35025 Brocklebank Line

I have gone direct to the SLL website and there is an August update. In the Brocklebank section there is a link to the new photographic archive being created for that locomotive. It is not yet fully integrated to the main SLL website.
I am very impressed with the SLL organisation having recently become a shareholder (Due to 25's transfer).

 

That can happen if the old version of the file is "cached" on your PC, i.e. saved locally for quick display. If you refresh your screen <F5> the new versions should display. Nick

 

Thanks Nick. That was indeed the problem. F5 did the trick and I can now view the August update.

 

The sale of extra shares in SLL to trigger a "Like for like" £10,000 match funding, has gone very well with only a couple more shares to make the 40. I believe there has been an initial boiler inspection of #25.

 

An interesting letter from Brian Seddon in the latest Steam Railway magazine(509). He is trying to find out more details of Royal Train engines in the early 1950's as 35025 did that duty in July 1952.

 

In the latest SSL update, the news from Sellindge, is that there are more volunteers working on '25. There are more parts being taken off for refurbing and storing. The main driving wheel springs are to be removed and checked. The boiler is just about stripped and cleared out awaiting NDT/thickness testing.

 

The latest information from SLL regarding Brocklebank is the the NDT testing on the boiler has been done and the report is awaited. There are up to 10 volunteers working each week, stripping and refurbishing parts.
They are raising funds to share crane hire and get the "Brock" to a much better location on the Sellinge site.
Information about 35025 is now fully integrated on the SLL website, together with a picture album.
So lots of positive progress, well done SLL.

 

Thanks. New 35025 section from the menu, and updated 'Latest News'. https://southern-locomotives.co.uk/

What we don't have is many photos of 35025 in BR days......

 

More positive news from SLL with parts being grit blasted before painting and storing. The chassis move within the site is imminent.

 

A new, short length of track, is being laid at Sellinge for '25 to be situated. This will be much closer to their base container which will make future work so much more convenient.

 

Here are three pictures (Courtesy of S Troy SLL) showing the latest progress of "Brocklebank Line"
Preparing the ground for the new length of track.



The Cab and smokebox on fresh base.

 

Apple green drivers? You’ll get the livery police out!

 

When the time comes though, won't 25 be wasted just on preserved lines? She in my view needs to become a roving ambassador for SLL, and be mainline registered so she can be used on the mainline, as well as preserved lines, especially if it involves visiting lines such as SVR, NYMR both of which are mainline connected, so she could work her way to both locations at the head of a rail tour, be used for the Whitby's etc,
The extra costs etc are mostly to do with the paperwork inspections etc, she i think would stand a better chance of earning her keep if she can take advantage of the maximum amount of work, for instance, what would she earn doing a season of Scarborough expresses, whilst based at York NMR? or the Jacobite and a few Scottish rail tours, Support crew would be an issue, but its not different than for every other main line locomotive

 

I take it your name will be a the top of the list to join the mainline support crew.

 

I think the "Extra costs" would probably be in the £100,000s + as there are not only the certification paperwork for all materials and processes but also the air braking and "in cab" signalling systems to be paid for.
I believe there are likely to be several heritage lines (NYMR, SVR, GCR etc) that may be interested in hiring in an MN for the "Wow" factor that is generated. I understand that the Spa Valley Railway have had significantly more visitors since they have had "Sir Keith Park" (albeit a light pacific!) as a resident.

 

To make a small fortune from a steam loco going mainline Martin you have to start off with a large one, Even 60163 and 35028 don’t exactly cover their costs from pure mainline work.

 

35028 doesn't raise any cash from heritage railway appearances, nor do I expect to see 35018 doing so.

I would also be willing to bet that the NYMR will not be among the lines forming a queue to hire 35025 (or any other Merchant Navy) if they are offered, except perhaps for a gala.

 

I'm not entirely sure why it is this whole "oh how can anyone possibly make a Merchant Navy running just on our heritage railways work cost effectively?" argument is still ongoing to this day, seeing as it's argument that to me seems always ac rather pointless one.

New flash for those that didn't know, but it's pretty common knowledge that truth be told few if any steam locomotives can manage to 'earn their keep'. At least not entirely anyway. Pretty much nearly every operational locomotive out there, certainly the bigger ones, rely on multiple sources of financial support for their maintenance and overhauls. They either have owning trusts, support groups and/or heritage railways themselves continuously raising money for them, or a very wealthy owner that can pay up for all their costs no problem. Few if any steams engines have managed to entirely earn their keep and pay for themselves. Yet despite this most have worked out fine enough haven't they? Not always, but most the time.

Of course the biggest argument that comes up is "their too big!" Well So are the 9Fs and arguably a good number of other locomotives that run on various heritage railways, yet you don't see all that many all that often complain about that fact, not to the extent folks do for Merchant Navies at any rate.

But again this all feels null and void a argument and question really, for one could argue it's long since been answered!

Port Line? Ran on heritage railways for most of it's working life once restored, so did Canadian Pacific which is now well on it's way to being restored by the MHR, who don't seem to share this view of "too big for heritage railways" seeing as they've given the engine a pretty big priority for them and their plans. And finally of course there's Peninsular & Oriental based on the GWSR, having great success there and been a great crowd drawer both there and away. It took so many years to restore that mammoth, yet despite all this talk of "Merchant Navies being too big for heritage railway running", that didn't stop them in the end did it? Bet they don't give that thought a moment of their time.

So in short, I wouldn't be so sure to assume Brocklebank Line can't be used effectively for heritage railway work only, not when there's plenty of evidence to suggest otherwise...

 

Talking about the Wow factor though, I wonder how much this will be diluted if there is more than one preserved Merchant available for use on Heritage Railways? When P&O returned I believe we'd gone about a decade since the last Merchant ran on preserved lines (Can Pac), so seeing it was something of a novelty. If Brocklebank returned and CanPac (and possibly P&O) were also running and available for heritage lines, I wonder whether the Merchants might be a little less of a crowd draw. Not that it's in any way easy to measure that, or that this should make the difference between Brocklebank being Preserved line only and Mainline registered. Just a thought I had...

 

Light pacifics and 9Fs have 38-40 sq ft grates, compared to nearly 50 for a Merchant Navy, that's 25% bigger for the MN, which suggests that they must inevitably burn more coal. If a line already has a WC/BB and/or a 9F it probably has its needs more than adequately covered! On the other hand I can fully accept that there are plenty of railways that would be only too keen to hire one should it be available. I just don't think the NYMR will be among them.