Bulleid Pacifics - Past or Present

Yeovil impressed sufficiently to prove the light pacific concept, on the ex-Highland Mainline back in 1948.

 

Yes, but..... Fort William - Mallaig is a very different proposition to the Highland Main Line.

Peter

 

From an enthusiast point of view part of me thinks Wouldn’t it be Nice (and different!) the sensible part of me really says I should listen to people like yourself Peter A little bit of pointless day dreaming never hurts does it?
If a certain Mr Riley thought he could maybe get an A3 to Glenfinan though…

 

Not quite the same as the Mallaig Extension.

 

Realistically though, if a rail tour promoter wanted to do it, How far north could an original Light Pacific venture into Scotland ?

 

Ahh yes, but seeing one slip to a standstill would be so much fun….not to mention the perpetuation of stereotype for another few decades…

 

Inverness?

 

Was the route availability for the better looking version significantly different?

 

Count me amazed some of you clay-footed luddites got over Derwent going obsolete!

 

What more do you want? It had springs and direct drive from cylinders mounted at least as horizontal as they were vertical - it was the height of modernity!

Tom

 

34067 with one of the Stanier tenders WCRC own would make for an interesting historical nod......

Chris

 

Just wondered if anyone could tell me a bit more about the Bulleid Pacific (think it was a MN?) that Rileys had planned to convert into a 'Super Pacific' with 8-wheeled tender etc. Was it ever a realistic prospect or just a pipe dream? What is the status of the loco now?

 

I don;t know about the super-pacific bit, but 35009 is steadily being worked on at Riley's, they post the occasional update on Facebook. Last I recall was the refurbished leading wheels, posted about 18-24 months ago.

EDIT: not driving, leading

 

I think its being done in between contract jobs, and when he has slack periods , obviously his own engines will take priority, but I'm sure that one day, 35005 will suddenly appear either on the ELR, for running in, then on the mainline for light and loaded tests, as regards tender, i heard he had given up the idea of a larger tender and will opt for a high capacity new build tender and body, most likely the same type as 35018 has.

 

That's the impression I get, very much an "as and when" job.

 

Talking about Bulleid Pacifics I came across this which may be of interest. Taken in 1995, you can almost imagine that it is Nine Elms back in the day, except for the fact that the locos and the shed are far too tidy.


Peter

 

Nice picture!
I'm looking forward to see 34039 back together again soon. There was a time around then (?) that the GCR had about 6 Pacifics on site. One weekend I think there were 3 or 4 in steam and somebody put a noticeboard outside Loughborough station advertising this fact and saying "Any other railway would call this a Gala"!

 

Makes sense, thank you. I suppose having an as-and-when project means he can keep staff employed and working even if they're low on contract work (though I can't imagine Rileys ever would be)

 

Some time ago, I recall seeing a post with proposed names and numbers of the next batch of Merchant Navies. Was 'Yeoward Line' ever considered?

 

Yes, Nine Elms was pretty grubby by 1966.....