Brighton Atlantic: 32424 Beachy Head

It depends on what one means by preservation of course but on the whole I agree. Whatever one's viewpoint however it is a fact that the pendulum is swinging towards "stuffed and mounted" under the present management of the NRM and its parent group.

 

Entirely agree. Can't wait to see Beachy Head working. An attractive design: a "missing link"; truly appropriate in terms of historical/regional background for the Bluebell; and a sensible size loco which should be a very useful addition to the fleet. And some very impressive planning, hard work and craftsmanship has gone into this project.

Nothing at all wrong with the proliferation of new-builds (or indeed "restorations" in which 99% of the metal is new ..!). They add to the interest and variety of what's going on. Of course we also need to keep up the parallel work of overhauling and looking after the surviving old locos, but while the preservation movement remains so strong, there is resource enough for both activities.

 

I remember the time well when the Atlantic boiler turned up. All four were located in a laundry in Maldon. Don't think there was a conspiracy to strip one and scrap it. More likely was nobody actually wanted it. The Atlantic boiler popped up at SP with an announcement that the long term plan was to build a replica BH. Don't think it was actually taken too seriously as it slept undisturbed there for many years before a definitive plan was made. Remember this was far before Tornado and it wasn't a given that a replica locomotive was a feasible project. However it was there and a few bob (figuratively speaking) was scratched together and it arrived.

Sail and Steam....

Heard many a story about that crowd, some stories more outrageous than others. Heard the one about the 9F cab that got swept into water (cannot corroborate that one). Do know that Sir Archie's boiler went there for overhaul but the work was never done. I believe that money was paid up front for work and lost. I do remember the ensuing dispute that resulted in the Society was blocked from collecting it for a considerable amount of time. It was feared it that it would be scrapped out of shear spite but fortunately a lot later the boiler was recovered back to SP and was repaired in house. As for Sail & Steam. They disappeared amid a much tarnished reputation and ill feeling by many parties.



Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk

 

For anyone interested in the history of tenders being used, it is these two:

Underframe:
http://www.ten.vintagecarriagestrust.org/tens/TenderInfo.asp?Ref=270

Wheels and axleboxes:
http://www.ten.vintagecarriagestrust.org/tens/TenderInfo.asp?Ref=397

The tank will be new, probably assembled in house from pre-cut parts: for reasons of space, I believe it will probably be just about the last substantially large part of the loco to be made, as currently the flat area above the tender frames is useful storage space.

Tom

 

Equalising tyre wear has oft been quoted as a reason for a Turntable - is uneven tyre wear not a problem on the Bluebell, or is it got round by hijacking passing low loaders to use as 'turntables'?!?

Steven

 

These posts both received some responses, but isn't it better not to feed trolls?

 

We seem not to turn things round much, though "Bluebell" came back from the Churnet Valley at the beginning of the year facing north for the first time in 57 years. Because of the general disposition of the gradients, there is a definite preference for locos, especially large ones, to face north. That said, Beachy Head currently faces ... west! So in theory any way round is equally easy when the time comes, though I strongly assume that ultimately it will face north.

Tom

 

The only reason I can see to retain a completely knackered boiler is to study construction techniques and the finer points of design, even then only if it is a unique example of it's type.

I appreciate definitions of 'completely knackered' have changed since the days when a faulty throat plate sidelined a loco indefinitely, but there comes a point where insufficient metal is reparable to
render a new boiler the only sensible option.

 

I'm pretty sure both Atlantic boilers were stored outdoors at Sheffield Park in the late 90s... so why did one then go to S&S and get scrapped?

 

I swear to God I saw both of them... unless anyone can definitively contradict me?

 

Definitely only one atlantic boiler, which sat in the yard looking (to the untrained eye) very sorry for itself, with what seemed, at the time, a crazy notice of intention to build a new loco round it and a small donation box.

I do recall another boiler lifted from one of the fleet....maybe it was the S16 or one of the U boats, coz I recall a boilerless loco in the yard at the same time.

If you clocked the rear of the Q1 tender sporting chalked graffito next to it's number, so that it read C1 'and you've seen them all', that would be about the same period I'm describing.

 

Could have sworn I remember two wide fireboxes, big wide barrels and GNR type smokeboxes and doors. Maybe my memory is playing tricks, I was only a kid then. I don't recall that joke on the Q1, which was usually pretty clean!

 

Have you been an eyewitness in many court cases?

 

In which case, BB would be no worse than 95% of all eye-witnesses!

I could swear blind that I saw double fairlie 'Taliesin' (LT) working on the Ffesterbahn when I first visited, but everything on their websites states clearly that it was withdrawn the previous year, so someone's evidently going crazy, and I've an awful suspicion it may be me!

 

Bill, it's a well-established phenomenon that you can gather up 100 witnesses to a major incident and get 95 different versions of what actually happened. In those days, neither I nor my dad thought to photograph around the yard... oh well!

 

Yes. And that's what amused me about the utter conviction in your first post.

 

I'm still certain of what I saw! Unless anyone definitively knows different?

 

Only one Atlantic boiler evident in the pictures here: http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/bluebell/locos/atlantic/background.html
The text also refers to an Atlantic boiler (singular)

Keith