HiFi Subjectivist ¦ Audio Forum ¦ NVA User Group

'Flying Scotsman' in steam.

Yep, I know the purists will say 'Flying Scotsman' was a train not on engine. But 103 (not 4472 for the moment) is back.

'103'! wtf The BR numbering should be 60103.. They run out of numbers er summert?

It was indeed one hell of an engine - Built in a Golden Age, before the "Great" was sadly removed from "Great Britain".

Off to see it today and meet up with a few other togs (photo not wogan) and get some pics hopefully

I last saw it in steam running through Leeds station.

Or I should say, I heard if first. It was running slow (of course) so there were great chuffs echoing around the station. I looked around for the source of the sound and spotted it a couple of platforms away.

I went to catch my train and met up with a colleague from work.

"Did you see it, did you see it? 4472, did you see it," a burbled.

"Uh. Nerd" was all I got back.

There was talk they were going to correct some of the design faults as they had done with the new build of the Peppercorn A1 Tornado. I think the problem that got it sidelined this time was worn out boiler, no more patching up possible. So I presume it is now a fully welded modern one, I am not sure if they did anything else of just leave it as Gresley intended, faults and all, but it would have been sensible to sort out the whipping valve gear on the middle cylinder due to the conjugated valve links, though I doubt she will be certified above 75mph so it wont matter much. I think Tornado has now been certified to 90mph in the UK and there is talk of taking her to Germany where they said she can run as fast as she can and the driver wants Tornado is running so freely now that on a decent downhill bank she has a chance of beating Mallard for the record.

= NERD

She will no take it Captain - she'll blow the boiler, quicker then Marco loosing another debate........

Beautiful! What IS it with steam engines that can turn grown men into babbling fools?
Whenever I get near one, in steam or not, I'm just in awe. I can't help but try to get my hands on it.

The boiler wont blow it is regulated by safety valves at 250psi. It is a three cylinder front end with two sets of Walschaerts valve gear https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walschaerts_valve_gear for the outside cylinders that is the problem. The middle cylinder has its motion derived from the outside cylinders via conjugated valve link arms. This was a claimed design by Sir Nigel Gresley but that was normal in the drawing office. The original design was by a SER (South Eastern Railway) draughtsman call Holcroft, who held the patent, and was taken up and developed in the Doncaster drawing offices of the then GNR (pre LNER). It is a very good system at low to medium speeds, takes away the added weight and expense of a third set of valve gear. The problems with it only emerged at high speed or if the links got worn, as with high speed and wear in the bushes the links started to whip which caused the inside cylinder to do more and more of the work relative to the outside ones. This put stress on the main bearing until they failed, which was a fairly regular occurrence with A3s and A4s and especially during the war. They even had a stink bomb built into the centre cylinder main bearing to warn the driver it was overheating, sudden smell of onions and off went the regulator and on with the brakes, and the loco would have to come off and be replaced at the next stop, but serious rebuild was avoided and all the repairs needed was the bearing to be re-metaled. All this was the cause of Thompson after the war rebuilding some of the A3 as A2 designation with inside Walschaerts valve gear as well as outside, and also Peppercorn with the new A1s (as with Tornado) used three sets of valve gear.

= SUPER NERD