Large Prairies how widely travelled?

[RonnieS]

I have a couple of models of these super 2-6-2ts and one of them  is  lined green with early emblem.

I have not yet found a photo of one like this in the 1958-62 period in the Bristol area. Would it be accurate to

use a Welsh or Leamington loco in this location or did they remain close to their allocated shed?

[TheSignalEngineer]

I think that they would be more likely to stay close to home. They were allocated for local suburban duties in the main and gernerally were transferred away or a few were retained for peak loco hauled extras or trip freight when DMUs took over. Bath Road closed to steam  after the Summer 1960 timetable IIRC.  The only non-local one I have seen recorded on the web at  at a Bristol shed in your era was a Swindon one at 82B, but don't know the liveries. Later there were records on ShedbashUK of two from Severn Tunnel Junction at St Phillip's Marsh. Anything fro Leamington would have been very unlikely although I would think Gloucester or Taunton could have been in range if there were suitable trains for them to work.

 

[Miss Prism]

http://shedbashuk.blogspot.com/2015/08/bristol-bath-road-1946-1960.html

 

[Steamport Southport]

Any use?

 

https://www.brdatabase.info/sites.php?page=depots&subpage=locos&id=94

 

 

Jason

[KeithMacdonald]

+1 for BRDatabase

 

This page

https://www.brdatabase.info/locoqry.php?action=class&id=126260&type=S&page=alloc

shows a few allocated to Bristol Bath Road

6102

6107

6114

6137

6153

6163

 

or Bristol Barrow Road

6141

6147

6148

[Tim V]

The large prairies only moved to Barrow Rd after the closure of St Philips Marsh. And those 61xx I believe moved out of London after dieselisation.

 

For example 4131 was at SPM, but in lined green with the later totem.

 

[TheSignalEngineer]

Colour Rail has 5104 in lined green late crest at SPM dated 8/2/1959

https://colourrail.co.uk/api/image/thumb/92f8fc75-e0ac-49de-bd9d-0ef66bb99c8f

 

[DCB]

The 61XX in lined green with early emblem is a rare beast, there wasn't much of a window between the start of repainting into lined green and the change to the later crest.  There may have been some  in green from 1956 with early crest painted plain green before lining became the norm in 1957, I hope so as my 61XX is unlined green with early crest.  Then again some early crest locos may well have been repainted with later crests by 1962 before they started to be repainted plain black.  I wouldn't expect to find South Wales or especially Leamington large Prairies at Bristol, it would be more likely for Swindon 82C to send a spare Prairie to Bristol (82A/B) if they needed to borrow one.   The Prairies tended to stay nearer home than the GWR tender engines which might be at Shrewsbury and Plymouth Via London the next and which made loco spotting on the WR such a varied and interesting experience.

 

[Miss Prism]

28 minutes ago, DCB said:

The 61XX in lined green with early emblem is a rare beast

 

True. 6135, ex-works at Swindon, 3 March 1956. The safety valve bonnet is painted.

 

 

[RonnieS]

1 hour ago, DCB said:

The 61XX in lined green with early emblem is a rare beast, there wasn't much of a window between the start of repainting into lined green and the change to the later crest.  There may have been some  in green from 1956 with early crest painted plain green before lining became the norm in 1957, I hope so as my 61XX is unlined green with early crest.  Then again some early crest locos may well have been repainted with later crests by 1962 before they started to be repainted plain black.  I wouldn't expect to find South Wales or especially Leamington large Prairies at Bristol, it would be more likely for Swindon 82C to send a spare Prairie to Bristol (82A/B) if they needed to borrow one.   The Prairies tended to stay nearer home than the GWR tender engines which might be at Shrewsbury and Plymouth Via London the next and which made loco spotting on the WR such a varied and interesting experience.

 

6169 kept lined green early crest until it's end but I doubt it visited Bristol.

[RonnieS]

17 hours ago, DCB said:

The 61XX in lined green with early emblem is a rare beast, 

 

Indeed. Assuming the photo captions are correct the ones lasting to 1960/1 include

4112*/34/64/70 5150 6105*/28/56/69  * Small emblem

(I think the small emblem ones were painted at Wolverhampton)

Research continues.  I have a lot of books and magazines still to check.

 

[Miss Prism]

1 hour ago, RonnieS said:

Research continues.  I have a lot of books and magazines still to check.

 

Great. While you've got your detective's hat on, please note down any lined green early crest non-Prairies. (I have some 2-6-0s and 4-6-0s already listed .)

[Brighty1674]

A lined tanner over, well how lovely is that to see, one of my favourite engines, saw plenty at Slough when train spotting in the late 50’s and early 60’s, happy days……….

[KeithMacdonald]

just asking - which is the best OO gauge RTR Large Prairie?

[Harlequin]

4 minutes ago, KeithMacdonald said:

just asking - which is the best OO gauge RTR Large Prairie?

Dapol or Hornby? Neither. Both.

 

They're both pretty good and each has flaws that the other doesn't - so it more or less balances out unless one of those flaws is a red-line for you.

 

Just my opinion.

 

[Steamport Southport]

8 minutes ago, KeithMacdonald said:

just asking - which is the best OO gauge RTR Large Prairie?

 

IMHO Hornby by a country mile. YMMV.

 

Got one the other week from Hattons. Would buy more. 

 

Now what to do with all the old ones. That includes the two packs of Comet chassis I bought before the new RTR versions were announced.....

 

 

 

Jason

[RonnieS]

51 minutes ago, KeithMacdonald said:

just asking - which is the best OO gauge RTR Large Prairie?

My opinion and locos vary. Performance wise > Dapol as it is smoother and heavier by 70g. Also has removable cab section to fit a crew. My Hornby one works better bunker first for some reason. Otherwise not a lot in it.

[RonnieS]

1 hour ago, Miss Prism said:

 

Great. While you've got your detective's hat on, please note down any lined green early crest non-Prairies. (I have some 2-6-0s and 4-6-0s already listed .)

   

Lined Moguls, included 4358, 5322, 5330, 5339,5355/8, 5369 5370, 5389, 5396, 5398, 6301, 6304, 6308, 6313/7, 6337/9, 6340, 6343, 6347, 6351, 6352, 6355, 6364, 6365, 6372, 6374, 6377/8/9, 6384/5/6, 6389, 6392/4/9,7306, 7310 and 7330/1/4/8.

 

Tenders with old emblems /lined fenders  4358, 6372, 6385  old emblem only   6390

 

Plain Green 5306/41/68, 6303, 45, 61, 68, 74,  6380/4, 6394, 7300/4/6/12/17/19/20/27/37/40    

Edited April 28, 2022 by RonnieS
Spelling

[RonnieS]

Missing data TBA

Edited April 28, 2022 by RonnieS
Missing Pic

[DCB]

1 hour ago, KeithMacdonald said:

just asking - which is the best OO gauge RTR Large Prairie?

I have or had Airfix, Mainline, (Airfix with flanged centre wheels?) Hornby late 1990s, Hornby current model, also a Dapol Mogul and Bachmann Mogul.
Dapol doesn't stay on the rails as standard, Airfix are awful to almost acceptable runners, I must have had 8 or 10 over the years the  non see through Pony wheels are horrible but they pick up through one rear one so a swap isn't easy. Our 1999/2000 Hornbys would not run smoothly, axles loose in chassis etc, without major surgery, Current one "Limping Lulu" has 1960s Triang axles in centreand rear wheels one of which is out of round hence nicknamel,   Current Hornby has difficulty pulling the skin off a dead fly, Bachmann Mogul runs beautiffully albeit gutlessly while the wheels stay on.  None of them have replaced my Triang Hall chassis, 5 pole, Hornby Dublo wheeled Farish 81XX, or its companion banker a wills 61XX with MW005 and Romfords.  Our load limit is 22 wagons on the bank and either will push 17 up.  None of the later locos can get anywhere near that,  

I would suggest the Dapol but do what I did with the Mogul and put the pony wheels in a black and decker chuck and put a taper or coning on the tread with a file. 

I always fancied putting a Hornby/Airfix  body 61XX on the smooth running Bachmann Mogul chassis, It'll probably be too light, or nicking the chassis from my K's 43XX, that has a huge flywheel in the cab, or maybe I could reverse engineer it as a 3100.   And flog the tender on eBay.  Hehehe

[The Johnster]

1 hour ago, DCB said:

Airfix are awful to almost acceptable runners,

 

I've had a few over the years and found that, while they still vary, a generalisation is that they improve over time.  By the time the rough ones become acceptable or the good ones become really quite decent runners, the slide bars are about to break and that is the end of the loco's useful life!

 

My Hornby runs well, and while it is not powerful manages the light loads of my layout fine.  There is a problem with the pony and radial wheels being forced down by their truck housings coming into contact with the bottom of the chassis over any sort of dip in the track, which the result that the driving wheels are lifted and either start a wheelslip or pickup is compromised and the loco stalls.  I have had to take metal off the top of the truck housings, after which the loco is less 'track sensitive' and the driving wheels sit on the track better. 

 

I've also had trouble on both sides with the rear face of the cylinders coming loose, along with the slide bars.  Easy to solve, you just superglue them back in place but it's annoying and reinforces my view that Hornby's QC regime is not up to the mark.  I'm happy with the loco now, but were I to be buying another one I would be giving some preference to the Dapol.

[RonnieS]

4 hours ago, Miss Prism said:

 

Great. While you've got your detective's hat on, please note down any lined green early crest non-Prairies. (I have some 2-6-0s and 4-6-0s already listed .)

Off topic a bit? I have PMed you a couple of pix; 5311 in unlined green with early emblem and 6844 with an early emblem Hawksworth tender circa '63.  Although this Grange received a Collett late emblem one at it's previous shopping a depot tender swap occurred. What a minefield research becomes! 

[Penrhos1920]

Only in ‘56 or early ‘57 you would have seen one in Bristol on the running-in turn from Swindon.  Usually a stopping service that returned later that day.  Any ex works loco would have turned up, from a pannier to a king.  Once the livery changed you’d have seen them in the new livery , unless they’d been in for a sole & heal.

[Hal Nail]

9 hours ago, RonnieS said:

What a minefield research becomes! 

The strange thing is that despite an almost infinite number of variations, finding a loco in the format, location and date that you want is almost always impossible!

[Hal Nail]

ps. wait till you get into variations of logo positioning! 14xx and 57xx are a sod for this - large prairies may be more consistent.