FR & WHR & WHHR News

Any guest Fairlies attending?
I will get my coat!

 

There are a couple surviving in New Zealand ..... but given they're 3'-6" gauge, not too sure I'd hold my breath, hoping they make it over for this event.

Hoping for something a bit smaller .... well that's another matter entirely.......

 

There's a standard gauge single Fairlie in the USA, although they call them "Mason Bogies" over there.

 

Just Rachel Parry.

 

Wasn't it THE Rachael Parry...?

 

There’s a couple of 600mm Pechot Bourdons still in existence which would fit better.

 

Not tonight, Josephine ...

Tom

 

Wow. I've finally found the right place in the video and I'm overcome with joy.

I've been waiting years to hear that this event will feature a free park and ride service...

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There are a couple of very nice photographs of 87 wearing its new SAR black livery on the Ffestiniog's Instagram page - for instance https://www.instagram.com/p/B8pGHUmH5P-/

 

I found the shots of EoM steaming across the cob, etc. in this video brought a lump to the throat.

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See below re: Welsh Pony

https://twitter.com/FfWHRGM/status/1233400995209760771?s=19

 

I recall having a similar reaction, back when I very first saw it, but it's rather grown on me over the years. It'd be good to see a viable plan to return it to service.

 

My first encounter with it, at TyB about late 80s and aged eight or so, I was so enamoured that I on getting back to the house we were staying in near Bala, I poured all the cornflakes into a Tupperware so I could make a model with the cereal box (and kitchen roll tube for boiler)! I particularly remember trying to glue the slopey cornee bit on the top of the tank fronts.... Happy days!

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Fairlies ...... I've read the (2014) 'musical bogies' articles', but the recent redesign revision (monobloc castings) and the withdrawal of EoM has succeeded in muddying the waters again, so if I may, a few questions please, for anyone 'in the know'.

https://www.ffestiniograilway.org.uk/full_article?a=musical-bogies-part-i
https://www.ffestiniograilway.org.uk/full_article/musical-bogies-part-ii

Discounting those units 'cosmetically restored for display purposes' (and I am unclear whether that includes those currently under the stored EoM)

How many individual bogie units, suitable for frontline service, does the FfR now possess?

Are all the bogies currently in frontline service of the same design? If not, could any built to an earlier (post-preservation) design be reconstructed to the latest standard, if circumstaces demonstrated any clear advantage, operationally and / or from a maintenance perspective?

Do bogies built to the latest standard perform sufficiently well to indicate no further major design revisions are likely .... at least, for the time being?

Reason for questions: Just pondering what it would take to restore EoM to the land of the living. Festipedia mentions avaiable boiler options, which seem clear enough, but the bogie saga is confusing the hell out of me!

 

I'm by no means an expert, but my understanding is that the bogies that were under EoM when she was in service (which were formerly under Merddin as per those articles) are now under James Spooner.

 

To judge by a photo (of the undergubbins of the new JS) on an official FfR Facebook site, I'd concur with that. I think those currently under EoM are the set with which it originally entered service, back in 1979, which came from the preceeding EoM (LT), which loco now sits in the NRM on a pair of 'bitsas' cobbled together, including componets from the original JS, but it's all very confusing.

 

This Festipedia article appears to be up to date and gives a history of all the extent FfR Fairlie bogies:
https://www.festipedia.org.uk/wiki/Double_Fairlie#FR_Fairlie_Power_Bogies

 

Cheers @Miff .... dunno how I missed that page, as Festipedia's a regularly referenced website (don't you wish all wikipedia pages were that well kept?). Even with that info, for some odd reason, I've had the theme tune from Soap going round in my head for hoirs now!

 

Hi Howard,

You also missed part 3

https://www.ffestiniograilway.org.uk/full_article/musical-bogies-part-iii

Cheers,

Julian

 

Hooray ..... a summary that makes some sort of sense! Thanks Julian.

Sounds as if, although there are a pair of power bogies available, given their age, they're probably not a pair anyone in their right mind would want to fit to a loco in frontline service. The number of pretty ancient parts within two of those surviving bogies is surprising.

With current CAD design and cutting techniques, most especially considering the recent semi-Spooner boiler redesign and the known shortcomings of the 1960s-designed "double" boilers, you have to wonder about the economics of repair vs. outright replacement. I imagine there'd be no definitve answer until the in-service performance of the latest boilers is fully established.