6024 King Edward 1

6024 departs Chester with the morning test run back to Crewe.
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Aside from 6024's physical late BR condition, the livery - as stunning as it may look - has innacuracies all over the place. The shade of green is indeed incorrect (looks more like an early BR shade as used on 5043), the buffer beam number font is incorrect, the tender lettering is too large and is the wrong font anyway (particularly the A and T letters), the ejector assembly and exhaust along the driver's side of the boiler should be black - these were only painted green in BR days, the lubrication pipe cover on the smokebox is all black, when it should match up with the green / lining on the boiler, the list does indeed go on.

Now, I'm not usually too fussed about things like this and I am very happy to see the loco back in action - a true credit to the 6024 team at Williton and those at Crewe that did the final tinkering; she seems in fine form indeed! However, when the only way to see or experience the loco (aside from the rare preserved railway visit) is to pay through the nose for what will always be a diesel-assisted railtour, I do expect better. It smacks of "this is sort of what a GWR loco should look like, our well-off non-enthusiast clientele won't care anyway".

 

Well I guess if "our well-off non-enthusiast clientele" do care they will see bookings take a dive going forward.
It all comes back to who owns it and how they want it to look at the end of the day. An argument that has been debated many times on here, but of course can never be resolved unless you are said owner.

 

Indeed, indeed!