Flying Scotsman

Apologies, I have been otherwise engaged, but thanks to those who have done my job for me so to speak.

Not surprised at the smokebox saddle, decades of exposure to corrosive combustion byproducts and all that. Steam locomotives suffer from castings rotting away, drag boxes, inside cylinder blocks, anywhere where coal, ash and water can lie undisturbed and pieces that are not cast suffer too.

Any component has a finite life. But we also like to maintain originality. I wonder how many parts were retained in the past when they should have been replaced? And if this has happened, would 4472 be the only engine to be subject to one of the downsides of authenticity at all costs?

When you come to think about it we replace parts on a regular basis, boiler tubes, stays, rivets, tyres, valve and piston rings, valve liners, firebox inners, firebox outers, tube plates, and so on. These are viewed as consumables, we are used to this type of work. There are larger components that we are just becoming more confident with. Today the preservation industry can take on work that it would never have dreamt of considering back in the 1960s. With the coming of the new builds it is plain that we can take on just about anything demanded of us. New frame stretchers, no problem.

4472 was one of the earliest preserved locomotives and could well be revealing issues that other locomotive owners will face in due time. Only time and the bills to be paid will show, it would not be good to be smug.

 

Well it was the test bed for most experiments that were undertaken.

Seconded!

 

You've just hit the nail right royally on the head. regardless of what previous encumbants of 4472 have done to her..............

 

Considering the number of people who venerate the loco (including me) I reckon "Iconic" is a good description, considering icons were originally images or statues venerated for their holy associations.

 

Judging by the methodical way this is being driven towards completion, nothing is being left to chance.

That is the way it should be, IRE look to be doing a rolls Royce job on her.

And so it should be, judging by what they had to work with in the first instance!!

 

When she does come out, she will be the flagship loco of the NRM, so its only to be expected that they will want her to have been properly done

 

And properly loaded, not overloaded ?

 

Didn't the report commissioned by the NRM specify something to that effect?

 

So if shes not going to be 'overworked', why is the double- chimney still necessary ?
( And with a single chimney would smoke deflectors still be necessary ?)

 

Contingency Planning ?

 

Definitely an icon for me. In addition to her earlier exploits, she hauled my first and second mainline tours back in the late 60's and then there was the unforgettable televised last non-stop London to Edinburgh run where they nearly ran out of water. Probably the main reason I'm stuck with this 'disease' now

 

lack of a casting for the single chimney? cost of having one cast, cost of new blastpipe assembly etc?

 

She is definitely special to me. The first steam loco I knew how to say the name of!
When I was a child the name was simply the stuff of Legend as she remained elusive to me. I read everything I could about her and I was very impressed by all of the "adventures" 4472 had been involved in. I didn't actually see her in the flesh until I was much older when she was in BR guise at the SVR. A very impressive sight and sound on the Valley. I didn't see her on the Main Line until she ran in undercoat for a test run at the start of the Marchington era. At the start of this era she was most impressive but unfortunately near the end she sounded terrible as the problems developed. It is good to see she is finally getting the overhaul she has required for some time.

 

I think I learnt Mallard first perhaps, but maybe not surprising given that for most of my lifetime she's been under overhaul That's not a very happy thought...

 

The double/single debate has been done before many times within this thread. NRM have said it will come out of this overhaul with double-chimney and deflectors. They will then paint it in the wrong livery for this combination, although the right livery is not ruled out at some time in the future. Personally I am a fan of LNER green livery - but it looks so wrong with the double chimney. I hope at some future overhaul they will go for a single again - I'll pay for it, like I always do.

 

I think the major thing that grates with apple green IMO is the smoke deflectors rather than the chimney, and is it likely that they will ever be removed?

 

No, and for good reason......... unless you want to cause an accident!

As for all this double chimney, deflectors & Apple Green guff - just for arguements sake. what if the LNER had survived, maybe they would've done the same as BR............. so you would've had 4472, sorry I mean 103, with double chimney & blinkers, in....... APPLE GREEN!

So ball cocks to all this wrong livery for that configuration Malarkey!............... history is made every day, and boy has she written enough chapters of her own, at least she'll never be a pseudo A4 again without the streamlining.............

 

It was a rhetorical question, I was just pointing out the arguing about the livery matching the chimney was pretty pointless given that it's always going to have smoke deflectors anyway. I think we should paint it pink with yellow spots, so there

It will hopefully do a Tornado and go through all the different colour schemes it could wear, then everyone will be happy