I hear that V2 4771 'Green Arrow' failed its annual boiler inspection at York last week and has been withdrawn from Railtour duties for the forseeable future. Therefore this is almost certainly the end of its mainline career unless some (very) wealthy benefactor comes forward to pay for a new monobloc cylinder casting. What I'd like to know and haven't seen on any other websites is whether its boiler ailments are repairable for preserved line use for a year or so, or whether it is now destined to be stuffed and mounted in the Great Hall? If the latter, it's a sad end for a great loco and a loss to us all.
I'll see what jen I can gain on Saturday, but last time I gained jen, I was told Green Arrow wasn't to go in LNER as they didn't have time with doing Scotsman!...Doncaster did it instead!
uksteam.info has Tangmere down for Saturday and Mondays trips from Dereham, but the Railway Touring Company is still showing 4771 for Monday to Scarborough, although tomorrows movement to Dereham has been cancelled, and todays movement of Tangmere is taking place tomorrow!
Just spoken to a man who knows, and it failed the boiler cert, so it can't do main line now, and they're thinking of reducing the boiler preasure to run on preserved railways.
the foundation ring has gone, and it's 6 years in to it's 7 year cert, so there's not much use doing it now with Scotsman and Cromwell underway, so the boiler preassure is to be reduced to see out it's certificate on preserved railways.
Better if it was running though, rather than the usless Southern rubbish.
Tangmere was booked from Norwich to Scarborough, then back to York, and diesel back to Norwich.
So we're waiting on Platform 3 for it's arrivial on platform 5 at 12:04.
Then someone comes and says 1:30, then everyone dashes to platform 9 as on 10 are diesels 37604 & 603, which come off and run round through platform 5, and whilst waiting on p3 a bloke says it's not going, but going in to the musuem.
So in to the musuem, but I can see them going to coal it, so back out and round to the overflow car park, and she comes in, then backs out to water in the musuem.
So back all the way round to get about 20 metres, and whilst there I understand that it is too gready, and has a smaller tender so it doesn't have enough coal to get to Scarborough, and can't coal there!
So instead it ran light engine back to bury!
Thanks for the update. I guess it will re-open the debate about the uniblock. Have the NRM officially said what they will be doing when the full boiler certificate expires, as regards the uniblock?
It's not been officially said as yet, it's just overhearing.
But with Scotsman coming online around the time Green Arrow is out, I guess it might be stuffed for a few years, untill Scotsman is at least half way through, then get Green Arrow ready to take over from Scotsman.
Well that would make a lot of sense, but the Uniblock is often quoted as a 'problem'. I think there's a minor crack or a problem with the studding? (obviously if it is a crack, it isn't in an important place yet!).
A new uniblock could be recast at great expense - assuming a suitable foundry could be found. British Rail routinely replaced expired V2 uniblocks with three individual cylinder castings. This greatly improved future maintenance costs and time - if one cracks you only have to replace one piston casting and not the complete thing. If Green Arrow is to run for many more decades, then this could be an option - BUT it means Green Arrow is no longer original. It is a similar argument as for rebuilding Flying Scotsman's spare boiler or buying a new steel one from German. Or for the opposite decision: the N2's new steel firebox (vs. an original pattern copper one).
It's an interesting point, and featured in Mays Steam Railway, in a 5 page artical in an interview with Jim Rees, the NRMs Curator of Rail Vehicle Collections (in charge of the work shop)
It talks about trying to replace like for like, rather than like for new, as some poeple replace with new, then throw away the old part with no record of it.
If the NRM is to preserve, it needs to replace like for like, so they remain true, like having Scotsmans A3 boiler overhauled, rather than use the A4 pattern one.
There was a program over here on BBC1 North on Friday about the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, and they mentioned replacing bits, and I brought up the 'how much is original?' questions, then it mentions replacing old for new, so they aren't as old as you think, then it gets to the stage where it is a new engine, and not an old one.
The artical in steam railway mentions preserved railways where engines need to be overhaul, and are stored outside with no cover.
And like all things NRM, it comes round to Scotsman, and the LNER green and smoke deflectors are wrong, but so is BR Green and the corridor tender. Bitterns authentic non corridor tender has been converted to corridor status (what a waste), maybe they could have swapped, but a corridor tender is useful, and if it was to go back to single chimney (one day) then the tender would be right.
