BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: Eric the Viking
Date: 01 Mar 09 - 03:42 PM

Thanks Chris. I am completely out of touch and a good distance from anywhere at the moment. I spent years working on the NYMR, p-way and guard and odd times on the bluebell but that was twenty five years ago. Been out of touch except for a quick read of steam railway or heritage railway magazine. I am how ever hoping to get moved to near Keith where there is a fledgling preservation group (Keith and Dufftown Railway) and thence back to exploring steam again. I might even get down as far as the mid hants, KESR and Bluebell again. It's 25 odd years since I was last at Didcot.

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: ced2
Date: 01 Mar 09 - 04:45 AM

Whilst Tornado was heading North from York for a weeks stay in Edinburgh Yesterday, it returns to York Sat 7th March, a far superior pacific, A4 60007 was heading south from York towards Birmingham. I went to Moorthorpe (on the old Swinton & Knottingley line) to be part of the backing group as in "Sir Nigel and the Gricers!!!" But Sods Law applied, just as the chime whistle sounded from the A4 on the "up line" a nodding donkey pulled into the "down" platform. However got a piccy! Now I'll await the howls from the A1 brigade!

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: Phot
Date: 01 Mar 09 - 02:34 AM

Eric, The GWS at Didcot have built a broad gauge Firefly, and stock to match, at the northern end of their site. Also the NRM has an Iron Duke which ventures out on the odd occasion.

Wassail!! Chris

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 28 Feb 09 - 10:49 AM

http://www.clagmonster.fotopic.net/p56491561.html

You cannot copy and paste this picture from the website - but if you do Edit/select all/copy then paste to Excel, you can highlight the cells covering the area of the photo then copy and paste into Paint Shop Pro or similar, crop out the annoying text and save as a jpg.

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: Eric the Viking
Date: 27 Feb 09 - 08:14 PM

I hate to say it as a southerner, but they could build a broad gauge loco and some rolling stock.

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: Phot
Date: 27 Feb 09 - 07:53 PM

You'r right Ced, those NG16s are a lot to big, but at least it's steam. A nice Manning Wardle 2-6-2T would look lovley there bach!

Wassail!! Chris

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: ced2
Date: 27 Feb 09 - 10:25 AM

There are a couple of working garratts on the northern end of the Welsh Highland. Although nominal 2ft gauge they are huge. They originally worked in southern Africa under the designation NG16. 2-6-0-0-6-2 wheel arrangement they were, alas, when I saw them oil fired. They dwarfed any genuine North Wales Narrow Gauge locos, the double Fairlies of the Ffestiniog or Russell of the WHR looking pretty small next to them . Equally impressive are the NG15s a more conventional locomotive at first sight but with a measure of articulation in the 8 driving wheels. The WHR(C) had one in the yard at Dinas and the WHR(P) one at Gelert's Farm... but in bits.. all over the place and they were trying to flog it. But as one local told me "They are not right they are much too big!"

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: HuwG
Date: 27 Feb 09 - 12:00 AM

Eric the Viking, may I assume that the Garratt in Manchester you are referring to is that in the Manchester Museum of Science and Technology?

If so, they are holding celebrations to mark the centenary of the Garratt; click here

Unfortunately, the Museum's exhibit will never run on the railway network in Britain; it was built for South African railways and has a 3' 6" gauge. I have stood on its footplate; all that could be seen ahead was the back of the water tank mounted on the leading engine.

Garratts were never really popular with railwaymen in Britain. See links for the LNER Class U1 and LMS Garratt.

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: Eric the Viking
Date: 22 Feb 09 - 03:33 PM

Looks realy good. Anyone got any idea where it might be in the week of 28th March to 6Th April? We'll be off island and into the Selby area. I know it won't be at NRM.

Yes perhaps it should be,"Loco's make war, make trains instead".

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: GUEST,Edthefolkie
Date: 22 Feb 09 - 02:53 PM

"Tornado" looked fantastic at the naming ceremony last Thursday (by Prince Charles and Camilla no less). The engine hauled the Royal Train to Leeds after the ceremony.

See shot by Messrs. J Kirby and G Shepherd. That's a new one - two people using the same camera at once!

http://www.clagmonster.fotopic.net/p56491561.html

Well worth getting up for at 0645 hrs in spite of the fact that "the master shot" was not to be had. Organisation very good, security very unobtrusive. Charlie made a witty speech (see Northern Echo website), there was a flypast by a Tornado and two other jets, and a band played. Us plebs on platform 10 got a wave from Camilla as the Royal Train pulled in and a wave from Charlie on the footplate as the train pulled out.

And now to find the money for a trip behind "Tornado".....

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 22 Feb 09 - 12:03 AM

'"Make loco's not war", could be the battle cry of the 2010's.'

It sounds like a good concept, Eric, but here in America we don't call them locos. 'Loco' means crazy here. (from Spanish, I think.) This could get very confusing.

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: van lingle
Date: 21 Feb 09 - 08:25 AM

Thanks for the excellent photos, Bonzo.

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: Eric the Viking
Date: 20 Feb 09 - 07:45 PM

I still think a "Leader" would be good. It was an experimental design. Bullied could have had more time to develop it or at least Riddles could have had a good crack at it. A Southern "W" class could be a project as there were a lot of K,N and N15 parts used. I know people would say there are enough spams including rebuilds (Lucky I guess that so many were saved. IMHO)There are Garretts available 1 in Glasgow and 1 in Manchester.

"Make loco's not war", could be the battle cry of the 2010's.

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: HuwG
Date: 20 Feb 09 - 02:40 PM

A belated answer to ced2's post. I have been rummaging in the attic for my sources, but too few of my old books have survived purges.

E.S. Cox, in "Locomotive Panorama", described holding a concert for train whistles, and stated that the A4 chime whistles sounded rather feeble on other engine types because of long pipes, full of condensation. Terry Essery, in "Steam Locomotives Compared", suggested that some auxiliaries normally worked from exhaust steam, but were automatically fed from live steam when the regulator was closed. Unfortunately he doesn't state whether the whistle was one of these. ced2 is probably right; it would seem unusual to use exhaust steam for the whistle, but I will have to re-read the voluminously detailed Essery again, more carefully.

I looked at some other steam train videos on YouTube. One I liked was of a Black 5 on the notoriously steep Settle and Carlisle line, pulling ten carriages and a very dead Type 47 diesel locomotive up a gradient. It produced smoke to rival Mount St. Helens, but it pulled.

My dream for new design or build, would be for a properly designed and draughted "Garrett". These never did well on British main lines; there was one whopper (the LNER U1) which banked heavy coal trains up the Worsborough Incline from Barnsley to Penistone, and thirty-three also used for heavy freight on the LMS. This class was badly designed in detail, with inadequate axle boxes and brakes.

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: Black belt caterpillar wrestler
Date: 20 Feb 09 - 07:33 AM

Well, from all accounts that I have read written by ex-GWR-railwaymen the most liked GWR loco was the Grange. It may not have been the fastest or most powerful but it performed its alloted tasks the best.
A 47xx would be nice as well.

I'm living in Lancashire now so an L&Y 4-4-2 would look nice, and for the freight side how about a large boiler L&Y 0-8-0.

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: Phot
Date: 20 Feb 09 - 03:14 AM

There are a whole load of new builds out there too. The GWS are building a Saint, and a Railmotor, the Llangothlen Railway are building a GWR County, the Bluebell a Brighton Atlantic, the 72010 group a 6mt Clan, Tysley is building a Bloomer 2-2-2, the frames have just been delivered for a Standard 3mt 2-6-2t, and a fund has recently been set up to build an LMS Patriot.

Anyone got a favorite class they would like to see built?

Wassail!! Chris

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: GUEST,Jim Martin
Date: 18 Feb 09 - 11:49 AM

refresh

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 16 Feb 09 - 05:25 PM

I saw Tornado at South Croydon, in the dark of course, and didn't attempt a photo although I had a camera with me. They are now building another 50 such locomotives at secret locations in order to keep up with government pollution targets!

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: ced2
Date: 16 Feb 09 - 03:30 PM

I now know the answers about the steam whistles. It would have been both illegal and dangerous to have the whistle on an exhaust steam supply. Apart from the scenario I outlined earlier; BEFORE setting off a steam locomotive driver had to sound the whistle... this clearly could not be done if the whistle was supplied by exhaust steam. I did check with a couple of friends who are drivers on a standard gauge line, (having only had a ticket to fire and drive on a narrow gauge line myself I wanted to be sure before I spouted off). (One of the chaps I spoke to is rebuilding a bullied pacific). To clear up the technical bits, the steam for the whistle is usualy tapped off the boiler manifold where the steam for injectors, ejectors and any other bits of mainly ancillary equipment is also tapped off. (The steam for motion exiting via the regulator head).
I spoke to a member of the Tornado support crew he told me that Tornado has both chime and "ordinary" whistles!
"Brit" 70013 along with all the other "brits" has a chime whistle and it was making some nice noises on the Worth Valley at the weekend, much as I remember it in 1967 on the Settle & Carlisle.
Tornado is in an apple green but there are 4 such versions... which one it is I am not sure as I have had 2 different answers from 2 different members of its support crew. One said Darlington green the other said apple green (the differences grew up partly out of the bad feeling by the ex NER people at Darlington when they perceived the the GNR people had got most of the top jobs in the LNER at the grouping of 1923). I undestand from one of those support crew members that Tornado was initially finished in workshop grey. I thought this to be the case when I saw it at York both before and on the day when it made it's initial main line test run to Barrow Hill on Nov 6th 2008. This is likely to be true as it was the practice of many companies to finish one of the first of a new design of locomotive in workshop grey for photographic purposes, remembering of course that it was monochrome photography, and contrast was more important for that exercise than colour. I was also informed by my contact that the colour of Tornado is likely to be changed a number of times in the future to show all the liveries that the Peppercorn A1 pacifics sported during their working lives and to satisfy the different memories and aspirations of those who supported the buiding of it.
As to the valve gear being the problem on the Duke. The one word reply from my contact was NO! I have to say however that he poo-pooed my understanding of the fundamental problem that caused heavy coal consumption (and at certain times poor drawbar horsepower) although we were clear that the manifestation was to drag small lumps of unburnt coal off the firebed and up the chimney without them burning properly. (reference to the BR "black book" will explain about coal combustion and the fact that 90+% of heat comes from the burning of the long chain hydrocarbons given off when the coal is completely burned). I might, in the next week or so meet, some of the people who really do know what the problem was, If I do I'll ask them.
Apologies for the rambling nature of this but a fair amount of mis information was spouted in one contribution. I have sought not to do that, alas at the expnse of brevity. Oh and by the way 13 is not a heavy load for a pacific, A4s (and V2s) frequently lifted a grossly overloaded 19 or 20 out of Kings Cross during the war without any banking loco at the back.
I am also unclear which operating procedures have been improved by volunteers on volunteer railways making them better than those carried out by the thousands of people who were paid professional railway workers, when it, the railway, was the major mover of people and freight in this and other countries.

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 11 Feb 09 - 06:23 PM

Those are good questions about the steam whistle, ced2. I don't know the answers.

However I'm pretty sure that the modern high-pitched whistle is safer than the beautiful, mellow whistle of yore. The high whistle will carry further and will cut through competing sounds such as car radios and cell-phone conversation.

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: GUEST,Jim Martin
Date: 11 Feb 09 - 12:24 PM

refresh

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: GUEST,Jim Martin
Date: 10 Feb 09 - 05:29 AM

http://www.a1steam.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=66&Itemid=98

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: GUEST,Jim Martin
Date: 10 Feb 09 - 05:27 AM

I wonder how many of Porta's recommendations were incorporated:

http://www.martynbane.co.uk/modernsteam/ldp/60163/60163.htm

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: ced2
Date: 09 Feb 09 - 09:37 AM

You have puzzled me HuwG. Would it not be dangerous to have the only warning device working from exhaust steam? What would happen if steam were shut off and the loco was coasting along using no or very little steam and the driver suddenly needed to sould a warning? Indeed would there not be even more time delay with a superheated engine?
Also were not the Britaninas fitted with chime whistles, was the Duke?
Apple green would surely be an anthama to Darlington! Much too much Doncaster there!

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: GUEST,buspassed
Date: 09 Feb 09 - 08:56 AM

michealr, you'll be pleased to hear that the Tornado is not in reality a coalburner, it was secretly fitted with the miniatuare nuclear reactor that was removed from the Naval College in Greenwich so all's well!

Excellent documentary on BBC4 some weeks ago telling the story of the Tornado, 'Absolutely Chuffed' as I remember the title and the 'Guardian' did a centre spread photo spread showing the footplate & controls together with insructions on how to drive this beast. So be warned should I ever come across it standing in some siding with steam-up but unmanned the police could have the most serious case of TWOC'ing ever seen!

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: GUEST,Edthefolkie
Date: 09 Feb 09 - 08:21 AM

Master shot! And you got there in spite of the Great British Weather.

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 08 Feb 09 - 08:24 AM

http://marcsphotographs.fotopic.net/p56276449.html

Enjoy!

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: Terry McDonald
Date: 07 Feb 09 - 01:19 PM

michaelr - what a misery you are! The Tornado is just about the only bit of joyous news about at the moment. I reckon its existence gives everyone (except you, of course) a real lift.

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: Bainbo
Date: 07 Feb 09 - 12:53 PM

Mmm. I see it gets on the national news now that it's made a run to Kings Cross.

Yawn. Old news. Come on, London, try and keep up with the rest of us!

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: HuwG
Date: 07 Feb 09 - 09:05 AM

My two penn'orth. One; she's a beauty. I'm glad they replaced the awful blue primer she first appeared in with the old LNER apple green.

I'm puzzled about the whistle. The whistle on the LNER A4 "Pacifics" ("Mallars", "Golden Fleece" etc.) had a lovely mellow tone, because the steam for them was tapped directly from the boiler. The same whistle, applied to other classes, was mounted at the end of long taps from exhaust steam pickups, and sounded anaemic to awful. I don't know quite why they seem to have reproduced the fault on "Tornado".

Thirteen carriages is quite a lot, and "Tornado" is producing some impressive power. However, it is ironic that only since the end of the age of steam, have some of the designs (and operating procedures) been perfected, or improved. For example, it was only in recent years that they fixed the valve event problems on the solitary BR "Duke of Gloucester", and a reconditioned "Evening Star" started a special train weighing 2,500 tons; a record for any type of traction in Britain.

I am all in favour of "Tornado". There were indeed endemic problems with steam (smoke, grime, lineside fires), but complaining about *one* locomotive seems unnecessarily sour. I do indeed remember the final days of steam in Britain, with all its drawbacks, but I still think much of character and pride was lost when the engine became merely a rectangular box.

I don't hear similar complaints over reconstructing Drake's "Golden Hind" (sailing ship) for example, or recovering B29 bombers from lakes, or recreating mediaeval settlements or whatever.

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 07 Feb 09 - 08:23 AM

Never mind, it'll be out and about a great deal now.

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: mouldy
Date: 07 Feb 09 - 07:39 AM

I missed it. Damn!

Andrea

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: mouldy
Date: 07 Feb 09 - 05:24 AM

It's coming past our village again in (I estimate) about an hour, so the cameras and I will be taking a little stroll!

Andrea

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 06 Feb 09 - 05:36 PM

There is always a misery to critisise a great achievement in this country, and michaelr certainly fits the bill.

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: Peter the Squeezer
Date: 06 Feb 09 - 03:18 PM

I saw her in the engine shed atLoughborough (Great Central Railway) in the autumn. DWARFED everything else in the shed.

First run to Kings Cross tomorrow!

The loco will be named at York station by Prince Charles on Febrary 19th. After that she will haul the Royal train.

Peter

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: GUEST,Phil Irving
Date: 06 Feb 09 - 01:22 PM

Would appreciate a pic of Tornado - well done you!
[e-mail]

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: GUEST,Edthefolkie
Date: 06 Feb 09 - 10:16 AM

It's a difficult subject, steam nostalgia. All very well for us young chaps 40 odd years ago but a different story for the drivers, firemen and cleaners, not to mention the general public. To precis a paragraph from "Britain's Railways Under Steam" by the splendid John Snell -

"The Midland's main line depot in London was Kentish Town. One shed was partly roofless, following bomb damage never repaired. The engines came in, were coaled and had their fires cleaned, and lay by waiting their next turn. The wind blew their ashes, coaldust and smoke over a square mile or so of houses, and for 80 years or so these lay blanketed in silently descending filth. Then came the diesel, and one by one the steam engines vanished. Meanwhile, the housewives downwind began to find that for the first time they could keep their houses clean and put bright curtains in the windows."

And Mr Snell has been half way round the world chasing steam!

On the other hand, many ex railwaymen miss steam as much as us gricers - as another example see this splendid website about, let's face it, a filthy old dump with not a few extremely filthy engines near Nottingham -

http://www.annesleyfireman.com/index.html

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: michaelr
Date: 06 Feb 09 - 01:31 AM

Nonsense. If you've lived in England for more than a few years, you should well remember the soot and grime covering everything from fresh washed laundry to childrens' lungs.

Mining and burning coal is a major cause of pollution and greenhouse gases, childhood asthma and global warming. Weighed against that, steam engine nostalgia is just silly.

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 05 Feb 09 - 04:17 PM

They'll just have to stay at home then. It's no different from breathing the foul stench from smokers outside places!!

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: michaelr
Date: 05 Feb 09 - 03:27 PM

Not my problem. It could be a problem for folks having to breathe the exhaust.

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 05 Feb 09 - 11:25 AM

"Neither sounds like a good reason to me, Bonzo."

That's fine, but what is your problem with this wonderful locomotive?

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: Newport Boy
Date: 05 Feb 09 - 09:39 AM

Tornado is pulling 13 coaches (passenger cars run on the roads in UK!!). This was about the standard for most main line expresses in the 50s and 60s - most main line stations just held that length train.

Phil

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 04 Feb 09 - 10:57 PM

Ed, thanks for the link to the video of Tornado coming into Newcastle.

how many passenger cars is that engine pulling!? It is a powerful machine.

Too bad about about the whistle, though. It's a boy soprano and I was hoping for a baritone.

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: Phot
Date: 04 Feb 09 - 01:18 PM

To run a gas turbine/Jet engine (Same thing, apart from a ramjet) you mix coal dust in water to suspend it. The coal dust used has a similar consistency to talcum powder. Then it is injected into the combustion chamber, the same as ordinary Jet-A1, AvTur, AvCat, AvTag, or fuel of your choice!

Its just a 4 stroke engine with less rociprocating parts!

The reason you can't use coal dust in a steam loco, is that it will explode, causing a really bad day on the footplate!

Wassail!! chris

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: GUEST,Jim Martin
Date: 04 Feb 09 - 12:51 PM

Presumably you could because a jet engine is basically operating on the same principle as a gas turbine. I remember reading somewhere that the GT's that USA had (burning liquid fuel) only reached optimum efficiency when they climbed to fairly high altitudes where the air (oxygen) is rarer. Again, that's how jet aircraft operate.

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: Will Fly
Date: 04 Feb 09 - 09:04 AM

Presumably the fine coal dust was blown into the aircraft's combustion chambers to produce heat and gases. Would it be possible to power a locomotive in the same way?

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: Black belt caterpillar wrestler
Date: 04 Feb 09 - 07:58 AM

Coal can be a dirty fuel but it depends on how you handle it. At the end of World War Two the German airforce were working on using it to power jet aircraft as they were running out of oil. To do so they had to use it as a very fine dust, so a great deal of dirt if you spilt it.

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: GUEST,Edthefolkie
Date: 03 Feb 09 - 04:40 PM

Sorry folks, re previous post - they have fitted the chime whistle. See vid taken at Newcastle last Saturday (wow!)

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=1GBhRtPIHCE

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: Megan L
Date: 03 Feb 09 - 04:18 PM

My fathers first job as an apprentice in Springburn (Possibly the atlas works) was working on the train that was nicknamed "The diver" she was the locomotive that went down with the Tay bridge on the 28th December 1879. The engine was raised overhauled and continued to work for many years.

I like many people have a soft spot for steam locomotives and would delight to see it running.

In these days of dwindling fosil fuel supples It would be impracticle to have a whole fleet but for the skills saved and the pleasure gained this was most probably a worthwhile exercise

Subject: RE: BS: Tornado!/Newly Built Class A1 Steam Loco
From: GUEST,Edthefolkie
Date: 03 Feb 09 - 04:03 PM

Re Jim's absolutely correct remark about A1s not having chime whistles, the Trust guys know this but they want one because it sounds great! I haven't seen "Tornado" yet this year so don't know if they've fitted it yet. They recently found that some white metal had stripped off one of the outside slide bars and have been having a few issues with the modern electronics - so I think they have their hands a bit full. This is why it's so important for people to keep supporting the Trust even though the engine is complete and running.   

Last week while scanning some ancient slides I found one I took of the last (but one!) A1 "St. Mungo" at Leeds City - taken on horrible Ilfochrome around August 1965. I was only 18 then - oh blimey!