First full-size British steam locomotive for 50 years fires up

[bijou]

First came the sweet toot of the whistle, then a steady hiss.

Finally, sporting her battleship-grey undercoat, Britain's first new steam locomotive in almost half a century emerged in all her majesty.

It was a sight that took those old enough to remember back to a golden age of rail travel.

Even though Tornado only had 120 yards of track to cover as she chugged into action in a Darlington rail yard, the moment was, with good reason, marked with a rousing round of applause.

It was, after all, the culmination of an 18-year labour of love and an outlay of £3million. 



For all her authenticity, Peppercorn Class A1 Pacific 60163 Tornado  -  to give her her full title  -  is a brand spanking new steam locomotive, built by more than 100 hands out of the fund-raising efforts of thousands of enthusiasts.

...   


But in 1990 a group of enthusiasts decided the A1 would chug again and began to build Tornado from original drawings held at the National Railway Museum in York.

Mark Allatt, chairman of the A1 Trust, was just 25 and could not remember steam travel when he decided to help  -  little realising that he would be using his annual leave from the City law firm where he works to help with the engine he loves.

Tonight he said the idea to build an engine from scratch came from a desire to resurrect an example of the steam locomotive at its peak.


... The project has received almost no public money, instead being funded mostly from 'people's pocket money' and sponsorship.
In 1990, enthusiasts were asked to donate the price of a pint a week, which was then £1.25. 'Some of them have been doing it since 1990, so that's a hell of a lot of pints they haven't drunk,' said Mr Allatt. The work on Tornado is not complete, but yesterday was the loco's first public outing.

...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1040538/Really-chuffed-First-size-British-steam-locomotive-50-years-fires-up.html

It is a great looking machine, a credit to their hard work.

[franksolich]

Ah, a 4-6-2, the standard workhorse locomotive in England most of the steam era.

[Miss Mia]

That's pretty cool.

[franksolich]

That's pretty cool.

I could never figure out why they never used cow-catchers on them.

Instead, they got those two stubby posts sticking out in front, near the bottom.

[bijou]

That's pretty cool.

I could never figure out why they never used cow-catchers on them.

Instead, they got those two stubby posts sticking out in front, near the bottom.

They didn't have cow catchers because most, if not all, rail tracks are fenced off so cattle can't wander into the path of a train. The posts are buffers for shunting other stationary trains and to prevent the trains crashing into platforms at termini where the track is a dead end.

[Chris_]

I love trains.  That one is impressive.

[franksolich]

They didn't have cow catchers because most, if not all, rail tracks are fenced off so cattle can't wander into the path of a train. The posts are buffers for shunting other stationary trains and to prevent the trains crashing into platforms at termini where the track is a dead end.

Yeah, the comment was kind of in jest; actually, I've always been more intrigued that North American steam locomotives had cow-catchers at all.

Somebody here like OkieJohn or JohnnyReb might know; I always thought of cow-catchers as, really, ornamental objects with no practical use.  I really doubt they could perform the function which many people seem to think was their function, scooping up cows and setting them to the side of the rails.

Even the utterly massive Union Pacific 4-8-4s and 4-8-8-4s, built during the 1930s and 1940s, had cow-catchers, and these things are so big any cow on the rails would be long gone before the train showed up.

Someone could correct me, of course, but I always suspected cow-catchers had the same function as hood ornaments on automobiles.

[rich_t]

My understanding is that the pilot aka "cowcatcher" was intended to deflect track debris up and away from the train wheels.