Britannia

[Mickey]

Deleted

[Mickey]

Deleted

[Blink Bonny]

70000 ran a couple of test runs from Crewe in plain black with only numbers, no tender crests or nameplates when first built. Within a week, it was back in Crewe for another visit to the paintshop.

Oh, and 4472 has had those monstrous front end appendages in NRM ownership on the main line while in Apple Green. S'funny how the single chimney didn't hold it back in the '70s and '80s.

Or am I being cynical again?

[manna]

G'Day Gents

Can't think of a better way to say this, but dos'e Brittania really NEED smoke deflectors, she seems to have a sharpish blast, and I've never heard of problems about drifting smoke (probably because of the smoke deflectors) I'm wondering if they were put on for aesthetics or for a real reason !!

manna

[Marvin]

4472 has had those monstrous front end appendages in NRM ownership on the main line while in Apple Green. S'funny how the single chimney didn't hold it back in the '70s and '80s.

Or am I being cynical again?

Who refitted the double chimney & deflectors - was it Waterman? I keep wondering if it was specifically done to make it difficult to paint the loco in a colour other than BR green...

Or am I being cynical?

[S.A.C. Martin]

4472 has had those monstrous front end appendages in NRM ownership on the main line while in Apple Green. S'funny how the single chimney didn't hold it back in the '70s and '80s.

Or am I being cynical again?

Who refitted the double chimney & deflectors - was it Waterman? I keep wondering if it was specifically done to make it difficult to paint the loco in a colour other than BR green...

Or am I being cynical?

Waterman and his group refitted the smoke deflectors and double chimney for two reasons - firstly, the single chimney casting was damaged in the late 80s, and secondly they wanted to recreate 60103 in Brunswick Green, as it was when it was finally preserved.

Marchington kept this double chimney form through his ownership of the locomotive right up to the NRM buying the locomotive outright in 2004. The apple green/deflectors/double chimney form is how the NRM inherited the locomotive.

I have to emphasize that in order for Scotsman to be seen again with a single chimney, a new casting has to be made, along with the blastpipe - or an alternative arrangement such as a lempor exhaust, with cosmetic single and double chimneys must be found in future, if she is to appear as she was from 1964 onwards, through Pegler's reign through to McAlpine, once more.

This of course, costs money! Perhaps prior to the next overhaul, an appeal could be feasibly started to help the NRM investigate the possibility of keeping Scotsman in a form which gives the necessary advantages of the double blastpipe whilst at the same time giving the aesthetic qualities of the single chimney form.

[Deepol]

A bit of nostalgia; Britannia being named at Marylebone in 1951.

[richard]

Lurve that tartan (click on the image to get the full version - the tartan effect is due to aliasing of the "spots" used to producing varying shades of grey in book photos)

To remove it in future, try changing the resolution on your PC before uploading (and trying the anti-aliasing options if your software has them). Also, scanning at a lower resolution is a good way of fixing the problem. Fundamentally it is caused by a scan resolution that is higher than the print resolution.


Richard

[60800]

I've just noticed that when new, Britannia had very distinct, recessed handles on her smoke deflectors, but now has handrails. Is that a modern safety precaution from the 10 year overhaul or was it something implemented by BR in service?

[Blink Bonny]

Originally she had handrails when built. After a derailment near Didcot (?) the enquiry found that the main cause was a left hand drive engine on a railway set up for right hand drive locos but that the handrails may have been a contributory cause. As a result, the handrails were removed from most, but not all, Brits.

The two survivors both had the LM version of the handholds - two with a bar across them. Many did not have the "cup" behind, leading to daylight through the handhold. The WR version had six brass edged square holes cut in the deflectors. There is no apparent pattern as to which engines kept the rails or got which type of new deflectors. The Southern pair both kept rails to the end as did many Scottish engines. The Eastern Region used the LM arrangement. However, as said earlier, not all engines had the mods.

For more info I would point you towards the Bradford Barton volumes "BR Standard steam in close-up" or the appropriate RCTS publication. This latter lists which engine got what deflector mod.

[60800]

I do recall a handrail being blamed for blocking a crew's view and causing an incident, never knew it was Britannia

[rob237]

The loco involved wasn't Britannia - which was a Stratford allocated loco at that time - but Canton's 70026 Polar Star.
Derailed, and overturned, at Milton near Didcot whilst hauling a Treherbert-Paddington Sunday special in 1956...
Cheers
Robt P.

[Postman Prat]

Hi, Blackout

The Britannia involved in the accident at Milton (just west of Didcot) was Cardiff Canton allocated 70026 Polar Star. 11 people were killed and about 150 injured.

As I recall she was working an excursion up to London and the driver took the turnout from the slow to fast lines faster than the approved speed because he missed the signal, the loco being Left hand Drive on a Right Hand line. I've a feeling engineering work was also taking place at this location, but please do not accept my 'causes' as facts - I'm relying on memory, from reading Red For Danger by LTC Rolt, at my age a dangerous thing!!

She overturned and went down the embankment, as can be seen in plates 24 and 25 in The Power of the BR Standard Pacifics, by JS Whitley and GW Morrison

Hope this helps

[Blink Bonny]

Thank you Rob and PP for getting me out of the hole that is the remains of my memory.

[52D]

ISTR that the GWR Brits had cut outs in the deflectors after the accident for feet and hand holds.