This is a Southern Railway Bulleid 0-6-0, of very unusual design! They were considered ugly by some, but I quite like them. If there is nothing on the boiler you need to get to, who needs a footplate anyway? There were hundreds of these 0-6-0 tank locomotives on the LMS lines, mainly used for shunting duties. This one is at Barrow, in the north west. . . . and one of the celebrated Collett 0-4-2 tanks much loved by model railway builders. They were used on branch lines in the ex-Great Western area. They were often auto-fitted, meaning they could be driven from the locomotive, or from a cab in the coach at the other end, to avoid having to run round the train at each end of the journey.
Interesting locos Alan. Very British in the way they look and the design. I am sure they were the backbone of the railways. No glamour or glory, just hard workers.
I like to hear the english Engines run, especially the 3 cylinder ones. I wonder what it would have been like to sit in the caboose and run a train in reverse? That would be spooky! Are they as loud as the engines on the continent?
They all sounded different, Watash. The three-cylinder Gresley pacifics sounded sooooo smoooooth Some other two and four cylinder ones had a sharp exhaust. When we were out "trainspotting" we could mostly tell which type of locomotive was approaching by the sound. These "Austerity" wartime locomotives had a pronounced clanking sound, I think the coupling rods and connecting rods were designed with a fair amount of 'slop', as they sounded the same when they had been freshly shopped! They are 2-8-0 with an 8-wheeled tender, in rigid frames, which were equalised between the axleboxes.
Alan, those Bullied 0-6-0's are the *%^%#!! looking locomotives to the American eye. They look like half the parts have been left off. Not only the footplates or running boards, but the cylinders, main rods, valve gear, headlight, domes, bell, and pilot! In spite of that, it's a rather good looking piece of machinery. British track miust have been kept up a lot better than US track, as I understand 0-6-0's were regular road power on "goods" trains.
They don't come much smaller than this This diminutive 0-4-0ST 1338 was built by Kitson in 1898, and used for shunting in docks in the Swansea area. Photographed on Swansea East Dock shed in August 1961
Can you explain how the Collet locos were auto-fitted? Just what kind of equipment was used? It sounds like some type of MU set up. Was it something similar to current push-pull operation, but with steam?
Al, the Collett's were fitted wth controls in a passenger car with a cab, not sure of the details, but i think they had cables running along the cars to the locomotive. They were often referred to as "motor fitted", so may have had a steam control to activate the regulator (throttle). The fireman, of course, remained in the locomotive cab. Sometimes the locomotive was in the middle of the train, with driving cabs at the outer ends of the train. Would have been a much quieter and cleaner ride for the driver (engineer), but must also have been strange to not hear and 'feel' the locomotive.
I noticed something very odd (to this Yank)- no headlights. Didn't the English run trains at night? Otherwise, the locos all have clean lines. When was the last steamer taken out of service by British Rail or its predecessors (not including excursion service)? Keep those pics coming!
