SVR Loco Newsy News / discussions

According to the GWS info on Facebook, GWR Pannier Tank 3650, will be paying a visit to to the Severn Valley Railway, to help out with the peak Summer Season. How long she is going to be staying there I have no idea

 

I've just added a couple of photo's to 3650's Facebook page to up-date todays activies.
3650 Facebook

 

I am told an initial loan of three weeks is planned. By that time 2857, 4566, 34053 and 1501 should be available for service.

 

SVR website suggests "We expect No. 3650 to be with us for approximately three weeks. Subject to testing and weighing the loco could be in service this weekend".

SVRLive reports:

4566. A welder will be on site on Friday. Subject to repair re-assembly & valve setting to follow.
34053 is still being tested with some work being carried out on the lubricators.
2857.The cladding is being refitted on the boiler prior to testing next week.
1501 Insurance Steam test due next week, period of commissioning to follow.
42968 is awaiting spring replacements, due late August from the supplier.
7812 is operational.
43106 is operational after work on the ash pan, It is on washout and repairs from Sunday evening (29th).
5164. Wheels are expected on Friday (27th). This can progress once 1501, 2857, 4566 & 34053 completed.

34053 SKP no running in taken today, nor planned for tomorrow, crosshead and slidebar work required.


Patrick

 

From SVRA forum

7714 is making progress; all new firebox platework completed Bridgnorth Station | Facebook

From twitter @svrofficialsite 3650 has passed examination, now working down the line light engine for Bewdley Shed. Pic at Bridgnorth Station | Facebook. Planned light engine to Bewdley tomorrow to work from there over the weekend, then back to Bridgnorth Sunday evening to replace 43106 in service from that end whilst the 'pig' is washed out

Patrick

 

The LE move is done and dusted. 3650 now standing at Bewdley.

 

That one with 3650 was done quick, I only looked at this thread less than a week ago, looked at someone page on FlickR today and exclaimed "what's that doing there ?!".

 

Or possibly quietly, at the SVRG AGM on the 21st, mention was made to a hire loco but no name/number was said.

 

Is 3650 handling normal length SVR trains, 8 coaches?, as I seem to recall from either previous threads or the SVR forum that the smaller locos on the SVR might be restricted generally to 6 coaches. Obviously if it is a short term hire you might be happier running it at the top end of its capacity than a loco that is part of the resident fleet which you want to reduce the stresses on to minimise wear and tear on and maximise availability in the long term

 

The Traffic Notice on SVRLive.com shows it running with 7, which is what we're running at generally at the moment. I'm sure you didn't mean to, but you have insinuated that the SVR is happy to overwork someone else's loco to look after its own fleet, which would be low behaviour and not something the SVR lowers itself to, I'm sure.

This is speculation, but I imagine that the SVR will have agreed with the 3650 guys what the maximum load can be for her.

Panniers are a little more powerful than small prairies, as I recall, too, so 7 shouldn't be an issue. I've seen a Pannier pull 8 without too much difficulty, but you'd need one of the MPD lads to clarify that.

 

I did not mean to insinuate, more a reflection that short term they might be prepared to run nearer top end of an engines capacity, be it hired in or one of their own but not long term

I.e if say a loco was rated a max of 8 coaches there might be a policy that standtad running was 75% of this i.e. 6 but there was dispensation to run at maximum capacity a set number of times. This gives flexibility but ensures that much of the time it is working well within itself

In the case of 3650 as most of the time it spends tootling about Didcot yard I thought the owners might be happy for it to be run nearer full capacity as it will only be for a short period before it returns to a more restful existance

 

You need to check the blue book for loadings. 4566 is loaded to 200 tons. It is only in very rare situations will you see the loco handling anything bigger than 7 LMS coaches. ( the lightest on the railway). I'd imagine when 7714 reappears in the next year or so it will be limited to the same tonnage. Although I expect 1501 to be allowed to stroll around with 8 on without a problem being a much more modern pannier.

 

Just looking at the gen in my Ian Allen "Combined" from 1956/7, I see that the 1500 class is shown as having a tractive effort of 22515 lbs, exactly the same as the 5700 Panniers, and yet the 1500 is classed as "4F" and the Pannier as "3F". (The small prairies are shown as t/e of 21250 lbs, which I suppose follows because of the pony trucks.)

As a matter of interest, is it correct that running the 1500 at SVR line speed it can seek out dipped joints and the like and "bounce" somewhat, given the short wheelbase? Casting NO aspersions whatsoever on SVR P-Way ! I just imagined that on Paddington ECS work this class of loco rarely travelled at 25 mph?

 

1501 does tend to bounce in and out of dropped joints. The weight of 2 cylinders well in front of the front axle might be the cause of the front heaviness.

Plenty of activity at Bridgnorth this morning.
From Bridgnorth station twitter feed
2857 is out of the boiler shop and now sits in the yard awaiting ashpan and dampers linkages to be reconnected. I believe 1501 and 2857 are due steam test this week.

 

Presumably it makes sense if at all possible to have both engines (1501 and 2857 ) in steam at the same time for their Insurance inspection. One visit, two jobs done!

 

1501 is infact a surprisingly smooth rider, certainly no rougher than a 57xx.

2857 is indeed booked for a steam test this week, i am told tomorrow, alongside 1501. There are still a few bits of pipework to be returned to her, along with the glam bits (safety valve bonnet) but these won't get in the way of the test. Return to service is imminent!

 

Definitely remember 5764 going round with 8 more than once in its last ticket.

 

My Ian Allen combined for 1952 (reprint) shows 57xx as 4Fs. I have heard about this change before elsewhere and that it was a mistake on Ian Allen's part, but as I said that's only what I've heard.

 

Indeed, perhaps an "Ian Allen" typo all those years ago!

Just as a matter of interest, I have both the original Winter 1956/7 "Combined", and the recent reprint, and as far as I can see the reprint is an exact facsimile of the original, because I noticed a typo in the reprint, and sure enough looking at the original the typo was there.

Fascinating....!

 

Well, I have the reprints of 1952 and 1963 combined and I did a while back find the original of one of them while looking in a fund shop, the typos are the same and the pictures are very clearly copies of the ones in the originals as they are far less clear.