"Standard 5 No73156 comes face to face with 'Tornado' the A1 Pacific"
Today saw me complete another very pleasant morning turn at the Great Central Railway aboard 1956-built BR Standard 5 No73156. Booked to crew today's A2 workings, alongside driver Mark and trainee Mitchell, I arrived in good time for our 06:00 book on. It was a clear morning of cloudless skies and a good day of weather was in prospect as I wandered into the lamp hut to sign in and read the notices. I duly met up with Mitchell and we wandered out to our steed on No2 shed road. The Standard 5 had not been out yesterday and so only had the remnants of a warming fire to dispose of. Mitchell hadn't worked a rocking grate before and so, under my instruction, he was soon at work rocking the grate. After a good check around in the firebox, we closed the doors before proceeding to the smokebox to have a look in there. It was then time to light up. Mitchell started spreading coal around the grate whilst I collected two barrows of pallet wood. Soon enough, we were in a position to light some rags and get a blaze on. Shortly, the Standard 5 was smoking away in the shadow of the A1 Pacific "Tornado". The initial smoke soon dies down as the accelerant burns off...
As mentioned above, the A1 "Tornado" was stabled just adjacent to us, on No1 shed road. The 4-6-2 was in light steam and simmering quietly, having been brought to the boil over several days. I believe her loaded test runs are imminent. As is usual at a weekend, the Standard 5 was attended by members of her owning group: the Bolton Steam Locomotive Company. This group keep their beloved locomotive immaculate and the condition of her is a credit to them. This morning, just as always, members of the group were on hand to clean the 4-6-0 as we prepared her for her day's work. The helping hand is always very much appreciated...
With the fire now burning well and Mark proceeding around the engine completing the very few oiling points (this modern Riddles machine is mostly on grease), we just carried on cleaning. The Bolton boys were buffing up the outside and so myself and Mitchell concentrated on the cab. We did the brasses, the windows and even scrubbed the floorboards down. Many hands make light work as they say and we were pleased to take No73156 out even cleaner than usual this morning. No73156 was rostered to work the first passenger train of the day at 10:00, therefore we left shed at 09:15 in order to take water at the column on our way. Soon enough, the 4-6-0 was simmering in the sunshine at the head of the stock in platform one. The morning drive an engine course had already departed, light engine for Leicester...
"Sunny road ahead"
Departing on time at 10:00, we set sail into the sunny Leicestershire countryside. The engine was steaming well as usual, although the current Kazakhstan coal seemed to be burning away quicker than the last time I used it. By the time we passed the Loughborough up section signal the small, fast burning lumps had already started to disintegrate and so the shovel was out and on the go, refilling the holes in the fire bed. Soon enough the engine was back on the mark and I kept on top of the fire more than usual in order to counteract the disappearing coal. Rolling into Quorn however, we were greeted with an unexpected 10-minute stop to pick up some bits and pieces. Therefore, the engine sat merrily blowing its head off in the platform, with a fire committed to the booked departure. Always the way! On the move again, No73156 took us easily to Leicester North where there was the additional time added for footplate visits. During this break the Standard 5 simmered quietly in the headshunt...
Once run round, Mark kindly offered me the regulator for the return run to Loughborough. These opportunities are never expected but are always very much appreciated. Departing Leicester a few minutes down, we set into the run back. Climbing the steady gradient out of Leicester at full pilot and 40% cut-off, the engine was soon at line speed. It's a lovely old thing this and it goes very well indeed.
For the uninitiated, cut-off refers to the position on the reverser. Most big locomotives offer 75% full gear in either direction. The 75% position would mean that steam is being admitted for 75% of the piston's stroke. Therefore, as you bring her back to say 40%, steam is being admitted for 40% of the piston's stroke. Bringing the engine back on cut-off is more economical as the provided steam expands, reducing steam and water consumption on the boiler and making life easier for the fireman. Leaving her in full gear would be a little bit like leaving your car in first gear, in a way. The use of the cut-off very much depends on the route and train weight as you may find that you need more or less, depending on what you're doing. Once underway, No73156 will march along quite happily at 30%, whereas some engines like the cam-driven Duke and its Caprotti valve gear have been known to run as low as 10%. After a pleasant run back to base (with Mark also throwing in some extra coal to counteract the fast burning) we were soon run round and ready for our second departure at 12:20...
Mitchell fired the second trip and did very well, having no issues with steam or water. Mitchell is actually the son of long time footplate mate Pockets and so it was quite strange in a way having this 'roles reversed' kind of scenario. (When I was younger I learnt a lot about locomotives from Pockets, at somewhere not to be named). The Standard 5 performed beautifully today as usual and it was just as well, as the director's saloon at the north end of our train was playing host to her owning group's AGM, with plenty of delighted supporters looking on!...
Having handed over to the afternoon crew at the north of platform one, the three of us wandered back down to the shed to wash up and fill in the paperwork. It was pleasant to see some green on No3 road in the form of recently returned Modified Hall No6990 "Witherslack Hall". The 4-6-0 had just this week got back from an extended visit to the West Somerset. I'm already looking forward to my next go on it...
I must thank Mark and Mitchell for a very pleasant morning out with the lovely No73156. I must also thank the Bolton boys for their help in making their engine so immaculate for us today. Taking a steam locomotive out for a run is always more enjoyable when they're clean! Well, that's it, another one done. Cheers...
Please note that any views or opinions expressed in this blog are merely personal and do not in any way represent the views or opinions of any other person, group or organisation.
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