Flying Scotsman

That depends on how you would spin it, York could put 4472 on static display so that whilst the A4's are here, there will be the chance to see the A3 alongside the A4's, Arrange for 60163 to be at york during railtours and get 60532 from barrow hill for the week end, the NRM 47 could be used to bring it to york, and you have the full set, all for not a lot of outlay, then very few would complain , charge a fee for staged photo shot and you could funnel the extra funds into the 4472 pot . then re start the overhaul once the money is there to pay for the outstanding work and fitting of the verious electronics you will need to run on the main line,

 

But that isn't cancelling it. Just another delay, and we've got used to those. (By the way, getting all the Gresley pacifics together for a lineup is a great idea!)

 

I'll admit I like to join in the conspiricy 'fun' at times but I hope most of us appreciate why it makes good sense for the NRM not to comment until the engineering report is delivered and, hopefully, a final plan agreed to complete the overhaul.

 

Thanks Miff. You'll appreciate that it doesn't seem like fun when you see criticism at almost every turn, in print, across the net and in conversation - but your support and that of the NatPres and other communities is appreciated.

 

I haven't conspired with anyone all day.

The Melter

 

I'm beginning to see a light on this. The government are re-establishing their strategic reserve and Scotsman is part of it. It wouldn't make sense to overhaul it and then wear it out by using it so an excuse has been dreampt up to cover the real facts. Not only is Scotsman being included in the reserve, but a couple of A4's have been drafted in, as well. These are ideal as they went through works after withdrawal and haven't been steamed since. There's also 4003 & 4073 that had the same treatment. Perhaps 46235 is also part of it?

It all makes sense!

 

I overheard that there's going to be a shock announcement that due to all the additional work that has taken place, 4472 is going to be officially listed as scrapped and that the loco that has emerged from the now classified new build will be numbered 60164! The reason for the 'no recent news' position is due to the carefully planned launch that was being kept 'hush hush'................ooops ;-)

Keep up the good work Anthony and thanks for coming on here and giving us the inside scoop as and when you can (NRM wide, not just 4472.........sorry 60164!)

Best Wishes

Paul

 

You've got it all wrong. The fact is a mass new-build of 87 A3's (hopefully enough to re-create the whole class plus all of Flying Scotsman's livery, tender and chimney variations) is in production. This can now be done at a fraction of Tornado's building cost by using a big new 3D printer. The real reason 4472 has been dismantled so many times is due to scanning errors, the worst one because for a long time one member of the development team thought A3 was the size .... but this was cleverly covered-up by Civil Servants.

 

Firstly, i am not critical of Antony, but in my view Yorks silence is doing it no favours, just a press release telling what the position is would clear up any uncertaincy, If york does not have the money to finish the overhaul, then why not put her back together on display and use the opertunities availible at reasonable cost to re fill the coppers?? what has gone on , is in the past the lost opertunities and bad decisions cant be reversed, Antony, how much would it cost to send the deltic or 47 to barrow hill and fetch 60153? and to put on a gresley week end , whilst the A4's are still here? and what would a weekend bring in if you included a night shoot and special permit access only to it

 

60153 "Flamboyant", now that one has been a well-kept secret, Martin!

I assume you mean Blue Peter, 60532 which is a Thompson pacific.

Nevertheless, before the two A4's return across the water, there is scope for an LNER/ER "pacifics" gathering, and 60103, in steam or static, would be a huge draw. York or Shildon could perhaps put on a "top shed" recreation, V2 and B1 thrown in for good measure.

I'm sure Anthony is well aware of the possibilities, and the cost. No-one has much money anymore.

46118

 

Arthur Peppercorn would be most surprised to learn that one of his Pacifics had been rebuilt by his predecessor. 60532 is most definitely not a Thompson designed Pacific.

 

Oops! Sorry!

Getting my LNER loco engineers mixed up.

As they say, "more haste, less speed"....

But reiterating my other point, an LNER/ER gathering before the two A4's return home would be a crowd puller, but as stated I'm sure Mr Coulls is on to that one!

46118

 

Personally I'd be more impressed by a lineup of each of classes A5, A6, A7 and A8. I might even bother going to York to see that...

 

<Pedant mode = on>

I think that should be "less haste, more speed"...

<Pedant mode = off>

Sorry, couldn't resist ;-)

 

Ah....Yes! Quite right!

46118

 

Such a press release is here:
Flying Scotsman report published - About us - National Railway Museum

The final paragraph says:
"Until the working group and engineering consultants have had more time, the National Railway Museum is not making any further announcements about any return to steam date, although it can confirm it will not be this year. The museum would like to thank the public and funders again for their ongoing support and patience and to reiterate its commitment to returning Flying Scotsman to steam." NOTE: 'This year' was 2012.

Since then we all know something has leaked about a possible cylinder alignment problem but until the independent engineers' assessment is available we have no real idea, despite all the speculation on this forum and elsewhere, how serious this problem is or what fixing it will cost. This information alone is almost irrelevant without knowing what else is in the assessment, good or bad. So NRM may be wiser to wait until they know the full picture rather than comment endlessly on dribs and drabs of gossip.

 

Money? Wassat?

 

He needs em, I get the impression that Nick would struggle getting the breathing in and out sequence right without an "advisor" .

FS WILL be completed, let's have a bit less of this "cancelling" talk please.