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Edward Thompson: Wartime C.M.E. Discussion 2012 - 2022

Discussion in 'Steam Traction' started by S.A.C. Martin, May 2, 2012.

  1. Spamcan81

    Spamcan81 Nat Pres stalwart

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    No need to defend yourself. I'd gathered your course at Isis Polytechnic wasn't Home Economics. :)
     
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  2. Allegheny

    Allegheny Member

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  3. S.A.C. Martin

    S.A.C. Martin Part of the furniture

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    Just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who has taken part in the discussion this year, bought the book or added to the Thompson story.

    I think we are now at the stage where we’ve had a good run on this thread - ten years worth of debate and research! - and it’s now time to let it lie for the time being.

    I’m proud of the fact that we’ve covered so much ground in this thread. From where we started in 2012 to ending 2022 with the book out, reviewed (mostly well!) and finally putting to rest so many of the myths around Thompson’s life.

    So on that note, Merry Christmas one and all.

    Thank you for taking part in the longest online debate on railway matters to date!
     
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  4. Sheffield

    Sheffield New Member

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    And thank you, Sir, for making it possible.
     
  5. Richard Roper

    Richard Roper Well-Known Member

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    Happy Christmas Simon - And to everyone on Nat Pres!

    Richard.
     
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  6. D6332found

    D6332found Member

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    Looking at the mongrel Pacific V2/A2, has any wise sage ever calculated what boiler pressure they would have needed to be adequately boilered?
     
  7. S.A.C. Martin

    S.A.C. Martin Part of the furniture

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    They were adequately boilered.
     
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  8. D6332found

    D6332found Member

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    I don't think that's correct, see lner info and first hand accounts, however they weren't so bad as Great Northern, which was kept as a spare at the end of a station. It may be this reputation arose as they became wore out, leaked and lost boiler pressure.
     
  9. Miff

    Miff Part of the furniture Friend

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    Clearly you haven’t read Simon’s book yet :) , or caught up with this thread since 2019.
     
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  10. S.A.C. Martin

    S.A.C. Martin Part of the furniture

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    The claims they were "under boilered" are, putting it bluntly, wrong.

    The V2 boiler they had was pressed to 225lb, 5lb higher than the V2s were and 5lb higher than the Gresley A3s. They had the klychap double chimney from new.

    I have found no first hand evidence that they suffered from being "under boilered". They were not shy of steam with the setup they had.

    It was a pilot engine once whilst it was being checked for its driving wheels potentially having shifted on the axles.

    I think it exists only in the heads of the apocryphal storytellers, to be honest! All steam locomotives when they get run down might lose performance but all of the LNER Pacifics had excellent boilers which could raise steam well and, perhaps more importantly, keep making steam efficiently.
     
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  11. Steve

    Steve Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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    When worn they may use more steam than when fresh out of works but steam locos don't leak significantly and don't lose boiler pressure. As for being kept as a spare at the end of the station, 60113 was always a Doncaster loco and it was the practice to keep an A1 pacific as a standing pilot at Doncaster, ready to take over from any ailing loco at any time. As Doncaster only usually had about 6 A1's on its books, it stands to reason that it would spend a lot of time on this duty for a significant part of its life.

    When spotting at Doncaster it was always a bit annoying that you could see the loco in the sidings at the south end of the station but you couldn't get its number because of the angle and distance away. The only consolation was that you knew that you would almost certainly have already crossed it off in your combined volume.
     
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  12. S.A.C. Martin

    S.A.C. Martin Part of the furniture

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    It pleases me Steve that you put 60113 in the A1 category :)

    One of the things which has always puzzled me are the references from some quarters that, where they speak positively of Great Northern, they refer it to being just another of the Peppercorn A1s - quite an accolade, but the Thompson A1 strictly speaking is the post-war A4 Pacific development. It does seem to indicate that it was thought of as being as capable as a Peppercorn A1.
     
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  13. Steve

    Steve Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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    Well, if Ian Allan lumped them all together, who am I to disagree?:)
     
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