34016 Bodmin

Does anyone know how the engine is progressing at Carnforth

 

Has it even been started? As with anything from 10A, its got to be a case of watch this space it will most likily come out painted blue, with double arrows on the tender

 

Still stored at Carnforth, not been started as far as I know. This shouldn't be surprising when you consider what else they are dealing with. 46115,44932, 61306 and not least 6201 in addition to keeping the operating engines going.

 

Is Tangmere being worked on a present?

 

I think it may be next in line after those currently being worked on but that is only the impression I have got from talking to people. Carnforth don't make announcements about what they are doing and looking at what happens on here when someone does put their head above the parapet I don't blame them.

 

Not from an enthusiasts point of view, there is already a rebuilt light Pacific on the maineline. Does anyone know the extent of work needed on Bodmin?

 

To be fair, Tangmere did a pretty good job of standing in for Clan Line on the Pullman's from 2003-2006 when owned by Riley & Sons . In my opinion a far nicer sight than the boring , overpolished Jarvis Pacific dragging it around nowadays!

 

The one that should be back on the main line is 35005. She will be wasted shuffling up and down the Watercress Line.

 

If you can send the Watercress line a cheque for the cost of the equipment I'm sure they will consider it,
As regards Work needed on 34016, mechanically ,a full overhaul which should be quite straight foreward, but the boiler is the biggest problem, it needs a new crown sheet at least but the biggest thing is to find out why the quilting of the sheet happened , and it may end up needing a complete inner box, if the soundness of the metal is suspect. but of course there is a spare boiler available, which may be a better option.

 

Not so when enquiries were made before the overhaul began.

 

Are you sure? While I wouldn't want to speak in that specific case, in general, the cost of putting a heritage railway based loco on the mainline isn't just the cost of the electronic equipment. Far more significant is that all the time the loco is away, it creates a hole in the fleet that has to be filled by something else. So in practical terms, if your core loco requirement is, say, n locos in ticket at any one time, putting one of them on the mainline for sufficient trips to make the investment in electronics worthwhile pretty much requires you to have n+1 in ticket. So in essence, the cost of a heritage line loco running mainline trips is the cost of an additional loco overhaul. And that's not to mention the need for a support coach (over and above the core number of carriages you need to run the operation) and a support crew (over and above the core number of people needed to run the railway's main service.

The alternative way to look at the same thing would be to say whatever budget and resources the heritage railway had to run its core loco operating fleet, the cost of the one on the mainline would have to be entirely funded outside that budget; it's not just the additional mainline equipment.

The more I look at it, the more I believe that while it is entirely feasible for a main line loco to occasionally visit heritage lines when not otherwise engaged on the main line, the reverse doesn't hold.

Tom

 

I'm sure those that advocate putting this that or the other loco on the mainline have no idea of the cost or commitment involved. Sadly I think we are close to seeing the end of Mainline running for the volunteer society owned engines, it's common knowledge that, despite all the Belmond work MNLPS had to put out an appeal to the membership to make up a shortfall in the overhaul costs. 6201 had to be rescued by Carnforth and Bahamas got lottery funding but that won't happen next time. We will then be left with what I will call the big four, Riley's, Carnforth, Tyseley and Crewe. The A1 Trust is a unique set up and their business model may be the only way forward for say MNLPS with the membership paying regular contributions but I can't see any new potential main line loco owners with the resources or desire to go down that road

As far as Bodmin is concerned I'm sure the management at Carnforth will take engineers advice and overhaul the more straightforward locos first to maintain a decent running fleet, if that leaves Bodmin on the back burner for a while then we will just have to wait.

 

A perfect summary of why the Severn Valley gave up Mainline running

 

Ditto for the MHR, which at one time had 73096 34016 and 35005 as mainline runners. Current priorities at the Mid Hants are definitely to secure a sustainable fleet of locomotives to operate core services, as per the recently released loco strategy document.

 

Don't forget that the MHR also had 31625 and 41312 available for ML work for a while as well as 60019 during the first part of her preservation ML career. I had great admiration for the Ropley shed team keeping the fleet in shape both for home use and ML operations.
However, I do remember a really difficult period when both 34016 and 35005 were failed with wheel crack problems and the MHR struggled with steam services due to a Loco shortage.

Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk

 

And of course what happens when the proprietors of those operators go to the Great Engine Shed in the sky?

 

That needn't be a problem if enough younger members are persuaded to join. Bahamas may have a problem here but not serious at present. I believe MNLPS are particularly well placed with a CME only in his 30s and several working members under 40. One in his 20s is committed enough to regularly make the journey up from his home in Devon. The problem of attracting younger blood who never knew real steam is an issue for the whole heritage railway movement not just mainline running.