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A REAL Locomotive!


jlancasterd

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John -

 

If not for your capturing the heat waves in the exhaust I'd be certain that this was an exquisite miniature.

 

Miniature it certainly isn't - these babies (the WHR currently has 4, 2 working and the other 2 under restoration) weigh in at over 60 tons and around 20,000lb tractive force - the most powerful 2' gauge steam locos ever built as far as we know. They will be expected to deal with 10-car trains on three miles of sharply curved 2.5% grades when the section from Rhyd Ddu to Beddgelert opens in 3 years' time :)

 

John

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John,

Hope you don't mind me posting these here for Norbert- this big fellow is in the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry, it was brought home at the end of its working life; you can judge the size of it from the person next to the cab.

 

Can't wait to ride the full WHR route, we have walked a good deal of it over the years.

 

Cheers,

Pete.

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John,

Hope you don't mind me posting these here for Norbert- this big fellow is in the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry, it was brought home at the end of its working life; you can judge the size of it from the person next to the cab.

 

Can't wait to ride the full WHR route, we have walked a good deal of it over the years.

 

Cheers,

Pete.

 

Hi Pete

 

Yes, the GL is quite a beast for the 3'6" gauge - 215 tons in working order but with a maximum axle load of only 18.5 tons. They were capable of negotiating a 275' radius curve and pulling a 1,200 ton train up a 2% grade...

 

The WHR should open through to Porthmadog at Easter 2009 - the infrastructure contractors and track gangs have been working on the Rhyd Ddu to Beddgelert section for about a year. Over a mile of track is already laid and the bridge at Bryn y Felin in the Aberglaslyn Pass has been replaced.

 

John

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