Thanks
And did you know the Aussies are just as mad as the Brits - they have a Great Steam Train Race in Sydney every year. Apparently run by the Heritage museum, they commandeer a couple of suburban parallel tracks and let 2 passenger trains fight it out.
Great close-up views of their Garret on this one:
This video, taken from inside the cab of 6029, the Garret, shows the other loco. (And you did want to know what driving a Garret was like.)
Narrow Gauge Lover said:
I’m not sure how to take this post, TBH. Is it a dig at the way that the Brexit process is foundering? A sly dig at the vagaries of running steam traction in an allegedly modern infrastructure? Or is it an honest reminder that the UK has well over 1500 preserved steam locomotives in operation, with another SEVENTEEN - of which only half a dozen are narrow gauge - being built from scratch in numerous shops around the country?
A question for the fans of British steam - how long has 70000 been fitted with the buffer-beam feedwater pump?
…and lastly - THIS is a better idea of what preservation trains are all about in the UK - LNER streamliner ‘Bittern’ - oop north… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XtRBKz89JA
Any article in the Daily Mail should be taken with a pinch of salt. They don’t know about facts…they can’t spell and their grammar is deplorable…and besides which it is full of social tittle tattle about the Royal Family day in and day out… (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-tongue-out.gif)(http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-tongue-out.gif)
Whatever else may or may not be true, 70,000 sure went flying through here, https://youtu.be/ZpgER2m35RM
Gotta love the Australians. (https://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)
THIS is a better idea of what preservation trains are all about in the UK - LNER streamliner ‘Bittern’ - oop north… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XtRBKz89JA
TAC, I have the DVD “A Need for Speed” where they take Bittern out and run at 90+ mph. Great video.
Talking about speed - a topic that US passenger trains hardly ever worry about - there’s a debate in the UK about running preserved steam locomotives at up to 75 mph, the current track limit (for steam.) UK tracks are quite congested, and most mainline electrics and diesel-electrics run at 125 mph. That’s a 50 mph speed difference, and it makes the routing of “special” steam trains quite tricky. I believe the newly-built A1 “Tornado” management applied for a 90 mph speed limit to make it easier to fit in the schedules, and they have been running tests at a regular 90+ mph.