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Flying Scotsman

Flying Scotsman

Flying Scotsman

(OP)
As well as being retired (well not in full time employment) – I do have a part time job; I am also a volunteer with a local heritage railway in the UK. The North Yorkshire Moors Railway http://www.nymr.co.uk.

It is one of the oldest passenger railways in the UK, being constructed in 1836 by one George Stephenson.

The Flying Scotsman has had somewhat of a chequered history since being rescued from the scrapyard in 1963. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LNER_Class_A3_4472_F....

We had her at the railway for seven days, spread over two weekends and three days in the week. This started on the 12th March 2016, although we had a practice run on the 11th, on which I won a place!

I managed to take a few photos, in my time between being a crowd marshal.

RE: Flying Scotsman

Those silly bumpers. Any cars to follow?

RE: Flying Scotsman

I missed this opportunity through prior commitments, but I did get a chance to ride a train hauled by Sir Nigel Gresley just before it went in for its refit last year. I first visited as a young 'un in the 1970s, and most recently took my own kids through to Pickering and rode down to Scarborough for fish & chips and the usual touristy stuff.

How long have you worked on the NYMR? Volunteering on something like this is one of those things I will eventually find time to do, probably in another few years once the kids realise that dad isn't cool enough to hang around with. smile



RE: Flying Scotsman

I have a little model of the Flying Scotsman sitting on top of my cubicle wall!

RE: Flying Scotsman

I saw the Flying Scotsman when it made its American tour in the 1970's. Unfortunately, I don't remember a lot of details.

RE: Flying Scotsman

Beautiful old machine... and lots of history.

Mike McCann, PE, SE (WA)


RE: Flying Scotsman

I was lucky to see Flying Scotsman in 3 different locations on the one day while it was in Sydney in 2007. A great locomotive.

It is a capital mistake to theorise before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts. (Sherlock Holmes - A Scandal in Bohemia.)

RE: Flying Scotsman

Note that I'm a card carrying, dues paying member of the 'California State Railroad Museum':

http://www.csrmf.org

When certain significant events or milestones occur, the museum will hold what they call a 'Railfest'. The last one was in the Summer of 1999 and was billed as the "Last great gathering of steam in the millennium". My wife and I spent a full day visiting the exhibits, and looking at the engines they had on display:

http://www.trainweb.com/railfair99/#sthash.L6yzBsz...

In the above website you'll find links to several sets of photos from the event. Note that most all of the steam engines were being kept hot and under pressure even though most of them were not able to move all that much from where they were setup. We had visited the museum several time before but of course it was always static displays, but this time it was more real. In fact my wife was very impressed because she said it was if they were 'alive', breathing and with a heartbeat. I have to say it was very impressive.

One of the more interesting exhibits was the large American Challenger 4-6-6-4 Union Pacific locomotive. We had a chance to talk to the engineer and he was telling us how they had driven it to Sacramento all the way from Cheyenne, Wyoming. Because of the weight of the engine (over 1 million lbs) they were limited to traveling at no more than 30 mph since the roadbeds are no longer rated for that level of wheel loading nor the forces produced by the reciprocating mass of the drivetrain. Of course, he said it was great; just set the throttle and sit back and enjoy the scenery, particularly coming through the Rockies and the High Sierras.



Another interesting exhibit was this small Baldwin 4-4-0 narrow-gauge locomotive that was owned by a guy who trailered it up from Los Angles behind his Chevy Suburban. He says he stores it in his garage and that he rescued it from a sugar cane plantation in Hawaii where it had lain in a field for over 50 years. It was beautiful with all the wood and polished brass.



According to the museum staff, the next 'Railfest' is being planned for 2020 when the next significant expansion to the museum is scheduled to be finished.

John R. Baker, P.E.
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

RE: Flying Scotsman

(OP)
Scotty UK:
How did I get into this?

Well we have lived on the North Yorkshire coast for nearly 30 years now, and the railway re started in 1972 after being closed under the Beeching cuts. I had jobs that took me all over the world, and a family etc., leaving little time for hobbies. We had occasional visits and rides, since it is only 20miles away - a 40 minute drive here. I have always had an interest in railways, and was a train spotter in my youth.

Then my wife bought me a Footplate Experience for my 60th birthday, which came two years late (the experience, not the birthday), which came with a year's membership of the railway.



Fascinating, had a ride up and down the track on the footplate. The engine was older than me! It brings it home to you how far we have come, nothing automatic and the crew were busy all the time, not just shovelling coal, but adjusting things, keeping the boiler full as well as looking for signals etc. All this despite running at 25mph maximum. Mind you, this railway does have a 500 fit hill to climb in the middle! Even Flying Scotsman needed a bit of an extra push
I now realise why engine drivers have those flat caps with a shiny top – I was combing cinders out of my hair for days!
Anyway, I kept up the membership; you get a nice magazine four times a year. I thought about volunteering, but never got around to it. I had a perception that you had to do it semi-permanent.

Then in 2013, they started a Foundation Association for members who didn’t volunteer, but who could donate regularly. A few special events would be held each year in return. As an incentive, the first event was an invite to a private evening viewing the assembly of all A4 Mallard class locomotives at York Railway Museum. (For non-railway enthusiasts, this is like having all four surviving space shuttles in one place!). So I joined the foundation.






That's me driving Mallard

Then 2014 they put out a flyer asking for volunteers to help with the Santa Specials (I didn’t get the top job, despite the beard). So I became an Elf. We have four trains per day at weekends late November until Christmas, running north from Pickering. 80 children per train (plus adults), all seeing Santa and getting a present in 90 minutes. We also have a mirror service running north – south! All sold out in advance.

In 2015 I also helped with the preparation for Santa. Tree and station decoration, building Santa’s Grotto (in a railway carriage parcel space), decorating the train. We have over 2500 parcels to wrap…..





This year I’m going to help the Pickering Station Group on a regular basis, just Tuesdays. Someone has to paint, clean and generally keep the place tidy, as well as helping with special events like Santa and the Wartime weekend. Volunteers are generally organised into groups, we have over 600 volunteers and over 100 permanent staff. See the volunteers section of the website for more details.

It’s a bit like Last of the Summer Wine, with steam engines! Nice bunch of blokes (and blokesses!)

If you want to be an engine driver, then they run training courses, in case you think you live too far away, last year they trained a guy from Ohio!

Sorry for the long post, but you did ask!

By the way, your photos of A4 Sir Nigel Gresley are at Pickering and Grosmont stations respectively.

RE: Flying Scotsman

Baltimore, Maryland, USA, has a nice museum on the East end of the old B&O with some impressive iron in it. Stop by for a visit if you are ever on the East Coast.

http://www.borail.org/

Z

RE: Flying Scotsman

Thanks for that post - very interesting! My grandfather was an LNER man, and latterly British Rail. He used to take me to to the National Railway Museum each time we visited him in York when I was young. I wasn't old enough to appreciate all the stories he had and all the details he knew about some of the locos - today I would love the chance to spend a few hours just listening.

The kids had a great day out when we visited - Sir Nigel Gresley was waiting at Grosmont as we headed down to Whitby and I pointed it out them, and on the way back the locomotives were swapped so we were hauled in to Pickering by Sir Nigel Gresley. We saw it (him / her?) in pieces at NRM last Friday - a rolling chassis, no boiler, and everything laid bare.



Hadn't really considered being a driver, but a footplate experience... hmm, I wonder what Santa could bring me this year...? smile

RE: Flying Scotsman

I love the British rail museums, they do a great job.

On a similar subject
https://www.prrt1steamlocomotivetrust.org/

These guys were inspired by the LNER Tornado project.
One of their goals is to have a new engine for excursion work, the other is to set the steam powered speed record.....

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
P.E. Metallurgy, Plymouth Tube

RE: Flying Scotsman

My daddy was the only person I knew who could sweet-talk his way onto the locomotive for the train ride at Silver Dollar City / Dollywood. Those engines are relative babies, having been built in the 1930s and 40s, but still a fun ride.

Please remember: we're not all guys!

RE: Flying Scotsman

Kenat,

Wow, that thing is ugly. I think they're building it for the wrong reasons, and and even if it does take Mallard's record the world will still know which one is the real fastest mainline steam locomotive. smile

RE: Flying Scotsman

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

RE: Flying Scotsman

The real motive behind PRR T1 is to provide a reliable loco for excursion work. This has become very popular and the bulk of the engines in use were built in the 30's.
This is an interesting project because they are not building a new loco design. Not much different from many of the running ones that have had everything but the frame replaced.
And as a guy who has his office decorated in art deco I think that it is beautiful. Actually the S1 was better looking, but nearly as good of an engine.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
P.E. Metallurgy, Plymouth Tube

RE: Flying Scotsman

Then there will be all the fun working out whether it can operate over the infrastructure safely.

Flying Scotsman has just had tomorrow's run over the new Borders Line cancelled because the infrastructure operator hasn't been able to do the gauging in time.

A.

RE: Flying Scotsman

I do wonder how.

That picture from Fenham, looking out over Holy Island is simply gorgeous.

A

RE: Flying Scotsman

Shh, don't let that lot from the South see how nice it is up here in the North! smile

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