rodent279

Good guess on my part then! I did wonder what box the S might refer to. Slough didn't occur to me, first place I thought of was Swansea!

Looks Western Region to me, judging from the gantry in the distance. London area, perhaps?

Oh yes. Hadn't noticed that. Even more of a bang then!

It does look like that's what's happened, that looks like the end of an axle just above the smoke box. In any case, it must have been quite an impressive blow to have knocked that buffer beam back like that.

A 2nd entrance on the town side would make a lot of sense.

I really do like this. Since the LMS & LNER were already cooperating with the testing station at Rugby, it's entirely possible they would have collaborated on future loco development, and something similar to the BR Standard range would have evolved.

Now that looks convincing!

Bumping this topic, does anyone know if/when the bridge replacement at Patchway has been rescheduled for? It was due to happen end of March, but got postponed due C-19. (I know it's not strictly a GWML electrification project, but this seems the most appropriate topic).

Why not use steam turbines instead of reciprocating engines? In a B-G format, you could have a mixture of turbines for full load, reciprocating for part load & starting, blending the two drive systems electronically.

I believe that was not for MU working as such, it was just to allow two crews in non-MU fitted locos working in tandem to talk to each other.

It surely would be possible to have a hinged lid that covered the coal space? Even if it didn't stop all the fine dust, it would at least stop large lumps from flying out and braining the fireman!

Nope, correct, I haven't, and don't envy you if you have! I guess oil firing, or mechanical firing using crushed coal would help there. Some sort of wind shield/screen would still be necessary though. Maybe some thought would have to be given to firehole design as well, if still manually coal fired. But assuming these issues were solved, could a loco such as a Royal Scot be made to work as effectively at speed in both directions?

Now if we'd had reliable, safety-critical, two way radio, say in the 1920's, it could have been easy. Would we have seen push-pull express trains, with say a Duchess or Royal Scot on one end, and a DVT on the other, like the class 86/87 + DVT combos? Obviously some thought would need to go into making such a loco fit for running at speed in reverse, if only for the comfort of the fireman. I guess if a loco has to come off the train and be serviced at the end of a run, then there's little advantage. If however, it could do say London-Birmingham & return without servicing, then maybe there would have been a worthwhile saving in motive power requirements, if not in manpower.

I guess an electric boiler wouldn't need a "firebox" as we know it-the boiler could be cylindrical all the way, no need for it to taper, and the elements could replace the tubes, but with some tubes retained for superheating. Another economy would be the ability to work in multiple. As an aside, I guess the answer is no, but did anyone ever try some sort of multiple unit connection for steam locos?

You could also pre-heat the water in the tender, and since you wouldn't need draught to make a fire burn more efficiently, you could make it into a condensing engine, and dispense with troughs altogether. You could also dispense with reciprocating engines, and use turbines.

Might work as an 0-6-2, GWR 56xx style.

So did A4's have normal boiler cladding, as per A3's, under the casing?

Here's a question that has just occurred to me. Stanier's streamlined Pacific's were, aiui, normal locos with a streamlined fairing or casing over the top, whereas Gresley's A4's had streamlining that was integral to the construction of the loco and boiler. I guess that is why A4's were never fully de-streamlined, whereas the Duchesses were. So when the Duchesses were running with streamlined casing, what state would the loco underneath have been in? Would it have been in some sort of undercoat, or plain black, or just maroon? Do any photos exist? Cheers N

Has anyone considered an 8F with a Duchess boiler and running gear? Maybe they have, but this is a long thread now! As an aside, were Duchesses allowed to run to Bristol in LMS/BR days? Cheers N

Used to get a nice pint of Top Hat in one of my regular dives in Leicester, can't remember which one, either the Shakespeare's Head on Southgates, or the High Cross on High Cross St. Think they did Burtonwood Mild as well, or could have been Ansell's. Kept well, Top Hat was nice stuff.

Took me a while to recognise Canton there. Looks little changed from the steam era from that angle. What were the white roofed carriages next to the breakdown train?

I know the last TPO pick up/drop off was in 1971 at Penrith, but can anyone tell me when the last mail pick up/drop off at Leighton Buzzard, on the southern end of the WCML was please? Cheers N

I would think it's been on minimal maintenance for 30 of those, as well, so probably not surprising that it's past it's best.

Best part of 60 years I reckon, it pre-dates electrification.

Still not quite right to my eyes, looks like it's wearing goggles! Good attempt though, better than plain blue.