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Black and blue – now for colours of another hue?

As mentioned in this column in the February issue, the preservation movement as a whole seems to have attempted almost every permutation imaginable in its first half century or so and has provided  preserved LNER Pacifics in green, blue and even silver (albeit the latter as a static exhibit). Yet BR purple and wartime black seem, until now, to have been blind spots.

The latest conversion of Bittern into LNER garter blue by Roland Kennington and his team is truly magnificent, but apart from the stainless steel trim and the long nameplate, the loco is very similar  to Mallard and roughly the same colour as Sir Nigel Gresley, causing some people to comment that a chance has been missed to show the world a silver A4 at speed.

Perhaps now that the NRM is showing the way with a fresh colour scheme, would it be too much to hope that Bittern owner Jeremy Hosking – who has already allowed Britannia to be painted black – might allow his LNER Pacific to temporarily become a ‘Silver Streak’ for a few months… or even a purple one?!

ANOTHER brave decision by the NRM and its innovative new boss Steve Davies is to ship abroad one of Britain’s greatest treasures, the world-record breaker Mallard.

While applauding the museum for its courage in flying the flag in Germany, we can’t help being reminded of similar fears that arose among enthusiasts in 1969 and 1988 with the decisions to send Flying Scotsman overseas. On those occasions, the A3 came back safely, but a year or two ago we ran an exclusive series entitled ‘Locos Lost at Sea’. It’s just conceivable that Fate could be tempted once too often and we hope we never have to add the irreplaceable Mallard to that grisly litany…

TRAVELLING at 25mph on 60ft lengths of rail produces the delightful ‘clickety-clack’ sound that gives passengers one of the great heritage railway experiences, but the Bluebell Railway has recently re-laid some of its track with continuously-welded rail.

At the moment, this is restricted to the interior of Sharpthorne tunnel, which is understandable as it reduces the need for maintenance in difficult conditions. The railway is also considering laying c.w.r. south from East Grinstead – fair enough as it will minimise noise nuisance to its new neighbours – but as our colleague Colin Tyson, editor of Bluebell News, has warned, there’s now talk of the ‘clickety clack’ being removed from Freshfield bank too. He and many of the line’s volunteers believe that would be a step too far and that if this process is allowed to continue, passengers will be denied an all-round steam-age experience.

We agree and hope the railway will stay in tune with public opinion.

FINALLY, it had to happen sooner or later… someone has set up a ‘Pacer Preservation Society! I applaud any form of railway conservation and wish them well, but if anyone had told me in the early-1980s that people would one day be fond enough of ‘Nodding Donkeys’ to want to save one, I would have thought they were off their rocker! One thing I suppose it could do is demonstrate to future generations how NOT to build trains!

Nick Pigott
Editor