The LNER Encyclopedia

G'day Gents

I've had this pic for a few years now, but have just noticed something odd, see if you can see it to.

manna

Manna,

Are you referring to the odd handrails each side of the smokebox?

The photo is taken on the down line at Hadley Wood, the train is emerging from Hadley Wood South tunnel.

John

Ed Milibands face in the smoke.

Brake van roof vent?

The odd handrails were quite common, if the loco was fitted with a smokebox door stop, as here.

You must know something we don't, mystic Dave.

Jonathan, the roof vents are at strange angles, perhaps?

John

It's hard to tell on the image I'm looking at, but I wondered whether the front torpedo vent is rotated 90 degrees from the usual position.

If that's it, it's not completely unheard of - some LSWR vent vans had them that way as well, although I have no idea why.

I don't know anything about the fine details of the loco & tender but has the (front) brake showing a sidelamp??.


FINSBURY PARK [5] formerly Micky a onetime 'tele lad' at Welwyn Garden City box.

G'day Gents

Yes it was the odd handrails, never seen that before.....JASd 17, got it first try, you've won a weekend in Booborowie, with breakfast thrown in and a tour of the town, find your own way here though

manna

This oddity may not have been all that uncommon. Yeadon Vol. 18 at page 62 shows K2 E1773 with exactly the same arrangement.

Presumably the handrail stanchions mounted on the smokebox ring were not 'man' enough to arrest the swinging of the door, so that door stop extensions had to be fitted to the hinges, in most cases later replaced on K2's by a single stop between the hinges.

3012 (Fig 3 in Part 5 of the green bible) also has the same arrangement, but ross poppet valves. The text says "some" engines had their handrails shortened, so maybe there were more.

Peter