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Top Gear and The power of Clarkson

Discussion in 'Steam Traction' started by A4SNG, Apr 27, 2009.

  1. 46118

    46118 Part of the furniture

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    Good first part, and we have the answer to an issue that has been a puzzle for us for the last 200 years.....

    According to Mr Clarkson, "Tornado" is a "TRAIN", not an engine or a locomotive, but a "TRAIN".

    Good, well at least we know, and if Mr Clarkson says so, then it must be correct.

    PS...Didn't the crew get dirty!!

    46118
     
  2. 60017

    60017 Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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    Wait for it..........................................................
     
  3. dace83

    dace83 Well-Known Member

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    Some nice views near Berwick, they didn't show the wedding crash though

    Should be interesting to see what the top gear fans think
     
  4. 46118

    46118 Part of the furniture

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    ...and "Mallard" and "Flying Scotsman" are both "trains" as well. Mr Clarkson says so.

    I wonder if the "low water" incident was real or staged? It looked real enough. Both guage glasses only showed about half an inch.

    Strange they had to stop for coal, the tender should have been sufficient for 400 miles surely?

    46118

    PS: Bad, bad example from Mr "one hand on the wheel" May!
     
  5. Bulleid Pacific

    Bulleid Pacific Part of the furniture

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    Must have been only 10 minutes in it... Good bit of entertainment! And let us remember that there were water troughs in 1949, so that speaks volumes about the potential of railway travel to really compete with everything else.
     
  6. IndustrialSteamLeeds

    IndustrialSteamLeeds Member

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    Dont think the water incident was staged......but why would you let the water level drop so low......or perhaps the injector gave up sometime before that??

    Edit: Micheal Shumacher the stig....... I dont think so I be ferrari sent him with the car...
     
  7. Tracklayer

    Tracklayer Resident of Nat Pres

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    Fantastic show, and a good advert for steam. Had the limit been 90, steam would have won for sure...

    In fairness tho, it is the taking part that counts as far as PR and widening the interest in steam. I wonder how many people will hit http://www.a1steam.com in the next few hours, days and weeks...
     
  8. 60017

    60017 Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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    It was usually 'touch and go' on the 'non -stop' and they used to over-fill the tender at Kings Cross/Haymarket by an extra ton or so. Would have been very embarrasing to run out of coal with 50 miles to go!
     
  9. 46118

    46118 Part of the furniture

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    Surely you "notice" a falling water level before it gets that low.

    46118
     
  10. ADB968008

    ADB968008 Guest

    Well done to the A1 steam group, from now on their PR team can say "60163 Tornado, as seen on Top Gear"..
    I bet this will secure free column inches in the newspapers.. and get public sitting on seats.

    I think was a very positive contribution and will get some people thinking about what they are going to do next weekend.

    Re the coal, I understand the standard A1 tender coalspace was designed for a non-stop London - Edinburgh, but the waterspace was not required to be maximised (troughs, tops ups etc), however on Tornado, given London to Edinburgh isnt daily.. the tender was designed to maximize water capacity by reducing the coal space.
     
  11. Tracklayer

    Tracklayer Resident of Nat Pres

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    I am sure that no risks would have been taken. Dramatic scenes had to be taken to filmed to give the show... drama.

    As for The Tornado Train... dont pick holes when good work has been done here.
     
  12. david1984

    david1984 Resident of Nat Pres

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    Loved some of those camera angles, particularly halfway along the boiler looking back at the cab.
     
  13. Christopher125

    Christopher125 Part of the furniture

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    So what if he called it a 'train'? Tornado, and steam, has just been given a huge boost. No mickey taking, no talk of 'trainspotters' or 'anoraks', just focussing on the speed and the power of steam engines, while reaching a huge international audience.

    Chris
     
  14. RalphW

    RalphW Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Administrator Friend

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    I think it was an excellent program, made fairly seriously and no snide remarks about railways. Well done Top Gear, as has been said it must raise the profile of our cause no end and the A1 trust should milk it for all they are worth and good luck to them.
    I think JC was amazed that they could get wheel spin at 75mph.
     
  15. cossie matt

    cossie matt Member

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    [quote="46118
    PS: Bad, bad example from Mr "one hand on the wheel" May![/quote]

    ..........and no seat belt !

    great program, reputation intact i reckon despite the result. =D>
     
  16. KentYeti

    KentYeti Guest

    No doubt we will have bucket loads of postings from total anoraks picking up little points like the terminology used and the fact that Clarkson obviously had his face covered in coal dust just for the programme. Things that earn our hobby the dreadful reputation it sometimes gets for some of us trying to be so purist when trying to portray our interest to a very wide "adult audience" who don't, and never will give a damn about the minutia for very good reasons. But that is what TV is all about. Entertainment for the masses.

    But it was very, very good TV. IMHO.

    They covered the subject very well indeed considering the audience they were aiming at.

    And with my very limited, (but at times very high speed), steam loco footplate experience they really captured a lot of what a "normal" run can be like in what to irregular visitors like me is quite a "hostile" environment.

    Great stuff.

    I can only think that it will help put a few bums on seats on steam specials over the next few weeks.

    And the real bonus for me was seeing one of my all time great heroes, Michael Schumacher. As "The Stig". But presumably in a once off drive of that wonderful Ferrari. I doubt they would have let it leave the factory without him being the one to drive it.
     
  17. 60017

    60017 Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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    There was plenty of water in the glass ! Had they been stood on a bucket looking to see how far below the bottom nut it was - I'd have worried !
     
  18. KentYeti

    KentYeti Guest

    Spot on Ralph.
     
  19. david1984

    david1984 Resident of Nat Pres

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    In his defence i think Clarkson had to use layman terms a bit for the less knowledgable, that said he seemed to know more than joe public so i guess he does take a passing interest.
     
  20. Avonside1563

    Avonside1563 Well-Known Member

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    Quite so Fab TV and a good boost for steam! Still.. disappointing that JC never said POWER!!!!! hehe =D>
     

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