Issue 125

Is it only me, or are others getting a little fed up of Geoff Courtney`s constant tone of reporting and bashing of the NRM re: 4472 Flying Scotsman?. This month he has sunk to a new level by implying that a renowned boiler repairer with a proven track record, has done a bum job on the rebuilding of the firebox.

He states that the welds are having to be partly redone and that this will have a knock on effect to the completion of the overhaul. Maybe it will, but that is not the fault of the NRM and indeed the fact that the NRM have had a independant examination of the work carried out, shows that they are doing a good job of quality control. Bearing in mind though, the complexities of the work it should come as no surprise that a little correction work may have to be carried out.

What i seem to find strange is that HR seem only too willing to give a former employee of Flying Scotsman PLC, a mouthpiece to try to cover up his former employers shortcomings in looking after 4472.

By trying to discredit the NRM on their handling of the overhaul, he seems to be forgetting that if Flying Scotsman PLC and their team at Southall had looked after the boiler`s storage, properly, in the first place then a lot less work, would maybe have been required.

 

Also, despite the delay with the boiler, the running chassis isnt ready for it anyway! and that is NRM!

 

Another HR, another dig at the NRM. ](*,) And in the Barry scrapyard article 2 S15's HAVE been made into one, on the NYMR the main line registered 825 is an almalgamation of bits of 825 and 841. And the same old moany old gripes over colour printing etc etc (no yawn smiley!) :-$

 

AS for the top gear review.... It's primarily a car show, what were they expecting? Or is it just because another mag was involved?

The print quality is awful this month, one picture across a 2 page spread changes colour at the spine......

 

Yes a very disappointing issue overall really. I didn't really get the Top Gear review either. Like you say what did they expect as it's a car show!

 

Just received my copy today, what a load of poor quality rubbish.

Robin Jones has neither the decency nor the courage to answer his critics.

It,s what we have come to expect from someone too pally with a Railway in the south of England. Some of their arrogance has rubbed off on to him, or is he too thick skinned?.

Come on Robin don,t be shy, have the guts to stand up and be counted, or perhaps Colin Tyson might do so?.

Regards
Chris

 

I bought my copy yesterday in the Bluebell shop and agree it wasn't a great issue. Photo repro. was yet again poor, some of the photos look like oil paintings instead of actual photos because there's too much colour saturation, another dig at the Flying Scotsman restoration and a very very negative attitude towards the Tornado Top Gear programme.

 

I flicked through it Wednesday and was disturbed to see it slating Tornado's Top Gear episode. I and i'm sure most if not all will think it was a great advert for steam and the mainline in general. Also the Top Gear team were extremely kind about Tornado and enthusiasts. Even Richard Hammond who didn't want to go on Tornado called her the Mighty Tornado. I also can't seem to stand David Wilcock. I find he moans to much.

 

Bit of a rag really. I flicked through mine last night then abandoned it in our carriage shed today for others to suffer.

Bob.

 

Interesting he picked on a few locos in his 'Barry Scrapyard lives on' artice, in particular 44123. If he was an avid reader of this forum he perhaps might have seen the owning group's response when it was suggested on the forum last year that this loco was not progressing anywhere fast.

I enjoyed the 5051 artice, a good tale from years ago, felt it contasted with the above mentioned article which degenerated into opinion. Fair enough, but maybe a few quotes from owners of said engines would have given a better balance to it.

They managed to get a scoop on 7760/Royal Scot but there were quite a few 'non' stories as well, such as 'steam returning to Wadebridge' in the form of a traction engine!

HR is often a mix of the good and the bad, this edition was no exeption.

 

On HR website when you click the contact us bit at the bottom of the Platform mailbag bit seems I get a page cannot be found. Either theres a problem with the system, problem with my computer or HR doesn't want mail about Mr Johns Top Gear review. HR [-X

 

Following the last few issues and the addition of new regular contributors I too feel that HR is going down hill with its standards of reporting. Time was not long ago that it was Steam Railway that was going for the shock horror headlines and controversial reporting whilst HR was well balanced and researched, now it seems the tables have turned! I will have to stop buying HR and stick to SR. My choice, HR's loss.

 

Unfortunately, I have to agree with lot of the gripes above.

Too many articles seem to be vague, wandering rambles. The Barry article mentioned previously is a prime example, introducing 'what about... ' points in the last couple of paragraphs rather than introduce them earlier and discuss them properly. It's like they scribble out a first draft and are content with it rather than see it as a starting point to be polished up for publication.

In contrast, I found Geoff Silcock's DFR article to be well structured and well written, and I did like the story of the rescue of 5051 - I always find Barry stories fascinating and, as it was one of the early rescues, I hadn't seen photos of 5051 in Barry condition before. In fact, the 5051 article was the reason I bought that particular edition.

 

We aim to be supportive of all preservation projects and do not take sides. However, neither are we doctrinal. Geoff Courtney is a former evening newspaper news editor, PR consultand and a professional writer. Flying Scotsman was bought with £2.31m of public money, and the public has the right to know what is happening to the locomotive.
There is a school of thought which runs along the lnies that a new boiler could have been bought from Meiningen for a lower price tha what the patching up of an old A3 boiler has done. There are, of course, arguments against that view.
The door is always open for the NRM to ask for space to outline their views in full, and it will be automaticlaly given. In the mean time, HR will continue to ask uncomfortable questions of anyone if they need to be asked.

 

There was a problem with repor in par tof the print run of that issue. We are aware and are taking steps to rectify it.

The Top Gear review by Cedric Johns was his personal opinion - that is what reviews are all about, and it was divide doff from the main story. We have several letters that strongly disagree with his view, and these will appear in issue 127. His review was nothing to do with any involvement of other publications in the event. We have just published a bookazine on Tornado which takes a different slant on the Top Gear programme. Like the preservation movement, HR is a broad church and we try to reflect all views.

 

Re the message from cct man, I would like to know what railway I am too pally with in the south of England, please?
I have refrained from joining any heritage railway during my 12 years in railway journalism because I do not want to be accused of bias. I may have my own thoughts on which schemes will succeed and which will not, but we try to be a platform for everyone in the magazine.

 

Can,t you guess Robin?, we did speak about it on the phone about 4 years ago.

Regards
Chris

 

Oh i think i know, which railway he means. His magazine supported its gala a few years back, after their publishing rivals SR threw their weight behind another South of England railways gala on the same weekend. It may not be direct favouritism, but you can tell which one is preferred, due to the amount of positive coverage it gets.

Also regarding Flying Scotsman. I am a uk taxpayer and lottery participant. No decisions made by the NRM regarding the overhaul of Flying Scotsman give me undue cause for concern.

So what if its 2 or even 3 years late on its overhaul schedule, as long as its done properly and thoroughly. I am all for restoring the original boiler even if the cost is higher than new build.

I imagine that most of joe public feel the same.

IMHO, Once 4472 takes to the rails again all this rubbish about what boiler it carries, will be forgotten about.

XH558, the recently returned to the air, Vulcan bomber, also cost a lot of money via the lottery and through donations to restore. It took a long time and even now consumes 1million a year to keep it airworthy. Yet it doesn`t seem to attract half the amount of journalistic flak that Flying Scotsman does, people just enjoy it now, at airshows up and down the country.

 

But surely this railway that you are referrring to, wherever that might be, must deserve this positive coverage.
Be it restoring locos, carriages, running a regular service, carrying many passengers or whatever.
If it warrents the news then I cant see a problem.

Have bought HR for some years, not every one must admit, and i dont recall noticing any bias towards any particular railway.
But SR did have a reputation of "plugging" GCR....Wasnt called GCR News for nothing.

So who won the right to sponser the better gala out of the two.