LNER Garratt buffer beam

[Darwin4975]

Attached is a photograph of the front buffer beam of No 69999. Obviously the beam itself will have been painted red. In the absence of information to the contrary I am assuming that the plate above the buffer beam (through which the vacuum pipe emerges) would have been black. Can anyone corroborate this?

[JASd17]

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[Darwin4975]

Sorry John but I don't think that helps very much -these are all b/w images. The sad fact is that no good colour transparencies exist of this locomotive so perhaps we will never know the answer to the question.

However there is another. I attach two more pictures, this time of the chimney. Both are absolutely unretouched so show exactly what was to be seen at the time. The first one, taken in May 1949 clearly shows a small pipe ahead of the chimney. It looks very much as if it's there for a purpose. I have inspected all pre-BR images available in Yeadon and the 'Green Bible'. None show this pipe.

Now the later image taken under the wires on the Sheffield-Manchester line in the 1950s shows what may be the same pipe but pointing in a completely different direction and possibly by now redundant.

Can any enlightened person say what the purpose of this appendage may have been?

[Seagull]

Regarding the buffer beam I have not see any photos from BR days that help, but certainly in LNER days there is good evidence to suggest that it was painted as you said, the buffer beam red and the vertical plate above in black.

In grey paint - buffer beam black or red with grey paint above

Painted black - buffer beam appears to be different colour

Cannot help you with the small pipe. I would guess it's something to do with venting the lubrication system, but I am very much guessing.

Alan