71000 Matters

Its this catalogue of 'deviation from design' & 'deviation from drawing' errors that spawn conspiracy theories...

 

And a beautiful whistle too.

 

Thank You and very interesting.
Mr J G Koopman could maybe lecture us
Why the first was lousy
the second better and third how it should have been made from start?
Please?

 

Thnaks for this, was unaware of Part 2 and happy to put some funds their way for a download.... Second hand copies start at about £ 20+ none of which i suspect is going towards the Loco.
I agree Hermod, a talk by Mr Koopmans, perhaps dumbed down a little from his thesis/ book ( for me anyway), would be interesting. Perhaps the Annual ASTT conference would be a good occasion ?

 

The Duke is an impressive loco in its current form, but I have some empathy with the crews who were required to operate it in BR days. They were presented with a loco which was known to be a one off, which they didn't really need. Even if it had worked well, they would have to learn how to get the best out of a machine that was very different from a Duchess or Princess. 8P locos had never been plentiful under the LMS/early BR, so many trains were kept within the capabilities of a Scot, which often deputised.

Imagine, then, being expected to operate an 8P, which was very demanding on the fireman, but which could do no more than a good Patriot or Jubilee. All this in the context of the advent of diesels. I think I would have had very little incentive to look after it and would have relished every bit of downtime that could be encouraged. How things change!

 

Just looked at the 71000 site, and the homepage image is a nice sight for me - That was taken in 1991, and was produced as a greetings card.
The chap in the middle by the wall is me, the chap by the wall on the right is my Dad (sadly no longer with us). it made his day seeing the card at the time!
I was 21 at the time - Where's all that time gone? seems like yesterday!

Richard.

 

I only saw it on the ECML a few times but it's a corker of a locomotive; here's hoping for its return.

 

Which 71000 site? There seems to be more than one.

 

Looking at the diagram of the Duke's original double chimney and reading the section in the webpage, I wonder if the throttling in the blastpipe was also just where it divided into two rather than actually at the nozzle? It would be interesting to see and know the various cross sectional areas within the casting as it was.

 

https://www.dukeofgloucester.co.uk/

The picture on the greetings card is larger, and the image clearer. I recognised myself and my Dad straight away.

Richard.

 

Anyone already indulged themselves with the 'Rename the Duke' Competition ?

I went with 'Vanguard' (with or without the HMS) because i like the sound, it would have given lots of scope for enginemen to poke fun, and because of some ironic parallels with the Royal Navy Battleship of the same name

 

How about Standard Vanguard?

 

Yes. My vote was for “J.F. Harrison”.

 

Yes i get that.
Pity his nick name wasnt Archie...

 

By all means submit that...

 

For those interested in pictures of no.71000 ,both from the ongoing restoration and others, the Trust has a great collection on Flickr. This was new to me so I thought why not also mention it for others? https://www.flickr.com/photos/71000theduke/

Knut

 

Bet I get shot down in flames for saying this, though I did contribute quite a bit of money to this wonderful loco when it was first being restored: please don't let it carry 'The Duke' instead of 'British Railways' on its lion and wheel tender totem! I've a feeling that quite a few folks would send money if they could know that this tacky wording had been deselected.

I have lots of memories of 71000 from the WCML in Cheshire, way back when. Also knew a former Crewe North fireman who worked on it. He hated it and told me that the blokes at 5A used to call it 71 million.

 

The BR Class 8 Steam Locomotive Trust (https://www.theDuke.UK.com) has just purchased a dual-braked Mk1 BFK support coach (W17015) that will provide greater operational flexibility so are looking to sell their air-braked Mk2 BFK W17041. Anyone interested should get in touch with the Trust Chairman. The attached has more details.

 

No, you're not the only one who doesn't like it. I was happy towards the end of its last ticket when they finally ditched the cast numbers, but now they've done this. I can understand trying to create a brand, but this seems a bit daft.

 

It appears to be nothing more than an exercise for the website's branding. Is there anywhere where they actually state they will be putting it on the tender?