Mid Hants Railway Operational Matters

Regarding MHR 'Thomas' Events, I seem to recall the following from my childhood (says he who has a few more months to go before he's officially an Adult...) that we were able to muster:
No.1 'Thomas' (Formerly Linda, I gather.)
No.3 'Henry' (73096 in disguise - I remember the numberplates to cover the BR Late Crest were still hanging around at Ropley when I was a 'Ranger' and the loco had been out of service for a while!)
No.5 'James' (One of the Moguls. Not in service during my lifetime, but on display in Ropley Yard.)
No.6 'Percy' (Definitely a Peckett 0-4-0ST of some sort, I'd say from a photo my Dad showed me recently. Not sure which one though! Could be 'Teddy')
No.10 'Douglas' (Formerly Barbara. The MHR seems to have done a bit of this sort of thing in the 1990s!!!)
'Daisy' (BR Class 117)

So a fair stud available for traffic!

 

Percy was actually Douglas pre the operation when she did one Thomas in bright green livery

 

No. Definitely not the case when I was around in the early 2000s - I remember Percy and Douglas being at the same event!!! And Percy definitely was not an Austerity - Much smaller. 'He' was on Toad rides at Alresford.

 

Percy has been played by more than one loco, I top remember a little 0-4-0 industrial and a Toad at the bottom of my garden. It is possible we had an austerity in green once too!

 

The only austerity I remember was Errol Lonsdale but that was in Longmoor blue livery.

 

I think that this is what I remember -

I'd suggest that (as I thought earlier) it's Teddy in disguise.

 

That's not the one I remember but as it is pre-digital for me I'm not sure where my photos are!

 

IIRC the austerity that became Thomas was painted green and ran as Percy for the 1993 Thomas events before being rebuilt as Thomas in time for the 1994 events.

 

If there was a green one, it wasn't a resident

Here is a shot of EL on a return visit after leaving the railway

Errol Lonsdale at Alresford by Stephen Morley, on Flickr

 

Not my photo but this is the one I remember....
https://www.flickr.com/photos/scarlett_ribbons/449819195/in/photolist-4WfryZ-29BwFEU-FKrzn

 

Come to think of it, I now remember both of the 0-4-0STs! I can very clearly remember the very tiny one, but that photo above also looks familiar.

2007 would definitely fit - I would've been 5.

 

Could be, too long ago for me to remember, I only started volunteering in '96 although I have lived next to the railway since 1990 and no 1 son on Thomas in the Mid 90's.....

 

Re Thomas history from Wiki,
Originally built by Hunslet as Austerity-type 0-6-0ST saddle tank 3781 of 1952, later named Linda on the Kent & East Sussex Railway.
Converted to a side-tank locomotive in order to create a lookalike LB&SCR E2 class No. 1 "Thomas" in 1994

So Thomas is a trainsvestite!

 

FWIW HE 3781 was named Linda at Maesteg i.e. long before it went to the KESR in 1977.
Ray.

 

Wrong, Thomas was formerly linda, in Br green, and didn't run in any other guise , PERCY was a different engine and came to the line from the SDR , I think, after Linda had become Thomas, the original idea was too rebuild it as a second Thomas, so that more money could be made from hiring it out, then the plan changed, she was offered for sale and purchased then converted to an 0-6-0 tender engine

 

It would appear that my Ropley Spy is suitably embarrassed........ which would probably be a 1st for him......

So he proffers this (lame?.....) excuse.....

"Okay, okay…………. but in my defence I’ve never professed to be an engineer!! Just think yourselves lucky that I don’t get confused between my hobby and my day job – otherwise 499 will be restored using spinal needles and defibrillators, and I’d be getting my sales team to promote rivet guns to the NHS for use in bowel surgery!!!! Right, so to correct the piece, the pilot holes were drilled to approx. ¼”. Must go now, the takeaway is ready for collection - good price, only 3 florins and 5p!!"

Given that they've had a riveting time on 499 this weekend, I'm surprised there's no mention of using sticking plasters as opposed to rivets..........

 

I've just gone through my Dad's collection of Mid Hants News magazines. On page 30 of the Autumn 1993 issue (easy to find as it has red bands on the cover instead of green) it confirms that Linda was Percy at the September 1993 event.

 

If anyone's interested, next Saturday D8059 will be out & about on the service trains doing 3 round trips Dep Alresford 10:30, 12:30, 14:30 - not that you'd know it from the website.

I suppose it'll get updated at some point.......

Heck. even I might be minded to take a pic of it in action.......

 

Hunslet works no 2890 was named Barbara before becoming an 0-6-0 tender engine named Douglas.

 

I wouldn't say that - There's been significant surgery involved here to convert him, as it were. I believe Trainsgender is perhaps more applicable.

Of course this now raises the interesting, sorry, questionable question as to which parts of a locomotive determine its gender...

I realise that this post has potential to offend some people, so I apologise if it has, my phrasing isn't always perfectly in line with what is deemed acceptable these days!!! I intend it in good faith though and not as an attack on any particular group of people.