Mainline loco of the decade!

To get my bias out of the way first, I nominate 4965, 10 years of flawless running.
Then comes Tornado for the sheer amount of publicity she has bought to the preservation scene.
After those two you takes your pick, Ollie, The Duchess,Tangmere.
Oh and by the way just to throw a spanner in the works, there's always 'Hogwarts Castle' for bringing steam preservation international recognition.

 

60163 Tornado because of what shes done and how shes performed so impressively, although I agree that praps she hasn't been around for enough of the decade to win!!
6024 King Edward I as she always seemed impressive on the Torbays and was always reliable and had never failed on a Torbay Express, and is almost always an impressive sight!
5029 Nunney Castle as she also always seemed impressive and you just have to love her.
4472 Flying Scotsman as she was the one in the public eye before Tornado, has been around for the better part of the decade and is alo a great ambassader of the railway movement in general and probably does more for "real" mainline steam than TTTE
34067 Tangmere slips down in my book for getting stuck on Goodrington Bank more than once (Hate to mention it but it is a fact)
76079 as she has always seemed impressive and from what I hear she is also very reliable too.
4965 Rood Ashton Hall as she has always looked impressive in the pictures ive seen of her, but unfortunately havn't had the chance to run behind her yet.
3440 City Of Truro ? As she came back and ran quite an impressive ocean mail tour to name a few? I will always remember these fondly
5972 Olto Hall / Hogwarts Castle I would also like to see this win for the entertainment factor of Hogwarts Castle winning



Surely tonado would then win the best newcomer hands down and would then in that case come off the top of my list!!!

 

Oh, and I'll add the Tyseley panniers, for being something different and proving that not everything on the main line has to be a pacific...

 

Loco of the year would of course have been a certain A1 but........the question is loco of the decade so for that reason I think certain recently "returned to main line" loco's can't be included due to the brief nature of their main line career this "decade". These would include 70013, 60009, 60007, 46115 and a couple of other's. A couple of other stalwarts have been omitted as maybe they don't offer good availability to the public, never or rarely seen on charters other than contract work would include 35028.
So I would have to go for:
1) 6233 the Duchess- quite stunning performances and reliability.
2) 4771 Green Arrow- wowed the crowds all over the UK.
3) 6024- again the King has performed very well most of the time and a real credit.
4) 45407- Ian's Five has been everywhere (or so it seem's) and keeps going and going.
5) 71000 The Duke has had a few problems granted but generates such interest and her return with the new repairs could see Shap go her way?

Anyway, my suggestions for what they are worth.
Dan

 

"Sir Nigel Gresley" would have to top my list. Does its work on the NYM then excels on the mainline without being pressed. Maybe the right combination of circumstances will all come together one day and Mr Smith will have the chance to show us what it can really do. Other engines, well I would have to include a certain 8f and of course 4771. As for our sole surviving A3 - much maligned by some - it has not been at its best in many years. The rot dates from the Carnforth days and the next decade should see all made good in all round performance terms.

 

Pedants hat on. A decade is from 1 to 10 not 0 to 9 so 2010 is the last year of the decade. In any case it has to be 60163.

 

If a decade is from 1 to 10 then it has to be ALL the loco's that take part in the GWR 175 celebrations whether mainline or preserved line.
See you this time next year.

 

In which case, was 2000 in the 90s, 1990 in the 80s, etc? :s



Anyway, I have my final answer Portbury! It may have only worked on the main line once, but who'd've thought an Avonside 0-6-0ST would be working on the main line in the 21st century?

 

Yes, yes, etc!
Because we live in an innumerate age, the Millennium was celebrated a year early. This was pointed out at the time but the massed idiots were unpersuaded. The end of the 19th century was celebrated at the end of 1900. Count your fingers. Most of us will find that we have ten. We don't stop at nine and then go on to the next hand.

 

;-)

 

My maths brain clearly wakes up first. I didn't get a book about exobiology for Christmas. How about:

Because we live in an innumerate age, the Millennium was celebrated a year early. This was pointed out at the time but the massed idiots were unpersuaded. The end of the 19th century was celebrated at the end of 1900. Count your fingers. Most of us will find that we have ten. We don't stop at nine and then start on our toes.

 

Mainline loco of 2000s?

Tangmere. Nothing else CONSISTENTLY does the work of a higher power loco, and keeps time. Does the work of a Merchant with ease.

 

A great thread, this. I immediately thought TANGMERE will top this. How many times have i watched the YouTube of her up Weymouth bank on her own. Brilliant, almost hear her answering the challenge. Then I thought, hang on, Duchesses always been my favourite engines since school at Wolverton, watching them through on the Scot and Caledonian etc. But listen to a King or Castle pulling away and you want more and more. So many engines to choose from, this thread will run on.. I have a decision to make !!!!!

 

Maybe so we can include Tornado, Oliver Cromwell, Guardsman, Edgcumbe and other recent additions to the mainline stable we should have a Mainline Loco of the year thread.

 

Choose any arbitrary point on a time line. Nominate it as zero. At that point time=0. No time has passed. Moving along the time line in a positive direction, after one year, mark a 1. After ten COMPLETED years (or a decade), mark the timeline as 10. After two millennia, 2000 COMPLETED years, mark it 2000. etc

As for my mainline loco of the decade, I will let you know in a year or so!

 

I agree theorectically the millenium was celebrated a year early, this has nothing to do with mathematics as such, just that there was no year zero.
For this exercise I think the years 2000 to 2009 are more appropriate, afterall a decimal numerical system is based on 10 numbers that are 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 not 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10