What should the NRM steam next?

I'm sure Anthony remembers very well the time he and I went for a ride behind a main-line compound 4-4-0 - and not the Midland one! Didn't quite reach our destination, mind.

Richard Huss

 

But wasn't it fun? I know where we'd have to go for crew training!

 

Fun it was - still have the photo somewhere of you being rescued by the fire brigade.

 

J17 or the M7

 

either the SE&CR D class, or the NER 4-4-0, preferably the latter.

 

I'm really quite surprised by the number of people suggesting the return to steam of locomotives of which we have representatives out and about in use as it is - 34051, the M7, 5000...when there are so many wonderful unique locos in the collection surely your heart would be better stirred by such than just 'more of the same'? With the best will in the world, if you've seen Tangmere, or 92 Squadron, then you've seen exactly what Winston Churchill would look like out and about.

I do disagree with the poster who suggested 2500 should be a 'no' because of the presence of Fairburn and Std tanks - with it's 3rd cylinder and slightly different aesthetics the difference is subtle, admittedly, but present. Moreover it is just the sort of loco to be of real use in the present heritage scene.

 

Arguably the M7 is the sort of loco to be of real use for the heritage scene as well, as anyone who has worked 53 recently will testify; small, economical, and will go like stink. There are key differences between the two existing ones as well, with 245 being a short-frame version, rather than the long-frame version in 53 at Swanage.

Anyhow, as the NRM's role is not to provide a 'toybox' for our heritage railways I still stick by my own preferences of the (completely impractical!) fireless and Aerolite though!

 

I'd like to see:
if going for mainline & touring (& thus being able to recoup money) -
1) Q1 - can't think of anything similar to her currently in steam
2) Duchess of Hamilton - I know we have Coronations in steam, but with her streamlining she's more than different enough
3) The Chinese KF7 - since BR012 104-6 & 231 K22 La France are no longer in steam in this country :-(
if not going for mainline etc -
1) Furness Railway 0-4-0 - 3
2) Agenoria
3) Gladstone

 

I don't find many of the obscure 4-4-0s or whatever very interesting or historically significant. Sadly the best of the pre-grouping engines were scrapped long before preservationists got involved (think of Dunalastair IIIs and IVs, NB Atlantics, George the Fifths, Claughtons etc) and we're left (with the exception of the Ivatt Atlantics and Lode Star) with lots of engines which aren't very important.

I'd much rather see 5000 steamed which tells the story of a type of engine that worked all over the country and brought a significant change in railway transport in rural areas while also changing one of the biggest railway companies in the world. It doesn't matter to me that there are 8-9 other Black 5s working at the moment but the NRM can still tell a story about their one that private owners group won't with theirs (because they're not a museum).

 

The difference is very subtle and to be quite frank what's the point - you're proposing restoration of a loco that looks very similar to others and has the very slight advantage of greater acceleration, there is little else to commend its restoration when there are more unique and interesting locos. And as to your second point of it being the 'sort of loco to be of real use to the present heratage sector' - WHAT! - the NRM is a museum not a resorce to plunder for preserved rlys and main line steam.

 

Butler Henderson.

 

Surely this could play in a factor in one of your yes locomotives then? Duchess of Hamilton.... Yes it now looks different but what can it offer over 6233 other than it's different appearance? Surely with the added weight it would mean there is a difference in performance? I would hardly class it as unique compared to the Star or Stanier tank as it's one of 3 survivors, just with added streamlining. At least 2500 is a different class to anything else we have left, and in my opinion doesn't look much like a BR 4MT tank....

My choice would be to see perhaps the GER E4, J17 or J69 run. Or for my southern interests, the D, M7 or Q1.

 

Unless things have changed, we should remember that the NRM has no budget for restoring locos to steam, so any that are have to be funded from external sources, whether that is the restoration costs, running costs or support staff costs. As they've already got quite a number of locos out there it would perhaps be surprising if there was a lot of enthusiasnm to add to that workload!

 

I would see most projects like the many that are already out there, namely a Loco being leased to an heritage railway for the life span of its ticket in connection with its restoration to steam, this is a tride and testing model and also more practical than trying to keep an old engine upto mainline standard, which requires a lot more work and dedication, and deep pocket when things go wrong. As such unless one of us win's a big euro lottery prize, then I suspect anything mainline after the money spent on Scotsman is none start for the forseable future.

 

Keep Truro going!

 

I agree entirely that the NRM is not simply a resource to plunder, and a loco from the NRM should in an ideal world not be steamed for purely business purposes. That being said, the usefulness of a loco is almost always a factor in whether it is overhauled or not, as it will almost always have to pay its way - and that is as true for NRM owned locos as privately owned and group owned ones.

I'd like to see 2500 in steam as can be seen from my first post in this thread. I think that it would be an attractive and useful engine. But I agree that these should not be the boxes the NRM should tick before deciding to steam a loco.

 

The OP asked for light hearted suggestions and in that spirit I nominate Gazelle, a loco which was probably built for fun and still raises a smile from anyone who sees it. The NRM could build a circular track inside the Great Hall (never mind about the smoke) so that it could go round and round and round - a bit like some of these threads. hwell:

 

Excellent idea I should probably try to be a touch less hypocritical...

 

I really, really like that idea. But I'd nominate Pet, the LNWR works shunter that is already in the NRM. They could have a short train ride from one end of the hall to the other!