76079

Pedant alert: 76084 has also operated on the mainline in preservation, albeit to a much lesser extent than '79.

 

While starting to strip the loco at Steamport we found that the bevel gears in the reverser weren't mating properly, this must have been a problem when in B.R. ownership. Bob Maxwell re-machined them & they were perfect after that. The main thing we did at Steamport was releasing the boiler from its mountings.

Bob.

 

In the days of Frogstone It was mainly scraping off the crap and making sure Dave Hibbert didn't fall off too often.

 

Unfortunately its main line days are over, the mainline kit isn't coming with it. It will have a period in store as the repairs to 80105 will come first.

 

So far, (and likely to remain that way with her move!) my only two shots of 76079, both at Steamport.

 

Cecil Raikes also getting in on the shot.

 

It’s really good to hear this. Since 76017’s boiler ticket expired in January we’ve no 76’s running. 17 is in store at carnforth, 79 had been in store at Pickering and 84 stores at weyborne. We at Toddington standard locomotive Ltd with 76077 were the only ones actively working. With 77,79 and 84 all being Sutton oak and springs branch survivors, there’s now a good chance that a few years from now we’ll have possibly all 4 in steam at the same time. Then It’ll be a case of trying to get them back together.

 

From Facebook.

 

Does anyone perchance know the date of 76079’s last run to Whitby please?

 

I fired 76079 to Whitby on the 13.30 ex Grosmont, then through to Pickering and back to Grosmont on 12/4/2023. On shed it was found that the tubes were leaking yet again. One more attempt was made to expand them and I think it was tried once more in traffic before it was given up as a lost cause. I'm not sure if it went back to Whitby again or not but it was certainly stopped by the end of that week.

I seemed to have an unfortunate effect on locos that spring. On 2/5/2023 I had the S15, 825, on that same Whitby turn. After a problem free trip the fitter's examination on shed found a slight wisp of steam from the smokebox tubeplate. Investigation next day revealled a previously undetected crack in the tubeplate and the loco has not worked since. A new tubeplate has now been made and fitting it is on going.

Then just two weeks later on 15/5/2023 I was on the Q6 on the last train of the day to Pickering. Next day it went back to Grosmont where it split it's r/h side cylinder somewhat spectacularly.

Fortunately I seem to have passed through this phase of killing locos and most have survived since then.

Peter

 

Thanks v much for the info. My notes say that I had 63395 from Pickering to Grosmont and 76079 from Grosmont to Whitby on 22 April 23 so that sounds like it may well have been it’s v last trip. And I attach a pic at Whitby taken on that day. Poignant for me having been involved with a number of its mainline runs from Scotland, the North West and down into the West Country.

 

76079 did go up to the WHL in 2008, renumbered as Fort William’s 76001 it took part in the photo charters. It wasn’t a lot of use on the Jacobite as it was restricted to hauling six coaches on the Mallaig Road

 

76079 went first to Fort William in 2004 for a private charter over the late May Bank Holiday and then ran a public train the day after. As John says it was then at Fort William in 2008 during the photo charter. On both visits it masqueraded as 76001 which spent some time at Fort William in 1960, and (trivia alert) correctly carried a 63B shed plate which was the depot code for 1960 by which time 65J had become Stirling.

 

Nice picture there John. I was working there over that weekend and was the afternoon guard when the loco worked back to Mallaig that day, having turned during the lunch layover at F
ort William. Here is the train standing in Lochailort station while we waited for the chasing photographers to get in positing ahead of us
Next day I was firing the Class 4 returning south with the Black 5 and stock (and no diesl), seen here at Ardlui during a token stop.

I believe that the 76001 number plate is the original off the long term Motherwell loco that found itself working the Oban line for a couple of weeks before its transfer to Fort William for the summer of 1960.

Peter

 

For modellers and the pedantic it isn’t quite right for 76001 that had the earlier type of cab with full footplate longer footplate, no fallplate and handrail up to the cab roof in front of the tender. I don’t know about the Class 4s but their arrangement resulted in a very draughty cab on the Britannias until the leather draught excluders were fitted between engine and tender