WHR/FR news

That looks fairlie awesome. I'd love to see one built, preferably with Porta water, GPCS and a Lempor exhaust

 

Perhaps he's having his dinner or got something else slightly higher on his list of priorities right now?

 

Sorry, Jamie, we have no news on the progress of 109 to share at this time.

There will be an interesting announcement on an different subject first thing tomorrow.

 

Life is a bit short for this tit for tat scrapping.
some squabbles in this thread are starting to look like the highlander movies..

Is it time to bury the axe ? (oh wrong word will kick it off again)..
seriously, though isn't it time to make peace ?

1 post has been moderated for now.

 

I know what you mean - but then, many people said the same thing about Earl of Merioneth in 1979!

What really strikes me, though, is the specification for total adhesion, bogie articulation, and clear sight lines in both directions: Bulleid set out to achieve all of these with the Leader project! Thank heavens it doesn't feature sleeve valves or an offset boiler...

 

Give it time, give it time...

 

The most recent information regarding the Waterman Trust I can find is here

Waterman Railway Heritage Trust

Interesting that there are still apprentices being trained, but obviously BR standard boilers are at the top of the list at the moment. We can only hope 109 comes back to the top some time soon.

Regards

Peter

 

From the FR/WHR website : -

The Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways have invited the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway to run a special train for its members over the Welsh Highland Railway following the WHHR AGM on Saturday 21st July, following successful spark arrestor tests at the weekend.

The Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways have invited the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway to run a special train for its members over the Welsh Highland Railway The train will operate from Porthmadog WHHR to Hafod-y-Llyn and all seats must be booked in advance from the WHHR.

F&WHR Chairman Dr John Prideaux said that he was delighted that the WHHR Members would be able to enjoy this journey and that the event marked a further milestone in the improving relationship between the two railways.

WHHR Chairman Martyn Owen said that the event would realise an ambition held by WHHR members for many years and thanked F&WHR management for their cooperation.

 

I was hoping it was that it was that the webcams were being upgraded so it is actually possible to log in occasionally. This is causing me to spend far too much time looking at a computer screen actually working

 

Porthmadog in "Peace breaking out" shocker ?

 

Maybe your right, my opinion might be in a minority....

Interesting point about the Earl mind, I think people associate Fairlies with the Ffestiniog, even if the Earls looks are a bit of a departure from the traditional look, DLG although another recent addition doesn't look much different to Merddin to the untrained eye.

I can't explain why, but new builds that are either replica's or reasonably faithfull to original designs sit more comfortably with me than radical departures in designs, sort of like I like Tornado as it's based on an A1 (albeit heavily modified), whereas the 5AT seemed as alien a concept as a the IEP being proposed now.

 

Much as the Fairatt appeals to me, I'd probably rather see replicas of Moel Tryfan and Beddgelert - but their usefulness would be very questionable.

 

Again, I sympathise. I can't help feeling that a "modern" steam locomotive slightly defeats the point of heritage railways, which is to recreate, or at least capture the atmosphere of, the past. If you're going to build a "modern" loco, you might as well build a diesel. But then, the Earl is old enough now to be considered part of the FfR's heritage in her own right.

 

Would you like to tell all the miniature railways they are to immediately scrap all modern locos and go over to 1890s Heywood Tanks, 1920s Greenly Pacifics and 1900s Bassett Lowke Atlantics? And then could you explain to me how they are different from narrow gauge and standard gauge.

Please note: Humour intended. But still a valid discussion point.

 

Touché! But then, I suppose one could argue that the longest-established miniature railways really do use historic locomotives for at least some of their services (Rhyl, Ravenglass, Romney etc.) Miniature railways built in relatively modern times anyway are not "preserved" in the same way as the major SG and NG lines. They are "fun" railways rather than "heritage" railways. And small-scale models have often been used as a means of testing out experimental designs, so I suppose I'm more comfortable seeing "modern" steam designs in a miniature context.

Also, although many miniature steam locomotives have been built since 1968 many of them are models of (or at least approximations) of much older designs. Even the Bure Valley locos, with all their technical enhancements, are designed to look like pre-war NG designs.

As you say, an interesting discussion point!

 

The obvious point to make is that every design was 'new' once upon a time and every 'new' design would be replacing something else. I'm old enough to remember the gnashing of teeth and cries of woe when those noisy, smelly DMUs swept away much of what we had grown up with. Now they are seen as 'Classic' and there are lots of them running around on 'preserved' lines. The demise of the East Coast Pacifics was greeted with dismay yet there were scenes of near hysteria when their successors, the Deltics, were being sent to the knackers. If steam locomotives were still the norm in the 21st Century, we would have people clamouring to preserve the 'classic' designs of the seventies and eighties and who knows what might have been built for the Ffestiniog in the late 20th Century had history taken a different turn?
The Ffestiniog has a great deal of heritage but underneath the skin there is a lot of improved technology. The 19th Century carriages are beautiful but the vast majority of passengers head for the comfort of the modern gangwayed stock.

A railway like the Ffestiniog is a working railway and both 'Heritage' and 'Modern' items play their part. In any case, the 'Fairatt' looks as if it might be fun.

 

You could always bring back livingston Thompson .........

 

Can anyone offer an opinion why the engine has a 4 coupled bogie instead of two 6 coupled units? Not sure I understand what advantage a 0-6-4-0T has over a 0-6-6-0T.

 

Well, it certainly looks a lot worse.

 

I have the complete opposite view. I would much prefer a new modern design over a replica. Much of the appeal to me is that something is being preserved from the past and the history etc. There are more than enough locos, especially standard gauge, that I can not really warm to new build replicas. Either rebuild an existing wreck or build something completely new.

Tornado leaves me cold but time may well soften my view. I could not really warm to the square when it was built or TR no.7 but that is no longer the case. I am sure thet if I had been around when the Alco was first delivered I may not have been a fan but now I would love to see it back.