Lets talk 50's

[GearJammer]

I agree again, it was probably the celeb & depot paint jobs that saved some of the 50's. 50008 is currently at Washwood Heath to have the AWS & vacuum brake equipment reinstated. I was working on her two Sunday's ago (& will be again tomorrow) & she does look good in departmental blue.

Exactly Andy, it was the paint jobs that made these loco's unique and probably gave them a place in preservation, to paint them out of these liveries takes there uniqueness away, take 50015 for example, if it was still painted in Dutch livery it would stand out from all the other 50's still preserved and keep it in the spot light, aswell as 50019 and 50149, i think when theres as many 50's preserved as there is, then each group needs to make there loco diffrent from the rest. At the moment 50015 is just another Large Logo 50, and if i want to see a large logo 50 there are examples a lot closer to home than the East Lancs, which is quite a long way to go from my home on the south coast.

You say your doing some work on 50008 Andy, can i assume you gained knowledge of them from working on them in BR days? Your knowledge of 50's sure seems in demand, thats the 5th one you've said you've worked on after 50029/30/33/50.

Could you imagine what Class 50s would have looked like in Mainline Freight Blue, Transrail & Transrail Dutch?

As far as im concerned Tim thats what photoshop is for, i did come accross a pic the other day of a 50 in Intercity colours, not only did it look quite good but the quility of the pic was bloody good, i had to do a double take to see if it was a real or fake pic at first.

 

[andyrowlands]

You say your doing some work on 50008 Andy, can i assume you gained knowledge of them from working on them in BR days? Your knowledge of 50's sure seems in demand, thats the 5th one you've said you've worked on after 50029/30/33/50.


Actually no, my knowledge of 50's comes from spending almost every Sunday since 2002 rewiring Repulse. I helped ressurect 33 because I only live a few mins away from Tyseley depot in Brum & already knew one of the owners of Rodney which is also at Tyseley. My invite to work on Fearless came from one of the guys seeing pics of my elec work on Repulse I had posted to a Fotopic site I created. Initially, I was only going to replace a burned cable in Fearless, but was subsequently invited to do other work on her. I have become involved with 008 because her owner is the boss of the guy I work with on Fearless, so one thing has lead to another!!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
As far as im concerned Tim thats what photoshop is for, i did come accross a pic the other day of a 50 in Intercity colours, not only did it look quite good but the quility of the pic was bloody good, i had to do a double take to see if it was a real or fake pic at first.[/QUOTE]

I think it was the AC Loco Group, or whatever they are called, who produced some superb pics of 'what if' fictional liveries, and even fictional classes a few years ago. The tool they used must have been very powerful, as the pics are very hard to tell they are fakes. For instance, a 50 without the headcode box, which actually looks really good, a split-box Deltic, a single-cabbed Western in Intercity & NSE, a pair of semi-permanently coupled single-cabbed 56's, cabless & twin-cab class 20's, an HST in RfD livery with the headlights repositioned lower in the nose fairing, master & slave Class 14's, a Class 85 in Intercity.

 

[Whistler40145]

What I was meaning regarding different liveries was I wondered what they would have looked like had the whole Class lasted into the period of Transrail, Mainline Freight & LoadHaul.

Do we know how long 50035 is going to be in that most unattractive livery?

Which livery will it be painted back into when the time comes?

 

[yummy125]

Do we know how long 50035 is going to be in that most unattractive livery?

Which livery will it be painted back into when the time comes?

We have to give 035's owner due for putting it into Load Hall livery, but hopefully it can be repainted into it's "as new" livery with "D435" at one end and "50 035" at the other end.

It's like 50 017 livery, Where did that come from...?

 

[Cymroglan]

Do we know how long 50035 is going to be in that most unattractive livery?

Now, of course, I understand that loco owners are free to paint their charges any which way they choose, but I agree that 50035's livery is rather horrid.

Do unattractive and/or unpopular liveries lead to a loss of income for their owners? I only ask because I'm quite fussy about the diesels I travel to see - BR Blue for me!

 

[Whistler40145]

For me it's more a case of repainting a loco in a livery which it never carried & just doesn't look right!

 

[theblackwatch]

It's like 50 017 livery, Where did that come from...?

50017's livery is that applied by the TOC who leased the loco (in this case VSOE, which operated it on the main line in 1999/2000) - its application is just the same as, for example, First Group colours being applied to the HSTs leased by FGW.

 

[GearJammer]

I'd also add that i thought the point of preserving a loco was to save it for future generations to enjoy and show them what traction was like in the past, so to paint it in a livery it never carried is pointless and does'nt show what they were like.

 

[andyrowlands]

I'd also add that i thought the point of preserving a loco was to save it for future generations to enjoy and show them what traction was like in the past, so to paint it in a livery it never carried is pointless and does'nt show what they were like.

I agree in the main, D832 was in black for some years on the East Lancs which looked a bit odd, one of the 24's was painted into Toadhaul a few years ago & looked somewhat silly, though 40145 did look very good in large logo.

 

[floydeeeee]

i agree it is to show what they were like. but when you have plenty of a class, or a certainly livery its nice to be a different!

 

[GearJammer]

i agree it is to show what they were like. but when you have plenty of a class, or a certainly livery its nice to be a different!

Yeah i see where ya coming from Floyd but why not paint 50035 in the final NSE livery? Theres no other 50..... or any loco come to think of it, in that livery, while there are a fair few 50's preserved i think theres enough genuine liveries for 50's to not overly flood the market so to speak.

Actually no, my knowledge of 50's comes from spending almost every Sunday since 2002 rewiring Repulse. I helped ressurect 33 because I only live a few mins away from Tyseley depot in Brum & already knew one of the owners of Rodney which is also at Tyseley. My invite to work on Fearless came from one of the guys seeing pics of my elec work on Repulse I had posted to a Fotopic site I created. Initially, I was only going to replace a burned cable in Fearless, but was subsequently invited to do other work on her. I have become involved with 008 because her owner is the boss of the guy I work with on Fearless, so one thing has lead to another!!

Fair play to you Andy, that must have been quite daunting taking on a project like that without that much knowledge of 50's

 

[andyrowlands]

Fair play to you Andy, that must have been quite daunting taking on a project like that without that much knowledge of 50's[/QUOTE]

It was daunting at first, not having worked on a 50 before, though I had worked on 37215, 45149 & 26043 previously, so some of the electrical equipment was readily recognisable. I spent many hours poring over the wiring diagrams, recognising where the elec equipment is fitted & when I actually started fitting equipment back into Repulse's electrical cubicle (which was totally stripped) I was able to start working out cable routings between the various items, as most of the cabling had been chopped out by copper thieves. I've had to reinstate just over 900mtrs of cable in the elec cubicle alone. Apart from two small relay boards, the reverser, which I am currently cleaning, and the electronic units, the cubicle in 30 is basically finished now.

 

[50Fan91]

Hello all, again! Having been away for a fortnight on holiday it seems that I have a lot to catch up with - and this is the first thread that I have come to!

With regards to liveries, when I buy my own 50 one day (rolls eyes dreamily and fumbles kyeborad) I would very much like to paint it up in Intercity Swallow livery. I too have seen the 'custom' pictures that have been mentioned, and I am Very impressed!

Next up - I notice that there has been talk here (in passing) of 50008. Am I correct in my understanding that this loco could well be paying a visit to the Dartmoor Railway at Okehampton this summer? As I have mentioned, this is the first page of RailUK Forums that I have come to, so if a separate thread has been started with regards to this I apologise.

To throw this post properly back on topic, I will just mention that 50017 Royal Oak is currently in excellent shape. Almost the entire body has had at least one layer of primer applied; 'filler' application is almost finished and all roof hatches and grills have reappeared in the shed fully refurbished and ready to be refitted in the immediate future. Having said all this, the loco is still going to be in the shed for the next few weeks, so if anyone would like to see the loco I suggest Wednesdays or Sundays, as these are the days you are most likely to catch someone so that you can ask for a "viewing".

Right, and I think that's that for me! It's good to be back!

 

[GearJammer]

It's good to be back!

Good to have you back, thought you'd gone quiet...... new avatar pic to, i can see its Salisbury, is it 50017?

 

[50Fan91]

.. i can see its Salisbury, is it 50017?

It is indeed Salisbury, and 50017 - unfortunately not my picture though! I've 'borrowed' it off a Google image search until such time as I have my own picture of '17 to use! Which hopefully should be well before the end of the year!

 

[GearJammer]

It is indeed Salisbury, and 50017 - unfortunately not my picture though! I've 'borrowed' it off a Google image search until such time as I have my own picture of '17 to use! Which hopefully should be well before the end of the year!

And at Salisbury, on some NSE Mk2's........... well we can dream.

 

[50Fan91]

And at Salisbury, on some NSE Mk2's...........

Haha! Well I have it on good authority from the owner that he has no objections to the loco going mainline - IF someone who wants it to happen is prepared to pay for it!

So, although mainline for '17 is a possibility, albeit extremely unlikely unless some very wealthy person comes up with the money for it, I think your comment regarding the re-emergence of some NSE Mk2s will never happen. As fantastic as this would be, I can see no reason why any tour operator would paint a rake in this colour. .. at the present time.

........... well we can dream.

 

[andyrowlands]

Next up - I notice that there has been talk here (in passing) of 50008. Am I correct in my understanding that this loco could well be paying a visit to the Dartmoor Railway at Okehampton this summer? As I have mentioned, this is the first page of RailUK Forums that I have come to, so if a separate thread has been started with regards to this I apologise.

I don't think there is another thread about 50008, at least nothing I am aware of!! As I understand it, the plan is for 008 to go to the Dartmoor Rly later this year after the AWS equipment has been refitted, the brake cylinders have been honed out to remove any corrosion plus a few other jobs.

Tis good to hear progress continues on 017, any decision on livery yet?

 

[GearJammer]

Not being a coach expert i gotta ask, what happened to all them NSE Mk2's? Does enough of them still exist to make up a rake?
And why not mainline them? The cargo D coaches not only look good but are practical for railtour use, a rake of NSE Mk2's would also make a good charter rake, there colourfull (granted not that important tho) have seats that line up with windows with tables and are comfey....... at least thats how i remember them from the very few trips i had on them.

 

[50Fan91]

As I understand it, the plan is for 008 to go to the Dartmoor Rly later this year after the AWS equipment has been refitted, the brake cylinders have been honed out to remove any corrosion plus a few other jobs.

Tis good to hear progress continues on 017, any decision on livery yet?

Excellent to have some actual details about the plans for 008 - thanks very much Andy!

With regards to 017's livery, the loco is initially going to be painted into the original NSE colour scheme that it was wearing when launched at Paddington way back in 1986! (Gosh, that was five whole years before I was born...!)

Interestingly, this will see the loco without an orange warning stripe along most of the roof line - only around the cabs and as far as the ends of the gutters. The orange stripe was added not long after launch, but to start with it was definitely not applied. Not only this but the head code box NSE 'flash' will also be absent.

However, planning for the future the owner is looking into sourcing the specifics / details of the head code 'flash' and also the West of England logo applied to the body sides of the 50's in revised NSE... If anyone can help...?

Not being a coach expert i gotta ask, what happened to all them NSE Mk2's? Does enough of them still exist to make up a rake?
And why not mainline them? The cargo D coaches not only look good but are practical for railtour use, a rake of NSE Mk2's would also make a good charter rake, there colourfull (granted not that important tho) have seats that line up with windows with tables and are comfey....... at least thats how i remember them from the very few trips i had on them.

I should think that almost every Mk2 that you see on the national network today, (on tours, etc.), has NSE paint underneath the current layer somewhere! So yes - more than enough of the correct coaches exist!

In fact, (and I'm almost in tears as I write this) :cry:, the three chocolate and cream Mk2 coaches at the Plym Valley Railway all turned up in NSE when purchased from the Mid Hants Railway.. (Which reminds me, GJ, I saw your input on the MHR thread - suffice to say I agree with your comments, but seeing as this is a 50 thread I'll leave it at that!) Unfortunately, the coaches turned up and were reconditioned well before Royal Oak arrived, and so the opportunity to run an NSE 50 with three NSE Mk2s was lost! But then again, I am well aware that even if the 50 had been there, nothing would have stopped management painting the coaches out of that colour..

I completely agree that the Cargo D coaches look fantastic, but there are lots of locos that could potentially run with a rake of blue and grey coaches. Unfortunately, there are no mainline locos that could suitably run with an NSE rake at the current time..

BUT when I'm a millionaire, I'll paint an entire rake of twelve in NSE to go with Royal Oak, (when I've paid for that to be 'mainlined' as well!) Oh, and I'll send you some tickets for the front coach!

Don't hold your breath though - I'm a student and I haven't even been able to find a job yet.

 

[GearJammer]

Any news on 50017?

I read in RAIL that restoration on 50029 is starting, does that mean your gonna have your work cut out on the electrics of this machine Mr Rowlands?

 

[50Fan91]

Any news on 50017?

Regretfully nothing I can add at the moment, GJ! I haven't been down to the PVR in a few weeks, owing to my next year's university accommodation not quite being ready.

I plan to head down to the south west this coming Wednesday, so hopefully should be able to provide an update and maybe a picture or two by the end of the week!

Watch this space!

 

[andyrowlands]

Any news on 50017?

I read in RAIL that restoration on 50029 is starting, does that mean your gonna have your work cut out on the electrics of this machine Mr Rowlands?

50Fan91 is now one of my Facebook buddies, and we have discussed each other's projects, but I'll leave him to comment on 17. Regarding 29, I've agreed to rebuild 29's electrical cubicle once my work on 30 is complete, but only if they agree to remove it from the loco, i wouldnt do another rebuild with the cubicle in-situ, it's far too cramped in places. One of our guys, who is also an electrician, and has recently returned to us after recovering from a serious car accident two years ago, is currently tracing the cut cabling in the loco itself, with a view to adding junction boxes and installing new cables. A lot of the cabling that goes from the cubicle to other parts of 29 were chopped out years ago & it will need some serious work to reinstate, but that will be helped if the cubicle itself is out of the way.

 

[60163]

I've slowly realised over the past few months that I love 50s, and still haven't actually seen one in motion, switched on!

 

[50Fan91]

I've slowly realised over the past few months that I love 50s, and still haven't actually seen one in motion, switched on!

Well, now's a good time to (re)awaken an interest in 50s! There are several locos soon to be emerging from prolonged periods of restoration, as well as at least two, possibly soon to be three, examples on mainline tours!

 

[Whistler40145]

I know it is unlikely, but I wish 50035 was Mainline registered.

 

[50Fan91]

Having been down at the Plym Valley Railway over the last two days, I am pleased to report that some progress has been made on Royal Oak over the last few weeks, since my last visit. Most importantly, the roof above number number one cab end, back to just behind the radiator fan has been painted in black gloss top coat, with the rest of the roof soon to follow.

This is an important milestone: On the plus side, the restoration has entered a new and exciting phase, on the negative side, I regret that I will not be posting any more photos in this thread until the loco has been officially unveiled - but please bear in mind that this will NOT be before the end of the year!

In other news, cab side restoration is continuing well, and all grills and hatches that were removed for refurbishment are now back in the shed waiting their turn to be refitted.

 

[GearJammer]

No pictures untill the end of the year? Remind to keep bugging my transport manager for a Plymouth job! lol, thanks for the update.

 

[50Fan91]

Remind to keep bugging my transport manager for a Plymouth job!

Haha! If you can get down, I'm sure you'd be more than welcome to have a sneak-peek!

 

[tractor]

I've slowly realised over the past few months that I love 50s, and still haven't actually seen one in motion, switched on!

you are in for a treat!!
remember being in penzance with 2 pairs booked out on trains within a hour or so of each other! enjoy
welldone to all the preservation groups and the very best of luck