New Issue (out 10th April) The one with 3 A4's on the front!

If you are a fan of the A4's or of the LNER I can highly recommend buying this issue as it is excellent with a superb poster of the 3 A4's on the NYMR. Also it's a bumper issue with extra pages. David Wilcock has some very good articles too.

 

Another bloody good issue, with alot of spectacular photography. Well done to all the HR team! =D> =D>

 

Been unimpressed by recent issues but by first glance this seems an excellent issue.

 

im sure it said 9th april on the front, i was looking for it today and couldnt find it.

 

My subscription copy arrived yesterday.

I had to go to Birmingham today, and the W H Smug shop at New St Station had it on the shelves.

 

As far as I know the last serious attempt to get either of the North American A4's back was by Dr. Tony Marchington. Being dead set on adding an A4 to go along side his A3. The responce re number 8 was "you can have it for $5,000,000", given on the basis that if we quote a silly price perhaps this Limey will go away. The responce re number 10 was "It's not for sale at any price". Having received this responce Dr. Marchington went away and bought number 19.

 

Not in Smith's today in Eastbourne so it's back to the days of being late again down here, pity as the last four issues have been on time which made a nice change for once but I guess all good things have to come to an end.

 

i had a flick through today, im not going to buy it though, i have seen most of the news before

 

Good issue. Been for a meeting in Edinburgh today and there was enough material to keep me reading from Glasgow to Edinburgh and return - previous issues have been one-way material only!

A few silly mistakes - the snippet about the '47s' on page 14 incorrectly makes several references to them being at Weardale, when they're acutally at Wensleydale.

Wilcock sounds a bit arrogant with his "A4" rant, but that's what he's paid to do!

Robin Jones' editorial sounds like the same old record - banging on about the olympics swallowing cash that heritage projects could use, while the same issue announces lottery funding for the Bluebell, Bury Transport Museum and the Dynometer car (sp?) at Butterley.

 

Hmmm, interesting issue. Wilcock often says things that make sense even of they are near the knuckle, then occasionally goes off on one. I feel the sentiment, but until we empty the British Museum and the American air force museum hangar at Duxford then who are we to talk? At least we gave them away and they didn't nick them, but we conveniently forget how many of our museums are filled....

(Though have to say all aircraft in said hangar were donated too, and low and behold there's examples in America too!) Let's be realistic, unless you have money to spend for spendings sake how many A4s can we sensibly use, rather than putting them back on display?

 

No need for another A4 and its good to see British steam elsewhere in the world. Lets face it... We gave em the railways so lets let them have some of the more famous classes... What i would like to see is 8 or 10 restored to full mainline condition in the US or Canada and used, properly out there. I dont think they really see the significance when their examples are stuffed and mounted however i understand the reasons why they are as they are.

 

A4 rant fascinating. Seems to skip the point that if these hadn't been donated across the atlantic then they would almost certainly have been scrapped. I'm also sure that I've read elsewhere (in SR recently?) that number 10 was very poor both mechanically and with the boiler.

 

what other british locos r in america

i will certainly take a trip to visit them in my later life

 

There's a Robert Stephenson & Hawthorn 0-6-0T formerly of Meaford Power station... but I guess I'm probably the person on here who'd get most excited about seeing that, with the possible exception of Silverlink!

 

There's 'Dunrobin', an 0-4-4T built by Sharp Stewart and once privately owned and used by the Duke of Sutherland on the Highland Railway and later LMS. BR stopped him using it in 1948 and it found its way to be plinthed at the RH&DR in Kent before being sold and shipped to Canada in 1965, along with the Duke's private saloon. It'd be a smashing little loco with a unique pedigree and would be great to bring back to the UK. Unlikely to happen though.

 

Its locked in a shed at Cranbrook B C

Drove all the way there in 1994 and found the bloody place closed - could see the bufferbeam on hands and knees - some consolation! We don't open until June - mind - with the weather here this year!

 

I would like to see the RSH - any idea where it is now? Think the shortline it went out to work on has closed.

Although two have recently returned there are still a so a fair few Welsh ng engines still out there. The Yanks seemed to get more of the interesting ones (ie non Quarry tanks).

How many other UK engines have been exported since the end of their working lives? Avonside 'Fred' in Belguim, Robert Nelson No.4 in Dundalk, Dromod in Cavan, the two Pecketts and Bagnall in Jersey and the Sentinal on Alderney - any others?

 

More info on the Meaford tanks from the Foxfield site. The Penderyn Railway Society site lists where all the engines from there ended up.

Several of the locos with which "Meaford No 2" worked have been preserved, including...
Sister "MEA no1" remained at Meaford Power Station for all its working life until moved to the East Lancashire Railway at Bury for preservation in December 1970, and operated their first passenger trains. In 1996 it then moved on to the North Tyneside Steam Railway and is in full working order there, named "Ted Garrett JP DL MP." See: http://www.ntsra.freeserve.co.uk/stock.html
A locomotive of the same design, that effectively replaced our "MEA No2" at Meaford, and assumed its identity, was RSH 7745 delivered in 1952. This locomotive has enjoyed a more exotic life in preservation, being exported for use at the Boyne City Railroad, Grand Falls, Michigan USA, complete with a train of three BR Mark 1 carriages, where it was named "Flying Duchess"!
Finally, the other locomotive preserved from Nechells, "No3" (RSH 7537 of 1949) remains at the Battlefield Line Railway where it was named "Richard III", but is currently out of service, see:
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepage ... otives.htm