Sheff's Recent Activity
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Sheff liked LMS2968's post in the thread GWR four-cylinder arrangement?.
I know you have the Book on Webb's Three-cylinder compounds. Have a look at all the additional pipework in the smokebox which gets in the way of routine maintenance, such as tube replacement and even cleaning. Take the Midland Compounds with...
Jul 4, 2026 at 7:52 AM -
Sheff liked LMS2968's post in the thread GWR four-cylinder arrangement?.
'Best' is a word rather open to interpretation; you need to specify from which point of view they were 'Best'. As you say the Compounds had their weaknesses and the main one was size - or lack of it. They were more than big enough for the...
Jul 4, 2026 at 7:46 AM -
Sheff liked 60044's post in the thread GWR four-cylinder arrangement?.
I sort of the agree with the comment about keeping your dreams to yourself but there does seem to be a trend on this forum for passive aggressive attempts (from some quarters more than others!) to shut down comments such as yours. This is after...
Jul 4, 2026 at 7:44 AM -
Sheff liked LMS2968's post in the thread GWR four-cylinder arrangement?.
Sorry, but wrong way around. The Compound regulator was an ingenious bit of kit and allowed the unskilled driver to drive them effectively. At small openings live steam was fed to the two low pressure cylinders to allow starting, at the same time...
Jul 4, 2026 at 7:43 AM -
Sheff liked marshall5's post in the thread GWR four-cylinder arrangement?.
I don't think that it was "special" as it was a commonly used arrangement in the U.S. but the downside was a 'weak' front end requiring the use of braces to the smokebox. With the use of continuous frames and separate cylinder castings on the...
Jul 4, 2026 at 7:43 AM -
Sheff liked Jamessquared's post in the thread GWR four-cylinder arrangement?.
I'm reminded of Adams' trial of the Wordsell-von Borries system (a two cylinder compound) on one of his 4-4-0s. It worked OK, and saved a small amount of coal, but that was more than outweighed by the additional lubrication demands, such that it...
Jul 4, 2026 at 7:27 AM -
Sheff liked LMS2968's post in the thread GWR four-cylinder arrangement?.
Not so the second driving axle having to deal with offset torque and massive torsional stresses. Not a huge problem in a country like Britain sitting on massive reserves of cheap coal, so the building and maintenance costs became the dominant...
Jul 4, 2026 at 7:26 AM -
Sheff replied to the thread West Somerset Railway General Discussion.
Yes, we Chemicals are indeed the chameleons of the profession ;)
Jul 3, 2026 at 12:13 PM -
Sheff liked Michael Rowe's post in the thread West Somerset Railway General Discussion.
[ATTACH] Please find attached attached above a note I wrote in 2024 on this subject of locos permitted to run on the WSR. Regrettably I am afraid there has, as with other Heritage Railways been no financial miracle Michael Rowe
Jul 3, 2026 at 12:12 PM
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Sheff replied to the thread Saphos Trains 2026.
Making it look easy. Lovely clean exhaust, Tangers take note!
Jul 1, 2026 at 4:23 PM -
Sheff liked nige757's post in the thread Saphos Trains 2026.
60532 Seen from high above Helwith Bridge by kind permission of the landowner. [MEDIA]
Jul 1, 2026 at 4:23 PM -
Sheff liked Oswald T Wistle's post in the thread Saphos Trains 2026.
If last week was "El Scorchio!" this week saw temperatures fall to more sensible values, throw in some periods of rain and it had become a very much more typical summer. "Flaming June" had gone, into July and the days are becoming shorter,...
Jul 1, 2026 at 4:18 PM
