100% Authenticity

On busy days an additional Cornishman would usually run behind a "Hall". Most contemporary photos of such trains show maroon stock.

 

Luckily we can do that too!

 

4566 was never a Stourbridge or Salop loco or the line to Wooferton's been lifted? Or would you never use a 45xx for ballest laying duties? Who cares? that's a lovely photo.

 

Of course what this means is that to be authentic the GWR need a Castle. I am a little bit worried that the prospect might cause the mental breakdown of some who simultaneously demand authenticity while ranting about big locos on preserved lines.

 

As someone else said....all we can achieve is the illusion of authenticity. We are lucky to be able a pretty good illusion, nay even an excellent illusion for many periods of our railway history from the 1890s onwards even if we cant manage every scene or type of scene from every decade of the last 120+ years. We are bloody lucky because this is about 20 x what anyone else in the world can do (and I am knocking none of them).

 

The nearest 'Herring' is HW 436 which wasn't built until 1965.

I'll get my coat...

 

No lineside pole route?

 

I was think more of detail, the safety valve bonnet is copper not painted and if you zoom in there's no ATC gear under the front buffer beam. The other observations show how difficult it is even on a heritage line.

 

Also, I think some of it what you want to achieve with that 'authenticity'. For example if you take say the Weald and Down, there the authenticity is part of the educational role of the museum. You can't understand rural life if you don't see an attempt to recreate a peasant garden or a Tudor kitchen or early threshing machines in action.

I think for railways that authenticity for education is harder to do. In some areas railways do use authenticity for an educational purpose - for example signalling displays, but there are limits, it isn't practical to try to maintain p-way using C19 techniques where modern machinery can do the job faster and better. A few railways ie Tanfield can maybe do an 'authentic' Victorian loco shed (but the reality is that most preserved railways have had to build up their loco sheds from scratch since preservation). Also, authentic shunting might involve activities that are definite no-nos now ie fly-shunting.

Authenticity for railways is more about having the right colours, uniforms etc, in someways a little nearer to battle re-enactors.

Authenticity is thus largely visual rather than in method (bar the obvious things such as prepping and disposing of steam locos - but for obvious reasons they are not things that the public can get too up and close to too often). So for railways authenticity is more for photo shoots, or giving people a vibe and 'looking like' photos from the past (lets not forget that many photos were posed, or taken on fine days, special occasions etc) so it is a case of looking like what we think the past looked like.

This isn't to say the focus on visual authenticity is a bad thing but it is a very narrow idea of it and it fills a fairly narrow purpose.

 

In October 1990 Castle No 5080 "Defiant" visited for the then annual October Steam Gala. To say this event marked a step change in the perception of the GWSR and a vision of the future is an understatement in my view having witnessed it. Toddington site was still, well, a little grotty back then but the future, and the past, could be seen in this photo. If only we had a "Castle" permanently based at the GWSR. Stranger things have happened.

 

Nope your wrong, long weld brand new rail 113A south of Hayles rd br on SHC (concrete sleepers) then onto existing f/b (Defford straight) and long weld across CC (rail/sleepers ex Honeybourne), on SHC/Pandrol concrte sleepers.

 

Oh bugger! Stop doing all these pesky track renewals and disappointing me.

 

All the side lamps I saw in my late BR service were painted black, made it easy to not pick up a side lamp when you wanted a tail lamp.

 

I don't remember black ones these are def white

 

Puzzled. I can't see any SIDE-lamps in your picture.

 

Sorry I misread what you said and missed the word side!

 

I have a battered and unrestored BR(W) brake van side lamp with no innards (ex Banbury sidings), and that is white.
No, I didn't nick it, the signalman kindly gave it to me!

 

Interesting, my experiences with side lamps were on Southern and London Midland regions.

 

I've never seen a white side lamp, either, unless someone has wrongly painted it

 

I've just unearthed it from the back of the garage and took a photo. Not looked at it for years and thought it was marked BR(W) - there are no markings.
I found it in the grass at the side of the access road to the north end signal box at Banbury circa 1978. It is in the condition I found it in, other than straightening it (it was a bit squashed).
It has lenses on both sides, so I've always assumed it to be a brake van side lamp?