71000 Matters

I can't remember if I read this somewhere or made it up, that for the first part of this ticket, The Duke was going to be called Robert Riddles?

 

There's a post on the website with a badly photoshopped logo on the tender, titled 'How the Duke will Look'.

I'm assuming it's something between trolling and blackmailing… one part 'raise awareness through posting blatantly ridiculous ideas' and one part 'donate, or we'll carry out this poorly conceived idea'.

Either way, they've ended up with a rather ugly image of a very handsome engine on their website, and are implying that that's their target. If you'd told me it was the work of one of NatPres's junior/special WIBN wibblers, I'd have believed you.

Simon

 

There was a piece in Steam Railway about it some time ago Simon, it was a few years ago though.

 

Not too sure im overly fussed about the Duke logo thing. Think there was some worry about some kind of copyright issue with the BR logo but thats a vague memory. What i do think is that I am fairly sure i was a contributing member at the time but no opinion of the membership was sought...

 

I think that is a plan to name it Robert Riddles for a while but not sure how long for.

Personally I'm 50/50 on the tender emblem as on the one hand it'd be nice to see her with the BR early crest applied, giving the loco a more authentic look, but then on the other hand if the 'The Duke' logo is applied, it's pretty much the same with different lettering and will from a distance or at speed look like the authentic crest.

 

If they are keen to go down the route of establishing its own branding (I'm guessing they have been watching the Scotsman and Tornado and have thought "lets have some of that") I'm not convinced that carrying a variation of the BR emblem on the tender is the way to go full time.

Were it my choice I'd look carefully at the A1SLT photos of 60163 in photographic grey- and go for a similar idea for the running in period, allowing the comics to have a look at it and the public to see her, then repaint fully in her more appropriate historic livery to get two bites at the cherry for generating interest.

In terms of carrying a different crest- I'd probably play safe and have the BR crest, but IF it is seen as important to the brand then get a set of magnetic strips made that match the size of the lettering and centre section of the crest that can be worn whenever they feel the need.

I can't help but feel that the phoenix she sometimes used to carry would be a more appropriate bit of branding and would be more recognisable and says a lot more about the loco........


Chris

 

Putting something that could fall off on the outside of a loco is a No No. Remember the A4.
Would the College of Heralds have anything to say about defacing registered crests?

 

I run magnetic signage on the side of both of my work vehicles, one of which has been significantly quicker than 75mph on private land with no sign of them peeling off- jetwashing however is a different story......

Chris

 

I lost a magnetic sign (Trade Plate) off the back of a van on the A1 at about 55 - 60
I had given the plte and the area on the back of the van a wipe first as well.

 

If they want a different look for publicity, please can we see what it would look like in BR LMR red livery, as work by the LMS Pacifics?
Asking for a friend...

 

NO!!!! It doesn’t need a brand, it’s a historic and unique piece of machinery and running it as it looked when built is all the branding it needs

 

You would expect that something designed for a road vehicle would stay put, and the thing coming off would be more hazardous to cars. However the amount of jolting and vibration on a steam loco footplate tells you all about how exceptional an environment it is ...

 

How about this? Rather like this creation of our very own @The Black Hat pic’s also his as well. Think it suits it rather nicely.

 

I know colour rendering is a pain, but (nice as that piccie is), I've seen BR 'express blue' depicted as from a tad* darker than that, to something approaching the lighter Caley livery. Do any among our number recall the livery, as applied in the early 50s?


* sorry 'bout using technical terminology.

 

From what I’ve read there were two colours, one a bit darker than the other

 

I did some googling a few years ago just for a bit of daftness to get a blue to quickly retouch the green bits on one of my 60103 photos just for a laugh. I can't remember the site I got it from, but the RGB code for BR Express Blue was 0,56,123.

Not that it's relevant to the Duke, of course, because it was built a couple of years or so after the locos carrying BR Express Blue were repainted Green and would never have been anywhere near a paintbrush loaded with blue paint. Of the A1s for instance, only 3, Nos 60134, 137 and 160 carried the blue livery into 1953, and by March 53 they were all repainted BR Green, 14 months before 71000 entered service.

It's a lovely livery, but not for a 1954 locomotive.

 

I believe that we can all agree on that.

 

A thought on tenders; with all the development gone into turning the Duke into a decent, and presumably much more efficient, performer is 10 tonnes of coal and a coal pusher in the tender now a disadvantage ? this being a very evident footnote for the original Dukes coal spitting habits, and when the current Top is life expired wouldnt something like a BR 1F with a lot more water be more useful ?

 

Sure you're wrong.

I read one was lighter than the other, not darker

 

Depending the lighting conditions