Bulleid Leader

I have added 3 new photos I have obtained of Bulleids Leader class





36001 Eastleigh 26th June 1949



https://railway-photography.smugmug.com/SRSteam/Bulleid-Locomotives/Bulleid-Leader-Class/Bulleid-Leader-Class-36001/i-BZKgvv9/A

Bulleid Leader Class 36001-36005 - Railway-Photography
railway-photography.smugmug.com
railway photographs from the last 100 years

36001 on test near Eastleigh SR Bulleid Leader Class 0-6-6-0T
sorry about quality of photo it was badly folded



https://railway-photography.smugmug.com/SRSteam/Bulleid-Locomotives/Bulleid-Leader-Class/Bulleid-Leader-Class-36001/i-frSFHRL

Bulleid Leader Class 36001-36005 - Railway-Photography
railway-photography.smugmug.com
railway photographs from the last 100 years
36001 unknown location Bulleid Leader class



https://railway-photography.smugmug.com/SRSteam/Bulleid-Locomotives/Bulleid-Leader-Class/Bulleid-Leader-Class-36001/i-SZMXHmJ

Bulleid Leader Class 36001-36005 - Railway-Photography
railway-photography.smugmug.com
railway photographs from the last 100 years

Neil

 

You should put that second shot in the "Guess the Location" quiz Neil.

There has to be enough in that photo to deduce from records precisely when and where it was taken. Quadruple track, distinctive signal gantry, No.1 end leading, dynanometer car, clear shadows, seasonal vegetation ....

 

I think the "unknown location" is Allbrook Jn, just north of Eastleigh.
The Down Home signal gantry and Allbrook Jn signal box are visible above the train.
From the height I think it was taken from the Up Advance Starter signal gantry.

For present day travellers the loco would be level with the BAM Nuttall workshops and crane store.

Cheers, Neil

I've now found the picture elsewhere.
It was used for the endpapers of "Leader, Steam's last chance" by Kevin Robertson published by Alan Sutton in 1989. The picture was taken at Allbrook, by S.C. Townroe, one time Shed Master at Eastleigh.

 

Next one in the new build line ,
after 35011 hits the rails ...........ducks , heads for nearest airport !

 

I still find it mind-boggling that something this size was supposed to perform the same duties as an M7 tank!

Richard.

 

Whilst the original spec was for an M7 replacement, that was not the intended use of the final product. Like Topsy it just grew and grew.

 

Ah, many thanks for enlightening me! I must admit, I know very little of the Leader... I must try to acquire "The Leader Project: Fiasco or Triumph?" by Kevin Robertson.

Richard.

 

I've just started reading Leader -
Steam's last chance.

 

Sledgehammer to crack a nut comes to mind.

 

There's an old axiom stating "An elephant is a just mouse designed to government specifications".... and the railways were under govenment control by the time "Leader" was under construction!

In Bulleid's defence, "Leader" was intended to be one of just four standard classes, with near all-route availability (I recall Hayling Island, the Wenford Branch and IoW lines - all stated to be "of little importance" - as the exceptions.

Had it worked (which, with that unbalanced boiler, I'll concede is somewhere north of doubtful), operational savings would have been unprecedented and likely as not, spelled the end for many superannuated classes on other regions - though where the Western Region would have added the inevitable brass bits'n'bobs is anyones guess!

That would have been worth a tad more than being butcher than an M7 (O2, S15, N15x, 700, I1x, I3, C, H ......... etc. etc. before you get off Southern metals!). The dear old 'Terriers' would probably still made it to the bitter end on their specialised stamping grounds.

Still ..... after more than six decades, it's all moot anyways!

 

On close study of the Leader locomotive picture, showing No.2 end at Allbrook it appears that the face of the driver has been "removed". Assuming that I am right, why was this done? The face of another person in the r/h side of the cab is clear. There is a dark area where the drivers face should be. Any ideas?

 

This is what I am referring to

 

My guess is that it is simply down to reflections and/or the very poor quality of the print which Neil obtained; there is a crease across that part of the image.

 

Could it be as simple as someone's jacket hanging somewhere in the cab?

 

I think you will find that the answer is that No. 1 end (the smokebox end) was L/H drive while No. 2 end had the regulator handle on the same side and was thus RH drive. The hanging BR Standard type regulator handles can be clearly seen in some photos.