Reality Check: GWR ‘Kings’ - the ultimate 4-6-0
Widely regarded as the ultimate development of the Great Western 4-6-0, ‘Kings’ were locomotives of great beauty and extremely powerful workhorses as well, as EVAN GREEN-HUGHES relates.
Reality Check: The ‘Electric Scot’ - BR’s Class 87s
For many years the premier express locomotives on the West Coast Main Line were the Class 87s, but they have now fallen from grace though surprisingly many are enjoying a second but rather less glamorous career, as EVAN GREEN-HUGHES explains.
Reality Check: Stanier’s ‘Duchess’ class 'Pacifics
Although eclipsed in the public’s imagination by engines from rival railways the LMS ‘Duchesses’ were the most powerful passenger locomotives of their time and given other circumstances might have even held the world steam speed record, as EVAN GREEN-HUGHES explains.
The Crosti ‘9Fs’ - a bold experiment
One of the most easily identifiable of the ‘standard’ classes was the small group of Crosti boilered ‘9F’ 2-10-0s, a peculiar design which had the chimney halfway down the boiler and which was anything but a success.
The Southern Railway 'Lord Nelson' 4-6-0s
During the 1920s the Southern Railway identified a requirement for a powerful yet fast locomotive for use on its continental boat train services, and this was to lead to the development of the ‘Lord Nelson’ class, a design that perhaps never really lived up to its full potential. EVAN GREEN-HUGHES takes up the story.
Flying Scotsman
Arguably the most famous steam locomotive in the world, Flying Scotsman has returned to the rails to huge public acclaim following a £4.5m overhaul. However, the prospects for this famous machine have not always been as rosy as they are today, as EVAN GREEN-HUGHES describes.
REALITY CHECK: ‘Peaks’ in preservation
The Class 45 ‘Peak’ diesel has always been one of the most popular of the early modernisation-era designs. EVAN GREEN-HUGHES finds out how the surviving ‘Peaks’ have fared in preservation.
WCML IN THE MODERN ERA
Throughout its 172-year history, Britain’s West Coast Main Line has been at the forefront of railway development, and never more so than in recent years when the route has hosted some of the most advanced trains ever to run on our network, as EVAN GREEN-HUGHES describes.
Electric Train Heat Class 37/4
The Class 37 is nearing its 60th birthday and continues in daily use on the national network. One of the most useful variants is the ‘37/4’, which was upgraded to supply Electric Train Heat in the 1980s. EVAN GREEN-HUGHES looks at the development and life of this 31 strong sub-fleet.
RE-ENGINEERED
Trains withdrawn from the national network are usually destined for a one-way trip to the scrapyard, but for a lucky few a further life awaits as a result of reengineering. EVAN GREEN-HUGHES explains all in the concluding part of our Railway Realism trilogy on stock changes on today’s railway.