Bulleid Pacifics - Past or Present

Don't worry! This is the friendly thread for Bulleid fanatics, and I'm sure any videos posted by anyone concerning Bulleid's finest will be lapped up with relish by all concerned! By the way, some good shots, there...

 

Mrs Steve bought me 4 of your DVD's for Christmas, and we really enjoyed watching all of them, even those bits that were not about Great Western loco's :kiss:

 

Good to see 34059 finally back in steam on the Bluebell today and the blue background nameplates have been replaced with black ones.

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/895FxNu3j4MzUo-3-g0Bcw?feat=directlink

 

The non GWR bits were the highlights surely? :biggrin1:

 

Eastleigh evidently couldn't find the right tin of paint! I wonder if we'll see a red one at some point?

 

I always understood that BoB nameplates were light blue and WC nameplates were red, or is there more to it than that?


Keith

 

I think 34046's is a black backed nameplate as well. Not sure on any others but the majority were blue for Battle of Britain's or red for West Countries.

 

The rule for BBs was Air Force Blue, but you sometimes got a red or black nameplate if the works had run out of the right tin of paint. 34058 Sir Frederick Pile had a black nameplate for a while, whilst 34061 73 Squadron had a red one.

 

John Fry of the Bulleid Society e-mailed me yesterday to say the black background nameplates have been put on 34059 as these were the nameplates it carried when modified at Eastleigh. In terms of other BoB's, I have seen a colour-rail photo of Lord Beaverbrook with black namplates and I'm sure I've seen two photos of BoB's with red background nameplates, I think they were nos. 34061 73 Squadron and 34083 605 Squadron. With regard to the WC's they also had a mixture of red and black nameplates

 

34101 'Hartland' carried black plates during her last ticket and i know 34027 ran with black Eddystone plates in the 90's on a mainline tour. (for some reason she still had 34027 on the cab sides and smokebox though!)

35027 & 28 have also carried black as has 35005 when she was blue, though one of her plates was red and the other was black as the owner couldn't decide which was better!

 

I quite like the black MN nameplates. I recently found a new-old Hornby model (ie. one that was in a shop that hadn't been sold since its release) of 35019 French Line C. G. T., which has black nameplates. It looks quite nice. I've also noticed that the 35028 chaps use the nameplates to differentiate between the duties they are doing. If you see her with black plates, then she will generally be up for a VSOE; red plates usually denote an enthusiast's outing.

 

Much more complicated I'm afraid. Have seen shots of BB plates in red black and various shades of blue, . Went to the RAF Museum's reserve collection back in the 1970s and they had many BB plates there and it was interesting to see the various different coloured layers of paint on the ones being stripped for restoration. Light blue was the colour applied originally though.

 

Spamcan81 raises an interesting point on the Bittern relivery thread regarding 2015 being the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, and that it would be nice idea to have a get together of the class survivors for the event. What other anniversaries might be coming up, and what Bulleid classes could/should be in attendance? Off the top of my head, I can think of two. The first is this year, as it is the 70th anniversary of the introduction of the Merchant Navy class, although this will probably go unnoticed as 35028 is the only one in steam (I unforgiveably forgot that the prototype was completed in February 1941! However, if you count the first two as 'mere' prototypes, then the production batch wasn't begun until September 1941). However, there is the 'Blackmore Vale Express' in July, which would be a fitting way to mark the occasion, whilst the recent news regarding the three MNs in Bury about to have varying degrees of work done to them (not to mention the others elsewhere) is another cause for celebration.

The second is the 175th anniversary of the London and South Western Railway in 2013, which was created in 1838 when the London and Southampton Railway (of 1834) changed its name. Imagine the potential: a cavalcade of the remaining LSWR locomotives would be impressive, particularly as the O2 (possibly on a visit to the mainland as has been discussed in the railway press when W24 was recently outshopped), the T9, one or two S15s, N15 and possibly the M7 should (usual caveats) still be in steam by then. Then a cavalcade of the successors, namely Bulleids, Lord Nelson and the odd BR Standard thrown in for good measure... A real Southern blow-out!

Oh, and one last thing, that year also coincides with the 90th anniversary of the creation of the Southern Railway...

 

An update on 35006's restoration can be found here:

http://www.gwsr.com/enthusiasts/departments/po-restoration-project/progress-reports/2011/april.aspx

I must admit I didn't realise they were going to use Class 40 wheelsets and axle boxes on the tender. I suppose there's always the scope to manufacture correct-pattern BFB wheels (adapted to fit the Class 40 axleboxes) later in her preserved career (if I won the lottery, I'd set up a foundry to make BFB castings on an 'as needed' basis, not to mention donate for such fittings to be considered by relevant groups). The main thing now is to get her up and running to get some steaming fees in...

 

Better it be running with cl40 wheels and boxes rather than rotting in a siding with BFB wheels sitting on a pallet next to it.

 

Apart from anything else, just how visible are the tender wheels? I doubt whether most peole will notice the difference and its probably a very pragmatic aproach to the problem. If the restorers find their consciences to be troubled by the compromise they can always upgrade later on,

 

The MHR now has a pattern for Bulleid tender wheels. At some point in time 34007 Wadebridge will need her tender completing/finished.

 

It's quite noticeable on 34046, but then again that may be because I was biased by the fact that I already knew that the Class 33 wheelsets (if that's what they were from) were fitted, and so I set out to look at them. But as you and I have hinted, its not the end of the world as they could be replaced at a future date if the will to do so is there.

Out of interest, I wonder if the Mid-Hants' pattern for a BFB tender wheel is the only one in existence, or has Southern Locomotives got a pattern as well? Perhaps NickT can enlighten us on this one?

 

I believe they do.

 

Yes, there is/was one at Herston.

https://picasaweb.google.com/116839141471298057728/Restoration2011#5592190688932700258

However, it may be the same one that is now at Ropley. I shall enquire.

BTW: there's various new News items on the SLL website: http://www.southern-locomotives.co.uk/News/news.html