meeting.  (It is not the prerogative of the WSR to decide how the loco should be painted.) There have been fierce debates about the merits or de-merits of the blue livery in the past, no doubt those will continue.

 

Curiously, from my viewpoint now as an outsider, there seems to have been little or no such arguments about the livery now applied to 'Kilmersdon', despite the fact that this was never an S&DJR engine nor was the colliery at which it worked even connected to the S&DJR!

 

But consider this.....without either or those engines in their current form, how would the railway visitors of today ever be able to appreciate the effect of the full-blown Prussian Blue liverey on a loco in full flight at the head of a train?

[NHY 581]

Exactlty Railwest.

 

Rob

[bike2steam]

Sorry I'll reword it ' - as the WSR repainted 88, for the S&DRT,-' but the plan is ( or was, ideas might have changed, or might have been done ??) to repaint it, at a later stage, to it's last BR livery.

[Gilbert]

Whatever the "rights and wrongs" I always really enjoy seeing 88 in blue when I visit the WSR.

I would be equally happy to see it in BR black - (and preferably weathered!).

Chris

[RailWest]

Without trawling back thru' the Minutes, IIRC there was a decision made at a recent AGM (2011 or 2012) to repaint '88' into BR black so that it could be paired up with '89' for some planned event. This was not done, probably 'cos of the difficulties/expense of taking it out of service during the summer season following that AGM. My *guess* would be that it will emerge in black after its next 10-year overhaul.

[Londontram]

With the greatest respect to all you gentlemen how many of you actually helped to finance the original purchase and restoration of the locomotive. At the end of the day the owners can paint it what ever colour they like, simple answer is if you dont like it dont look! 

[craneman]

It is worth bearing in mind that the first works photo of an S&D 7F shows it to be in the photographic grey version of the full Prussian Blue S&D livery, even though when they entered service they were (boring) black. It is reasonable to deduce from this that there was at one time an intention, at least be someone, that they would enter service in Prussian Blue livery, even though in the event they did not.

 

For my part, I find the level of excitement that is caused by a loco being painted in the "wrong" livery somewhat bizarre - it is, after all, only a coat of paint - and welcome the opportunity to see what a 7F would have looked like if it had runin Prussian Blue. My opinion is that it is a spectacular livery, and we would be the poorer if this repaint hadn't been done.

 

As an aside, my late grandfather when a schoolboy used to travel to boarding school (in Swanage) by train from Manchester (he was taken to the appropriate station and then left to make the rest of the journey with his luggage alone). He could remember vividly to his deathbed the excitement he felt the first time that the leg of the journey from Green Park was hauled by one of the brand new 7Fs! Sadly he could also remember vividly that it was shiney black, not blue.

[Poor Old Bruce]

It is worth bearing in mind that the first works photo of an S&D 7F shows it to be in the photographic grey version of the full Prussian Blue S&D livery, even though when they entered service they were (boring) black. It is reasonable to deduce from this that there was at one time an intention, at least be someone, that they would enter service in Prussian Blue livery, even though in the event they did not.

 

There are also photos of Midland and SDJR 4Fs in lined liveries and of an LMS 2P in what could be taken for lined red livery. Sadly they didn't go into traffic like that.

[RailWest]

".....the first works photo of an S&D 7F shows it to be in the photographic grey version of the full Prussian Blue S&D livery....It is reasonable to deduce from this that there was at one time an intention, at least be someone, that they would enter service in Prussian Blue livery...."

 

Indeed possible. But also possible, I would suggest, was that someone merely used the grey version of the PB livery because that was what they were used to putting on new engines.

 

Despite being something of an 'historical purist' myself <g>, I think that the PB livery on the 7F was a good idea. At least it enables the 'average visitor' to get a much better idea of a S&D engine in PB livery in motion on a train then simply from looking at a painting.

 

What I /do/ find surprising is that those who deride the 7F in PB seem strangely quiet about the use of PB on 'Kilmersdon'. After all, not only did that engine never carry the livery, it was not even a S&D engine anyway, nor did it work at a colliery connected to the S&D.

[LisaP4]

All I could think while watching that vid' is: "Is that the safety valves blowing the whole time? Bloomin' waste of water!"

 

 

...At least it enables the 'average visitor' to get a much better idea of a S&D engine in PB livery in motion on a train then simply from looking at a painting.

This is true, often the only time we see something resembling what we model is in another model. Seeing an S&D loco in S&D livery - even if it's not the right livery for the loco/class - is great modelling inspiration.