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Chris86's Recent Activity

  1. Chris86 liked Steve's post in the thread Mid Hants Railway Operational Matters.

    My experience of S15’s is limited to 825/841 but I have nothing but admiration for them. They may not have the ease of prep and comforts of the BR Standards but they are strong, sure footed and fantastic steamers.

    Sep 1, 2026 at 10:47 PM

  2. Chris86 replied to the thread Mid Hants Railway Operational Matters.

    There's got to be some advantages in having 3 similar locos based in the same place (if you include 828) in terms of maintenance, crew familiarity and resulting economy in use. I have often thought that S15s seem well suited to some of the...

    Sep 1, 2026 at 3:24 PM

  3. Chris86 liked 21B's post in the thread Mid Hants Railway Operational Matters.

    That is not the question. In my experience the question tends to be how much effort does it take to keep a Bulleid able to do the work compared to other types. The Jarvis rebuilds are tons better in this regard. The originals are difficult to...

    Aug 31, 2026 at 11:44 PM

  4. Chris86 liked 21B's post in the thread Mid Hants Railway Operational Matters.

    It was not a panic buy. It was bought because the railway required motive power. The loco was in ticket, but near the end of a mainline cert, and the price was attractive. It was always (in my view) an overly expensive locomotive to overhaul,...

    Aug 31, 2026 at 11:43 PM

  5. Chris86 liked Jamessquared's post in the thread Mid Hants Railway Operational Matters.

    Although I get the point that a Merchant Navy is a very large loco for operating 5 coach trains, it remains the case that the cheapest loco to operate is the one you have available right now. In other words - 35005 may burn a lot of coal, but the...

    Aug 31, 2026 at 10:51 PM

  6. Chris86 replied to the thread Mid Hants Railway Operational Matters.

    I seem to recall that 45379 was suffering late in its previous operational stint with a frame crack- wonder if it will need more major work this time round to enable another 10 years operating.

    Aug 30, 2026 at 10:51 PM

  7. Chris86 liked 8126's post in the thread Mid Hants Railway Operational Matters.

    That is pretty comprehensive, thanks for the summary. I do find it slightly ironic that while the concerns over 35005 being too large have been well aired since before it returned to service, it has also been the most trusted steam loco in high...

    Aug 29, 2026 at 9:31 PM

  8. Chris86 liked Jamessquared's post in the thread GWSR General Discussion and Operations.

    The “memories” function of my phone just popped this up - 19 years ago to the day. [ATTACH] Tom

    DSC_0108.jpeg Aug 29, 2026 at 6:41 PM

  9. Chris86 replied to the thread Mid Hants Railway Operational Matters.

    That's an interesting run down. Wonder who 73096 sold to?

    Aug 29, 2026 at 6:31 PM

  10. Chris86 liked std tank's post in the thread 82045 The way ahead?.

    Correct. We must remember that the 82XXX tanks were designed at Swindon.

    Aug 29, 2026 at 6:27 PM

  11. Chris86 liked 26D_M's post in the thread West Somerset Railway General Discussion.

    4936 must be approaching a decade under overhaul during which time its owner has bought 2 pannier tanks, one of which is now for sale again because of resource issues. Go figure ....

    Aug 29, 2026 at 6:22 PM
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