A2 60532 Blue Peter

Wonder if the new tender top will have adjusted caapacities...

 

If its feasible then you'd think that option would be explored. Not sure what the A1 tender specifications are but they might be able to utilise the design for a new A2 tank, possibly one for their A4 too?

 

Does the A4 need a new tender tank ? Come to think of it dont IOS have the old FS water tender which could be painted to match their coaching stock and ran with either /any of their locos...?

 

Can the second tender that was used with Flying Scotsman and (I think) Bittern be used with Blue Peter?

 

Blue Peter doesn't have a corridor tender, whereas FS,and Bittern do Iirc and the water tender is a corridor also. Don't see why you could not use it but the corridor facility would be lost.. Unless the plan is to put a corridor tender body on blue peters

 

it would make sence to fit a corridor tender if that's operationally preferred, as regard the boiler, were the A2's fitted with the same pattern boiler as the A1's or is it closer to the A4 boiler?

 

Two things:

The A2s - all variants - never had a corridor tender. As tornado as proved (and many other main line locos) its a nice to have not a must have.

Re the boiler - the A2s were fitted with Peppercorns standard 118 boiler (A1 and A2) and variants of that including the multi valve were built and used.

The Pep A1s and A2s also at times were fitted with Thompson A2/3 boilers (round domes). But the A1s never got the multi valve setup that some A2s did.

I don’t think a new Tornado (118a) boiler would be the answer - give the multi valve regulator setup that is inherent in BPs boiler.

 

How much does it matter which kind of regulator is present? (Presumably both kinds are satisfactory in use.) If it does matter, is it impossible to fit the multi valve version to a 118a boiler? Or could they have a 118 boiler as a spare for Tornado and the P2?

 

AFAIK (please correct me guys if I’m wrong) but internally the boiler is primarily the same, it’s the outer cladding and the addition of the different valve just on the edge of the smoke box that is different.

 

The multiple valve regulator is in the hot header of the superheater on 60532, so not part of the boiler at all. I do wonder if there's a boss welded to the barrel for the operating rod pivot, part way along, but other than that the only changes I can think of would be a plain end to the dry pipe in the boiler and blanking off the regulator gland. Some multiple valve regulator engines had an isolating valve in the conventional position in case of superheater element failure, I don't know if the A2 installation did. It was retrofitted to 60532 in the first place, so I doubt the changes are fundamental.

 

Really good news this. Might be a turntable at Aberdeen soon too....GB XIIII???

 

The tantalizing possibility of an A2 or P2 to Aberdeen or even a double header!

 

I do wonder if next years Edinburgh Aberdeen specials with 60163 are some sort of toe in the water exercise? Maybe in a few years time we could see something similar with 2007?

 

2007 on the Forth bridge is a sight I would love to witness

 

This aberdonian was surprised to see these tours pencilled in. The turntable isn’t officially finished .

Anyway. There is a market there, it a fairly scnenic route and Aberdeenshire has a lot to offer.

 

Well, it's what the P2s were built for - must be on the cards, surely? And hopefully, carrying the name Duke Of Rothesay whilst doing so

 

Can you imagine the scrabble to get photographic permits on the bridge?!

 

Ship launched Drones aplenty...

 

This video popped up this morning, interesting and slightly irritating in equal measure...

 

Mix railways and idiot TV presenters and you usually end up with irritating