MHR Restorations and Overhauls

No at least i hope not, i would imagine it will be more reliance on the railways own fleet of engines of having the right engines availible and careful control of overheads .where possible doing as much in house as can be done .

 

As agreed by the board(s) last Saturday when there were PLC and MHRPS board meetings

 

Was that meant to be funny?

 

I'd like to see you try - the 9F goes out of ticket next year IIRC....... can't see 73096 being up & running either let alone 80150 - 75079 'might' be up & running by then.....

Time to get the cheque book out if you want to bring in suitable replacements to fill the gaps.......

 

this was of course tongue in cheak Dave, but we are talking 4 years away, are you honestly saying that you dont think 73096 will be turned round by then? if 92212 is out of ticket , i thought she had an overhaul and new ticket about 4 years ago?

 

And mine wasn't?......

As regards 73096 - if you hadn't noticed, there is a bit of a queue in front of it, never mind Ropley being a tad busy at the mo with overhauls & repairs etc....... be patient - all good things come to those who wait!

 

The MHR are going to finally reveal the grand plan of only owning Bulleids. Once CanPac and Swanage are back in steam all the standards will be sold off to pay for Wadebridge and Sir Fred’s overhauls ;-)


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I would have though that 34058 would be aheard of 80150 as the pervious owner had already done a lot of work on it

 

that will please Dave Sibley and Headgehog , the only time i saw Andy smile was when he was told your on the GWR ONE today

 

That would be a disaster for the leaf fall period services. The trains would be constantly slipping to a stand on Medstead bank. The cost of sand supplies will go through the roof!
On a more serious note I look forward to seeing the plan in March when the next issue of MHR News is published. The MHR now has one of the most impressive Loco fleets in the preservation world.

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Isnt that policy already in action over at Southern Locomotives.....

 

As a matter of interest, do we have estimated dates for the return of CanPac and of Swanage?

 

..... Aah ..... that's where the Q1 comes in .....

 

Really.

 

I recall being told that the Q1 was just as light on its feet as the Pacifics from the same designer so I doubt that would improve matters!

 

can't be so with all the weight available for adhesion

 

There's a DVD on 'Driving and Firing the Southern Engines' produced around the turn of the century. This featured a section on the Q1 (Then working on the Bluebell) and a quote from the driver is "It's what we call light on its feet. It will pick its wheels up very quickly". I'm willing to submit to the experience of a driver who's worked it

 

I'd never heard that, although they've certainly got plenty of tractive effort and moderate weight. One thing they certainly did have in common with the Pacifics was rather inadequate braking performance, precisely because they were so powerful for moderate all up weight. This was far more of a problem on unfitted goods trains than it would be in any preservation duty.

Returning to thread, I'll be very interested to see the loco strategy when it appears (although I suspect that for very rational reasons 34058 will be lower on the list than I'd like). I also admire Ropley's willingness to make a rod for their own back and say this is what we intend to do; to give them credit it seems a long time since there was any major motive power crisis on the MHR, in recent times it's far more common for MHR engines to go and help out on other lines.

 

You beat me to it! Was there anything of note different about the suspension perhaps?

 

I suspect nothing much more than putting a powerful loco on an underframe more suited to a class 4 at best.

The comparative trials of a Q1 and S15 stopping unfitted trains are well known, but I’ll quote HAV Bulleid for those unfamiliar:

“But the biggest worry was the brake power being so low on so powerful an engine; it was accentuated by comparative tests in 1943 between a Q1 and an S15 over the long 1 in 250 downgrade between Basingstoke and Eastleigh. There were some dramatic moments of zero drama on these tests, with Bulleid and Attwell on the Q1 footplate coasting at 45mph and being pushed by a 900 ton train of non-fitted wagons. The handbrake was first applied, to be sure the loose-coupled train was bunched up against the engine and incidentally to avoid shaking up the guard too much. When the full brake application was made, nothing seemed to happen for several long seconds. It took nearly three miles to stop and they overran Wallers Ash home signal by just over a mile. In comparison, the S15 stopped within 1 3/4 miles. So the increasing of the Q1 brake power soon got onto Durban's job list in the Drawing Office; but there were always more important jobs and no loud shouting from Traffic and so it never got done.”

Which I think sums it up: no-one would complain about the braking capacity of a 90 ton 0-6-0 were it restricted to loads more typical of a 90 ton 0-6-0, rather than being capable of hauling much heavier trains.

Tom