Building a replica Darjeeling B Tank

Not Moel Tryfan and Snowdon Ranger back to back????

I'd love to see Beddgelert personally, lovely looking machine that.

But good luck to those wishing to build something, I do wonder if building from scratch may well be the way forward, with modern materials and principles where appropriate.

I guess the main expenditure, other than boiler, would be patterns for cylinders, wheels etc, so if they can get hold of those it would make good sense.

Any new narrow gauge engine has to be worth it in my opinion!

Good luck

R

 

A couple more Lyds would be useful...

 

Well, the frames of Yeo do exist, and no doubt the L&B or a supporters' group will get to serious fund raising for that loco once Lyn is built....

 

Hows about a 2ft 6 version of the Campbeltown Barclay 0-6-2t's?

 

MOEL TRYFAN/BEDGELERT/GOWRIE

 

There does not seem to be much enthusiasm for the Darjeeling loco project!

I could not gather from the first posting whether this project involved production of a machine intended for hire on a commercial or semi-commercial basis or something which the owners would "self drive" when invited to bring their locomotive to galas and the like. Whatever the motivation the Darjeeling design is at once too small for the bigger players in the narrow gauge world and too large for economical transport on a moving bed vehicle recovery lorry. When low loaders become involved the transport costs escalate.

If your locomotive proves to be a good one and the people associated with it are felt to be reasonably competent then the word gets around and plenty of invitatioins are received until the next loco is built/rebuilt. It is enormous fun; I have been there!

However, if the faces of the associates do not fit, or the machine is not successful itself then the jungle telegraph beats equally quickly. One narrow gauge loco built in the early days rapidly got such a reputation that it proved to be unsaleable in the U.K.

 

Beddgelert would have my vote. I've always had a soft spot for it.

 

I'm slightly surprised at that as whilst I appreciate that it is probably more powerful than expected and therefore would fit in well on the FR, with the price of oil and the FR apparently favouring the coal fired locos I thought it might struggle to find a regular role outside special occasions and as spare engine. Presumably it could easily take the role that the ladies have traditionally operated over the last few years but I presume that with both those having proved themselves over the years and crews familiar with them they will remain main stays of the fleet

Obviously I am sure it will be a popular visiting loco.

 

The one a few of us talked about a couple of years ago was the original FR England.. the general idea was to build a replica, at least non-working, for a big FR Steam 150 gala in 2013. We even imagined that the gala could start with the replica being brought in on a (suitable) horse drawn cart and off-loaded before being put into steam (it would have been tested in secret first!)
If a millionaire had come along and sponsored a working one, there would have been three original small England chassis to base the design on, plus the drawings for Palmerston's new all-welded boiler built in the late 80's/early 90's so to a modern design. There are probably even a few original fittings that could be found in the old brass foundry in Boston Lodge for such a project, even if just for cosmetic purposes.
Unfortunately, it was little more than Port pub talk, but there are still a couple of years to go!

Any millionaires out there?

Karl

 

While I'm sure that all the suggestions would be great, I do wonder just how many British built NG engines there are out there over the globe that aren't being noticed, but would be equally great if they were repatriated and overhauled?

Regards

 

All these replicas! Has anyone ever considered building a new narrow gauge steam loco? Starting with a blank sheet of paper?

 

That is an interesting question isn't it, I have often thought about that myself, however, I suspect that the cost of finding, purchasing, repatriating and then restoring (bearing in mind all the good stuff has gone quite some time ago, that is almost certain to include all new expensive parts boiler, cylinders etc) would be more than the cost of a rebuild.

Then add in the fact that with a restoration you never quite know what you are starting with in terms of materials, levels of wear and build quality, perhaps new is a good option.

Don't get me wrong, there are a good few loco's I would love to be able to save & restore, but reality is unless you have pretty serious cash up front, chances are pretty slim of getting a good base to build on I would think.

 

I find this really interesting too, I guess the question is, if you build something brand new, with all modern principles and theory included, you take out any history and heritage that a replica creates and the draw on enthusiasts that has.

Starting with a blank piece of paper would be a very brave project I think, might be fun though!

R

 

My understanding ( I stand to be corrected) is that this proposal is to build a locomotive with spacial dimensions similar to a Darj B class but to use modern techniques where ever possible. It most certainly is not meant to be a replica of a design from the 19th century, as has been pointed out there are enough survivors already.

If you read 'Iron Sherpa II' you will know there have been ill fated attempts to 'improve' the B class in India, this idea is to try and explore what benefits can be derived from what is already a well proved design concept, without wrecking the aesthetics.

Regards

Peter

 

I think you've hit the nail on the head there. On top of that it looks completely out of place, the FR locos are all about nice proportions and curves (apart from the Square obviously). Somehow that massive squashed box on the front of the train always looks wrong.

Tim

 

Absolutely so. I can think of a "six inch" Bagnall where the quality of the castings was poor. Recently experience of a new build "Wren" (Thomas Wicksteed at Kew Bridge) has convinced me that there is much to be said for the new ones.

There is a proviso though. With all individually built machines, for every extremely good one (like "T.W.") somewhere in the queue will be an extremely bad one!

A totally new design is, I think, one step too far unless someone has sufficient resources to throw away a mistake and try again. All schools of design had to develop their skills over a period (?) at the expense of customers.

 

This may clarify discussion on the Lyd project...

http://www.ffestiniograilway.co.uk/lydproject.htm

Whilst Lyd can run on the FR it should be noted that coupled to K1 they can take a rake similar to an NGG 16. It would I imagine be cheaper to run K1 and Lyd than an oil fired 138. It is always useful to have a few oil burners anyway in particular for very dry parts of the year. That said Lyd is built to be able to be converted to coal if required.

Regards
Duncan

 

It surprises me that after two hundred years of building steam locos we know so little about them that we are unable to design one that we're pretty sure will work!

 

Skills atrophy without use and have to be re-learned.