Tornado

If you read the report of what had been done in the firebox recently you'd have also noted that they've modified the concrete arch so its sides cover less of the firebox wall, i.e. exposing several extra sqare feet of wall to direct flame.

 

Noticed on 60163's Twitter feed that she's just ticked over 40k miles on the WSR.

 

What is their Twitter feed. I just had a search and did couldn't find one.

 

http://twitter.com/#!/60163_Tornado

 

It's life-time mileage. 40,000 on the WSR alone would indeed be a '0' too many

 

40,000 miles since that initial run on the Hope Town works track in August 2008? Over three years of intense running, a great milestone.

 

Well, intensive for a post-preservation era locomotive! eep:

 

Considering it's taken a couple of decades for some SVR locos to clock 100,000 miles i'd say 3 years to do 40,000 is pretty intensive. Especially when you consider she had a number of months of inactivity for repairs.

 

I reckon she's been in traffic about 36 months since she first steamed so Ralph's 1,111 miles a month is about right. If you want to know how intensive it is or not, I suggest you ask her support crew!

Foxy

 

Come on Ralph. I know oop North you hardy souls probably walk that mileage regularly to get to and from t'pit for work! Sustained only by black pudding and mushy peas.

But with all the rings and hoops that have to be negotiated these days to get steam tours running it ain't bad. Of course being a SO, (Southern Only), Yeti I'd rather it had been a Merchant Navy running that mileage on trips for us riff raff rather than for the moneyed rich. But you can't have everything in life.

 

Would be interesting to know how many of those miles were LE movements - these do not directly generate revenue, but also incur costs.

 

Many of Clan Lines run's are short distance (sometimes just round Woking / Guildford and back) so not very taxing, some of it's longer runs are Bath and Oxford from Victoria, but it has very little LE work (Stewarts Lane, Factory Jn, Victoria)

 

Note to self: find out if theres room on the control panel for an 'ashpan doors not been put back up' warning light...

 

This is completely OT, but, back in the day, Britannias were some of the hardest worked locos on BR. In Ronald I. Nelson's book, 'A Footplate Survey', he quotes a run with 70010 on the down 'Broadsman' on August 31st 1954. He noted that 70010 had covered 123,000 miles since its last intermediate overhaul in the September of 1953. 123,000 in just over 11 months, pretty intensive! Also it had covered 260,000 between major overhauls. However, good as it was, it was nothing compared to American steam locos, the Milwaukee Road's 4-4-2 Atlantics and later their 4-6-4 F7 Hudsons which regularly covered 40,000 miles a month (!!) and had to reach speeds of 105 mph every day just to keep scheduled time on the famous "Hiawatha" trains! The majority of Castle class locos averaged about 40,000 miles a year!!

Alan. ;-)

 

Not with the atomiser warning light, sanders 'on' light and the hazard warning lights as well!

Foxy

 

Eventually tornado will be 'fly by wire' ! ..., although wire by fire could cause problems and ( fire by wire would make her into a russell hobbs)

 

Nah, mate! That's so old hat, surely you mean 'fly by light'? :laser:

Foxy