LSWR T3 563

I've just had to apologise in advance in the 'Naked gardening' topic, great innit. Confetti everywhere. ..................oooops, done it again.

 

Hello,
The 'Lady in Red' has lost her dress.
Seen at Corfe Castle today...
This is her new home I think for the foresee able future.......

 

There are some of us who are observing the future of this beautiful lady with something of the attitude of a father watching a daughter being taken on a date. We wish you all the best, and if you look after her we will be delighted and supportive. But if you mess her around, look out. She was ours once.

 

That's rather a nice way of putting it! No pressure on the Swanage Railway now though!

 

Unbelieveable really. Such an historic engine just dumped out in the open air rotting away!
The bright steel is already red rusty and unkept, lets hope the sheet goes back on soon until it has a shed to live in.....
Someone within the NRM should be answering some very serious questions over this.

 

I think I saw this afternoon some attempt to preserve the 'Lady in Red's' brass work.......

 

Is that by removing it before someone else does?

 

With every iota of deterioration evidently having taken place since delivery to Swanage (so many earlier posts clearly allude to it's pristine condition right up to the second the covers came off), one possible solution would be a quick blow-over in early SR green, then just present it as "Authentic Eastleigh scrap line condition" - simples!!

Alternatively, unless anyone is privy to the full details of NRM/SR deal (including what alternatives the NRM may have been faced with), hows about stopping uninformed second-guessing apopleptic vitriol and actually engaging the folks at Swanage in a constructive manner? Too revolutionary?

 

Much of the exposed metal looks to be down to general wear and tear, than any lack of care, cab grab handles etc, i dare say the engine has never been touched up since its original restoration, and paint pigment breaks down over time, to accuse anyone of not looking after it is just to ignore practicalities, ok brasswork on an engine stored in the open is something questionable, for instance brass pipework in the cab, how secure is it from the metal faeries ? i notice the steam gauge and duplex brake gauges are already missing , unless its going to be shunted away into a secure shed every night, then prehaps some parts should be removed and put into store ?
If the paint is showing signs of deterioration, then a repaint may not be a bad idea, it will at least act as a preservative coat, copper parts can be lacquered .

 

http://blog.nrm.org.uk/life-national-collection-managing-world-class-objects/

 

Interesting document Paul. Cheers for posting it. What an impressive number of ways of tactfully saying "We've neither the space nor the funds"!

We're very fortunate to have the extensive collection of heritage artifacts we enjoy, and a mature heritage sector to work alongside institutions such as the NRM.

Look no further than Ireland, to see what could've happened. What little survived is down, in the main, to the heroic efforts of the RPSI and a few stalwart individuals. If only a Dai Woodham had been in charge of disposals at Inchicore, Belfast or the (in)famous scrap line at Mullingar!

 

Is a locomotive not stored undercover ideal? - clearly not ideal.

Without any knowledge of what the plans are for the T3, I can see three outcomes;

A: left to rot.
B: restored for static display.
C: Restored to running condition.

Outcome A - does anyone really believe this will happen?

Outcome B - some surface corrosion or deterioration in the short term is not going to affect things so badly that a cosmetic overhaul becomes unviable. Nearly every surface would get some sort of attention as she sits now anyway.

Outcome C - will probably entail a complete strip down and overhaul. She is going to look a whole lot worse before she emerges like a beautiful butterfly with a full head of steam.

Lets get a grip. I challenge those with their knickers in a knot to revisit this thread in a years time and re-read your post. If the situation is still the same, then sure, make all the fuss in the world. She is not going to turn into a Barry wreck in the next month, or two, or three, or even a year. Hell, I bet every Barry restoration project group would have given their eye teeth to have begun at such a starting point.

 

An interesting pair of posts, and I'm glad to see them in the public domain, especially the piece by @Anthony Coulls. I take some assurance from the reversion clause mentioned, though am not personally convinced by the strength of the argument about a new owner having a freedom not available to a loanee - something that suggests to me that the NRM are too prescriptive in their management of loans.

 

Having been vocal on this transfer, I will be interested to see what is announced and what happens over the coming few years. However, as the transfer has happened because it is considered that the locomotive's future is better at Swanage than at the NRM, I'd venture to suggest that the test is not whether A happens - I agree, it won't - but whether if B is followed, it supports the view that it is better for 563 than remaining part of the NRM collection would have been. Time will tell.

 

The NRM is tied to the "rules" which apply to the National Museums, which would also apply to their loans (as the NRM is still the owner). The Swanage Railway isn't tied to these rules, which would affect decisions on maintenance, overhaul or even mainline running(!). As a result, there is likely to be considerably more freedom for the Swanage - although you may consider this to be a worry. It depends how professional you consider the Swanage Railway to be, now and in the future.

 

Good points by Copper capped. Having been involved in the restoration of 45337, in its early stages, this loco will need nothing like the kind of work that that Black 5 did.

 

I can't see the option of a return to steam not being seriously considered. Does anyone actually know what condition the loco is in, both mechanically and boiler-wise? Of course it will need a strip down and the usual re-tube, etc, but there is a big difference between that and (say) a new firebox.

 

Understood. But that leaves a paradox. If the rules are essential to the well being of the exhibits, it is hard to see how the well being can be enhanced if those rules no longer apply. If they are not essential to the well being (which is implied by the article), then they are surely over prescriptive.

 

Lets say for instance that 563 once stripped down needs a new loco dragbox, or extensive boiler work, under the NRM conditions of loans, would a replacement dragbox be sanctioned? or would it have to be repaired keeping as much of the original as possible, in effect causing possible future problems, as the old original material would be weaker than the new, where do you draw the line between restoring and conserving? at least having been released, if new chassis parts are needed they can be replaced with new, same as boiler work, if its found the boiler needs major surgery( got fingers crossed it won't ) or the cylinders and valves need sleeving , at least its do able .

 

...and what does survive now largely is in the UK/ in the care of a UK organisation.....