Steel Steam and Stars III

My video from the event is no also available:

Llangollen Railway Steel, Steam & Stars III - YouTube

Thanks,
Lewis

 

Jeez was it wet on Sunday or What!!!!! (I've only just dried out)

I enjoyed the day to a point ( from a weather point of view) - I'm glad I went, but I feel that I too must add my sixpence worth to the severe lack of info up and down the line regarding delays which just seemed to keep getting worse without anyone seeming to know why! ( OK moan over)

All in all I had a good time despite the weather, and all things considered it won't put me of coming back for more - hopefully SSS IV ( should it go ahead) will be blessed with better weather and I will be able to see the line in all its glory and experience what the 6880 society do best!

Admin & Glyn's Girl it was nice to meet both of you and your hound (albeit briefly) - and thank you very much for the beer ( much appreciated!) :thumb: - it will be consumed soon enough.

Anyway, here are a few shots from a very rain soaked Sunday!!!

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Yes it was!

Admin was last seen heading into the gloom at Carrog on Sunday with a crate of it under his arm.........................

 

The Coal Tank appears to need a different type of attention to that received whilst at SSSIII. It is capable of running a lot further than it did if it isn't wasting the water away through the safety valves as a result of a roaring big fire in between workings, rather than a grate full. The visiting support crews also work better with a little bit of tlc themselves - an occasional chippy run for instance can do wonders for goodwill.

Little understandings like this can go a long way when long, long days are required.

 

Previous galas on the railway seemed to have ran successfully so would it simply be a case of 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it'

Did the new extension to Bonwm cause the problems with timings?

 

The Glyn-Bonwm shuttle doesn't make it the easiest event to T/T, but lessons have been learned and there was other factors that weren't planned for such as the Maroon sets failure(s).

As David has also mentioned there were a few guys involved SSS1+2 who were unable to help for various reasons explained previously in this thread, and so some of those organising this event were slightly new to it. However they tried their best, and the event still achieved its aims in making a profit for 6880 and providing a good day out for visitors. Despite all the problems, people still seem to have enjoyed their visit.

 

I was there Saturday and Sunday and enjoyed it apart from the weather on Sunday!

Got a video of the cavalcade after waiting an hour and 20 mins in the freezing cold!...

Steel, Steam and Stars lll Cavalcade passing through Glyndyfrdwy on the 29th April 2012 - YouTube

 

It was good to meet everyone again! right wheres our next gala?

 

This is very much the impression I got from chatting to the support crew at Glyn on Saturday. Too much fire and too much water in the boiler than is ideal. Isn't it an awesome bit of kit though!

 

When I was firing it on the first Sunday, there was very little fire in it, more hole than fire, and it was still making steam.

The boiler is very tight and free steaming, but the safety valves are rams bottom design. They blow at 150 psi, and don't seat again until 125...

If either of you can come up with a way of firing without putting coal on, then advice would be most welcoming.

 

We were back home in the warmth and missed this, so thank you for sharing it, its good to see them all.
Reminds me of Swanage last year with the tunes they can play.

 

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh how cute my little girl xx

 

I had an enjoyable time at the Gala and the beer festival ( remembered from SSS II by the guy running the beer festival ). Windows were very popular for Foxcote's first run on the Tuesday - pity it was not used more than 2 days. A selection of my photo's can be found at Zenfolio | Paul Simpson | Steel Steam and Stars III. My favourite photo is Llangollen station at night, after the return on the beer train on the first Saturday Zenfolio | Paul Simpson | Steel Steam and Stars III | Photo 3

 

Right I has chance to post about the gala....

I was there all nine days, and I did enjoy myself. I maybe didn't like it compared to SSSII but thats not due to the Gala as such more the bloody weather and my B&B which I didn't like. The timetable delays were anoying but I wasn't that bothered by those. Would been nice with been more 'Western' power around but hey hoe. The Coal Tank, despite the probloms experacnced with was fantastic to see as was the Caley and 'Super D'. And being able get up close to Torando was nice, was able to put the ghost of the horrible time I had at a gala at the Mid Hants two years ago to bed and take some decent photos for once of her.

Dam near froze to death on Sunday though. And the photo of the cavelcade is rubbish....

But hears to a possible SSSIV!!!! Could we have a 'collett goods' and 'Chuchward Mogel' next time please?

 

More by luck than judgement I visited on the 2nd Friday and Saturday so missed the awful weather on the last day; indeed, Saturday 28th was quite pleasant. A very impressive line-up of steam and some excellent beer at the festival on the Friday night too. I was glad that I stayed in a hotel this time rather than in a tent for SSSII when the weather was much better! In some ways, a tour around the shed at Llangollen was one of the most memorable parts of my visit as I never expected to see the "under construction" frames and other parts of a Grange, a 47xx and a Patriot in the same place in the 21st Century!

 

So...was the event a success? Were the aims of it met?

 

Count me in for that if 3205 and 5322 are booked, am I right in thinking Llangollen are yet to have a GWR Mogul ? unless 7325 slipped in under the radar years ago, they were as big a part of the original route as Manors & Dukedogs.

 

As is all too often the case the "someone" was wrong! Britannia was unable to raise the vacuum above 16" and it was initially thought that the fault was on the loco, however the fault was eventually traced to a perished seal on the rear coaches vacuum bag dummy. By the time this was found and rectified it was pronounced too late to operate the 10.30 train, in spite of the fact that this was all sorted by 10.20

 

Ian - This is straight from the BLS who have had stewardship of the loco for some forty years now :-

The book 'Bashers, Mourners, and Gadgets' on the history of the Coaltank explains it all. Price £19.00 via the web or from pete.skellon@lineone.net.


The problem lies in that most firemen view the loco as a coal guzzler. And fill the firebox up because it is thin. The fire has to be a dancing thin fire on the grate, not loaded like a standard LMS or LNER, where it burns through the bed. With having a thin bed and you fill the holes and top the bed, this creates a greater area than the heating area, making for a better steam raiser.


The book explains all.

 

We've never had a mogul. Another loco we could do with having back is an ivatt 2, tank or tender version. Both locos that used to work the line. Last time we had one was 46443 back in 1991 I think.