The Great Goodbye – Shildon, February 2014

The Great Goodbye – A4 locos at Shildon, 2014

Events – The Great Goodbye – Gresley A4s, NRM Shildon

Final preparations for the Great Goodbye

In Shildon from 15-23 February 2014

We’re just over a week away from the final event of the Mallard 75 series. Looking back over everything that’s happened, it’s truly been an amazing time with so many people showing their love for the world’s fastest steam loco. For an overview of the past few months see our latest blog, but here at the museum we’ve been busy looking fowards and preparing for the next event. The two repatriated A4s left our museum last week to make a special appearance at Barrow Hill, before heading up to Shildon to meet their sister locos. Meanwhile Mallard and Union of South Africa were waiting in the wings getting ready for their own journey to the Great Goodbye. Yesterday Mallard returned to the East Coast Main Line behind the operational engine Union of South Africa as you can see in this video. Together they made the trip to Shildon, and in doing so made some fantastic photos which can be seen here. With the arrival of the two other operational locos next week, Bittern and Sir Nigel Gresley, we’ll once again have all six surviving Gresley A4s together – most likely for the last ever time. For full details of everything we have planned check the website.

Find out more

Get ready for the final gathering

We’ve made our preparations, have you? The next seven days will be your last chance to book your place at the special extra events that guarantee to make the Great Goodbye a once-in-a-lifetime experience. With all the special photography events now sold out your final chance to snap the A4s up close and without the crowds is at our Gala Dinner. The engines will be floodlit with plenty of time to make sure you get the perfect shot. Afterwards you can enjoy a sumptuous dinner in the museum’s Collection Building and say goodbye to the A4s in style. There will also be a unique preview of ‘Steamsong’, a multimedia opera inspired by the story of the A4s including a blend of live performance and archive footage. There are also a few places left to attend the series of Curator Talks, offering a fascinating insight into the celebrations from our team of experts. Don’t worry about planning your journey either as our friends at Northern Rail have arranged for extra services to deal with the increased demand.

Make the Great Goodbye a special farewell

http://www.nrm.org.uk/PlanaVisit/Events/mallard-autumn.aspx?uid=UA-542777-8&utm_campaign=Autumn Gathering&utm_medium=email&utm_source=NRM Adult Events

http://www.nrm.org.uk/PlanaVisit/Events/mallard-autumn.aspx?uid=UA-542777-8&utm_campaign=Autumn Gathering&utm_medium=email&utm_source=NRM Adult Events.

Forthcoming Attractions – National Railway Museum The Great Gathering 3 – 17 July

National Railway Museum

The Great Gathering

3 – 17 July

  We’re nearly a week away from the start of our Mallard 75 celebrations as the nation prepares to mark Mallard’s world steam speed record. The support for this event has been absolutely amazing with people sharing images, poems and even songs dedicated to the world’s fastest ever steam loco. Two out of six A4 locos are on display in our Great Hall whilst a further three wait in the wings. Sir Nigel Gresley and Union of South Africa have both arrived at our museum and sit in our North Yard as they are prepared for display around our Turntable. The star of the show, Mallard, is also out of view being prepared for its grand entrance next Wednesday. As well as the chance to see all of Gresley’s surviving A4s make sure you book your place onto one of our curator talks. These will be free but ticketed events where our team of experts delve deeper into aspects of the Mallard 75 story.

Two “streaks”

LNER built A4 No. 4496 (BR No. 60008) “Dwight D Eisenhower” sits in the National Railway Museum with sister A4 4458 “Mallard”.   Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved] © Copyright TheTurfBurner and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

Chasewater Railway Museum Exhibits – Time to show another selection of our latest museum items.

Chasewater Railway Museum Exhibits

 Time to show another selection of our latest museum items.

Last Sunday, February 17^th, the museum was given a framed photograph of what looks like a group of P way workers.  The photo is marked: H.W.Davies – Brownhills, but unfortunately we have no real idea of the location, apart from guessing the local sidings, so if anyone has any suggestions as to the whereabouts of the location, we would be very happy to hear from you.

This wagon plate is one of a number of items loaned to the museum by one of our occasional visitors from his private collection, some 19 at the moment.  He is pleased with the care taken of his objects, especially since we achieved the Accredited Museum standard.  On February 17^th he happily agreed to extend the loan on all of his objects for a further two years.

A nice booklet for our reference library, about the Maryport and Carlisle Railway.  Of particular interest as we have a 6-wheel coach from the line in the Heritage Centre, donated by the Cannock & Rugeley Colliery Co.  Built in 1875.

We have another local history book for our collection, this time about Great Wyrley.  This was donated by David Bathurst, and we also have two signs from the old Great Wyrley station.

Lastly for now and biggest, is this 7-lever signal frame from Hemyock station on the Culm Valley Railway, Devon, closed in 1965.  It came to Chasewater from the National Railway Museum at York.

A fantastic free day out National Railway Museum

A fantastic free day out  

National Railway Museum

Opening Times
10am–6pm daily
FREE ENTRY

Dwight D. Eisenhower’s cosmetic restoration in now complete. After travelling over 2,500 miles across the Atlantic, Dwight’s journey to join the Mallard 75 celebrations is nearly over. The loco’s current B.R Green livery has been refreshed and over 70 litres of paint and varnish were used to ensure the historic loco is on top form for July’s event. Dwight can be seen from our workshop balcony while the varnish dries and will then be moved into our Great Hall. Fellow A4 loco, Union of Canada, is also receiving a makeover and can be seen at our sister museum in Shildon. Keep an eye on our website for more Mallard 75 related news.

www.nrm.org.uk

What’s on at NRM York Steam Weekend

What’s on at NRM York

Steam weekend

Experience the thrill of riding behind a working steam engine

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Date:  25 Aug 2012 – 27 Aug 2012

Time:  10am – 6pm

Price:  Free entry (*a charge for some activities)

Audience:  Families, Adults

Location:  South Yard

Take in the sights, sounds and smells of working steam locomotives this August bank holiday.

Enjoy steam rides behind Rocket* and Puffing Billy*, climb on board City of Truro’s cab to find out more about this impressive steam engine and experience the thrill of a footplate ride* on Lilla from the Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railway.

You can even take to the controls yourself and have a go at driving a real steam locomotive*, Teddy – available to over 18s only.

*Steam rides – £2 adults, £1 children
Footplate rides – £3. Over 12s only. Under 16’s must be accompanied by an adult
Driver experience – £5. Over 18s only

Steam Locos of a Leisurely Era 1889 – 2-4-2T Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway

Steam Locos of a Leisurely Era

1889 – 2-4-2T Lancashire & Yorkshire  Railway

 No.1538, one of the later engines built in 1910 with large bunker and Belpaire firebox, and subsequently superheated.  It was scrapped in 1931 as LMS No.10894.

The L & YR was a very large user of this type; between 1889 when they first appeared, and 1911, when the last batch came out, there were 330 of them.  The general design was similar throughout the period, but underwent some enlargement as time went on.  The first had round-topped fireboxes, whilst the last twenty built in 1911 had Belpaire fireboxes and superheaters.  The bunker was also enlarged in the later engines.  Many of the earlier ones subsequently received Belpaire fireboxes, some with superheaters also, and some without.  Six of the engines carried for a time an apparatus known as a thermal storage tank, an elaborate form of feed water heater, which was mounted on top of the boiler, with disastrous results to the engines’ appearance.  It was apparently not a success, however, and was eventually removed.  All of the engines were fitted with a special type of water pick-up apparatus which could operate in both directions, as it was frequently necessary to take up water when running bunker first.

These remarkable engines did a tremendous amount of hard work with heavy trains over the steeply graded lines on the L & Y.  Their duties were by no means confined to local services; they were regularly used as express engines on main line trains, along with much larger types of tender engines.

All of the engines came into the hands of the LMS at the grouping, including one which had been sold to the Wirral Railway in 1921, but a curiosity of renumbering was that whereas the whole class was allocated Nos.10621 to 10950 in the LMS list, the Wirral engine did not become 10638 as it should have done, as its rightful place in order, but was numbered 6762 along with the other odd assortment of engines obtained from the Wirral, the number 10638 remaining blank.  On being superheated four engines numbered in the 10800s became 10951-4, but although further engines also later received superheaters they were not renumbered.

At Nationalisation in 1948, 123 of the class passed into BR hands, and most of these survived to have 40000 added to their numbers.  A small handful was still in existence in 1959, and the original engine, No.1008, has been restored to its L & Y livery for preservation.

Non-superheated engines – Driving wheels – 5’ 8”,  Cylinders – 17½”x 26” and 18”x 26”,  Pressure – 160 lb, (190 lb. Belpaire engines),  Tractive effort – 16848 – 19416 lb.,  Weight – 56 tons (59 tons with extended bunkers),  L & Y Classification – 5,  LMS & BR Classification – 2P

Superheated engines – Driving wheels – 5’ 8”,  Cylinders – 19½”x 26” and 26½”x 26”,  Pressure – 180 lb.,  Tractive effort – 22445-24585 lb.,  Weight – 66½ tons ,  L & Y Classification – 6,  LMS & BR Classification – 3P

This Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway 2-4-2T tank engine was built at Horwich Locomotive Works in 1889 to a design by Aspinall. L & Y R 1008 became LMS 10621 and BR 50621.   York Scenes NRM

National Railway Museum News

NRM News

Please go to NRM website for further details.

nrm.org.uk

Steam Locos of a Leisurely Era 1869 – Aerolite – North Eastern Railway

Steam Locos of a Leisurely Era

1869 – Aerolite – North Eastern Railway

North Eastern Railway Worsdell rebuilt Fletcher 2-2-4T ?66? class locomotive number 66 AEROLITE on display in the great hall at the National Railway Museum, York. Monday 1st June 2009   David Ingham from Bury, Lancashire, England.  This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license

Some authorities regard this interesting engine as dating back to the year 1851, but although there was an engine constructed in that year bearing the same name, it can only be regarded as an ancestor of the 1869 machine, which was in fact an entirely new locomotive.   It was built by E.Fletcher as a 2-2-2 well tank with sandwich pattern outside frames and various features characteristic of Fletcher’s practice of which the plain stove-pipe chimney and the large dome with Salter spring balance safety valves were amongst the most prominent.  In 1886 it was rebuilt by T.W.Wordsell as a side tank with new frames and completely altered in appearance.  At this period it was numbered 66 and lost its name.  It ran in this form for only six years, and was rebuilt again by William Wordsell in 1892, this time as a Wordsell-von Borries 2-cylinder compound, and at the same time a leading bogie was added, making it a 4-2-2T.  As such it seems to have been a very handsome little engine, although no satisfactory photograph of it in this condition in known.  In 1902 it was once again rebuilt, this time the wheel arrangement being reversed, and in its final form it became a 2-2-4T.  At the same time its name Aerolite was restored.  In this condition it bears little or no resemblance to the original engine of 1869.  It ran in this form until 1933, usually being employed in hauling an officers’ inspection saloon.  On withdrawal the LNER repainted it in North Eastern colours and placed it in York Museum, where it now rests.

Original Condition  Driving wheels – 5’ 6”,  Cylinders – 13”x 20”

First rebuild as 2-2-2T  Driving wheels – 5’ 7¾”,  Cylinders – 13”x 20”,  Pressure – 140 lb,  Weight – 36 tons 19 cwt

As 4-2-2T  Driving wheels – 5’ 7¾”,  Cylinders – (1)13”x 20”, (1) 18½”x 20”, Pressure – 160 lb,  Weight 38 tons 15 cwt

As 2-2-4T  Driving wheels – 5’ 7¾”,  Cylinders – (1) 13”x 20”, (1) 18½”x 20”,  Pressure 175 lb, Weight 44 tons 9cwt,  LNER Classification – XlPic – The engine as restored for preservation in York Museum. c.1960