Bulleid Pacifics - Past or Present

Ashford Works built a new tender for one of the Greenly pacifics, and at the handover ceremony in '47 Missenden and Bulleid offered Captain Howey a 15" gauge Merchant Navy. Howey took them up on the offer, as he wasn't a man to turn down a freebie, but nationalisation put the mockers on the plan. This according to HAV Bulleid's biography of his father.

 

Hartland's overhauled tender with its new tank arrived at New Bridge this week.

 

Far from it. Started by somebody suggesting that the rebuilds were an improvement.

 

You do?.......

That's rather subjective isn't it?.......

The rebuilt is a completely different beast to the one Bulleid produced, so I would not call a rebuild an improvement on the original, as its completely different........... improvements to me mean fine tuning what you cant see, whilst maintaining the original aesthetics a la the A1 & P2......

 

I think a group called ACE Locomotives owns 35011 but their website is no longer running and as Big Al said she is at Sellindge with 35025. I think last year the owners said the back conversion was put on the back burner but would be something I'd like to see happen.

Also find that RHDR Bulleid interesting. Pity it never came to fruition. Mind you wasn't there meant to be a Duchess being built at New Romney but the person who built sadly passed away but quite a bit of progress had been made with it.

 

For me the 35011 backdating project is an interesting one but I cant see it happening unless they get a new home. My own experince of just restoring a Merchant Navy tells me that they will need the engineering faclities that you cant just take to a field. Backdating her to the original spec will need even more heavy engineering as your basically starting again, baring things like the boiler, frames and wheel set everything else will need building and cant see how on earth they could do that in its current location.

Which begs the question where can she go as the top 3 ideal locations would be Mid Hants (no room.... so much that our own Merchant Navy is off site), Bluebell (Same issue and they had Port Line for a while and it didnt prove very economical) and Swanage (they have the Bunch locos plus the SLL so again space is an issue). After those sort of places where else can they go?

 

Sadly, no. The valve gear uses small movement in the links translated to a large movement of the valves, thus any play in the chain, pins etc is magnified at the valves. Yes the reverser is imprecise, but the whole design adds to the lack of precision. Added to which, removing the valves and rocker arms is an excercise in contortion and frustration.

 

15" Merchant would have been cracking fun...! Shame it never happened...

 

Frankly speaking, without the engineering back up and deep pockets of someone who will bankroll it, this project is going nowhere. its just someones day dreaming, you will need a full engineering workshop such that only one of the main players would have, then someone who has the skills to make patterns for the many parts, then theres a tender to build from scratch also i hate to burst anyones bubble but all this engine will be is a source of spare parts for someone elses MN, look at 35025 thats more advanced, but has had nothing done on it,

 

Completely agree. Tho I do believe the project could be achieved through a trust but that would need to be based on a heritage line somewhere so they could fundraise effectively. Unless either loco gets a new home they are pretty much dead in the water.

 

After all this time, it begs the question, why aren't they?......

 

Where can they go? Realistically has be southern based as the enthusiasts who will fund it will be mostly southern based.

Have enough engineering facilities and space to do the actual work.

Be based near a railway so they can funding from gala stalls, money pot on loco etc.

 

the true answer is that both owners are deluding themselves, they have both brought into some plan that one day selinge will be a new Ashford works, with covered workshops, and the facilities they would need, now, had the plan to save part of ashford works, had been succesfull, they might have stood a chance, but with the passing of Les Birch, who knows, they might well have to move,

 

Well, they've had more than enough time for the above, so just why have they missed the boat?......

Thank you for that Martin, you've just answered the above...........

The loco's could still stand a chance if they were to move Ooop North, they are well liked in them there hills, by all accounts!

 

one possible option would be for a joint group of SLL and MHR voluenteers to take them on at Eastleigh, once 35005 is done, between both railways, their should be enough fund raising capacity to do it, 35025, as it is, and a rebuild to pre rebuild of 35011, with support by both railways, if the owners would allow them to be moved.

 

That is a seriously long shot, and you as well as I know it will never happen...... both organisations are stretched as it is........

 

It's questionable whether the Mid Hants can make sensible use of the one Merchant Navy it already has, given that most trains there are only five coaches long, and there's only so many that the main line can absorb. Most heritage railways that want a Bulleid and can make sensible use of one already have a West Country or Battle of Britain, so I fear that the future for most of the unrestored Merchan Navies is rather bleak. The steel fireboxes that made them cheap to buy are probably not worth repairing as spares nowadays, when you look at what is being done at Bridgnorth, Grosmont and elsewhere, so their remaining value lies mostly the wheelsets and cylinders.

 

A whole raft of stuff in 15" would be fun, how about somthing like the Stanier Super Duchess 4-6-4?!