Mallard and Tornado tomorrow.

[CosherB]

Does anyone know what preparation Mallard needed for the trip? She's not turned a wheel on the open railway for years, and Tornado wasn't hanging about in those videos while she was towing Mallard.

Obviously a good oil and grease all around of the A4's bearings and moving surfaces before she left York, But was anything else required?

 

[Vulcan]

It had it's connecting rods removed, and a vacuum pipe cable tired from one end to the other so it was through braked. This pipe also seemed to have a valve near the cab window to allow the people on Mallard's footplate to stop the train if need be.

Mallard was moved on the mainline when it was taken to Doncaster works open day some years ago, and they did the same thing then as well with it's rods.

 

[Mista Merlin]

Hi Guys, Just read your posts with great interests and I tend to agree. However, I have read somewhere that the Mallard may return to York as early as September this year although please don't quote me on that. I had contact from the head curator at the NRM who originally said to me that she would come back in 2013 but it looks as if they might have had a rethink. I would also like to see the Mallard returned to steam after a complete overhaul, similar to the one being undertaken by the Flying Scotsman at the NRM as we speak. She is returning to steam, hopefully, mid 2011 after money has been, and still is being, raised to fund this.
Mallard is part of our heritage and York is probably the most central place in the UK for people to see her. To get her back in to steam is a "must" for all steam enthusiasts and I hope that there is someone out there who will take the reigns and get things organised so that we can see her proudly in steam once again.

 

[wensley]

Hi Guys, Just read your posts with great interests and I tend to agree. However, I have read somewhere that the Mallard may return to York as early as September this year although please don't quote me on that. I had contact from the head curator at the NRM who originally said to me that she would come back in 2013 but it looks as if they might have had a rethink. I would also like to see the Mallard returned to steam after a complete overhaul, similar to the one being undertaken by the Flying Scotsman at the NRM as we speak. She is returning to steam, hopefully, mid 2011 after money has been, and still is being, raised to fund this.
Mallard is part of our heritage and York is probably the most central place in the UK for people to see her. To get her back in to steam is a "must" for all steam enthusiasts and I hope that there is someone out there who will take the reigns and get things organised so that we can see her proudly in steam once again.

I thought next year was the date. As to your latter point, Flying Scotsman has been such a drawn out process it's hard to look forward to the result and do we really need ANOTHER A4 operational, even if it is 4468??

 

[Vulcan]

I thought next year was the date. As to your latter point, Flying Scotsman has been such a drawn out process it's hard to look forward to the result and do we really need ANOTHER A4 operational, even if it is 4468??

As I said earlier in the thread, the rest of the preserved A4s in the UK are all mainline operational. I'd have thought Green Arrow would be a better candidate for restoration after scotsman.

 

[sprinterguy]

As I said earlier in the thread, the rest of the preserved A4s in the UK are all mainline operational. I'd have thought Green Arrow would be a better candidate for restoration after scotsman.

Yep, bring back Green Arrow! Actually, I would have preferred seeing that going through works for a main line return than Flying Scotsman, but of course, Flying Scotsman brings in the crowds.

 

[Bittern]

To be fair, Mallard would also draw in crowds. I would assume it'd be quite a bit more than Bittern, Union or Sir Nigel could.

 

[Vulcan]

To be fair, Mallard would also draw in crowds. I would assume it'd be quite a bit more than Bittern, Union or Sir Nigel could.

True enough, but as said, there are another 3 working A4s, but no other A3s or V2s, working or not.

Really, there are loads of engines in the national collection which would be very nice to see working, but thats a topic for another thread...

 

[Bittern]

I can see her coming back into steam for a special event (like her 150th anniversary of obtaining the speed record) like she did in the '80s. But yeah, we do have two working A4s at the moment, thankfully.

I've always wanted to see Mallard thunder by with her iconic A4 chime echoing in the wind. It's like one of my dreams (and one other is to be on the footplate driving her up the ECML to Edinburgh, but that's not going to happen >_>)

 

[truckman060473]

I can't believe Tornado is in use here. Pathfinders cancelled the 10 July Towy Tornado trip and the loco was meant to be out of action until mid-Aug

 

[matt]

I can't believe Tornado is in use here. Pathfinders cancelled the 10 July Towy Tornado trip and the loco was meant to be out of action until mid-Aug

Tornado was declared out of action after this move took place

 

[obrut165]

apparently Tornado has faulty boiler stays as found on her annual examination, i was supposed to be going down to minehaed with my father to see her.

 

[DaveNewcastle]

It had it's connecting rods removed, and a vacuum pipe cable tired from one end to the other so it was through braked. This pipe also seemed to have a valve near the cab window to allow the people on Mallard's footplate to stop the train if need be.

Mallard was moved on the mainline when it was taken to Doncaster works open day some years ago, and they did the same thing then as well with it's rods.

Which raises a quesion in my mind to which I really SHOULD already know the answer, but don't, or else I DID know once but now I've forgotten -

How were steam locos designed to be dragged?

Surely there was a mechanism to equalise pressure of both ends of each cylinder to atmospheric pressure?
(That would permit passive movements without any resistance from the un-fired steam pressure drive.)
Was that a valve controllable from the footplate, or was it an external job to open and release pressure?
And more specifically, when Mallard had to be dragged back from Peterborough to Doncaster, after having destroyed one of her 3 "big end" piston bearings during that mad breaking-of-the-speed-record, what were the arrangements to allow her to be dragged back?
Did they have to remove the con rods then?
And was she dragged back north backwards?

How ignominious.

 

[Vulcan]

I know from my 7 /14" gauge railway days that steam engines prefer being pushed around out of steam with their reversers set in the direction of travel. I guess in the past this would have been how they did it, but for Mallard, which hasn't moved a lot at speed for many years, removing the con-rods prevents them jamming up for any reason. It also reduces the number of bearings that need greasing up (and de-greasing and polishing up on arrival at Shildon). After its record run, I imagine they'd have just hauled it back slowly with the rods still on, and then put a new bearing on in the works.