West Somerset Railway General Discussion

There were no GWR locos based at Birkenhead after 1958 , but there were many daily ex-GWR visitors until 1965. I could watch these from my first floor classroom windows at Rock Ferry Primary School until 1964, when I left to go to high school.

Bob.

 

Thank you , Forestpines , Faol and Thompson 1706 , another hole has been filled in my knowledge of GWR history . Thompson 1706 , what a treat for you to be looking over the GWR yard . When I was at primary school , Corsham Wiltshire we were about half a mile away we would hear the occasional whistle or hum from a Western or a Warship as it hurried along to Bath Spa or Chippenham . Once again many thanks .

 

, as far as I know.
There are plenty of people outside the GWR who think Welsh coal is rubbish. It is very friable and soon turns to dust; one reason why the GWR did not have mechanical coaling towers. Welsh coal did not have a significantly higher calorific value than most other good coals. What was different was the amount of volatile matter in the coal, which was relatively low in the Welsh. It requires a different firing technique, but that is all.
As for wide fireboxes, they have the advantage that you can get a larger grate area. If you want more power out of a loco you have to burn more coal and that requires proportionately more air., whether it is a wide or a narrow firebox. If your firebox size is limited that needs a stronger blast to draw the air through the fire. One reason why GW locos are noisy. Wide fireboxes can have a thinner fire requiring a softer blast. Narrow fireboxes are limited in width because of the frames so if you want a large grate you have to make it longer and that makes it harder for the fireman. The Kings had the longest grate of any loco in the UK, followed by the Scots and Nelsons, as far as I know.

 

There's nothing especially magical about Welsh coal: most locos would steam on a variety of different types of coal, provided the fireman adjusted their technique according to what they had been given.

What hasn't been mentioned though are factors like ashpan volume, and how much the fire bed can deteriorate without having an adverse impact on steam production. A smaller ashpan volume under a narrow firebox means a shorter range before the loco either needs servicing, or steaming will become impeded by the ashpan become clogged (which may in turn lead to clinkering of the fire, and other adverse consequences). The net result being that while a Stanier Duchess could fairly easily have coped with anything a King or Castle could do, the reverse isn't true: even given sufficient coal, those locos would have struggled with the 300 - 400 mile non-stop runs routinely carried out by the LMS and LNER with their wide firebox pacifics.

Tom

 

The Kings did not actually have the longest grate of any UK loco. That honour goes to the B12 with 14 and a half feet from door to front.

 

With a grate area of 26.5 square feet (31 sq ft on the B12/3 rebuilds), I find that hard to believe. Are you saying the B12/3 firebox was only a tad over two feet wide?

 

Really? 3 foot longer even than a King? The firemen must have been supermen!

Tom

 

Just the B12/3s had the mahoosively long grate, as far as I am aware. And that is the report I have had from multiple enginemen who have worked it, which include a regular NNR driver

Indeed!

 

I think someone has been stringing you a line I'm afraid...

Take a look at this drawing. The coupled wheelbase is 14 feet (7' + 7'). The back of the firebox is just in front of the rear axle - so if the firebox is indeed 14'6" long, the front of the box must be somewhere well in front of the leading driving axle - which is clearly a nonsense.



Source: http://www.wandering1500.co.uk/pages/techinfo.html

Tom

 

WSR T & Cs state that unauthorised use of photographic and recording for public use is prohibited. So passengers can't legitimately allow their pictures to be used on Steve Edge's site! Sigh.

 

I suspect the 14'-3" is the distance from the tender shovelling plate to the front of the firebox because that's what the poor fireman had to cope with.

 

I have offered to signwrite these wagons when they have been painted. Dave Horton has supplied the following shots of the wagons Before their recent repaint.

Are the insignia/ numbering style etc in any way correct, or does anyone have photographic examples of what would be?

Kind regards

Robin White

 

So does that mean thousands of youtube videos would have to be deleted? lol, they make it up as they go along ....
Whoever buys a freedom of the line ticket is agreeing to being photographed or sound recorded, is that T&C also on standard tickets?

 

I saw it on my QB breakfast ticket as well.

 

Maybe Stratford loaned the drawings to the Talyllyn for adaptation...

 

I trust that the plc are also undertaking to manage my right to be forgotten under GDPR, then?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

This sounds like a normal condition at music performances and the like. Presumably the on-line ticket agency the Railway use are adding in their standard conditions and no-one has thought this through. I suggest you raise it directly with Mark Hill or Sam White of the WSR Commercial Department who are quite sensible.

Robin

 

I'm afraid I can't offer much cast iron knowledge save that the various fonts look a bit mismatched. only the W D looks right to me, the rest more of a whatever they had to hand. A quick google reveals these three images which may be of use, top two from modelling websites, the last from Beamish, none are my own:

 

I can understand the WSR placing restrictions on unauthourised commercial photography and filming by people and or companies who intend to sell the photographs or videos they produce. I can also understand that there could be a case for saying that photos and videos should not be used on blogs or websites where the author gains an income from the site.

But I'm not so sure about restricting the use of photos and videos on blogs and websites that the author maintains at their own expense and gains nothing from the site apart from the pleasure of sharing their hobby with other enthusiasts, and providing some free publicity for the railway.

 

I thought the 'broad arrow' marking was more used in WW I, but open to correction. Whereas the wagon shown looks much more recent. I suppose it all depends on what era you are trying to represent.
Reports of livery carried by LMR 300 at Longmoor suggest that each time it was re-painted it was slightly different, so possibly wagon signwriting would likewise have depended on the unit carrying out the work, more than an official plan?