Locomotive Turntable

Locomotive Turntable

Let’s have a quiz: Only one piece of information in this article is actually true. Can you work out what it is?

Just look at modern locos, there’s no front end and there is no back end – there’s only a middle. How in the world can you run an attractive railway outfit with unending locomotives? The answer is, of course, you can’t.

In the good ol’ days, that I’m too young to remember …..what will I call the olden days when I grow old? Will they be the bad ol’ days? Or the mediocre ol’ days? ….anyway, in the good ol’ days, locomotives weren’t designed to run high speed in reverse and in any case the driver couldn’t see where he was going. So engines had to be turned around when they reached the end of the line.

Picking up a one hundred and fifty ton chunk of iron and turning it around was no joke and the men, who were known as Turncoats, vanished into the walls every time another loco came into the yard for turning. Some people have the audacity to accuse me of making this up, but this is all Big G’s honest truth.

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Anyway, the original idea was to make the train driver carry out a three point turn, but this required so much space and caused so many accidents when trains reversed into the station car park denting cars and squashing former passengers, that it was abandoned.

It was Linus Swivel who came up with the idea in 1432 after watching a siege engine in action at Reims. Build a large circular platform. Drive the engine onto the platform and then rotate the platform around a central pivot using a team of oxen. Fantastic! In typical British style though, the invention had to be taken overseas to receive the funding and accolade it deserved. Thankfully, it was good enough to usurp the new American concept of ‘Disposable loco’s’. When the engine reached the end of the line, it was dropped into a big hole for recycling at some later date.





Bored with this nonsense yet? I am. Hornby Dublo came up with a beautiful turntable, but I have to say that I found it much easier to pick the loco off the rails and turn it around by hand. This job was made even easier with the launch of the Hornby Dublo ‘Railer’. I understand that this is not really a decent way to behave over such a serious issue, but when you are alone in your loft (and the hatch is locked), then you can do what you like, can’t you? ……unless your name is Norm.

Norm you are an ace!

My Own Method of Turning The Train - 'The Dublo Railer'



Answer to the quiz: the story about turning trains using three point turns is actually the only true part of the article! Did you get that right? Perhaps the car park wasn’t the best place to carry out such maneuvers, but they used to have ‘Y’ turns or sidings for this function.

Trix Locomotive 80020 - Hot Snot!

Hot snot? - I am not altogether sure that is an appropriate term for this family blog, let alone a suitable metaphor for the locomotive, but all school boys worth their salt know everything there is to know about snot, so let's not play 'parenting' (you know that game, where you pretend to be shocked at something your child says or does, even though you have become far ruder and more gross than he?).

There is another more appropriate metaphor, that the Canadians have amended to their peculiar sensitivities as 'shoot off a silver shovel', but then they allow the whole family to use the word 'frig' knowing full well that this is just a sanitized version of the more commonly used, but vulgar term, which I decline to use here, cos' I would be banned by some of the parental control mechanisms on the Internet.

Parental control? That's a laugh! Mothers not allowing their little babies to watch the horrors widely shown on the daily news, but then plonking them in front of an animated video with all manner of gore and violence......and subjecting them to all manner of chemical and biological poisoning by feeding them trash and taking them to doctors to receive potentized chemical bombardment and............

Sorry about that...... I forgot to take my medication this morning!

Whilst browsing the net I came across this excellent book, which is a must-have for all model rail enthusiasts. Covering loads of the technical details and some devices of which I hadn't even heard of to make train operations more realistic and entertaining.
Click Here to read more...

Anyway, what we 'ave for your delectation today my luvlie's is another treat from Trix. I don't know nuffink' about it and can't find nuffink' about it either!



0-6-0 Locomotive #80020. Made in black molded plastic and the fastest thing on 3-rails. Scaletically (I just made that up), 80020 is too fast, but that doesn't stop little boys from having fun. Turn the controller up full and it will derail on any curve and even the slightest irregularity in the fish plates.

The plastic allows it to bounce though, so it is in good condition, despite the treatment I remember giving it 35 years (or more) ago. How long?

If you happen to know anything about the history of the original Deutsche Bundesbahn (DB) engine or even the date of manufacture of the Trix model, I should like to hear from you.

Class 5600/6600 Collett 0-6-2 Tank Engine

How in the blazes did Trix get in on the scene? Oi! Will someone lock that back door – all kinds of riff-raff are sneaking in here!

For some strange reason two Trix locomotives wound up in this collection. The first one shown here is in abominable condition. She’s lost her bogey (euch!) and someone (not me!) has taken a chipping hammer to the paintwork.

Trix, Class 5600 Collett 0-6-2 Tank Locomotive, No. 6664 in British Railways lined green livery

The Class 5600 Tank Locomotive was the design of Charlie Collett, who presumably was a steam fanatic like Mr Gresley and my Dad, who was actually a boiler maker on the steam locomotives. The first of the 5600 series came into service in 1924 and the last one removed from mainline service with British Rail in 1965. You have to assume therefore, that it was a pretty good engine!

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Mainly used for hauling coal from the pit heads of Wales (I am not calling the Welsh ‘pit-heads’ by the way …..although I knew a few who would fit that description quite well!) to the docks and factories and power stations.

Specification:

Water Capacity – 1900 gals
Coal Capacity – 3.75 tons
Boiler Pressure – 200psi
Weight – 62 to 69 tons (depending on who you believe), plus the fireman’s lunch box
Tractive Effort – 25,800lbs
Drivers Inside Leg – 24inches

Charles Collett was the Chief Mechanical Engineer for the Great Western Railways (GWR) and he it was, who thunked up this great little mover and shaker of a tank engine to replace the small and inefficient ‘coal rats’.

Two hundred of them were built between 1924 and 1928 and they ended up in all manner of jobs in many locations around the UK. As far as I know, nine of these engines have been saved from the scrap yard and I think five are in active service including this little baby at Swanage ‘6695’.

If you want a ride on one then I highly recommend the Swanage Railway Museum. Take a long weekend and some old clothes and get thoroughly sooty and sweaty amongst this great collection of steam trains and associated ironwork.

For some strange reason the engines were numbered 5600 to 5699 and 6600 to 6699. One must assume, must one, that the 6600 series were slightly modified from the 5600 series. The later series being about 1 ton heavier.

Here’s another one of those photo’s kindly stolen from Wikipedia, which is a great source of information, but not always trusted to be 100% accurate!

'6664' in the flesh!



As for the Trix model of ‘6664’ it is designed to run on 3 rail and does perfectly well on the Dublo track even though the electrics were wired somewhat differently.




Of course, this trix, 5600 Tank loco does not come with a box. I’m sorry, but the quality of red Trix boxes is nowhere near the Hornby Dublo standard. Half the weight, cheap wood pulp and ….well, that’s why there’s no box. Nothing to do with the verminous creature who took the chipping hammer to the locomotive!

Now then, the other Trix Twin loco is a different scuttle of coal entirely…..

Mallard 60022 - A4 Class 4-6-2 Locomotive

60022 Mallard – A4 Gresley Class Locomotive



Pop along to The National Railway Museum in York and you will find one of the centre pieces of the magnificent display is this massive chunk of iron called ‘Mallard’. If you are awake at the time, you might also notice that it’s a different colour and bears a different serial number to this model.

The Class A4 locomotive, including Mallard, was designed by Sir Nigel Gresley, built at Doncaster Works by LNER in the 1930’s and released onto the rails in 1938, whence, at just 5 months old, she set about establishing the world rail speed record.



Designed to pull passenger trains at speeds up to 100mph, the Gresley class was the first to make use of a wind tunnel to improve aerodynamics (a 3 year old could have managed that without a wind tunnel!). Anyway, she was shoved onto the East Coast Mainline, pointed downhill and let loose to set a stunning 126mph steam-powered record. Scary stuff for a 70 foot smoking iron ramrod weighing in at over 165 tons! Unfortunately, she stubbed her toe (big end bearing) before she could make it back to the celebrations arranged at Kings Cross and she limped to Peterborough with a blanket over her head. ‘Ivatt Alantic’ was sent to kings Cross instead and photographs of the Mallard handed out to the press, hoping that no-one would notice the difference. Apparently, the ruse worked!

When Mallard roared for the crowds in 1938 she was decorated with a pretty paint called ‘Garter Blue’, the same colour that the Queen prefers to hold up her stockings and those of a few of her knights (she hands them out as pressies to ‘the favoured’ ones). She was also numbered 4468 (Mallard – not the Queen of England). In 1942 she was toned down to ‘Wartime Black’ (both Mallard and Her Majesty, who was a motor mechanic in the army – honestly!). After a couple of minor alterations she was restored (we are talking about the steam engine again now) to Garter Blue in 1948 for the Locomotive Exchange Trials and renumbered ‘22’.

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When British Railways found themselves in possession of Mallard, they slapped a dark blue coat on her and renumbered her 60022. Not quite finally, on the 4th July 1949 she was camouflaged in Brunswick Green and this remained her drab attire until 1963 when she was pulled from active service and handed over to the museum for restoration. Knowing restorers, they wouldn’t sleep until they had scrubbed every last drop of green and black from her and found the perfect shade of Garter blue (a night time raid on Queenie’s knicker drawer availed them of a sample. Police apprehended the man on the roof of Buckingham Palace, but not before he had tied the garter to a stolen palace gate key and thrown it over the fence to a tall man in dark glasses, wearing a black suit and a Parker with a faux furry hood).

You don’t believe me do you? Search you now, the bowels of the BBC news archives for the man on the roof of Buckingham Palace and tell me I’m wrong!

....at least that was the tale I was told in the 'Wheel Tappers & Shunters' pub and they are more honest than bankers!

So now she sits, snug, but unfired, in the halls of York museum, awaiting your awe at her size and smell . (yes, we are still with Mallard).





So, back to business, you lucky Dublo’ers get the crappy green version! with 60022 stuck on a high nose belfry and that should, if you have been paying any attention to anything I’ve said, give you a clue to her date of manufacture.



Hornby Dublo produced a model of Sir Nigel Gresley in the garter blue as one of their very first locomotives in 1938 and the body of one of these has found its way into my collection. Someone has roughly attempted a re-paint job, but that’s not much good without wheels. In any case, you get a free Sir Nigel Gresley body with every Mallard you buy from me!



The tender looks like it has been in a fire! The coal has melted and warped. That might explain the rest of the missing parts too.



Mallard is gorgeous. Virtually spotless and in the ORIGINAL box.....which is not quite so spotless. The box has a bit of 16th century cellotape wrapped around it and has seen better days.

The First Steam Locomotive

The Alternative History of Steam

Although an American, John Fitch, was the first person to build a working steam powered rail locomotive, the idea fell flat on its face soon after its launch in 1784. Americans were too attached to their horses to let a machine move them around. "It jus' ain't manly ye hear"

Ten years later a Scotsman by the name of Murdoch built a steam powered locomotive, but his design was built for the roads and eventually paved the way for the steam revolution in Britain.

In 1804 Richard Trevithick managed to coax his own steam locomotive along a tramline in 'The Valleys' of South Wales...... never to be heard of again.

Eventually George Stephenson and his son Robert ... and perhaps one or three other people came up with a better design for the steam producing boiler and bolting it to a steel carriage, entered it into a competition to find the best locomotive to pull the first ever train service in the world. The 'Rocket' won the race without any real competition.

George and Robert Stephenson's 12mph 'Rocket'



The Rainhill Trials

The trials were established to find the best vehicle to run a regular passenger service between two major industrial cities in Northern England - Liverpool and Manchester. Steam power wasn't a condition of the trials, which took place over a five day period starting on the 6th October 1829, but it was certainly the only contender.

The trials were set to run on a very short length of track and it was stipulated that the engines had some means of stopping, just in case the operators hadn't considered that aspect.

The Rules (abbreviated version)

1. The locomotive must be weighed (cold and empty) and a load would then be assigned to the train of three times its weight. The operator had to guess how much fuel and water he would need for firing the boiler plus 35 miles of travel on the rails. He was then provided with this fuel and water and the time was measured for the fireman to build a head of steam.

2. The tender carrying the fuel and water for the locomotive was included in the load assigned to each engine. Engines carrying the fuel and water on the locomotive would receive a discount from their load. (they thought of everything eh?)

3. The locomotive must be pushed to the start line by hand - WHAT?? and then once the boiler reaches a pressure of 50psi it can take off (that is if the boiler didn't blow up before hand)

4. The track was one and three quarter miles long. One eighth of a mile at each end would be allowed for building up speed AND for stopping (quite important that on a straight piece of track), thus the timing would be taken over one and a half miles each way.

5. The engine had to reach a speed of ten miles per hour.

I would like to take brief interlude here to expand upon more recent developments in technology that are ridiculed, because they are not sufficiently powerful .....YET. After 100 years the steam engine was replaced by the internal combustion engine and not long after the engine was designed, someone had the bright idea of splitting water down into its constituent elements of hydrogen and oxygen and using this to fuel the engine. Such a vehicle was running in 1937.

Now ask yourself why you are still spending a fortune on hydrocarbon fuel?
Why we allow billions of tonnes of toxic fumes to be released into the atmosphere.... and fall back down again - let's not forget!
Why millions of people have been killed and mutilated through countless, pointless wars (often launched with a different excuse for public consumption) and why the global economy has been (so far) based upon the value of oil?

Water fuel engines are in their infancy. they have a long way to go and some people already have cars that run on nothing but water (and very little of that!).

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eeeerrrrrrr.....where was I?

Ruel Number 6. That's not how you spell rule!

Once more from the top:

Number 6. The locomotive shall make ten trips (equal to the distance from Liverpool to Manchester - thirty five miles. She will then be refueled and pushed back to the start line where she will make another ten trips, representing the return trip. What? You want to go BACK to Liverpool?

Number 7. The locomotive and driver have to survive the journey.

Sadly, they didn't include passengers and bystanders in the rules and Stephenson's Rocket, having won the trials promptly squashed the Member of Parliament for Liverpool at Parkside station during the inauguration run the following year.

Out of ten entries in the trials only five made it to the starting line. Does not augur well methinks!

The first entry 'Cycloped' failed, when the horse that powered the engine by walking on a moving belt, fell through the bottom of the machine. Eeh! Uur! Cycloped wasn't seriously injured, but went on to further misery when George Orwell got hold of him on Animal Farm and handed him over to the pigs for some serious abuse.

The second entry 'Perseverance' was damaged en route to the trials. Rumour has it, it fell off the back of the cart. Just a thought here - what mode of transport do you use to transport a steam locomotive when their are no rails OR roads ....or trucks or planes or EVEN slaves? It was repaired in time for the fifth day, but couldn't overtake the snails on the grass verge, so got back on the M1 and drove home again in a snot, causing untold damage to fences and property along the route. The police gave chase on penny-farthing bicycles, but couldn't catch him.

Number three was 'Sans Pareil' - when you choose a name like that you should make sure you mean it! It blew a cylinder and failed to finish, but it did actually go on to work for a couple of years.

The fourth engine was a demon. At 28mph it knocked spots off the competition... for a few minutes at least. Mechanical failures dogged this one to the grave, but the design was good, just poor quality iron!

Thus, at an average of 12mph, the rocket won by default, earning five hundred pounds prize money and going on to form the basis of what so many people fell in love with in subsequent years.

Steam.

Some of this information was stolen from Wikipedia other information I found in a guidebook to the London Science Museum and other information i just made up to make it more interesting. That's how history is made!

Hornby Dublo Boxed Set - EDG18

….and next out of the box, ladies and gentlemen, is another fine Hornby Dublo boxed set – EDG18 (Electric Dublo Goods 18).

This set has seen a bit more handling than the others so far listed and the locomotive especially, has a few paint chips that detract from its appearance.

…but not by much!

The locomotive #80054 is one of the tough and reliable 2-6-4 Class 4 Standard Tank breed dressed in the lined black BR livery.





These engines, the ‘80000 series’ were developed from the LMS Fairburn design and 155 of them were built at the Brighton, Doncaster and Derby works between 1951 and 1955.



They were put to good use throughout Britain, including commuter trains on the London, Tibury and Southend line. The last Class 4 engine was withdrawn from service in July 1967. Diesels ruled OK! Spppptttt..raspberry!

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The rolling stock in the box consists of a low sided, double bogey, 50T brick wagon #163535 in very good condition and another double-bogey wagon – this time a low loader carrying a home-made bulk tank.




The metal wheels and loco date the manufacture of this outfit to around 1954 to 61.

The box! Oh I am so sorry to the pulped paper addicts – Alas it is not perfect. It bears the scars of excited little hands prying the lid off to reveal the shiney objects and of hammering the lid back down when called down to ‘tea’.



Now here’s another little aside (of which I am quite fond you may note) – What do you call your meals?

Like the cardboard box, we all bear the scars of upbringing and tend to carry for the remainder of our lives, the baggage of nomenclature that identifies our class or status (that is, according to my dearly beloved).

There’s no getting away from breakfast, unless you are of the constitutional type that cannot consume solids before midday, but what’s the next meal called in your household?

Dinner?
Lunch?
Elevenses? Man, did this confuse me the first time I was offered potatoes and fish fingers at eleven o’clock in the morning! My carers for the day could have been beamed down from Zeta Reticulae for the plane brown confusion my young brain suffered when presented with such a platter at that time of day. Obviously, it was a trick left over from a particular work schedule and carried through into retirement.

…and now that I look at my own crazy schedule I realize that I have an even funnier meal time - ten-thirty in the morning! Starting work at 4am and finishing at 10am means that my fast isn’t truly broken until mid-morning. I wonder if we will continue this into old age? Maybe we can find some children to confuse!

Start the day with a thick, steaming cup of cocoa – that’s my advice!

Evening meal can be called either dinner or tea, but the word dares to identify your social status. If such a thing should bother you, then take care what words you use!

Back to the box – the smiling sprog on the lid of this box is playing dare with his nose on the rails and in these litigious times, ought to carry a health warning.




WARNING – do not place your nose or other bodily part on the track. Serious injury may result.

The Brake Van # 178717 is sound, but it does have a few marks of corrosion on the roof and at one end. Not serious, but it is indicative that the child lived in a damp house and was perhaps a little scrofulous methinks! (I have waited years to be able to use the word ‘scrofulous’).



The inside of the box is quite spiffy, so if you ignore the old cellotape repair on the outer lid you could say the box is half decent.

The usual minimalist track selection is included; 8 large radius curved sections and two full straights.

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No controller – maybe someone found an alternative use for them!

Incidentally, there are several other ancient boxes in the outfit that might be of interest….. to some. This one here contained Embassy Christmas crackers manufactured by Sungrove Ltd, Wendell Road, W12, London. That must be Hammersmith. Unfortunately, I can’t find any company history to blind you with, other than it was paid for in old money (see earlier post)..





One clue to the date though, is the drawing of the kids on the box lid was done in the days when God knew best and it was believed that sunshine was good for you. Unfortunately, these kids were left out in the sun too long! Now, where did I put that bottle of calamine lotion?

Duchess of Atholl - EDP2

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.

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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.