Flying Scotsman

What "rush job"? what was rushed? It was a machine fresh from massive engineering work, the NRM had kept the public reasonably informed as to what was going on etc.
It had to come out of the shed sometime in steam, the public were rightly VERY interested etc, to expect it to perform flawlessly fresh out of the box is at best naive.
My opinion ? Rileys, NRM, ELR have done a wonderful job. And when the snagging list is sorted out...........it will be magnificent

 

Have to agree Victor, its been a long time coming, but test run pending, she should be back on the big railway very soon, as regards the ELR running in, i bet it was a welcome boost to their coffers at a time of the year when there may have only been a hand full of visitors normally, that it turned into a mini gala with a 3 train service speaks for itself,
the engine has needed far more work than what may have been thought , but its now in better shape for it, the only thing that i think could have been done better was to have allowed a month in-between the running in runs and the mainline test run to enable any snagging to be done and to ensure no last minute problems, so in hind site, if the CME runs had been turned round with the Dutchess hauling the first one and Scotsman the second in early feb, that would have made more sence.

 

It wasn't the performance Victor it was the PRESENTATION that was at fault.

 

Only in one direction though irrespective of how much or little the timetable had slipped.

 

To be fair, there seems to be only one whinger. The rest of "us lot" are just delighted to see 60103 back up and running.

 

There was ALWAYS going to be a "snagging list" after a job of this size.
With respect to Stuart (Toni) who seems to have wanted it green/shiny/ bands/music/.bells and whistles etc it would have been foolish to present the finished product straight out of Mr Rileys shed AND THEN found there was a small list of minor jobs to do.
When a new car is launched the manufacturer doesn't build it one day and send it straight to the showrooms, it's wrapped in plastic wallpaper,(disguised) sent out for testing TO IRON OUT MINOR FAULTS and then it goes to the showroom or in the case of FS it goes to the NRM at York.

There has been some "unseemly" comment on Nat.Pres. about FS's first venture outside, IMO it's totally unjustified, for enthusiasts AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC we have had 2 good weekends.

 

I'm guessing that's the photographer in you talking Stuart. You wanted a spectacle.

 

To me it's the same as when Tornado was first built and then tested on the Great Central. It was in Grey Primer, the press were there when she was launched and they returned when she appeared in her Apple Green finery.

 

Well this photographer thought that FS in black was spectacle enough even though he didn't get to the ELR in the end.
If the rumours are true that she'll still be in black for her first run into KGX I won't be complaining.

 

That'll be great if true, to see her in black would be most welcome as I won't be getting anywhere near Lancashire either.

 

I hope it's true too but the thing with rumours is that's just what they are - rumours. In the end she can head into KGX in any livery the NRM choses. It will be an A3 on the ECML, just where she belongs.

 

With over half million views just shows how fascinating this thread has become.Long may it continue

 

Of course I wanted a spectacle who wouldn't, this is "Flying Scotsman" we're talking about.
Years of waiting and it turned out to be a chaotic rush job launch.

Turns out I'm not the only "whinger" on this forum.............

 

So a "minority of two" is a whole lot better than a "minority of one?"
But to be fair, gricerdon's post isn't exactly the same degree of whinging as yours.

 

Same point though, lots of the same online if you took the time to look.

 

Rumours are wonderful. a somewhat inquisitive lady once asked a colleague of mine: "There's a rumour going round the village that they're going to build houses behind mine; is it true"? He replied: "Well, it's true that there's rumour going round or you wouldn't have heard it".

 

So you turned out for the test / running in turns and expected the perfection. More fool you.
These were test / running in turns. Public yes, but test / running in turns none the less.

Would you have preferred it if IR / ELR kept it all secret so that FS's first runs were only seen by either those incredibly lucky enough to have been there, or those 'in the know'.

Please give IR / ELR the credit they deserve for bringing FS back to life with only a few evident snags to be resolved.

 

The whinging all seems to stem from problems caused by a recalcitrant air pump. It was almost as if this was an unheard of occurrence. Perhaps the wingers have never seen the state of the air pumps on LBSCR terriers where being convenient to the cab they were belted with a large spanner to get them to start. Some of the dents were quite sizeable. Having to hide them away precludes the hammer approach but I am sure if Mr Riley would have done the damnedest to get it working

 

That would have produced similar whinging from those who would have felt they had been denied the opportunity of seeing 60103's first runs.