Edward Thompson: Wartime C.M.E. Discussion

Talking of book writing, I assume your Gresley book will be on the back burner while you get stuck in to 35028's winter maintenance programme. Should help work off any excess calories consumed over Christmas.

 

Unfortunately I fear sorting the annual accounts for the society will preclude all of that!

 

I'd take a day off from that I were you. When I was treasurer of my group, I found that a day on the loo* was far more enjoyable than number crunching.

* Bloody autocorrect!

 

Magic Ian. Please don't edit this one

Peter

 

Excuse my palpable ignorance, but If the LNER was so short of serviceable locos, why were 40 J25 0-6-0 locomotives loaned to the GWR? TIA

Patrick

 

Oops!

 

A very good question - it was part of their wartime responsibilities to provide certain classes to other regions that needed them.

 

Don't you have an accountant to sort out the.........erm..........accounts ?
It's therapeutic to get down and dirty with a locomotive.

 

In the same vein a number of King Arthurs were transferred to the LNER during WW2 and I gather that the availability of ex LNER staff who had worked on them was very helpful to the operation of Sir Lamiel in her early days on the main line which was mostly in the North

 

No, as treasurer I volunteer to manage and sort the accounts plus payments/reimbursements. Accountants get involved in approval of the annual accounts. I’ve been building up a database and automated accounts system that has been taking a lot of my time - hopefully will work better next year.

I actually had a nice Friday doing some cleaning on ‘28 this week.

 

John, I think that is a bit of an urban myth. 777's restoration was completed in 1982, some 40 years after the N15s were loaned to the LNER. While many could still remember seeing them active in the North East during the war very few actually had practical experience of them. There was still plenty of useful and practical expertise available to HLPG, the restorers, in the shape of Southern men such as Harry Frith and Bert Hooker, but not locally I'm afraid. There is also the point that the LNER loaned a batch of Urie N15s whereas 777 is a Maunsell N15 - a similar but different loco.

Peter

 

Copies are now going out to reviewers in the railway mags, and have been received by a few of those who were allocated a copy from the allocation I had.

The general response seems very good, but there's one I wish to highlight (which left a proper lump in the throat!)

This message came from Tim Hillier-Graves, who in the latter stages of the book and afterwards, has been conversing with me on all things LNER. I am extremely grateful for his input, his open mindedness and generosity of sharing information and data.

I have been humbled, well and truly, by this. I am not quite sure I can top this!

 

Loco cleaning is good for the soul. She certainly looked splendid on Tuesday.

 

Have just received the book and am well into it. Very well researched and written, highlighting and debunking, to me, many of the preconceptions, that I believe, have been perpetrated over the years.
Re the V4s, I, my opinion only, think time would have been against perpetuation.
The war highlighted the need for rugged and simple designs and post war staffing would have strengthened that requirement.
Looking at most of the design reasoning of the standards, that came later, pointed to that direction.
If war had not came, well that might have changed matters but as Gresley was in ill health, and Thompson and Peppercorn increasingly deputising for Gresley, I think it unlikely that the V4 would have continued in it's original design form. Again stressing purely my opinion.

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One can only assume that the GWR was in need of a particular type of locomotive for particular traffic or route availability, and the loaned locos fitted the bill.
That the LNER were short of locos is a said, but perhaps they were less short of certain locos re. the above criteria? Purely supposition on my part, I hasten to add!
We need to remember there was a certain amount of "Pooling" carried out for the war, and companies made sacrifices for the common good.

Off topic, but pertinent, read the story behind the SS Ohio requisitioned by the country from the Texas Oil Company and allocated to Eagle Oil and Shipping Company, to take part in "Operation Pedestal".
Real heroes stuff and surely worth of a film in itself!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Ohio

 

Additional to a well considered post, the question of the characteristics of the GW's Welsh steam coal had a significant bearing on design. We've seen as many posts praising the way Swindon's output performed on the Welsh stuff as we have complaints from those who have had to deal with the aftermath of shovelling it into fireboxes designed with Yorkshire or Co.Durham steam coal in mind!

 

As an aside, a few years ago was talking to a rep from Hornby and expressing surprise that they planned to introduce a model of a Thompson Pacific.
He informed me that advanced orders already guaranteed its production!
There are obviously people out there that like em!.


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The GWR were down 100 Dean Goods which the war dept had mostly left in France.

 

In view of what has been uncovered by S.A.C. Martin I think the entry on Wikipedia, with regard to Edward Thompson, needs updating

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Are you volunteering? Don't look at me. I've been making a slowish start on editing out or updating a few dead links on Southern classes. Only another 50 or so pages to go.