FR & WHR & WHHR News

Further to the above discussions on MOUNTAINEER, this picture of her when she was TPT 3-23 at Pithieviers might be of interest:

1964-10 1. TPT 3-23. by Ron Fisher, on Flickr

And this is she on a visit to the P'tit Train de la Haute Somme:

R9290. MOUNTAINEER in France. by Ron Fisher, on Flickr

Click on the pictures to see the full size versions.

 

Moving Pictures Thirty Seven is up (usual caveat, beware mobile data use folks):
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zS2YtEPVZwk&ved=2ahUKEwip8-bVq9rlAhWFh1wKHcyfDHMQwqsBMAB6BAgGEAQ&usg=AOvVaw1k7vM7sfxvVp8Fn0WoxqA-
Points arising: The latest Pullman obs saloon 'Gwyrfai' gets officially launched into service ... and looks stunning. The team at Blodge have got pretty damned good at carriage building lark over the years, and I can't help thinking, were he still with us, Charles Spooner would be delighted with the quality of their output . There was a great shot on the F&WHR Faceache site t'other day, with all four obs saloons lined up abreast in Harbour Stn. Superb!

I did notice that 'Bodysgallen' and one of the WHR saloons on the 'launch' train seem to be suffering slight bananaitis. Those long video shots are very unforgiving!

Baldwin 608, in 'dark laurel green' looks fantastic. Methinks the driver delivering the loco has done this job before, as the manuevering of the low loader into position was incredibly smoothly done. Watch for the shot of 608 and Russell at Beddgelert. Has anyone got a postable monochrome image, pretty please? The longer shots of the test run (near Pont Croesor) definitely give a good impression of the design's historically attested tendency to 'rock & roll'.

The vignette of Baldwin, Col.Stephens liveried set and 'Small England' bringing up the rear, looks ...... right. I'd have to reckon that double headed Baldwins wouldn't manage a WHR service train, but the splendid racket, attacking the Nantmor Ski Slope was something to savour (looks like Prince may have been providing some assistance from the rear). Keep an eye out for the surprising amount of daylight between cab floor and bar frame, not visible on any historic photo I've see. Roll on 590!

A heartfelt plea to any sound recording specialists out there: Could someone please work out how to digitally cancel out the Bobawful racket from those bl**dy wig-wags on Britannia Bridge and at T-y-G?

 

Spotted on the A65 in the Dales today F 8 WHR .......



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Moving Pictures #38 is up (they're spoiling us!). As always, beware those mobile data limits folks!

If you ever wondered what that bungalow on the down side at T-y-B looks like on the inside .... wonder no longer, plus there's some Fairlie good news on the loco front (nice to see Jon W back in front of the camera!):

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EmaZLfRVEec&ved=2ahUKEwiU67Du1fblAhVFtHEKHYHHAqcQwqsBMAB6BAgHEAQ&usg=AOvVaw0_Fymw0z7W_2u2xNpDIZPe

 

While the Rail Advent article sounds more definitive, it seems K1 is going to Statfold for display/ putting everything back until the workshops at FWHR become less busy.

 

Pending it's overhaul, Statfold seems an excellent choice as a display location. A figure of four years is mentioned, before a slot at Blodge becomes available for K1. Also mentioned is the excessive maintenance burden, consequent on the loco's nature as a prototype .... a point those set on a Little Wonder recreation might ponder!

 

Official press release about K1 http://insidemotion.co.uk/2019/11/27/pioneer-beyer-garratt-moves-to-statfold-barn/

 

I'm glad it's going somewhere where it will be appreciated, and not just languishing at the back of a shed.
But I also wish the WHR would realise what a gem they have, and give it a little love...
Yes, it's isn't the ideal service loco for the line as it is now run. Yes, it's a prototype with inherent idiosyncrasies and niggles.
But it's also one of the most historic and important locos in the British Isles.
And lots of the locos running on the FfR are also non ideal, have their peculiarities, and are run on the heart not head principle (or a good spoonful of heart for each of head).
K1 deserves the same!
Hopefully it's time will actually come in "about four years" as seems to be suggested here.

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The loco suffered from basically having the overhaul finished while it was running. It was also the first time it worked since 1929 so there is a lack of operational knowledge for what is a very different engine.

It's not unloved, just a victim of circumstance. The volunteer group who worked on it are all quite old and steadily disappeared. Then there just hasn't been the time or space for the staff at Dinas to work on it with several other major projects on the go. I expect the best option would be for the 134 folks to take it on in a few years.

The engine gets a bad press but it has proved capable of working decent sized trains in the right hands. It's not an NGG16 and I strongly suspect how you drive it makes a huge difference to how well it goes. I suspect that a second stint with a lot of the niggles sorted and more crew familiarity would be much more successful than the first.

Tim

 

Here's K1 hauling 6 cars and a B wagon near Glanrafon in 2008

 

It is not the only narrow gauge articulated to get "bad press", Monarch on the WLLR sits in the same camp as the K1. Those who were flexible enough to work out how to get the best out of the machine were suitably rewarded, for them it was an impressive engine, there are some still with connection to the railway who remember. The 70s were rather different to today, the training structures were not the same and so those who could not deal with the peculiarities of the locomotive remained in that state. If we look at the recent loan of "Zillertahl" we see crew familiarisation training.
The K1 is a fortunate survivor which will perform well in the "right hands", the trick is making sure that all the hands are the right ones. And a little course on how to use compound engines with due reference to the man who worked it out would not come amiss.

 

Lots of good ideas! It seems from the successful Past Present and Future Gala, and the heavily over-subscribed WHR parts of the Vintage Weekend, that there is definitely a demand for "conventional" locos hauling shorter, heritage trains on WHR, as added value to the normal services, rather than competing with them.
Particularly with the recent news that WHHR's Pickering Brake will be manufactured at Boston Lodge - then it would be sad if the momentum of 2019 was allowed to dissipate in the coming year. There are more photographers' specials booked for November in 2020 - but the public, members and enthusiasts would definitely like another chance to experience a repeat of June, but taken to the next stage - Russell to Rhyd-Ddu, and the chance to ride in the Buffet and the Gladstone. Perhaps we can look forward to more heritage trains, and FR/WHHR co-operation, at the September event already announced?

 

I'm glad you mentioned the Pickering brake, that news had completely passed me by! It will be a fantastic addition to the WHHR fleet.

As for regular heritage trains though...I am not sure. Certainly there is a demand among the enthusiast fraternity for heritage trains on the WHR, and hopefully - as long as positive relations between the railways can be maintained - the WHHR might be able to play a role in providing such trains for WHR special events, and/or have access to WHR metals for their own special events. But I suspect that it is rather a niche market and its appeal for non-enthusiasts would be limited. With the right marketing perhaps it might be possible to have a occasional "heritage train days", as the Welshpool & Llanfair do, but I'm afraid I can't see heritage trains becoming an everyday fixture of the WHR timetable.

Of course, the FfR tried its "Talking Trains" some years ago in a bid to market a heritage train in a way that would appeal to a broad market, but that seems to have quietly died a death, so I assume it wasn't a success?

 

I travel on the WHR a couple of times a year. Every train I use seems to have the green vintage WHR carriage on it - and it's always empty, even though the modern carriages are well filled.

 

That's the problem - enthusiasts want different things to the public. The FR used to run a regular Sunday Vintage train back in the early 2000. It spent most of the time running late and the Guard getting hassle because there wasn't a toilet or buffet car on board. The general paying public look forward to somewhere nice to sit and a brew nowadays - so if they get something other than that, you get problems.

 

If you have two different offerings then you have to make sure they are correctly targeted. The WHR seems to have managed that with its vintage trains from Caernarfon - at least, they ran on more days in 2019 than 2018 so presumably they are successful.

https://www.welshhighlandheritage.co.uk/heritage-trains/

 

Interesting - I hadn't heard about those. I wonder whether part of their success is that they run from Dinas rather than Caernarfon? Hence, most of the passengers will be enthusiasts who taken some trouble to seek them out, rather than being ordinary visitors who just book for the next available train without really understanding that it will not be the "standard" product?

 

The Welsh Highland Railway Society is currently running a fund to pay for a new standard 3rd class saloon carriage for the WHR. The aim is to help provide two 10-car trains of standard (modern) WHR profile without the need for Ffestiniog profile or vintage 'lock-ups' to be used in everyday service. If anyone would care to contribute the Society would be delighted to hear from you - details on the Society's website https://www.whrsoc.org.uk/index.php/join-the-society-2/donations-and-legacies

 

Sponsored by the WHRS apparently - which doesn't indicate any success in terms of passengers