Bluebell Motive Power

Gutted. I'd really hoped she'd make it to Kieghley before 43924 retired last year but was still hoping to see her up North. Is it really10 years since she returned to servce?

 

It's bowed out with just under eight years, Firebox problems have curtailed it. Not much point repairing it for it to run around a year and a bit.

 

Sad to hear about the withdrawal of No.30541 - it's a great engine and I'll miss it! Hopefully she'll be back soon!

I've put together some of my favourite clips from the 'Q' over the last few years - hope you enjoy the tribute:

 

Just out of interest where has the whistle on Fenchurch come from?

While getting older means the memory ain't what it used to be I'm sure it was a lot deeper pre overhaul.

Thanks

Andrew

 

I think it was a whistle from a road steam vehicle put on for a bit of variety I believe was the reason. Not sure where in particular

 

Every Spring issue since 2015 (except 2014 as that was the Summer issue) the Bluebell News release locomotive mileages for every locomotive. 2022 mileages are as follows

80151 - 9,064
73082 - 6,852
30541 - 5,642*
65 - 2,839
D4106 - 1,652
6989 - 952^
263 - 242*
W11 - 184
76017 - 110
73156 - 88
70 - 28

*- Withdrawn (Q withdrawn in January 2023)
^ - Hire in (staying at least till October and possibly even beyond)

Sharing on here as I have a keen interest for "mileage accumulation" and maybe interesting for others.

 

You do have to wonder about the economics of hiring in a big engine like a Standard 5 for it to only cover 88 miles.

Peter

 

You can thank me for always providing the miles in BN reports - started round about the time I started compiling the loco news update

I’m wondering if that is an error, since it implies only 4 round trips over the three days of GoS. I suspect 76017 might be wrong as well, since I did 44 miles on it just on the Saturday and that was taking over from another crew.

In previous years, visiting engines for GoS have typically done 200+ miles.

(For personal reasons I didn’t do the loco report this issue so didn’t look closely at the numbers before publication).

Tom

 

Looking at the timetable 73156 worked 9 round trips and 76017 worked 7 round trips .

Sent from my XQ-AS52 using Tapatalk

 

Technically 76017 should've achieved circa 176 miles based on the mainline movements as well as the timetable, 73156 should be 198 circa miles.

Also Tom a massive thank you on my behalf for taking the time to do it.

 

I don't think mainline movements (i.e. the distance between East Grinstead and SP on arrival; and the reverse when leaving) would show up on our mileage records, so it should just be the traffic miles run at the gala.

The mileage data are compiled from the daily drivers' ticket which is completed each day. Those feed into our system for recording overall loco mileages and days in traffic for inspection purposes; and also logging any defects that require attention by a fitter. For an incoming loco, no doubt the operating company and owner would have their own requirements for such things, but they would go into their own management systems. So a loco that came in and out for one day on a charter (such as Braunton a few years back) wouldn't show up in our mileage records. I think when Clan Line visited a few years ago for some attention on our wheel drop and then ran a single round trip in Bluebell revenue service, it recorded 22 miles for us (the revenue mileage), though there must have been at least one further round trip on arrival / departure.

The flip side of that is that if a Bluebell loco visits another railway for a gala, we would typically want to record the mileage run while away on a different line, because ultimately that effects our maintenance schedules. That whole question bugged me a few years back (2019 I think) when we were approaching 1.5million miles in traffic, since I didn't have perfect records of earlier galas or visits by our engines to other railways. So the nominal 1.5million point probably included some miles run by Bluebell locos "away"; but also by foreign locos "here", which looked a bit like double counting. Probably only amounts to much less than 1% discrepancy though, which is probably within the margin of error given the somewhat notional distances - we say it is 22 miles round trip, but it is actually probably nearer 21.75, but then you get into miles run on run rounds etc! So I stopped worrying about it too much.

The gross trends in mileage are interesting; and also the trends in how many locos run at least some traffic in revenue service each year, which for many years was always 8 from the core home steam fleet, but was only 5 last year - supplemented by the Hall and the Gronk.

Tom

 

In order to keep the thread up to date.

Latest update on 34059 "Sir Archibald Sinclair": https://www.bulleidsociety.org/News/Latest_News.html

In a recent Chairman's update a month or so ago (available in the public domain), the board has approved for the overhaul of Q No. 30541 and B4 No. 96 "Normandy". The Q-class of which (the front part at least) had left the railway this morning for I believe Leaky Finders in Devon for the commencement of its overhaul.

 

Really glad the Q is coming back. Hopefully in SR livery!

 

Wherever it came from, a bit of a "noise" to me! Ugh.

 

If it’s at Leaky’s they’ve got a Merchant Navy to finish first!

 

Or whatever has the funds to be completed first I would expect.

I believe it will be on the basis it was going to be back in SR this year but was withdrawn prior to the change.

 

I assume it'll be occupying the space that 5552 is shortly about to vacate.

 

It’s the only vacant space there! The Prairie should have gone two weeks ago.

 

Sadly, the Pannier is a sitting tenant at the minute....

 

Yes I know, are the owners actually attempting to raise funds for it? The next job is a certain Merchant Navy, a lot of work has been and is being done by MNLPS members to get it ready for the boiler inspector.