Atomic Systems

I am feeling a bit alone with my love of the Flying Scotsman as all of the Trainsim Twits (DarthMunch, AlRil and rwaceyw) HATE it. So I have set up this poll to see who likes it and who doesn't.

The train or the kettle..

Saw the Flying Scotsman in october, 91 on the front

It's just a sinkhole for money that never seems to get any more reliable.

It's just another kettle to me.

Clearly lots of people like the thing, as a whopping £3million (or whatever it was) was raised to buy it for the NRM.

Personally I think Pegler should have saved Papyrus...

He did didn't he? It's a massive restoration job though - any casual inspection would show that everything other than the boiler and firebox is just too far gone

Seriously though, is there anything else left of Papyrus (spares etc)?

Its not Papyrus! Its Salmon Trout!!!

Regards,

Dan

No comment

Chris

I am actually an enormous fan of steam traction, but I will say the following, to give my two cents worth:

I find the Flying Scotsman an overrated locomotive. It looks ill-proportioned and kind of ungainly (though I do like the livery). I would say that it probably is worth preserving Gresley pacifics as they have an enormous following, and should be kept for posterity's sake, but I just don't like the locomotive very much. Perhaps an A4 would be more worthy of the hype that the Flying Scotsman gets, but that's really being subjective. However, I will say this about the locomotive, - at least it's not a deltic - something I definitely see to much of!

Don't worry, there are others I think are also overrated - namely Bulleid locomotives. They look ugly (and I don't just mean Q1s) and don't perform remarkably, and don't have as much historic value as many other steam locomotives. Quite frankly, we see to much of Bulleid in the preservation scene. So it's not just this one Gresley locomotive I'm having a go at.

However, I'm sure there are people with other opinions. I think that the GWR hardly put a foot wrong, but others will disagree. I may also say that the finest locomotives in Britain are the W&LLR's 822 and 823, but that's just my opinion. Does it matter what anyone thinks on this? No.

Nick

Gimme a Bulleid - or even better a Maunsell (shall we say an S15?) any day.

Rebuilt Bulleids, not a fan of the unrebuilts, and not Clan Line either!

i in general have a deep resentment for steam locomotives.. as im more a diesel/electric man.
however i know for a fact im not alone is what im about to say

"Flying scotsman" is the only steam locomotive i do actually like...
why exactly remains a mystery... i know its not a record breaker like its A4 sisters... but i find them ugly...
the Flying scotsman is an icon for british railways.. the way they were... and how we have evolved... and the fact that flying scotsman is still out and running on the mainline (not including its current overhaul) is a testiment to the fact that she is a unique locomotives and deserves the attention she gets.

which other britis pre. british railways.. or any british locomotive is known world wide...?

you think that 47145 is known in austalasia...?
you think that 45112 is known in calafornia...?
or 86401 Northampton town is known anywhere ese?

flying scotman has been all over the globe.. and its thanks to some truely inspired men ... event hough it has eventually cos them more than any of us would be willing to part with....


if you have no love for her thats fine.. i find it shamefull and phetic but its your opinion...
these locomotives show our heritage and its nice to remember that locomotive that the whole world knows about is british built, british used.. and british preserved... Ladies and Gentlemen...flying scotsman is our heritage....

an icon for our country and for our railways.

she was a record breaker though (although that is an area that could lead to a big GWR - LNER fight)

her record was that she was the first locomotive to break the 100mph limit (although there are reports saying City Of Truro may have done it first)

Again i am a man who likes BR diesels/lectrics and multiple units but i still have respect for 4472 because of its historical significance, even if it is a bottomless cash pit

Hmm, I don't think she was ever a record-breaker. Sure there is a debate as to the first steam loco to reach 100mph, but I always thought it was an Anglo-American one; whether it was the City of Truro, or NYC 999. By the time 4472 was out on the rails, I think 100mph had defintely been reached before (I'm pretty sure the French and Germans had both done this by the time it was built anyway).

However, you could say that the A3s were the fastest locomotives in Britain when first put in traffic - the service 'The Flying Scotsman' kept up the best average speed in the UK at the time.

Nick

Regardless of whether or not she was the first to reach 100mph, Scotsman still holds many records, notably the longest non-stop run by a steam locomotive and the first steam locomotive to circumnavigate the globe...
As n863dwt said, she is an icon, and for that reason alone she is worth keeping. She is known all over the world, and that makes her a valuable publcity tool for railway preservation. The NRM has reported that loadings on the Scarborough Spa Express are down now that she is no longer hauling it, proving that many of the passengers come simply to see Scotsman. If she's getting people onto steam trains who wouldn't otherwise ride on steam engines, then surely that can only be a good thing - as the money riased from those trips can help fund other NRM projects, not just 4472.
The claim that she is just a "sinkhole for money" is a little unfair - the massive amounts of cash that have had to be spent on her in recent years is mainly due to mismanagement by the previous owners. Once the NRM has got her back in order, she'll be just as reliable as any other main line steam engine and shouldn't require much more money.

n863dwt wrote:which other britis pre. british railways.. or any british locomotive is known world wide...?

you think that 47145 is known in austalasia...?
you think that 45112 is known in calafornia...?
or 86401 Northampton town is known anywhere ese?

flying scotman has been all over the globe.. and its thanks to some truely inspired men ... event hough it has eventually cos them more than any of us would be willing to part with.....

City of Truro, Iron Duke, Rocket, Coronation, Mallard, need I continue?

Thomas the Tank Engine?