Bluebell Motive Power

Course the BB will come back from this, as has been said earlier in the thread, there is light at the eventual end of the tunnel, just need to battle through the present.

The comment earlier about the Prairies being tight on or out of gauge got me thinking, obviously Swindon designs were never envisaged when building a LB&SCR route, but might it be a good idea to cut back the platforms slightly where they don't fit ?, given the biggest percentage of preserved loco's are of Swindon heritage, and at least 65-70% of these are outside cylinder types, woulden't this increase your potential motive power hire options ?.

 

That's a bit extreme! In any case, if we had that sort of money available, we wouldn't be needing to hire locos, because we could restore our own quick enough

The normal problem is through platform 4/5 at HK (which is our general platform for down departures, but can be avoided), the dock siding at HK (which would only be entered when shunting, and then only rarely) and the platforms at Kingscote (which like HK, are on a curve). A wide front end, and the general tendency of outside cylinder engines to waggle about at speed thus lead to potential problems, but they can normally be alleviated by a combination of route restrictions (I think 5199 was banned from Platform 4/5 at HK, which just meant signalmen had to be alert and route crossing trains through different platforms to normal) and/or speed restrictions (for example, our normal station limits speed limit is 10mph, but some locos are restricted to 5mph). This isn't uniquely a Swindon problem, incidentally - the U-Boat has speed restrictions through Kingscote and I'd imagine the S15 will as well.

Anyway, yesterday the prairie had its guaging run and, AFAIK, when it got to East Grinstead, all platforms were still intact and it still had both cylinders!

Trivia question: what is the single widest item of Bluebell rolling stock (locos or C&W) and therefore the item that has the biggest restrictions on where it can go on the line? I think people may be surprised by the answer!

Tom

 

From reports, it can run at 25mph on the flat and downhill, but was down to about 10mph going up from HK to the tunnel. Some quick station work at HK and KC (where few people get on/off midweek) and a quick run round at EG meant that only a few minutes was lost on the round trip, which could easily be regained because of the generous station time at SP on our new timetable.

Tom

 

I suspect the Mets are the widest over the step-boards - I seem to remember a comment about them not being allowed in the dock at HK when it was first relayed? But I may be wrong...

Steve B

 

It's probably going to be something ridiculous like "Baxter" or the petrol shunter.

 

Not Baxter, though it is always entertaining to ask a visitor "which operational Bluebell loco has fabricated steel wheels and hopper ashpans" and find them looking at Bulleids and scratching their head...

Give that man a coconut! Always surprises me that our widest rolling stock came from the underground, but it is indeed true. As you say, they are barred from the dock siding at HK. The step boards put them outside the SR composite loading gauge.

Tom

 

Post deleted, as Tom provided the answer. I guessed incorrectly, thinking the culprit was likely to be either the S15 or one of the pullmans,

 

I have been told that an S15 is wider than a Manor across the cylinders, but they are, of course, mounted much higher on the frames.

Steven

 

It has been rumoured around the railway that this is happening, whether there's truth in it is another question.

 

Does anyone know what's running this weekend.Should 09018 make an appearance on Sunday,then can probably entice 100 plus to travel-mainly from PLEG Neville Hill charter on Saturday.

 

AFAIK the prairie ran today, so presumably the prairie will be on one train - at a guess th 9F on the other, assuming a spring is available. When the STN comes out, I'll say if it mentions stock, but it is unlikely to be until tomorrow.

Tom

 

Website now showing 5521/92212 with 323 and 09 on the diner....

 

The diner's probably a bit posh for all those fans of Super-Gronk haulage.

Richard

 

Not for some of us, if there were spaces and guaranteed 09 was powering would be there.

 

What has been working the mid-week service Thursday and today?

Thanks

Steven

 

5521 per the roster, which as been updated since last night.

 

Thanks - the roster page I found a couple of days back for the Bluebell showed 1638 this week, so I presumed hadn't been updated - Tom did actually 5521 was running Thursday, I just wasn't sure if that was in service.

Steven

 

Whatever turns you on!

 

1638 was changed to 92212 for last week some days ago, and because of the uncertainty, this week wasn't even shown until last night - you need to refresh your browser to get the latest version! It's been changing a lot recently!

If you want to ride in the Pullmans behind the 09 and Bluebell for Sunday Lunch I'd say, just as with a steam loco, we couldn't guarantee the motive power!
http://www.bluebell-railway.com/golden-arrow/
Phone the office to see if there are tickets remaining - it's not cheap, you can't hang out of the windowsl, but is a very good meal!

Richard

 

For those who don't know where the roster is

http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/bluebell/loco_roster.html

The 09 is an example of a high-powered for its size machine which has proven capable of good feats of haulage recently. If you fancy something which is the polar opposite then 55 is out this weekend...