Current and Proposed New-Builds

That was a new one to me too ..... Cheers!

 

Quick ..... someone call the 82045 mob. They're wasting their time!

 

They have done a tremendous work with this project!
It`s just so tragic to see the half-build locomotive standing outside and not inside a shed (I guess it is in lack of space?)

 

Presumably if 82045 is deemed unsuitable for Santas presumably it would be available for hire to other railways. Although the 5700s are power class 3 and 7714 was used for their Santas this year, so I expect 82045 would be perfectly capable of Santa duties

 

Well that's fine good. I'm only going off the article j read in one of the magazines about the SVR only wanting class 4 and above. So 82045 should see work all year round then, no issues. However I'm not sure a Fowler 2-6-2t would be able to live up to the same.

 

I do not understand why people are making an issue of 82045's haulage capabilities for 3 or 4 weeks out of 52. This loco, like any other, will require yearly maintenance to be carried out. Pre-Christmas is the ideal time to start this.

 

Probably because they are a very lucrative few weeks. Preserved railways are busier during Easter and summer school holidays than other times. They are usually also busier on weekends than weekdays throughout. The Santa steam train might seem anachronous to many of us enthusiasts, but it earns.

 

This is getting a bit silly. No loco works 52 weeks per year (and it wouldn’t last 10 years if it did). The key issue is to have sufficient locos to cover the service while doing an annual average mileage to aim to achieve ten years between overhauls. For 82045 I suspect that probably means aiming for about 6 - 8,000 miles per year. Surely there is plenty of traffic on offer to achieve that even if the Christmas period is quiet - but ideal time to do slightly more protracted maintenance tasks such as the annual boiler exam, p&v overhauls etc. while the bigger locos earn their crust. I suspect many people seem oblivious to the degree of planning and co-ordination needed to keep a running fleet going throughout a year, balancing maintenance tasks against the fluctuating traffic demands.

Tom

 

Very well said, Tom. I totally agree with you. If I was Gav106 I would be more worried about what 45551 will be doing pre-Christmas. Could it end up as one of the locos helping the SVR out on their motive power requirements?

 

He'd had a good look around in Stratford before He designed that one, It'd look great in dark blue or works grey

 

Sweet little thing, isn't it?!

 

When I was at school one of the Railway Society Members had a rather wonderful freelance system - the TNM&SW - NM was North Moulton powered by butchered Nellies - including a back to back articulated loco

 

Nellie's are brilliant. I've got two, the blue and red ones. They can easily pull 4 Triang Hornby mark1s. (My railway is an imaginary heritage line, so I can run what I want!)

 

A full size Nellie would be good for many preserved railway. Well remembered and well loved by many enthusiasts, with an attractive appearance to the general public. Able to manage 4-5 Mk1's on a 1 in 30. and capable of about 276mph around 1 1/2 chain curves. Ideal

 

Ooooh! Nellie.....

But what about a super-exclusive new build, the 'Bug'....

Foxy

 

Lovely as it would be to have such a beast running, how would it appeal to paying passengers? If you want to ride in a coach-type body with a steam engine built in there's the Great Western railmotor. If you want to ride on an actual locomotive there are footplate experience packages.

 

This engine could almost be a "mobile-sauna" for passengers!?

 

That's absolutely fine. But when I constantly hear people going on about how it's the ideal loco and we should build more of these I ask myself the question if that is the way things go what happens at peak times? As a one off 82045 is fantastic, but when people keep saying "build more" I dunno. That's no criticism of the 82045 lot and they are an excellent group of people, who more importantly have the ability to do both the engineering and the more important side of fundraising.

As to 45551 having work not sure that the Jubs are exactly struggling. I'm sure it will be fine, and there are no plans to do long term hires at heritage railways at all.

 

That's absolutely fine. But when I constantly hear people going on about how it's the ideal loco and we should build more of these I ask myself the question if that is the way things go what happens at peak times? As a one off 82045 is fantastic, but when people keep saying "build more" I dunno. That's no criticism of the 82045 lot and they are an excellent group of people, who more importantly have the ability to do both the engineering and the more important side of fundraising.

As to 45551 having work not sure that the Jubs are exactly struggling. I'm sure it will be fine, and there are no plans to do long term hires at heritage railways at all.

I don't know about building more, but I think 82045 will prove to be an ideal engine for all but the most challenging lines. Ands if there are no plans to run the Patriot on heritage lines then I think that is extremely short sighted. It will be diluting the pool of main line engines such that there is likely to be less work for each. If I was planning this engine's future work I'd be looking for a mix to ensure that it has the opportunity to earn its keep.

 

Also of course running 45551 on preserved lines allows the public to ride behind it at a reasonable cost....................