MYSTERY OBJECTS

[PanBiker]

It's a steam locomotive engine, and I claim victory.

[plaques]

Steam locomotive Yes, No its not called Victory.

[PanBiker]

I gave you that one on a plate didn't I?

[Marilyn]

I would hardly call China a third world country...

[plaques]

Marilyn, you take me too seriously. What about California? I wouldn't call that backward either. Years ago, far to far back to remember our English literature was all satire. I'm afraid its taken hold and won't let go. If people would only look round they would see that there far more intellect outside the UK than inside. We have become little Englanders much the same as Swift's Big Endians and Little Endians.

[StoneRoad]

4-2-2 tender locomotive ...

with narrow gauge track in the foreground.

will have to do some thinking for anything else !

[chinatyke]

Great Western Railway comes to mind. Is the engine named City of Truro? First to attain reach a speed of 100mph.

[Stanley]

One of Daniel Gooch's broad gauge single wheelers for the GWR?

[plaques]

All of you are contributing something to the story. StoneRoad's observation on the narrow gauge tracks gives some idea on the time it was taken. China is OK with GWR. but not the fastest train. Nor would I expect anyone to get its name since there was quite a number of these made. Stanley mentions Gouch's single wheel broad gauge, both correct. Any ideas on the class of engine and why they had such big driving wheels?

[Tizer]

Is it the engine that pulled the last train (The Cornishman) to run out of Paddington on GWR's broad gauge track on 20th May 1892 before the completion of the switch to standard gauge?

[plaques]

Nothing as fancy as that. I thought you may have a picture of it in the book you quoted from the other day.

[Tizer]

I thought that too, but no, there's a pic of the Cornishman leaving Paddington on that last day of broad gauge but otherwise it's all ships, bridges, tunnels! My book is `Brunel and his World', John Pudney, 1974, 128 pages, Thames & Hudson.

Being 4-2-2, is the engine one of the Alma class, such as Great Western or Iron Duke? I could suggest that the driving wheels are very large because there is only one driving axle but I suspect that's not a sufficient answer! The single axle is an integral part of the steam engine and they didn't have multiple axles until they started using coupling rods. Which begs the question of why didn't they use coupling rods from the start? I suppose they could get away with a single axle and enormous wheels. But there are other factors - e.g. you need a lot of weight on the wheels to achieve traction and dividing between two axles lowers it dramatically. Also, multiple driving axles means you need a greater radius on curved track and they probably didn't have that at the time.

[chinatyke]

Big wheels for high linear speed?

[plaques]

I think in total the answers are good enough. An 1891 photogragh of 'Rover' one of the last Iron Duke class with an eight foot wheel. The reason for these large driving wheel was Brunel's rather conservative blunder of specifying a maximum piston speed and working pressures which was below those being used on the narrow gauge lines. The result was that to achieve the required engine speed the driven wheels had to be much larger. One must remember that he was under a huge amount of pressure to prove his 7 ft broad gauge and had to work within the limit of technology at that time.
Next object please.

[StoneRoad]

IIRC there was a theory that "Spinners" were for higher speed passenger services, something to do with larger driving wheels whereas goods trains needed haulage power at lower speeds and so had smaller, coupled wheels.

here's a "Stirling Single" NER 50 built 1870 (or spinner with the 4-2-2 layout) and the driver is approximately 8ft in diameter


NER70 - TiG - loco No.1 par StoneRoad2013, on ipernity

[plaques]

First class picture. Went on to look round your other images. Some really good stuff in there. There is a section on restorations etc: why not put some of them in there?

[Stanley]

1976. If you can tell me who it is I'll tell you what's funny about the pic.

[Cathy]

Is that you Stanley?

[Stanley]

No Cathy. This was how I looked at times in 1976!

[Marilyn]

You look like an angry man, Stanley.
Is that "the doctor"?

[Stanley]

Not angry Maz, I was leading a very hard life at the time and it shows. No, it wasn't John Wilfred it was Spen from Crawshawbooth collecting an engine I had reconditioned and leaving me another to work on.
Clue for the pic.... It was in Greenwich.

[Stanley]

I think this is too obscure so I will knock it on the head. It was triggered by Tiz saying that he had got John Pudney's book on Brunel. The pic is John taking me and Vera on a pub crawl in Greenwich. The funny thing was that he was a recovering alcoholic. It was a fascinating day out with a complicated but very good man.
Next one?

[Stanley]

Any ideas on where I did this pic?

[Marilyn]

An old folks home in Naples?
(Check out those sexy stocking socks!)
Make that New York. I think that paper says New York Times?

[Stanley]

The socks are what grabbed me Maz. Yes, it's New York, now have a stab at the location......