Anybody looking for a GWR project ?

There are three. But let's face it - one of the repatriated Turkish 8Fs ended up being re-exported because it couldn't find a buyer here. Would a repatriated Australian ROD be any more likely to be restored? Far better to spend the money on another overhaul for 63601, which doesn't seem to have any plans for a working future at the moment.

 

63601 is the property of the NRM and therefore subject to their rules on what can and can't be done to keep it running. An Australian example , whether owned by an individual or group, would be exempt from those limitations.

 

I thought that 63601 was just in the overhaul queue at Loughborough now, albeit a way down the list, rather than there being no future plans for her?

 

I would imagine that a Australian ROD would get more interest that a turkish 8F. Only on the basis that it is rare! 8fs are pretty common. Im supprised that didcott havent gone for one to have as a gwr version!

Weather one comes back I dont know, it would be very nice, but I think that the uk cant really sit and say how dare u leave it rusting away, bring it here because we would look after it better until we have more storage facilities to keep things in good condition.

 

Llangollen would be better.. better facilities to restore it, more excited available volunteers and a place to keep it safe after restoration.
Llangollen has a fantastic track record of accomplishments and probably stronger merseyside links.
Its also got some stunning scenery.

Bury's not really got secure storage space for it's own stuff, let alone a rake of historic coaches… they could end up like firewood by the local scrotes (thinking now of the Brake van fire, Brighton Belle car fire, Class 504 unit's destruction, locals stoning trains at Heywood etc etc)…

Bury is a run down suburb of Manchester, Llangollen is an affluent village in the countryside of wales.

Each has their attraction don't get me wrong, but you wouldn't put a Duchess in the poor house, nor would you put a pauper in a palace.

 

There weren't really GWR versions of the 8Fs though: AIUI they were built strictly to the LMS design.

To westernify a ROD would be reasonably expensive since strictly you should be scrapping the firebox and building a new copper one as well as equipping it with GWR safety valves, whistles, superheater and top feed, cylinder covers, pistons without tail rods, smokebox door and chimney...

 

Didcot do have one...or part of it anyway

 

Sorry what I meant was Didcot going for one of the 3 gcr 04's not Didcot going for an 8F.
The comment about the 8F was purely talking about the amount we have in comparison to the 04's

 

Someone's not been to Bury for a while then, the town's regenerated so well in recent years you'd think it was the titular character of a popular BBC sci-fi!

An issue for Cecil or the Major would be finding a line to operate on. Given that Cecil worked a good few decades at a colliery, I'd imagine they can hold their own, but (purely out of curiosity) does anyone have any stats about how well they worked back in their day? How powerful would they be in BR-money? What line speeds can they achieve? What gradients would they be able to tackle? What would their range and fuel consumption be - its a small bunker for such a long boiler. Given their age, how challenging would they be to drive and maintain compared to more standard designs?

And perhaps the most important one of all, what livery should they be in?

 

As rebuilt by the GW 1346 was TE 27,000, RA red, power class D. That's on a rough par with a GW 56. I know nearly nothing about the LMS classification but in BR terms that might be 4F or even 5F I suppose.

According to Great Western way ADR locos were probably black lined out in white or grey.

 

That's pretty hefty, especially for the time. But did it have the boiler capacity to keep up with that level of cylinder output, or was it like a typical shunting loco - you can shift anything you like, provided you don't want to do so for very long?

Tom

 

I think if we're t start trying to get locos from Oz,, we need to start looking after the one repatriate from Oz we already have which is in an absolutely dire and neglected state, which is hardly a great advert for 'us' looking after 'their' history.

 

Let's get away from the GWR. These locos were originally Mersey Railway locos for passenger trains. The incline of the railway tunnel under the river Mersey was 1 in 27 both ways, I believe. So, they had to do a bit to move their trains.

 

RCTS says 21 sq ft of grate, 1472 sq ft of tubes, 122 sqft firebox. That's bigger than a GW Std 2 (2-6-2T) but a bit smaller than an unsuperheated Std 4 (2-8-0T/City of Truro). Of course you wouldn't expect it to be as efficient as the Churchward boilers.

 

The one repatriate from Oz I can think of is Pendennis Castle, which whilst I agree is not in running condition, is hardly neglected, just the focus of a prolonged overhaul due to the worn out state it was returned in, leading to it requiring a lot more work than was originally imagined.

I suspect there is another I'm missing?

 

the only other I can think of that went to Aus is 4472

 

(Deleted - 6024KE1 got there first)

 

This one I suspect.




http://www.tanfield-railway.co.uk/locos.php?vari=1

 

I guess to be fair that does rather undermine the concept that us having them back is a means of securing their future from further decay. I suppose also the other two (4472 and 4079) were returned preservation exports rather than repatriated working locos so the "one" description could still be apt.