46235 City of Birmingham

I see.
At the end of the day it's not practical to steam everything even if the funds and manpower are available - I doubt they are - and it would be madness to have everything it ticket at the same time.
No doubt there would be those complaining that since loco B has been returned to steam, loco A has been ignored now that it's out of traffic.

 

Don't feed the troll!

 

I'd like to see CoB restored because having it sat on a plinth is just plain sad. Its a beautiful loco designed for pulling heavy passenger trains, the opportunity to let it do just that is there, so why not?

If riding behind it isn't a good reason then hand me a shovel I'll fire it and you can ride behind.

 

Terribly sorry, I'm not a troll, I am however passionate about steam loco's, so if you hope that I'll go away because you think I should, tough s***.

 

So anyone who disagrees with your own opinion should just sit down and be quiet. This is an internet forum, it is used for debate. You have one opinion, I have another. Why not try to offer some sort of insight rather than just implying I am a fool? Or are you all out of ideas?

 

That's not what I said and you know it. But actually maybe we shouldn't restore everything now, we should keep some stuff back for the next generation rather than wearing everything out now.

The reason Lode Star is in the National Collection is because of the paint job done by Swindon works, restoring her to steam destroys that.

 

I don't think that's quite true and any idea that it is still in 'ex Swindon' condition went out of the window when the NRM removed the asbestos lagging. Even the touch-up paintwork doesn't match. (Or it didn't when I last saw it.)

 

Have you got anything constructive to add or have you run out of ideas and now resorting to insults?

As much as I am sure you think I am one those people who thinks the facebook and twitter accounts being set up will get funds in I am much more business minded than that. Not to mention I'm not the one advertising my youtube account on here, you are.

I could well set up a group to restore something to steam, it would at least be more constructive than just throwing insults around like yourself. Though I would prefer Mallard to CoB.

As far as our valuable history goes, were the locos in our history running up and down the country or were they built to stand in museums? Maybe you should tell the people at Beamish that they are doing it all wrong, there is such a thing as living history you know.

 

Well eventually time will destroy the paint job. Its a paint job, does it really need preserving? Just take a decent hi resolution picture. People wonder how to get youngsters (the future) involved in steam, the only thing more boring than watching paint dry, is watching dry paint.

This sounds like the argument used to keep Welsh Pony on the Ffestiniog from being restored, which is now being considered for restoration as time has taken its toll and practically destroyed it.

 

The loco exists, the opportunity is there, all is needed is a concerted effort and some knowledge. Nothing in full sized steam happens over-night, the longer we wait to start, the longer it will take. Imagine of the A3 trust had just said "oh its too hard, and will cost too much, it can't be done".

 

Guitar - I think the main thing is that many people consider the role she is currently fulfilling is indeed useful and does educate and interest people in history.
Do you think that railway museums and their exhibits are a waste of time? Do the younger (and older) generations not get a great experience from getting up close to and interacting with something that otherwise they wouldn't be able to?
Of course, this experience is made all the better when one can also experience them in their natural habitat, pulling trains.
I feel there is a need for both examples and that they compliment each other, how lucky we are to have them!

 

I'm all for reasoned debate. But anyone who considers, despite all evidence to the contrary, that Rocket is just a pile of rusty metal, and that its usefulness is solely defined by "how many wagons it can pull now" is not worth having a debate with. If you genuinely hold those views, then you clearly are foolish with no understanding or feel for history. If you don't hold those views but are just out to get a reaction, you're a troll. Either way - not worth the argument.

Tom

 

Sounds like ideal motive power for the Meon Valley Railway...

Tom

 

Restoring CofB at Tyseley for mainline use has been aired in the local press many times, and the response is always the same. The opportunity was lost when it was moved from the custom built surroundings of the Science Museum in Newhall Street to the present, dreadfully hemmed in position at the awful "Thinktank".
The only distance CofB is likely to be covering is across the road to a more fitting and accessible display location in the new HS2 terminal, and that only if Birmingham City Council find some long-lost enterprise and initiative. Sadly, I won't be around by then to find out!

 

Ideas, eh? Nah, I'm not interested in platform end nutters with ludicrous notions, I'd rather be a doer than a talker with no idea what he's talking about.

Cheers

Alan