It’s the name of a locomotive, but it was also the title belonging, at one time, to Katharine Marjory Stewart-Murray (1874 – 1960).
Katherine became Duchess of Atholl in 1917 when her husband John Stewart-Murray, Marquess of Tullibardine, succeeded his father as the 8th Duke of Atholl.
Born Katharine Marjory Ramsay and known as the Marchioness of Tullibardine from 1899 to 1917 when she became the Duchess of Atholl, she was immortalized as a steam locomotive along with the rest of the Duchesses.
Designed by Sir William Stanier in 1937 for LMS Railways and originally called the Coronation Class, this superb locomotive set a British rail speed record of 114mph on one of its first trips.
The original design included streamlining cowls, but these were later deemed un-necessary at speeds under 75mph. They received much criticism from the maintenance crews and were later left off - thanks to the power of the rail unions!
Watching this little engine chug around the track……yes I DID used to get a thrill from watching them….. where was I? ah yes, watching this engine chug along, you had no idea what it would have taken to make the full sized iron beastie move.
Some data kindly stolen from SouthernSteamTrains.com should leave you in a sweat just reading it:
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The engine would burn 1 ton of coal for every 40 miles run.
The boiler required 2 tons of coal to be burning in the firebox when working hard.
The tender carried 10 tons of coal (clever people can work out how far she could travel before refueling).
Fire crews had arms like tree trunks and sore pinkies at the end of each day.
The boiler carried 5000 gallons of water – that’s British Imperial gallons – not the short measures doled out in the United States.
She would evaporate 45 gallons of water per mile! The fire crew evaporated only slightly less than this.
She weighed a little over 161 tons and took up 73’ 10” of track
Bridges and tunnels less than 13’ 1” height would not have survived her passing beneath them.
All in all she was a work horse of immense power and strength, yet she was much stronger than many larger engines and therefore she was quite economical.
These engines were built to beat the competition from other rail companies before nationalization stepped in to cripple the country.
How many Duchesses were built? I don’t know, perhaps someone can enlighten me? but I do know that three survived:
Duchess of Sutherland which is entirely roadworthy after a complete rebuild recently.
City of Birmingham
Duchess of Hamilton
The rest of these amazing vehicles have been melted down into paint tins, razor blades and those annoying little sprung clips that you find on cheap picture frames.
Now you have the chance to actually own two Duchesses!
Duchess of Atholl and the Duchess of Montrose.
Both are in immaculate nick and are so delightful to look at I don’t think I want to sell them now……….
Miss Atholl was built around 1948 or 1949 and is part of an original boxed set in fabulous condition. Mr Hornby Dublo announced in 1939 that he was making this locomotive, but it didn’t appear until the end of ’48. Obviously he fell in love with her too and only parted with her when a new bit of stuff showed up.
Miss Montrose came along a little later in 1953 or 1954. I’m a bit shaky on the details as I hadn’t hatched yet and my history teacher didn’t cover this kind of information. I think he had a fetish with the ancient Greeks!
If you like trains and are the excitable type who loses bladder control, then I advise you NOT to click on this link: southernsteamtrains.com/duchess.htm
Oh yes! What's in the first box?
The Train Set is identified as EDP2
The box is approximately 19" x 11" and is in amazingly good condition with barely a mark on the outside of the box and a only a slight wavy distortion of the lid.
Contents:
Duchess of Atholl 4-6-2 Locomotive and Tender (#46232) in excellent condition. Only a few minor paint chips visible.
Coach - LMS 1st and 3rd class corridor #4183
Coach - LMS 1st class #4193
(both coaches are in very good condition, with no damage to report)
8x large radius curved rail
2x full straight (one is a terminal rail)
The controller is missing from the box. I don't know what happened to the controllers from these boxes, but the overall outfit has two controllers that have been mounted and won't fit into the boxes.
The locomotive cardboard end support is missing as is the loco cover, instructions and warranty papers.
Back in to the cardboard box for me now to see what else I can find.
I know that many of you reading David's description of these marvellous Coronation class locomotives will be quite familiar with the trains they ran.
ReplyDeleteHowever I know there are a few (there always are) who will be totally confused.
Yes, the LMS and LNER were totally different companies. .... No, THAT Coronation was a train, not a locomotve, it ran on the LNER. ..... well the LMS train was called the Coronation Scot.
Yes, the LNER train was two tone blue (above the wheels anyway).... yes, yes they were probably black (...exasperated sigh!!!) ..... Of course it was a 4-6-2 that hauled it, they all were (those that count, anyway). ..... Can you imagine small boys and fathers paying out good money for a toy that had less than 12 wheels, good god man, don't you understand commerce? That's why those engines were built with 12 wheels....... Yes I understand you owned a toy train that had 4 wheels, but your father was not a doctor or a stock-broker.
While the Coronation was two-toned blue, most other named trains on the LNER ran with teak coaches that looked like polished wood. Yes very nice, but can you imagine the trouble that has caused the model manufacturers? I mean what were the GNR, NER and all those railway managers thinking? A long way ahead obviously.
Do you know how many thousands of model train coaches have been sold (maybe millions), trying to replicate that teak look. And people BUY them, believing that someone has finally got the look right. And when they get it home, after a few hours, they realise that the paint work, or the plastic moulding, is nowhere near correct after all, and they can't take it back to the store, because every other one of the hundreds on display are no better.
And so it goes on. Every few years a mnaufacturer produces a new "ultimate" in teak look coaches to suit the "Flying Scotsman" or the "East Anglian".
Mind you, my sympathies lie with the manufacturers. They must have put up with immense criticism over the years for their efforts, and probably didn't really make any money, because of the high fees paid to colour consultants, plastic pellet producers, colour print companies, and other hangers-on.
And all this happened because the GER, NER, GNR and GCR wanted polished wood grain on their coaches.
Yes you CAN tell your wife that the new kitchen being offered by that refurbishment company, will certainly be nothing like LNER teak. They want you to rip it out in three years time, and get a new one that is MORE like LNER teak.
regards
Kimball
Wow! My illness pales in comparison.
ReplyDeleteI bow to your greater knowledge of carriage construction and...... zzzzzzzZZ
Hehehe... thanks for the comments!
have one for sale any one want to give me a bid ?
ReplyDeleteI possess the identical set in the original box together with the Controller. Also a Tank Engine and Rolling stock together with track. Looking for an offer. I bought it as a child in England about 1950. Brought it to the USA about 1970.
ReplyDelete