53809

Just to bring to wider attention that, after its brief appearance at the Tornado Gala in May, 53809 has received the attention of the "medics" at Grosmont MPD and is now in general NYMR traffic. After the work on the "front end", the loco is performing powerfully and proving very popoular with crews as well as having somewhat of a following amongst passengers.

53809 has been in traffic today - details of locos in use on a daily basis can be found at http://nymr.co.uk/general-info/locomoti ... ting-today, which is either updated each morning or has more than one day showing to cover a gap in updates. Can't say whether 53809 will be running tomorrow or for the rest of the week at this stage.

Steven Hogg
NYMR

 

Just to confirm this...

Spent some time driving 53809 this week. She is now well & truly up to the job, and is a pleasure to be on.

I've noticed that she has a definite following - people asking what her workings are through the day, riding on the trains, and some very nice comments to the crews. (We don't get to keep engines all day).

This engine definitely seems to attract the better class of "enthusiast." No smart a**e comments, just genuine blokes who've been transported back to the 1960's for a couple of hours.

I have asked that the Moors publicise her planned workings.

 

I was up at Grosmont from 7am to see her on saturday, pity se was over night at pickering but got some nice shots of the black 5 and stand 4 early morning before she arrived. Filmed her from my favourite spot first of, before chasing her down the line on the last trip. Photo's probably tonight and film footage soon. Would have come back sunday but the time table this year for sundays is a let down, only 4 steam all year long!, and its a long way for that.

 

This is something that many of the railway's staff have commented on. People still want to visit the NYMR itself on a Sunday, even if they do not have the option of travel into Whitby. Sundays have always been a busy day for us; it is almost as if some have forgitten that there was life before the Esk Valley Line! The planned use of diesels will on some Sunday services will only make things worse. Seems daft to drive your customers away!

 

In the most recent WSRA mag there was a comment, just in passing, that 80 has a regulator off a Midland Compound 4P. Now I have known for longer than I can remember that the S&D small boilered 7Fs shared their boiler design with the compound but this was the first news I had that 80 and perhaps 53809 had the regulator off the compound as well. I really wasn't expecting this as the Midland Compound regulator was of an unusual design to suit the compounding feature of the Compound 4P and those features intended to be suitable for the 4P would be redundant for the 7F with the implication of, perhaps, un-necessary maintenance costs.

So,

1. can anyone confirm that 53809 does indeed have such a Midland Compound regulator and

2. is there a student of Midland loco design out there who can say if this was the standard regulator for the 7F instead of, say, the regulator off the 4F?

3. can any drivers who have experience of driving both the 7F and 4F say if the different regulator design has an effect on the driving techniques/experience?

Regards

 

You're reading too much into how regulator valves affect how you drive an engine. Valve design, boiler pressure & superheat are far more significant.

53809 has a two valve regulator fitted.

The driving technique for this loco is largely influenced by the relatively low boiler pressure (190 psi), short travel valves, and the fact that it does not seem to make steam under load without some serious blast on the fire. It will not let you drive it expansively.

 

53809 scheduled to be in action today and over the weekend on the NYMR.

Full details of loco position, as ever, at: http://nymr.co.uk/general-info/locomoti ... ting-today

Steven