D1054 Western Governor?

[Stuart Galbraith]

According to 'Railway Magazine', the 'Evening Star' mystery is far from solved. There is contrary 'evidence' to prove she is, or isn't, original.

Steam Heritage magazine (or at least another magazine which I will have to look out) interviewed the guy responsible for Evening star at the NRM who has no doubts. There is also a question about the sequences of the photographs taken being wrong. In fact they were very critical of RM making such a big story out of what was such explicable evidence.

The most convincing evidence is that there were no 9Fs being scrapped at that time at Crewe, and none went missing. Creative accounting went on in BR as we know, but somehow cutting up Evening Star without anyone noticing (or indeed taking a photograph) stretches the imagination a bit.

Ill be sure to keep an open mind, but as the present evidence for the swap consists of a very blurred photograph allegedly taken before the repair showing no damage, its hardly very convincing.

Besides, BR had no problem cutting up historic locomotives. Look what happened to Windsor Castle and Swindon, or even the first A4s built, or even Cock of the North. That they would have bent over backwards to hide the destruction of a machine that was never even going to work again doesnt really seem to add up.

The only real negative of all this fun speculation is that it seems to have put the dampers on Evening Stars birthday. It never even made the local news.

 

[Vulcan]

Besides, BR had no problem cutting up historic locomotives. Look what happened to Windsor Castle and Swindon, or even the first A4s built, or even Cock of the North. That they would have bent over backwards to hide the destruction of a machine that was never even going to work again doesnt really seem to add up.

Back then nobody thought to preserve things for the future. There are plenty of locos that would still exist if they had the same interest in preservation as we do now.