35006

P&O makes the main!
A few photos from two days of initial running in at toddington. The public launch of the engine will be at the annual Cotswold festival of steam gala 28-30th may. Pictures by Dan Wigg

 

Looks very good a credit to all who have restored her

 

I was more than a little bit chuffed to be on duty today, very pleased to see her in steam. She stuck to the Laverton-Toddington section today, presumably so as not to get in the way of service trains just in case there was a failure.

I wish I'd brought my proper camera with me, but my phone managed okay, although the sun was in the wrong place!

 

Looks terrific, but I hope you have a big stockpile of coal!

 

I believe that the SVR did some testing a little while ago and found that after the boiler had come up to pressure, 34053 didn't have any noticeable difference with 2857 with regards coal consumption, so hopefully shouldn't be too bad.

 

I wish I'd brought my proper camera with me, but my phone managed okay, although the sun was in the wrong place!

Your 3rd photo is particularly heart warming!

I'm looking forward to May

 

Indeed, though a MN is I think 27% bigger again in grate area than a WC/BoB, and it all has to be kept covered, and it is a lot of coal on the grate when lighting up and when disposing. I think the key to economic running is going to be maximising the number of consecutive days in traffic, both to minimise the amount of coal needed to bring the loco up to pressure, and to try to reduce thermal cycles in the firebox.

Tom

 

I thought you might like that one! Perhaps caption could be "35006 meets some proper motive power"?... Ducks and runs for cover!

 

Ah, I hadn't appreciated that the firebox was that much larger! That is indeed the plan though, to keep her continuously in steam for a week or two at a time.

 

They are both magnificent locos although built for different roles. This is what makes heritage railways so great. The chance to see these locos in steam and to learn about how they work and what their duties were. Our duty is to share our enthusiasm with others and (being mindful of not boring people) celebrate our steam heritage. For my money (and I mean that literally) there are few places better to do this than the GWSR.

 

It 's encouraging that serious thought has been given about how to keep coal consumption as low as possible. I say this because it is good that two railways are showing a commitment to running a Merchant Navy on 25mph heritage services. This is hardly what they were designed for, but the random nature of Dai Woodham's acquisitions means that more MNs have survived than can ever realistically be given work on the main line (even if Belmond wakes up to the fact that £350+ per person is a phenomenal amount to pay for class 67 haulage). Therefore, even if, in the most optimistic scenario, main line steam may one day be graced by 35009, 35018, 35022, 35027, 35028 plus possibly 35011/21C11 in original form, that still leaves a few MNs loooking for a gentler way of spending their retirement. Well done therefore not only to the 35006 team for restoring the engine but to the GWSR for being willing to feature a rather coal-hungry engine on its roster.

 

I am looking forward to seeing her maybe after the gala but will be soon. I do thing the GWSR has done well in deciding to keep with the loco as it adds variety to there motive power and people do like large engines with names.

 

delighted to see her virtually ready for the road last week

 

She went out for a little canter today, for a number of test runs up and down the Laverton extension. Beyond the outer home, and the old Laverton run round, she could shuttle up and down unhindered by the driver experiences that were also out today.

The sound was amazing, almost no mechanical noises at all, like a well oiled watch. Firing on all 3 cylinders too! It's a big beauty. No more waiting now, you'll see her in service very shortly.

 

A short video of P&O doing one of the test runs towards Laverton can be seen here:

You saw it first on National Preservation !

 

That's an incredible achievement... I never thought they'd make it.

 

This northerner has been watching this project from afar with interest for a good few years now and that was certainly worth waiting for! Now time to get down to the GWSR....