Schools Class "Cheltenham"

We still do, on occasion. Just don't expect it to re-start, if you are stopped on the bank!

 

How will it cope then with medstead bank in either direction then on a damp misty october morning, i can remember 30120 on 4 slipping all the way up through the cutting, we were down to walking pace though, but kept going, will the schools class be as light footed as this machine was?.

 

Not all drivers are alike. It's not just the machine but put a deft driver on the handle and it can make all the difference to a heavier handed one!

 

Generally speaking having smaller diameter Driving wheels should assist hill-climbing - compared with the T9.

 

Why do smaller diameter wheels assist hill climbing?

 

If a Schools will take 8 over the NYMR, one should walk the Mid-Hants!

 

Indeed, Repton seemed to work fine when it visited the Mid-Hants a couple of year's ago.

 

Yes, 30926 coped well on the MHR but I remember 3440 having a bit of trouble.

 

And we don't get misty, drizzly conditions 6 miles inland from the North Sea?

 

I went to the gala at MHR when 3440 was there. I don't seem to recall it struggling, far from it. Medstead bank isn't that steep, and is pretty much straight, compared to Goathland bank and the climb up through Newtondale. 925 should be fine on MHR.

 

I had 3440 for a day when it was on the MHR, quite damp too, and we coped alright.

I can do that with the 9F if I put my mind to it......

 

I think that you missed my point. The size of driving wheels has no effect on ability to climb hills. If you have a smaller driving wheel and everything else is the same (cylinders, pressure, etc) then the tractive effort is increased and, yes, the force available at the wheel is increased but, in this scenario, unless you increase the weight available for adhesion, you haven't made anything easier as adhesive weight is fundamental.
Large wheels are generally necessary for higher speeds as there is a practical limit to the rotational speed of a steam engine. If you don't need to run fast, smaller wheels provide many advantages but, in isolation, they don't improve hill climbing ability.
The original post by Busby2, comparing the wheel diameters of a T9 with a Schools was fundamentally flawed in any case as they both have the same 6'-7" dia driving wheels! The Schools has some 40% more tractive effort, though!

 

It made my day when I read about Cheltenham coming to the Watercress Line. I remember seeing her in a corner of the NRM a few years ago, and I imagined her in Ropley yard simmering alongside Nellie and the T9. At the time, it was a complete fantasy. Now it seems quite possible!

Compared to the NYMR, the MHR "Alps" are relatively easy. Mind you, apart from perhaps Foxfield, so are all other preserved lines! Nevertheless, 3 miles or so at 1 in 60 is not exactly easy, the last mile or so in the down direction is fairly twisty and the approach to Medstead from either direction is in deep cuttings that seem to attract the damp. Having seen Repton in action both on the NYMR and at the MHR gala, I'm sure Cheltenham will do just fine, once the crews have got the hang of her.

Although these would all be welcome visitors (now there's a gala line-up and a half!), I can't see them being near the top of Ropley's wish list. None of them would be able to handle the MHR's normal trains day-in, day-out.

(Last I heard, 120 was more-or-less complete at The Flour Mill and due to move to Bodmin during the summer, with a public launch at their gala at the start of September.)

 

I think one or two people are forgetting how powerful a V class is.

Tractive effort 25,135 lb
Cylinder size 16 ½’’ X 26”
Driving wheels 6’ 7’’

Ps I under stand that two types of tenders were used on V class locos. With spoke type wheels or with disc type wheels. Does anyone know which wheel type tender Cheltenham is paired with?

Thanks

 

Looking at this photo I think it's spoked wheels http://www.flickr.com/photos/sirbrianrobertson/4082896343/sizes/o/in/photostream/

 

And the ability of the boiler to generate steam is simply phenomenal. The mechanical side is meaningless, without that being right.

The MHR will discover that these are exquisite locos; once you've oiled them up, that is!

 

Thanks, Martin. Beat me to it!

Edit due to Senior Moment. Apologies, forgot both locos have similar driving wheel diameters. However, suspect the additional weight of Schools [Engine 67T compared with T9's 48/49T-ish] should help adhesion.
The steaming qualities of a Schools' boiler, during BR days anyway, were normally very good. I have no doubt that during the preservation era they will be just as good.

 

Seems there are ,sadly, too many people who never saw Schools Loco's working in 'real' conditions. We who are lucky enough to remember them working in Kent on a daily basis can recall just how powerful they are in just about any conditions. Sole Street, the climb to Sevenoaks tunnel and all inclines on the Eastern and Central Section's were handled with ease by these Loco's, quite often overloaded for a '5'. I can vividly remember the day when 30939 'Leatherhead' turned up at Folkestone Junction with the 'Golden Arrow' in June 1959.....a minute early! The 'Arrow' wasn't a normal turn for a '5' and I never did find out why 30939 was used three days on the trot, but I know she kept time each day on the down runs.

I would think the Mid-Hants would be a doddle for this fine beast in good nick.

 

The problems occurred the first time 3440 visited the MHR. She was on a shuttle service from Ropley to Alton and had trouble backing the stock out of the yard at Ropley and into the station. She then slipped a bit on the climb up to Medstead. The second time she visited she had no trouble at all and really flew up the banks.