60019 Bittern

Did Bittern come with a spare boiler???
And if so, anybody know which one is being restored back to use...

 

LSL bought the spare (A4) boiler that was with 4472 from NRM. Not sure which has been used, obviously the spare stayed at Crewe when 19 went complete to Margate 10 years or so ago.

 

I don't think Bittern came with a spare boiler. Flying Scotsman did, but it was a A4 type (it might have been the one carried by 4472 in its previous overhaul by Tony Marchington) and was bought by LSL as a spare for Bittern, I think. Presumably the NRM couldn't see a future need for it, regarding its higher wp as too straining for the A3- but (unless it is significantly heavier) it's difficult to understand the reasoning - surely it could have been used with the valves set to 225psi?

 

"Non authentic" for an A3 so deemed superfluous? Suppose we should be grateful NRM didn't cut it in half and build a picnic area between the two sections!

 

I believe the owners of Royal Scot & General Trust (LSL) and 34027 are members of the same curry club, or something like that.

 

Interesting.

 

Phil Swallow is a non-executive director of LSL.

 

Even more interesting! Didn't know that.

 

@Harry2857 would be the best one to comment but I don’t think 34027 did keep the GMSR and OTMR. The latter is an expensive bit of equipment to just leave and would probably be out of date by now. The air pump had been used as it was the only engine capable of working inbound specials of airbraked stock. The Belmond Pullmans are one example

 

I last priced TPWS4, OTMR & GSMR about a year ago.
The 3 sets of equipment added up to approx £45k.
Allow a few £k for conduit, cables, batteries, battery charger.
Labour costs depend on whether it’s done by in house staff, or contractors. In house staff do have a cost, but usually much less than contractors.

 

It would surely not have been deemed "non-authentic" for an A3, considering it was on the loco when they bought it!

 

IIRC A4 boilers got fitted to A3s in BR days with the boiler pressure suitably reduced. I’m sure I read in Peter Townend‘s book that the first thing that Top Shed knew about this was when they went to replace some boiler tubes on an A3 and found them to be too long due to the A4 Boiler having a larger combustion chamber.

 

I'd be fairly confident that reinstating/upgrading those systems wouldn't be seen as insurmountable to the parties potentially involved if they have a will. At the very least if 34046 is to be reitired for an extended period, some of the kit on that would surely be useable on 34027 if the latter was effectively replacing Braunton.
Pure speculation anyhow.

 

Don’t give people ideas.

 

It’s one thing to swap a TPWS Control Unit, a data recorder, or a GSMR radio between vehicles/stores/overhaul.
But to swap a complete installation: brackets, conduits, wiring etc between vehicles, to save a few tens of thousand pounds; when the owner is a multi millionaire; would be a very silly thing to do.