Flying Scotsman

the range of flying scotsman with the water tender is kings cross to Waverley,this is in excess of 300 miles

 

It is? You are talking about water, aren't you? You don't fancy a small wager on this, do you?

 

It might have been when they were water troughs still on the route in 1968 but it certainly isn't now!

 

It's nearer 400 miles at 392 miles +/- a few yards upto 1/2 a mile in excess.

 

Just watched the repeat on BBC4 of the Flying Scotsman programme from 2013 which described the May 1968 non-stop run with 2 tenders and 3 sets of troughs still in use. They got a good pick-up from one trough but not so much from the other two and just about made it to Waverly non-stop. They wouldn't have managed it without those troughs en route.

 

We should remember that in the true non-stop days there were many more water troughs on the route, so the need for the second tender wasn't there. It was with dieselisation and no need for water troughs that Scotsman required the second tender in the first place, never mind the non stop run: it was very useful generally in the 60s, less so with railway preservation developing groups and companies specifically for fuelling steam locomotives.

I'd have liked the NRM to have been able to get the second tender if possible. I'm not saying it's wasted behind Bittern, but it is the most iconic image of Flying Scotsman - two tenders, non stop, with blue and grey corporate image all around, the lone steam locomotive running on the ECML. Restoring it to that form would have been terrific.

Speaking of which, there is something I have noticed about the restoration - or it may have been a previous restoration. When owned by Pegler, the corridor tender pulled by Scotsman was still a totally cut down one as per the exchange trials when it was used with Lord Faringdon. When you look at the rear of the tender in shots from the 60s, you can see that the rear is cut down and squared off.

Today the rear of the tender has been restored with the full valancing over the door, but not on the sides of the tender, which remain cut down, making it an odd compromise between its original form and its cut down form.

 

For all things corridor tender see

http://www.sirnigelgresley.org.uk/tenders/tenders4.shtml

and the previous three pages.

 

excellent bit of work that...
Do the corridors on these tenders see Much Use on engines in preservation... ?
Remember opening the door of one ( cant remember which) for a nozy and it being completely impassible for Fire irons, oil cans, shovels lamps etc ( a veritable support coach)...

 

I recall going through one in the early 60's at Donny plant and it was a tight squeeze.
Wouldn't fancy my chances today

 

I'm told they do get used when out on the mainline - not least to provide fresh supplies of tea to the footplate from the support coach

 

I was lucky enough to be invited through SNG's tender for 10mins on the footplate in 1978 between York and Sheffield. Don't remember it causing me any difficulties and I'm a big man!

 

Mate of mine did similar on a CCE around the same time. Turned on the charm and talked his way onto the footplate.

 

I was a 'Steamtown' volunteer at the time and Julian Riddick invited me to go through...what a real Gent that man was

 

Been through both 'Sir Nigel' and 'Scotsman's' corridor tender several times on mainline tours.....but I was slimmer then!

 

My mate chatted up the driver's wife.

 

A couple of corridor tender memories:-

Back in August 1980 in my days running Leander I was travelling out from Carnforth to relieve the support crew with 5690 coming south on the CME. This was in the days of a loco change at Skipton and 4472 was the relief loco. We were supposed to take 5690 from Skipton back to Hellifield to pick up some coaches from the emergency train to be taken on to Hereford, on our way to move the engine to the SVR. Anyway 4472 took the coaches from Carnforth and deposited them at Hellifield, and then the FS crew and us all decamped into 4472's tender corridor for the journey to Skipton courtesy of Carnforth TI Bert Moore. It was an interesting experience for the 6 or 7 of us, as it was a warm afternoon and the cool of the water on your back was quite welcome. We got to Skipton to be told (pre mobile phones remember!) that 5690 had been delayed due to a loco failure on the S&C - yes it was the day of the first steam hauled freight in preservation. It was eventually decided that the engine change would have to take place at Hellifield so we all piled back into the corridor and off we went back to Hellifield. I have been fortunate over the years to have been through the corridor on 4472, No 7, and 19, but the most memorable experience has to be that cheap day return from Hellifield to Skipton.

The other somewhat amusing memory was one night with 4498 working a train south from Keighley to Derby. A number of us were congregated in a support coach compartment when a young lady from Travellers Fare came along peddling all day breakfasts (those were the days). Having sold a load she said "this is the last coach isn't it?" Robert Riddick and I had a little difficulty in convincing her that it wasn't and eventually Robert took her through the corridor and the TI ws kind enough to let her stay for about ten minutes. When she eventually came back she was just about speechless and eventually when someone asked her what she thought of the coach next door, she said" I've never seen anything like it - all that fire!" It's times like that which make it all worth while.

Regards
Bob

 

I had the pleasure of going through 'Scotmans tender whilst at the Stockton & Darlington 150 celebrations at Shildon. Whilst there, there was a set of stairs into the cab on one side of the engine. The other stairs were arranged not on the other side of the cab as with other engines but at the rear of the tender. Even to a 12 year old the corridor struck as being claustrophobic to a degree. Though having said that I've heard/read tell that Gresley used furniture at home in the design stages to see what the smallest comfortable space he could negotiate was [bearing in mind he was quite a physically big guy] much to the amusement of his children. On the bases of "if I can get through that space so can anyone else of the regular staff."

 

In 1986 during a visit to Steamtown, Carnforth there was the body of a corridor tender (apple green) there. This is while 4472 & 4498 were based at Marylebone.
That was my opportunity to go through the corridor.
Any ideas which tender body it was?


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