45428

spotted it going south on motorway (M1) this morning about 9:45 at junction 29a...can anyone tell me where it was heading?

 

On its way to Ilford for tyre turning. 76079 has already made the same trip and was supposed to have been returned to the NYMR on the same low loader.

It's apparently a lot cheaper and easier to remove the rods and send the entire loco to a ground lathe than drop the wheels out and just send them, and Ilford was the nearest wih good road access and time to do the work.

 

thanks xxx

 

Also cheaper than sending loco by rail.

 

seriously???

 

It makes sense when you think about it. She couldnt go down by herself, so another loco needs to be hired and crewed for both trips; she presumably would have to be in light steam for lubrication purposes which might not be too popular in an enclosed wheel lathe shed; and as the Eastleigh 100 convoy's showed, it could also lead to a hotbox on a loco used to no more than 25mph. Thats a lot of time and manpower when compared to sticking it on a low loader, especially as it can be shared with other movements such as 76079's to reduce the cost.

Chris

 

i was more enquiring about the cost of the move. surely road transport, usually in excess of 10,000 notes to move a steam loco by road, is more than the cost of a rail move, if such a thing is possible that is

 

Wouldn't have to be in light steam, if being towed, as the rods would have been removed in the first place. They have to be removed for tyre turning and it makes sense to do it before the journey starts.

I'd change hauliers if you are paying £10K to move a loco. Ok, it's going to vary depending on distance, size and whether with tender or not but you can just about knock a nought off for an industrial loco move.