Not Under Ground Underground 3

 The End Of Steam

The last scheduled passenger train hauled by steam on the British Railways network ran on 11th August 1968. But steam continues on the preserved railways and with enthisiasts' specials on BR lines.

The last steam hauled trains on the London Underground (LU) ran in 1971, three years after their demise on BR. The big difference is that the end of steam on the Undergound was for engineering trains only on sections of the Metropolitan Line.

The GWR pannier tanks were the mainstay of these works services.

But, as with BR, LU has also run many many heritage trains since. A pannier tank remains available ...

... as is L44 a k a Metropolitan Railway No 1.

No 1 is seen above on the former LU line from Epping to Ongar.

Also starring for some events is the electric locomotive named Sarah Siddons.

Ms Siddons (1745 to 183) was a Welsh actress noted particularly for her portrayal of Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth ...

... and thus a highly appropriate name for a locomotive built in 1930. Electric traction was exchanged for steam at Rickmansworth as late as 1962.

Also available for heritage tours is a four car 1938 stock unit.

This is sometimes let loose on the "big railway" Met Line as below ...

... at Croxley on the Watford Branch.

LU obtained surplus Class 20 (D8000 type for folk of fbb's vintage) and these have hauled specials and appeared in a variety of liveries. It is well beyond fbb's pay grade to discover which livery was used when, but the variety is always of interest.

Here we have "Underground" all-over red ...

... then this is like the modern train livery ...

... and here we see lined maroon like the old locomotives.

fbb thinks tis looks incongruous. Why not go back to BR green?

Using these locos to haul specials is a good idea; but what could they haul? There is no suitable rake of former Metropolitan Railway wood-grain coaches that might be the technologically acceptable.

Then LU had a jackpot idea. Let's buy those old 4TC sets that trundled up and down the Bournemouth line and lets paint then to look like varnished wood. The punters will never notice!

Well your blogging and non travelling punter did notice straight away.

Contrast and compare!

It looks like a 4TC unit painted with stale Piccalilli! In fact there are markings to simulate panelling ...

... but really they don't.

How about Underground red?

That is much better but perhaps a little too garish for a ride on the "distinguished" Metropolitan Line?

Thus we now have lined maroon to match the "heritage" locos.

This style looks particularly attractive on LU's ex LMS inspection Saloon.

Nice.

For the technically minded, the former 4TC vehicles no longer have driving controls available as they did when in push-pull use between Bournemouth and Weymouth. LU's special trains are usually "top and tailed" by two separate powered locos.

For keen modellers, all the locos illustrated above have been available as OO models, some in N gauge.

The "ex 4TC" coach set is currently available in maroon.

Bearing in mind the fact that it is unpowered, the set of four will set you back about £80 per coach; i.e. over £300 for the four car unit. OUCH!

 

The 1938 tube stock is soon to be released as an N scale model. 

BREAKING NEWS

Tomorrow's posting will give details of First Bus' big new takeover and a smaller deal by Transdev.

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"NOT the Advent Calendar", but ...

     The      

  CHRIST -mas 

  Criss-muss  

   Confusion  

 Critique  13 

Ah? The Donkey?

Almost every picture of Joseph and Mary travelling the 80 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem looks something like this.

Unfortunately for those who enjoy the prettiness of Criss-muss, there was no donkey at  CHRISTmas.

Basically, in New Testament times, the donkey was the equivalent of todays pick-up truck or "white van"! The donkey was for carrying goods.

Most likely Mary and Joseph would have walked, probably at dusk or dawn to avoid the heat of the day. 

Yes, that's right, no snow! 

And, despite the words of the song there was no star to follow! The Magi followed the star about two years after the baby's birth.

It gets worse. IF there had been a donkey, social conventions of the day would require Mary to be on foot and Joseph to ride the donkey.

Maybe we don't like it, but that's how it was.

But she was pregnant! It seems pregnancy was tackled with a more matter-of-fact approach than today.

Doesn't this removal of the cosy donkey spoil the story?

But the story was not cosy. Politics had forced a teenager, inexplicably pregnant, to make a tough and dangerous journey.

God understands and experiences the Human Condition!

The about-to-be descendant of David was never going to have it cosy.

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  Next Big Changes blog : Sat 14 Dec