Swedish 4-6-0 in steam today

[Archibald Sturrock]

I was very pleasantly suprised to see Västkustbanan locomotive B 1037 in steam today only 300 metres from my apartment in Eriksberg, Gothenburg. I will try to attach a photo; if it doesn't work, please refer to Train-Photos.com website, where I have also written some caption material.

[52D]

A 4-6-0 number 1037 tell the Swedes its improperly dressed it should be carrying JAIROU

[Archibald Sturrock]

Sorry, I don't understand that, jairou in the dictionary is "The ahu or Asiatic gazelle."

[Bullhead]

Sorry, I don't understand that, jairou in the dictionary is "The ahu or Asiatic gazelle."

"Jairou" was the name of LNER Thompson B1 class 4-6-0 locomotive number 1037 - see elsewhere on this site. Many of them were named after gazelles of various kinds.

[Archibald Sturrock]

By the way, this is the first steam locomotive I have ever seen with a door from the FRONT of the cab on to the running board (if that's the correct name).

[52D]

Guys lighten up its only me being sarcastic(cos i cant spell facicious).

[hq1hitchin]

By the way, this is the first steam locomotive I have ever seen with a door from the FRONT of the cab on to the running board (if that's the correct name).

Here, the Aspinall 'Highflyers' - 4-4-2s - on the LYR had that facility as well - hope the draughtproofing was better than some EMUs....

[Lt Campers]

Swedish Locomotive B1037 was in storage as part of the Swedish Steam Reserve and amazingly wasn't released from storage until July 2008.

http://news.gaurc.us/?p=761

This obvously makes me wonder how many more Swedish steam engines lie uncovered in Sweden and what about the
mysterious British steam reserve of the Cold War - thats the subject of great debate and much conjecture by british railway enthusiasts.

For example:

http://www.willys-mb.co.uk/strategic-reserve.htm

[richard]

Ah, that old chestnut. Here is a more balanced account:

http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread217309/pg1

There are lot of problems with the willys-mb claims (and others).
As well as the lack of actual evidence, the claim that they were quietly scrapped (without any records) when selling them to someone like Woodhams would have raised more money (or even the NRM); there's the fact that Britain's railways had virtually no steam infrastructure left - definitely not enough to actually run a railway (rather than an occasional special)! Remember the mainline steam ban?

And there's the unfortunate fact that it is relatively simple to make a diesel engine EMP proof. My first 'car' had an EMP proofed petrol engine (and they rely on more electronics than a diesel).

So why not have a small reserve of diesel locos that could be used if the civilian ones failed?
And why not tie a dedicated diesel up with each of the strategic control trains that we know existed? Come to think of it, that is exactly what happened!

Richard

[Lt Campers]

Swedish Strategic Steam Reserve

Yes it is an old chestnut but bearing in mind the fact that Sweden and the
Soviet Union actually organised and maintained a Strategic Steam reserve,
many of which ended up in museams or returned to active service.
Only goes to show that their is some merit in the rumours.

Article on the Soviet Union's Strategic Steam Reserve, some of which were
bought by a private Ukrainian company to run steam excursions in the
former Soviet Union upto 2004

Red Star Steam

http://www.steam.dial.pipex.com/trains/russia09.htm

Returning to the Swedish steam reserve. I'm surprised the Swedes are still
uncovering these lost steam engines, as revealed in the the article about
the three engines mothballed in the Sandtrask engine shed.

http://news.gaurc.us/?p=761

Obviously many were handed over to the Swedish National Railway museam
but I wonder how many more steam engines lie untouched in some long
forgotten secret location in Sweden ??

Perhaps Swedish railway enthusiasts are already on the case in the hunt
for more long lost Strategic Steam Reserve train engines ?

[60041]

Whatever happened to the Swedish 4-6-0 that used to belong to the North Tyneside Railway? From memory it was the same as the one above, and the restoration was stopped after a change of management decided that it would not be suitable for the line, and after a problem with asbestos. I remember that it was not very popular, and known by the volunteers as "The Bagie" ( for those born in foreign parts, a swede turnip is a bagie in Northumberland ) .

[52D]

Is the 4-6-0 at the Nene Valley, they tend to have a few imports.

[Flamingo]

Whatever happened to the Swedish 4-6-0 that used to belong to the North Tyneside Railway? From memory it was the same as the one above, and the restoration was stopped after a change of management decided that it would not be suitable for the line, and after a problem with asbestos. I remember that it was not very popular, and known by the volunteers as "The Bagie" ( for those born in foreign parts, a swede turnip is a bagie in Northumberland ) .

Northumbrian etymology may be obscure but not that impenetrable. I would hazard a guess that 'bagie' comes from the alternative name by which swede the vegetable is sometimes known, rutabaga.

About the Swedish steam reserve, the engines were stored at numerous locations with usually up to 3 or 4 locos at each place. We were allowed access to one such store during a special Swedish-organised railtour in the early 1980s. It was a large steel clad building not unlike a Nissen hut with two or three tracks each holding 2 engines. As I remember it they were various types of 4-6-0s certainly including the B class of which an example exists in the UK. There may also have been one of the E class inside cylinder 2-8-0s. The main feature was that each locomotive was sealed entirely inside a huge polythene sheet securely fastened down to prevent entry of damp air. That precaution alone shows up the story of ex-BR engines hidden away inside some dank disused Welsh or Pennine tunnel for what it is, an urban myth.

[hq1hitchin]

[quote="Flamingo That precaution alone shows up the story of ex-BR engines hidden away inside some dank disused Welsh or Pennine tunnel for what it is, an urban myth.[/quote]


Quite so - if you go to the website describing the British strategic steam reserve, you will see this pic of a Hall, allegedly taken on a little run out in March 1975 with, in the background, another fine machine, a North British diesel hydraulic (complete with diamond shaped works plate), looking suspiciously like a Warship to me. Are we supposed to believe that HMG also stashed away some hydraulics as a back up strategic diesel reserve? ho ho

[Bryan]

I used to have to put large pieces of construction plant, Bulldozers, Graders and large Dump trucks etc, into plastic bags for storage. The hassle with padding around sharp corners, placing axle stands, removal of batteries and positioning of the vehicles so you could do the zip up at the at end.
1/2 an inch out of place and you had to take the whole lot off and start again. Then you find the De humidifiiers hadn't worked when you came to use the stuff again 2 years later. All this for outdoor storage. I must say though if everything worked and was done right the equipment started up normally first time even after 4 years, which was the longest I knew of.