another post got me thinking....

Whilst Stepney may have been preserved for the longest of all the Bluebell locos, she has spent several periods out of service. 323 Bluebell probably has spent more time in traffic (certainly more than 27!). The C class, whilst a comparative latecomer to the Bluebell, seems to me (and I may be mistaken) to have been available for quite a lot of the time since she entered traffic in 1975.

The Welsh Narrow Gauge locos probably are good contenders, partly because they've been preserved longer, and partly that they are often turned around quicker at overhaul. The Vale of Rheidol locos would probably qualify if you regarded the years after 1968 until 1989 as being preserved by BR - but some would probably say that's cheating. Possibly (in terms of days in service) the quarry hunslets at Llanberis could be contenders as well - although other railways open more days, so they may lose out there.

Steve B

 

@Steve B - you are almost certainly right about Bluebell - for some reason I've had a brain fade all day and completely forgot about her!

Tom

 

Some of the IMR locos have clocked up huge mileages, 60+ miles a day, up to 7 days a week, 8-9 months a year but I suppose, technically, they are not "preserved". Ray.

 

Is that based on GWR short miles?

 

Up to the end of 2013, 80135 is the leader at 188877 miles, which is believed to be the standard gauge preservation leader. It should soon hit the 200,000 mark when it gets back into service, hopefully in 2016. The S15 has done 70273 as 825 and 82661 as 841, making a total of 152934, for the boiler, at least! 45428 had clocked up 148214 with 75029 coming in at 93166. Both these locos have run a substantial mileage in 2014 so 75029 will have topped the 100,000 by now. 3672 did an incredible 107103 miles in the course of its one 10 year stint, which I think is a preservation record.
So, for the 100K club, we have: 3672, 825/41, 45428, 75029 and 80135.
If you count the RHDR locos as preserved, I would expect them to be the leaders by a good head.

 

Hmmm

I was thinking RHDR locos but I'm I wasn't sure if they are preserved or still in their original use? Although No1 Green Goddess would have to be the highest mileage loco due to age (1927 if i remember right).

 

According to the on line OEd to preserve means 'Maintain (something) in its original or existing state'
Hence when a locomotive was taken out of service and put in a museum instead of being scrapped it was preserved. OK so far?

But that makes Mr Pedant here think that if we take it out of the museum and put it in service, in which in inevitably wears etc, we are no longer preserving it. After all otherwise we get as noted above a ridiculous distinction between say RHDR and Snowden Mountain Railway as not preserved...

 

it's OT but accepted by the people that matter (OS Nock for one) that CoT certainly touched 100 mph on that day even if 102.3 is flawed.I believe their opinion carries more weight than yours. Now, back on topis....I like the 100,000 mile club , who else has a documented example to join it?

 

According to John Robinson in SVR News No. 187 (Autumn 2014), the 100,000 mile SVR engines are:

LMS
8F - 151,805
6443 - 145, 997
2968 - 116,833 (in only two 10 year tickets!
5110 - 107,020

GWR 7802 - 111,160

BR
80079 - 103,503

 

Steve,

30926 has run through two working spells on the NYMR - what is it up to? I would imagine it will be the next for the 100K club after 75029, and 76079 will probably have a chance of getting there as well in the course of its current ticket.

 

30926 has never really been a big annual mileage loco, although it did manage 12024 in 2003. Its total recorded NYMR mileage is 98442 so, as you say, not far off 100 Club membership. 76079 is still way off the mark with only 48,305 miles to its credit, including those when it was on hire. The next highest players in the mileage stakes are two that we're unlikely to see again: 6619 (75,878) & 44767 (77,571).
Incidentally, whilst on the topic of mileage, 80135 managed a very credible 17,414 miles in 1987. I think that this is a record for an annual mileage on heritage railways.
Whilst we're on statistics, total NYMR recorded steam mileage up to the end of 2013 is 1,811,984 so probably still two or three years off the 2 million mark. This has involved 95 different locos although this has included several visits by 'Thomas' and the actual loco has not been recorded.

 

Does 30926's mileage include the stint it did on the GCR?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Not to my knowledge.

 

You obviously have the full, up to date list, Steve! I had been meaning to ask where we had got to in total when the SVR passed the 2 million mark recently as we passed the 1 million shortly after they passed the same figure. In fact, I think they will have done the 2nd million faster, which much mean they are running more steam miles per year (or have been), especially when you consider the post-flood damage closure period when they were only using a short section of the line.

The NYMR was just short of 55,000 to the end of October this year, so I think it will be 2017 before we make 2 million.

75029 will now have reached 105,089 (now out for winter work), whilst 45428 is 156,238 to the end of October and still counting for 2014.

Because of how Easter fell in a 12 month period starting at Easter 1987, 80135 actually did over 18,000 miles - the late Easter in 1987 and earlier one in 1988 meant she did more mileage in January to March 1988 than in the same months of the previous year, thus increasing the overall mileage.

As for the Op's question, I suspect longest period in service and highest mileages will be different locos - 80135 has spent quite some period out of service but run hard and regularly when available. I believe a number of the smaller lines have had locos do 11 or even 12 years at a good and then be soon back in traffic, whilst probably not racking up vast mileages.

Steven

 

That's not strictly speaking true.

CoT's speed record relies on two accounts given by Charles Rous-Martin of The Railway Magazine, and that of a postal worker, William Kennedy, who was also on the train. The two accounts differ, giving different potential maximum speeds. Both accounts were recorded using mileposts and stopwatches. The results differ to the extent that Kennedy's gives a maximum of 100mph and Rous-Martin's gives 102.3mph.

Whether the locomotive was capable of 100mph or not, it cannot be denied that with only two accounts made of the speed run, and no recording equipment, we must accept some potential human error is possible (either higher or lower) than the potential top speeds given.

There were other locomotives including no.999 of the Hudson Railroad which had made high speed runs but none until 4472's 100mph pulled a dynamometer or recording equipment of any kind to authenticate.

It cannot be denied that the record books require authenticated and recorded runs, and as such because of this 4472 will always hold the record, and City of Truro's will always be disputed, and never be authenticated. Articles since have proved it is technically possible for the times given to give a maximum of 100mph but I would be more interested in computer modelling the actual line and the locomotive to see if it was mechanically possible at the time rather than relying on two men and their stopwatches against the distances known.

It will always be a matter of debate but the fact remains that Truro's run was a fast one for her class, and rightly or wrongly the dispute over her potential record saved a beautiful locomotive for railway preservation, for which we must be grateful.

 

NYMR steam mileage peaked at 69022 in 2001 and has been in the high 50,000's for the last two years after bumping along at just over 60K for a number of years. I'll be interested to see what this years figure runs out at with all the planned diesel mileage and necessary substitution. You've no doubt got more up-to-date figures than me on this. I don't generally record diesel mileage but it was just over 24K in 2013, well up on previous years. Thats 23K nore than I'd like to see!

 

you've only said the same as I said in a more long winded way. In fact the effort of the single wheeler that did the Bristol to Paddington leg was possibly even more remarkable and the loco was certainly far more beautiful