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The last two Duchesses...

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alexl92

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Can someone talk me through the differences between the 'standard' Duchesses and the modified last two?

Cheers!
 
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Kinghambranch

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alexl92 said:
Can someone talk me through the differences between the 'standard' Duchesses and the modified last two?

Cheers!
Click to expand...

The 2 final "Princess Coronation Class" Pacifics (to give them their correct title apparently) were built in 1947/8 to a modified design by HA Ivatt. Timken roller bearings were fitted to all axles on locomotive and tender and the trailing truck was of one-piece cast steel construction. They were equipped with the new standard post-war features introduced by Mr Ivatt: rocking grate, self-emptying ashpan and self-cleaning smokebox (these latter features also were on Nos 6253-6255 built in 1946). These last 2 locomotives, No 6256 and No 46257 (built after Nationalisation) probably represented the finest heavy express passenger locomotive power ever produced for a British Railway (although the Peppercorn A1 probably comes close!) and one of them should have been preserved. I guess we are lucky to have the 3 that we have.
 
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