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What's your favourite?

Discussion in 'Diesel & Electric Traction' started by Matt37401, Dec 27, 2014.

  1. CH 19

    CH 19 Well-Known Member Friend

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    Sorry to offend, bad grammer, I meant snorting as powerful or "gurt", not acoustically. Mind you that is some hum!!
     
  2. John Petley

    John Petley Part of the furniture

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    Two of my favourite locos of their particular class have, thankfully, survived into preservation.

    My favourite "50" is 50026 Indomitable. In 1980, having just been given Ivo Peters' Southern Steam Album as a present, I paid my first visit to the Salisbury-Exeter line. which is one of the two lines featured in the book. I reckoned that even in its downgraded state, it was worth a visit to see the 50s. I cycled west from Salisbury Station in time to see (and photograph) a 50 pass eastwards under Skew Bridge witha Waterloo-bound train. It was 50026 - the subject of the first photo I ever took on this lovely line and thus a favourite right from 1980. 50026 also had the knack of being kind to me subsequently when I was photographing 50s on diversions and specials. I have pictures of it near Romsey when the Salisbury-Basingstoke line was closed, at Chalton (between Buriton Tunnel and Rowlands Castle) when the Waterloo-Exeter trains were diverted via thc Portsmouth Direct, Botley and Romsey and also at Folkestone West when it partnered 50032 on a railtour in 1988. Ironically, I can't remember whether I was ever hauled by it. I haven't kept a log of the locos I have travelled behind.

    My favourite 47 is D1661/47840 North Star. As a teenager living at Dorking on the Southern Region, trainspotting trips to Reading were always exciting events as there were so many more loco-hauled trains to see. There were loco-hauled trains on ther Reading-Redhill line, but it didn't compare with the WR main line. Of course, I liked the hydraulics but D1660-D1677 were special too, being the only named 47s at that time. So why North Star in particular? Partly, as with 50026, I have some good pictures of it, but partly because it not only kept its name but remained on front-line passenger duty right to the end - the only loco in the D1660-D1677 batch so to do. I managed a final run behind it between Bristol Parkway and Bristol Temple Meads in 2002 - over 30 years after my visits to Reading and a matter of weeks before Virgin Trains retired the last of their 47s.

    Favourite classes? 33s, 71s, 73s, Hymeks, Westerns and Deltics - a mixture of the familiar and the exciting. However, having lived almost all my life in third rail territory, any loco of any class was always a welcome break from the procession of multiple units, although I did like the Brighton Belle and the 4-CORs.
     
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  3. irwellsteam

    irwellsteam Member

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    Deltics. And class 50s - got to love that throaty gurgle when they're given the beans. Even better when they're working in multiple; the more overkill the better
     
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  4. RalphW

    RalphW Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Administrator Friend

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    Seeing the blue prototype Deltic hum into Crewe on one of it's first test runs was a never to be forgotten moment. Then to hear it depart, what else could ever match it........
     
  5. Romsey

    Romsey Part of the furniture

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    Well the class 33's as they were the local diesel when I was young and their do anything, go anywhere ability was well known. (OK not so good on unfitted freights perhaps ...) They always had an impression of getting home - somehow. Such a contrast to the 31's - take your own gaffer tape and cable ties..
    For pure historical spectacle the Westerns when working stone trains where their high tractive effort was useful.
    For modern diesels the class 70's. Very ugly but each one sounds different!

    Definitely not a class 47 though - a couple of cab rides proved how draughty and noisy the cabs were - a 33 was just as noisy, but the drivers didn't need bin bags to keep the draughts off their legs and class 33 seats were more comfortable.

    Cheers, Neil
     
  6. david1984

    david1984 Resident of Nat Pres

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    Westerns, though I seems to spend most time on mainline diesel tours behind 37's.
     
  7. david1984

    david1984 Resident of Nat Pres

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    How do you tell the difference ? ;)
     
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  8. Britfoamer

    Britfoamer Well-Known Member

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    I had two wonderful experiences in 1963 that clouded my judgement for evermore. My Father took me to York in August of that year for my birthday treat, in theory to see the last of the A1/2/3/4's in use/steam that summer. However, on arrival and stepping off the train we were subjected to the sight and sounds of a Deltic opening up going through (south) on the centre road, erupting from under the famous canopy. Some memories remain fresh even after 50 or so years.
    The same year my parents took us to Dawlish Warren for our holidays, the other side of the world in those days for a lad from Lancashire. The Kings had gone the previous year, but it was the last year of steam west of Exeter so Castles/Halls/Granges were still in use. What stole the show for us were the brand new diesel hydraulics, the wonderful noise as they opened up on the curve past Langstone Rock, my favorite spotting perch in those days.
    So for me Deltics, Westerns, Warships and Hymeks. Just grateful they still run.
     
  9. John Petley

    John Petley Part of the furniture

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    For everyone who has owned up to liking the Deltics on this thread, there is to be an opportunity for some unusual track bashing, albit at 25mph. It's not up on the Bluebell website yet, but it's the top item of news on the DPS website:- http://thedps.co.uk/

    Quite a development for the usually all-steam Bluebell! Last year's "gala" only ran on a Friday when no services were scheduled to operate and didn't involve bringing in anything just for the event. The two Deltics will reach the railway via the Network Rail link. I hope it will be a success. For anyone not familiar with the Bluebell, you should get quite a bit of noise, even from one of these powerful locmootives, paricularly on the climb from Horsted Keynes to Sharpthorne Tunnel and also from Kingscote to the summit in what was the old Imberhorne tip where the gradient is as steep as 1 in 55.

    For more info and discussion, see this thread:- https://www.national-preservation.com/threads/bluebell-diesel-gala-18-19th-april.414506/
     
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  10. JBTEvans

    JBTEvans Well-Known Member

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    Haven't got a stand out favourite, but I am big fans of Hymeks, 25s, 33s, 37s, 50s. I think all have good sounding engines.
     
  11. Matt37401

    Matt37401 Nat Pres stalwart

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    You just have to make sure you know the gradient profile of where you are ;-)
     
  12. Victor

    Victor Nat Pres stalwart Friend

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    [​IMG]

    "Ah well, back to it, another round trip to Edinburgh":Happy:
     
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  13. Matt37401

    Matt37401 Nat Pres stalwart

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    Lovely photo there Victor, which one is it? Im guessing its Meld?
     
  14. Victor

    Victor Nat Pres stalwart Friend

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    No idea, the caption said "unidentified on Holloway bank"
     
  15. Matt37401

    Matt37401 Nat Pres stalwart

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    Deffo a FP Racehorse its either Meld or Pinza
     
  16. Fred Kerr

    Fred Kerr Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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    Nameplates a little longer than your suggestions so I would suggest 55009 Alycidon - the appearance of the last 3 digits being approximately similar also hints at that.
     
  17. 7822WelshSteam

    7822WelshSteam Member

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    In order:- 52, 35, 42, Ruston 37/9, 50, Sulzer type 2, 56, Valenta 41/43, 40, normal 37, 31, 33, Mirlees 37/9, 55, 20, Sulzer type 4, thumpers, 14901, normal 14, 17, 02, original 73. These are all the locos I like. I'm one of the few people who like most things. I do, however, have 2 personal favourites - D7076 and 50015.
     
    Last edited: Jan 10, 2015
  18. Matt37401

    Matt37401 Nat Pres stalwart

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    I rate 7076 too 7822 fantastic (and very underrated) peice of kit. Always had a thing for small Sulzers too I think its because at work on a preserved line its very similer for what they were designed for. Nice as Deltics and 50's are they aren't really meant for pottering about at 25mph.
     
  19. 7822WelshSteam

    7822WelshSteam Member

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    You're right. D5310 on a short rake of maroon mark 1s in the Dee Valley, especially since they planted all the conifers, is very reminiscent of the Scottish Highlands. No matter what you do, a type 4 or 5 will never look quite right on a preserved line unless it's the Great Central and, even then, they can only open up for about 20 seconds on max power.
     
  20. 7822WelshSteam

    7822WelshSteam Member

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    My best ever diesel ride was behind this at the 2014 SVR diesel gala on the last train from Kiddie to Bridge and back. It was so loud from the middle window of the first coach that the man opposite me was screwing up his eyes and kept on having to pull his head in. I can only describe it as frightening!
    I got on the syphon for the run back to Bridgenorth only to get to Arley and hear that 50026, the only engine I hadn't had, had failed. I wasn't too disappointed. After all, people were saying it wasn't as loud as 50015 so perhaps the last run would be behind that or the whistler... I was in the front coach and walked to the back coach to be in a good position for the last train. To my amazement, when we got to Kidder, 50026 was on the front of the train. I managed to get the second window from the front and when we passed the carriage shed she spluttered into life with an enormous cloud of white smoke. The noise was deafening. I hadn't expected 26 to be as loud as 15 but she was even louder. We stopped at Bewdley for a long time and she clagged out the station while she was standing still. We resumed our run to Bridgenorth behind Indomitable, which was the best of the gala at that point and I knew the run back would be good so I got the middle window of the first coach and experienced the run of a lifetime back to Kiddey. It was even better than the run to Bridgenorth and was the best run of the gala. Every bang from the exhausts made my ears retreat. [​IMG] I've never heard anything like it. I don't think I could have stood it had I been any nearer the front. There was a German man in the window opposite me who kept on pulling his head in when the engine was at full boar because he couldn't bear the noise. The run through the tunnel was at that level of noise when you can't even tell what you're listening to. I don't know how she was so loud. 37906 had been my first favourite engine with electric transmission before then but I've never heard a noise like that coming out of her. It was frightening! Does she not have any silencers?! There were also sparks shooting out of the exhausts when she was at full cry. I really hadn't expected that to be the best run of the gala but it was and that was fitting with it being the last run of the event.
     
    Last edited: Jan 11, 2015

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