6229 Return to steam rumour

The streamlined casing fitted at Tyseley was specifically design to fit within NRs loading gauge and is subtly different from that originally fitted by the LMS in the necessary areas. As such it is perfectly possible to return her to steam with the casing.

Personally I would suggest that the NRM are unlikely to do so just yet.... but equally it may be that as the clock is ticking on Flying Scotsmans boiler certificate someone is looking at a suitable 'headlining' loco to pick up the baton for the museum. Overhauling the Duchess in a few years time could thus be a very smart move.

 

Shouldn't/wouldn't be any more difficult to remove, than the cladding fitted to an A4 [just look at the A4 Trust at the moment overhauling Gresley] or either an as built West Country or Battle of Britain. I'd have thought...... Equally as others have mentioned when the cladding was refitted there were subtle modifications made to nominaly fit todays loading gauge, yet retain the overall shape/look of the original "streamlining."

 

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Is this the next Steam Railway/NRM collaboration?

 

I think at one stage 6229 could be the next return to steam project, As following the appeal of Flying Scotsman,. its in the NRM'S Interest to have an high profile icon to retain the image once 60103 is due for overhaul so to my mind 6229 would be the ideal engine, it is a class 8, so will be powerful enough, and being streamlined, will atttact interest, you could go one step further, and if its being done with an outside operator an rake of coaches could be repainted into the LMS stream liner livery, so the image could be of an entire train, prehaps a rake of mk2d or even mk3's could be part of the outline idea?

 

That would probably look great behind 6229, but, to be commercially viable, that stock would also probably have also run behind other locos - that might not be quite so popular with the linesiders! (Although it would probably be no worse than some of the rakes that have been provided by the "Multi-Coloured Stock Shop" aka Riviera Trains)

 

not if its an HST 125 Virgin could vynal one up as a celebration if it needs a shove power up the 43's call it a brake test

 

Couldn't be no worse than the Pilkington set!