34046 Braunton

To be fair, the OP didn't say beach resort, just resort plain and simple but there are some nice beaches but stone's throw away though.

 

Trouble with that statement is that 34046 was wrecked, rebuilt, at Eastleigh. Anyhow, Doncaster turned out the best locos.

 

The strange thing with Braunton is that she was restored and ran for a period on a heritage line but has then taken over 18 months out of service to be fettled to go main line.

 

I thought "detuned" was the officially recognised soubriquet.

Eastleigh's problem was that they could never see a locomotive without thinking how to turn it into a battleship...

Tom

 

Nowt wrong with building a fleet of battleships such as the H15, N15 and S15. They evidently knew how to use raw materials to get longevity out of a given design (c. 40 years in some cases).

 

Not according to the shed master at a well known railway in the south of England. He much prefers the term "wrecked."

 

Certainly in his politer moments he always calls them "Jarvis" pacifics, to make very clear that they are no longer "Bulleid" pacifics...

Tom

 

Well, that's true - Mr Stroudley taught Mr Drummond well when it came to things mechanical. Just a shame Drummond seemed to have gone AWOL when it came to the lessons concerning boiling water!

But all this is getting a long way from coastal(?) resorts in north Devon.

Tom

 

He's not a big fan of the Jarvis versions is he?

 

Getting back on topic...

From the ELR web forum...

Note that this is referring to test runs on the ELR, not on the mainline, but it may mean that the latter are also postponed as 34046 is no longer shown as working on the ELR tomorrow.

 

Hopefully when they update the roster for the weekend they will amend the deltic too from a blue one to a green one...

 

It's really going to the wire for Braunton's main line début on 9th July.

 

I refer the honourable gentleman to my earlier statement ;-)

 

Eastleigh / Jarvis at least turned a no hope loco into something vaguely maintainable and therefore useful. The Spamcans have so many "innovations" that were certainly a "good idea" but somewhat less than brilliantly executed. Not saying that anyone was at fault, Bulleid was trying with some success to improve the breed, but the timing, and the materials and techniques available meant the result was less than he intended. Personally I don't like the unrebuilts at all. They're nothing but trouble. The rebuilts are quite good. Urie's, and Maunsell's engines are better though, and steam well if you put the coal in the right places.

 

That's just nonsense. The two Spams we've had on the main line have put in some sparkling performances, every bit as good as their rebuilt brethren. You're entitled to an opinion but base it on some facts please.

 

I can only speak from experience of the Schools and S15 on the NYMR but, when it comes to steaming, they make a Black 5 seem shy for steam in comparison and you don't have to be too particular where the coal goes, as long as you keep the back end covered.

 

Touched a sore point did I?

My "no hope" comment was not about the ability to perform well, but rather the complexity and difficulty of maintenance.

The fact that a couple of unrebuilts have put in very good performances on the mainline, whilst a fact, does not revise the overall picture for the class. It is also a fact that one of those locos has had more than one major failure whilst on the road, of a type pretty uncommon in the modern era with any other design, which is hardly a ringing endorsement. They are not easy to maintain, for a whole host of reasons, one of which being that the oil bath is very much in the way when any attention is required to the middle cylinder. The problems of maintenance that I don't need to document here, as I sure everyone has read the same sources I have, probably contributed to the reputation for coal consumption.

All the Merchants and half the WC/BBs were rebuilt. BR (profligate though it was with money) didn't do that for fun. It was done to rectify design flaws in the original, and the scale of the rebuilding program suggest at least a modicum of success. It was and is easier, cheaper and quicker to maintain a rebuilt (and they need less of it) than an unrebuilt, and I've seen that first hand myself in the modern era.

 

Reported elsewhere by Ian Riley that the new brake valve is faulty and has been returned to the manufacturer. Testing at the ELR will resume when it comes back. So mainline tests next week are now looking rather unlikely.

 

If it wasn't for bad luck this loco would be having no luck at all.