Heritage Line Loco Power Requirements

Yes I am talking about 9Fs, and It was the standard version that Jack hated!

 

Sorry to be a nit picker but it's a MECHANICAL STOKER.

 

Then the next question that should be asked is how many miles between axlebox overhauls? And by this I mean Re-metalled, Bored, clearance in Horns returned to as new.

 

Exactly the same

 

Possibly considered big by some on here, but 2968's axleboxes were completely done in the mid-1990s when the new tyres were fitted. They are to be redone during this current overhaul, with something well over 100,000 miles in between. This is nearly double what they might have achieved in BR service.

 

What sort of an answer is that?

 

A pretty concise one.

 

with more and more locos being laid up awaiting repairs which may never happen, it willbecome the norm to run new builds such as this and a class 3 tank would be ideal to build in series and would suit many railways. I always look at the progress o this one at Bridgenorth with much interest.

 

just go to Didcot, Highley or Sheffield Park amongst others. In the latter two, purpose built buildings to store the out of service large fleet. In other words a museum with locos stuffed and mounted to coin a tired old phrase.

 

Highley. The SVR has a fleet of 28 steam locos, so it is inevitable that a proportion, over half, will be out of service at any one time. That's a long way from saying that Highley is some sort of mausoleum or final resting place. Those engines are in there awaiting their turn.

 

Could any of those locations support a) A fleet of 30 odd working steam engines?
b) Raise the silly millions it would cost to have everything in steam at the same time?
As I understand it the Engine House has a duel purpose one it's an visitor attraction/educational facility somewhere mum, dad and the kids can go and get up close to the engines and learn a bit more about them. And the other is it keeps those out of use in an environment where they won't be at the mercy of the elements, it's worth remembering those precious zeros that had to be added to 43106's last overhaul after spending however long it was outside in the open.

 

Can't really talk about Highley or Didcot, but I think you are misreading the situation at Sheffield Park. There are about 32 steam locos on the railway, and currently eight are available for traffic, plus two diesel shunters. The long term plan calls for 12 locos to be available, so while it is true we aren't quite meeting the plan, even if we were it is inherent that at any time, more locos would be stored out of service than available for traffic. The actual number available for traffic has been broadly consistent for about ten years - in fact a slight improvement recently after a dip.

Of those out of traffic, about half can be stored under cover, and the aspiration is to increase that, and to improve the presentation of those thus stored: the ASH project is a component of that aspiration. But that is not equivalent to saying that any loco in ASH is "stuffed and mounted" in perpetuity: the layout will enable the display to be changed as locos are removed for overhaul, and others going out of traffic replace them.

Tom

 

maybe some of those unused assets might be sold off to finance the overhaul of others or other capital devlopments. Some railways have millions in underused assets whilst others are short of power. Probably be cheaper to build a class 3 tank though.

 

Perchance the locos, even out of traffic, are part of the attraction that brings visitors in? What would Didcot be without a shed full of locomotives to look at? As has been noted above, the Engine House at Highley is partly a mechanism to help conserve out of traffic locos, but also an integral part of a visit to the SVR in its own right; and that is clearly the aspiration for the ASH project at Sheffield Park; as well as other similar facilities such as Train Story on the Isle of Wight.

Tom

 

Just because as "asset" is sat around doesn't make it unused. Would you visit Didcot if it was a shed containing 2 or 3 locos used for running the demo line and that's all?

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I think you're jumping to conclusions which are unsupported by facts. BTW it's Bridgnorth, not Bridgenorth

 

Are you by any chance an accountant? That's rather how they work things out and, as most engineers know, it doesn't work in practice.

Selling a non-working loco will raise very little of its true value as any potential purchaser, unless wanting it only for static display, will want some discount to offset any overhaul intentions he may have. But the cost of very few overhauls, a certain LNER Pacific excepted, reach anywhere near the cost of a new build. And any new build, however functional it might be, will always have something missing. Go to Highley and read about the 8F's history in there. A bit of an extreme example, perhaps, but it demonstrates the point.