Fully Coaled Withdrawn Loco's

Can anyone explain why this happened ?, I've seen quite a few phots recently of the Kings, months after withdrawl, but with the tenders fully coaled as if they were moving off shed in 15 mins, I can understand it if a Loco was withdrawn temporarily or if it was a useful type and there was a motive power shortage, but it was pretty obvious by this time the Kings were gone for good, not to mention on many the motion had been dismantled too.

 

I wonder if it was a combination of standard shed routine and the speed with which locos were withdrawn.

For example: Loco does its day's duty and comes on shed. Standard routine, that the crews probably carry out almost on autopilot, is stick it under the coaler to fill up for the next day, then move to wherever it is being berthed, fill up the boiler, dispose, crew off down the pub.

But next day never comes; the engine sits around until eventually the rods come off and it is towed away to a scrapyard.

You might wonder why in that circumstance you wouldn't unload the coal, but have you ever tried doing it? It's hard work shifting 5 tons or more of coal out of a tender and then sideways through the cab doors. And then what? You dump it on the ground and someone else has to move it, and all that when the depot is winding down and doesn't need the coal anyway. Add in the fact that there is little incentive for the shed staff to do all that hard work, and you can see why it might be easier to just say "sod it". And financially, if BR were throwing away millions in capital investment in locos, a few tenths of a percent in coal in tenders probably made little difference.

So I suspect it was a mixture of routine and indifference...

Tom

 

The crew probably had no idea that a particular engine was about to be withdrawn; there was no reason why the should so would simply follow the normal disposal routine.

 

At least 1 blue pullman was refueled to the brim at Swansea with red diesel and then driven straight to the scrappers at Moriston. Cardiff Corporation refueled their 'deckers' to the brim with DERV for the drive to Moriston as well.

'Not their money' !!!

 

Funnily enough spellchecker didn't flag it up either.

 

Red diesel and DERV aren't the same thing: road duty has not been paid on red diesel so it isn't legal to use it on the road, hence the red dye. I know it has been done, but surely not by Cardiff Corporation

 

I don't think he said Cardiff Corp. used RED.
Red and DERV are the same base........DERV. The dye is usually metered into the derv at either the refinery or the terminal and then delivered to the customer. NOBODY would deliver red in bulk to Cardiff Corp. for use in buses.

 

Ahh, I see! My mistake and apologies!

 

Tangent track but non the less..I noted in 2002 I went to Wolsztyn in Poland, at Leszno shed there is a BR52 Wannentender completely full to the brim with coal, on the scrap diesel line.. (in 2002 the paint on the tender was in such good condition I assumed it belonged to a runner)... in 2011... it was still there.. bit more rusty and unmoved in 10 years still full of coal.

 

At Salisbury Depot in the clossing days of steam there was someone employed to empty tenders of coal, which was then sold off as household coal I believe, so not all tenders went to the scrapyards full!

 

Strategic Reserve?

Alright I partly jest. But supposedly the reserve did exist as a concept in the early 60s, and did have some locomotives being held back for a few months before they realised it was completely unworkable and their being sent off for scrap. There was a programme about this on BBC a couple of years ago suggesting some documents had been found suggesting that it existed, if only for a short while.

Im not sureKings would have been ideal candidates for that. But it could explain the somehwhat strange practice of withdrawing fairly new castles built postwar with thousands of miles yet to be put on the clock, and keeping in service completely worn out examples dating from the 1920s and 30s.

 

Barry scrapyard was the strategic reserve.
when it came clear it was neither needed nor the engines suitable any longer, the government introduced VAT to encourage enthusiasts to buy them quicker so the government could get its money back.

Every preserved engine is only allowed to exist so in time of war the government can seize the asset once more for use.

(that's my fantasy version of the strategic reserve myth anyway).

 

It made me laugh, some time ago I found a video on youtube from the original (1970s) survivors series, and on one episode a group of individuals seem to be using an 8F to move stuff in the post apocalypse environment on a preserved railway line. I guess it must have been true.

World ends tomorrow so I suppose we better start taking notes.....

 

Coming from some one with 666 in their username, I find that rather unnerving.
i'm off to the end of the world tonight, (well a remote part of east Europe), so when it comes I will let you know what it looks like.

 

the number of the beast is 616 anyway so don't worry.

 

Not sure about that, I'd suggest the more relevant date would be the one last outshopped from overhaul/repair than build date.

 

668: the Neighbour of the Beast ...

Tom