6023 mid Norfolk running

So how Is the king getting on at Mid Norfolk? Due to current trials and alot of gassing around a table we are looking for a double chimney for a king!! If anyone might have one or the where abouts please get in touch.

 

Went up on Wednesday 6th to MNR for the first time, not realising 6023 was there. Good return journey except for getting wet at Wymondham. Looks very smart. Good sound on the banks.

John

 

A chimney fit for a king? That's some order

 

It was going well a couple of weeks ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWpyUdjAnwE

 

Great shots, thanks!

 

What are you saying here dave885?

From your original post, it seems like you are closely involved with 6023. Quote:"we are looking for a double chimney for a king!!"

Is the sleeved single chimney causing problems? (despite everything looking and sounding great on the Youtube videos).

It seems that you are appealing for a double chimney for fitting onto 6023.

Or maybe I've just interpreted your post wrongly...........

 

After a fair few miles running in the loco is proving very hungry, she's eating a ton of coal and 2000 gallons of water every run (22 miles).

 

I'm not too suprised given the very enthusiastic crew who were on the King when I visited the MNR.

I cannot wait for the loco to hit the mainline now, after having spent a very happy day down there clocking up some mileage behind it.

 

Surely this must be due to the loco not being suitable for low speed branch-line use. The sleeved single chimney was "improved draughting", hence (I would expect) a greater draw on the fire, with an impact on coal consumption. However, I seem to recall reading that a King has to be "worked" in order to maintain pressure. If 6023 was handled very gently, maybe she would struggle to maintain boiler pressure. Kings ran with 6023's draughting arrangement successfully in the mid-50's, so maybe its down to the type of use and handling of the loco.

Just my ideas.

 

What are the gradients like on that route?

 

Ben
Try this: http://www.mnr.org.uk/about/gradient/

 

2000 Gallons does seem like a lot to be honest. Firing 5029 last year at the WSR I was using roughly a 1000 Gallons for the 20 odd miles from Minehead to BL and the gradients are much steeper on that line.

I would expect a King to use slightly more water (having bigger cylinders etc), but 2000 Gallons does seem excessive considering the gradients. Does the loco spend a lot of time blowing off? Is the loco being crewed by people with experience on GW locos?

 

Was the King originally fitted with double chimney?

If not then why change it

 

she would have been double chimney at one time, but the group wanted to restore it to single chimney, as the other 2 are double

 

I believe that any loco should be restored as near to original as possible in which case I agree that 6023 should have the possibility of getting a double chimney

 

6023 ran with a single chimney, then a "sleeved" single chimney (which it carries at present) from when it was built until the mid/late 1950's. Only then was it fitted with a double chimney which it carried until withdrawal in 1962.

This has to be a case of the crews needing to get used to handling the loco and the type of work it is currently performing. Possibly, it also needs a little "fine tuning". I don't believe that when the Kings received "improved draughting" from around 1953, that they became incredibly heavy on coal and water consumption. If that had been the case, they would have reverted to the original draughting arrangement.

 

The chimney that was on 6023 when it went to Barry ended up on 6024 I seem to recall. So the owning group decided to replace it with a single chiney to make it a little different from 6024.

Regards,

Dan

 

It would be interesting to compare the coal and water figures with similar running by 6024 on say the WSR or SVR over the years. Logic suggests that a big engine crawling around on a light load is not going to be very efficient compared to be used for what it was designed for - heavy loads at high speed. As has been stated there are probably a few set up and training issues to overcome as well.

 

Exactly. I'm not an expert, but I don't think there is anything wrong with 6023 and it's single chimney. I can't imagine the people responsible for the loco would throw their hands up in horror and revert the loco to double chimney condition on the basis of it's lack of economy on a 25mph max branch line.

 

Hmmm... Not sure about that. A big loco, such as a King, will use more coal and water than a medium-size loco on preserved line work, but it will use even more when working hard than when pottering around. Though a King is a bit bigger and more powerful than a Castle, it should not be consuming double quantities (comparing Ben's experience with Nunney). There's clearly a bit of work to do with both the crews and with the loco. Even a Merchant Navy, renowned as a greedy class, would consume less than reported for 6023.