Bulleid Pacifics - Past or Present

What you mean is Bulleid conned the Ministry of supply into authorising the building of the Pacifics. I believe the initial plan was to allocate the BBs to the SE and Central divisions, where the fighter bases were located, and the WCs to the South Western division but it didn’t quite work out like that. The 8’6” cab locos also had narrow tenders, the early rebuilds were matched with 9’ tenders which meant a lot of tender swapping but the later ones kept the tenders they entered the works with so there were five variations, wide tender wide cab rebuilds, wide cab narrow tender rebuilds, wide cab wide tender originals.wide cab narrow tender originals and narrow cab narrow tender originals. The variations of Bulleid tenders is a study in itself.
There were other subtle differences, 21C31-45 were built at Brighton with parallel buffer shanks rather than tapered (21C29 & 30 had tapered buffers on the loco and parallel on the tender. The same batch along with 21C65-68 also had the coupling rod knuckle joint ahead of the big end rather than behind it. The earlier batches had cast rear trucks, on the later ones they were fabricated the same as the last ten MNs. With the swapping of components at overhaul any modellers should consult pictures if they want accuracy.
As an aside of the fabricated rear truck only one has survived on a MN, on 35011 that the owners want to ‘unrebuilt’ so it might be an idea to try and do a deal with the owners of one of the last ten, Ellerman Lines perhaps.

 

But that doesn't explain why all the WCs were outside London for spring and summer 1950 while lots of the BBs were at 70A and 73A. Seems a strange quirk of fate.

 

It’s also coupled to an exMN 6,000 gal tender.

 

Indeed.

 

What had been done to it?

 

I think reunited with its tender - for a long time it was being displayed as loco only.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/jahenton/52790185850/in/photostream/ (Not my photo).

Tom

 

That's an excellent web site but it fails to show how many extra rivets were needed to build the larger cabs.

Bryan

 

I wondered as it was still close to the end of the war if it was some sort of recognition to the Battle of Britain being fought in the skies over the South East. But it would seem to be somewhat extreme loco allocation to achieve that.

 

Thank you Peter. May I please add a photo I took of 33001 in its dinosaur pleasing condition at Sheffield Park in 1977.

And Mr Aussie () to us creatures from the murky swamps, 33001 is a machine of great beauty.

Bryan - a protected species still living in the 1960s - B

 

it sounds like you are talking about a bunyip!

 

It has been waiting in the queue for asbesdos remediation (thats removal to you and me). Alas not much remediation to its well worn external state but I guess it is only a Q1. Its place in the boarded off area in the Great Hall has now been taken by the EM1 1950s electric loco.

Peter

 

A bit like Black 5's then; all the same but no two locos are exactly alike.

 

That’s it, I suppose that applies to any class of engine that were built in substantial numbers

 

Q1 tender paintwork has been tidied up a bit, though would have needed more financial resources for a full repaint, signwriting and varnish. Despite being in SR livery, there are still BR features on the locomotive casing, specifically the two holes added for washouts.

 

Interesting

Interesting that ninety percent of the class were sent to South Wales for scrapping or subsequent preservation, an area where they were not seen.

 

I don't think any were sent to South Wales for preservation. By a quirk of fate that is what subsequently happened, but the reason for going there was scrapping.

I don't think there is much mystery about why many former SR locos ended up there - there were steel works in South Wales that made the area a logical location for scrap yards, and of all such locations around the country, it was the most accessible to locos based in the South of England, since you could easily get there via Salisbury and and the line to Bristol. Not much point sending them all the way up to the North East for scrapping.

Tom

 

Two Merchant Navy's, 35002 and 35015, ended up in Rotherham.

 

We should be thankful that they ended up at Woodhams, and not Cashmore's, or there would only be two left, Winston Churchill and Clan Line.

 

I think it would have only been 3 instead of 2. Blackmore Vale was purchased direct from BR, rather than Woodham Brothers, but yes we were very fortunate that they ended up at Barry and that, certainly in the case of the Light Pacifics, the majority have steamed in preservation.

 

They were on missionary work to the heathens.

Tom