Cotswold Venturer 26/09

Just as well Tangmere isn't an old car enough is enough down the scrap yard! Shame because until the cylinder leak she had been going well Just hope WCR manage to sort her out eventually

 

My footage from yesterday's run. Featuring "that shot" from Worcester, and the climb up Sapperton Bank.

 

Never seen a capture of a pass timed better than that.

 

The run up sapperton was spectacular but I agree that Tangmere needs to be taken off the mainline. I don't know how one can be a fan of a locomotive that keeps breaking down.

 

I suppose it's the same as someone who supports Bristol Rovers. <BJ>

 

Have removed comment.

 

Rubbish.

 

Quite easily.... The like it because it's a visually and audibly pleasing locomotive or because they just like it. Just because it's having a bad period on the mainline doesn't mean everyone should turn against it. Should we all be rooting (jumping on the bandwagon) for 35028 and 60163 because they're going well? and when they have a poor period of running abandon them for other locos?
Maybe it's time to make a poll again?

 

Ludicrous.

 

Perhaps its theme song should be Tubthumping, that adopted anthem of the Rugby 7s?

 

How? easy. Really Easy. How about a loco that never lets you down visually or aurally, a loco that looks like its actually seen a lot of grubby action, a loco that does not look a museum piece, a loco that surprises you regularly with its antics, a loco that some crews love and some crews hate yet few have really mastered, a loco that, on the mainline, looks like nothing else and is a one off, a loco so pig ugly it makes a Ssangyong Rodius look Ferrari-esque, a loco that elicits a muttered expletive of shock awe and wonder when it does this



How can you not be a fan of that, regardless of (because of?) its cranky reliability. It will be a sad day when it leaves the main line for a major, it will be one of few locos that will always raise a "do you remember when" line when preservation is discussed. Its called "Character"

 

What he said ​

 

I'd hazard a guess that it's most vociferous supporters tend to be in the ranks of linesiders rather than passengers who are let down by the failures ?

 

Tangmere seems to be either a locomotive you love or ridicule it seems. I am sure the attributes described by MrKnowwun are why Tangmere has many, many admirers and supporters.

What saddens me is that whilst she carries a most famous name - that of Royal Air Force Tangmere, with its own illustrious history - she does seem to hit the headlines far too frequently for mostly the wrong reasons.

 

Great stuff, Kristian. That's a once-in-a-lifetime shot at Worcester (nowadays). Very well edited, too. I like the shot of the "W" boards over the distant whistle.

I'm not quite sure what the fuss is about. Granted, there's quite a steam leak on the driver's side, a fault we've seen on Tangmere several times before. This was visible in the morning leaving Didcot, but seems to have got worse during the day. Otherwise she looked and sounded pretty good on Saturday. Look at Kristian's shot on Sapperton. There's a feather of steam from the safety valves, showing she's close to the red line but at the same time there's a trail of steam just below the cab on the fireman's side, suggesting the injectors are topping up the boiler. No shortage of steam, then. The exhaust beat sounds pretty even, there's no clanking, banging or other odd noises, unlike on her ill-fated trip to Par in August. The slip leaving Moreton-In-Marsh, shown in Liam's video, is slightly puzzling - it happened at about 20 mph on fairly level track - but we all know that Light Pacifics can be light on their feet sometimes. So maybe she's not 100% fit, but she's not the basket-case some people seem to be suggesting.

 

I'd be happy to book a rail tour with Tangmere as the star. However, knowing what I know (and granted a lot of the pax might not be aware), I would be prepared for an adventure with an unknown ending. Plenty of food and water, and someone to let the dog out when I don't get home on time!

 

On the positive side, Tangmere and Mayflower have between them handled a large proportion of tours in the south this year. But there are several negatives including the failure on 2nd August. Tangmere was unavailable for a few of its rostered trips. We still haven't heard any definite facts behind SD's statement about boiler problems, so we don't know whether there was actually something needing to be sorted out on the boiler, something else wrong with the loco, or some other issue. That steam leak on Saturday may not have been anything serious in itself, but it must have made sighting of signals harder than usual. And LMarsh1987's video at post 41 shows not only the slips but also, just before those, a very irregular exhaust beat, implying something awry with the valve gear. And there are the clouds of smoke that Tangmere seems to emit much more of the time than other locos. All in all a temperamental beast. If I were NR I would be wanting some reassurances about its future reliability.

 

So there was a unrebuilt bullied pacific at nymr this past weekend. What was 34092's reputation as a mainline loco?

 

"The Volcano" - nothing much has changed!

Steven

 

Go anywhere, pull anything, leave a big, thick cloud of smoke high in the air, especially after the Giesl ejector was fitted! I saw her a few times in the late 80s, on the Blackmore Vale Express and the Marylebone line, but was never lucky enough to ride behind her.