Re: Tassie Garratt, Penn Castle & Tassie M Pacific

["Ed" <ews3@ozemail.com.au>]

I expect that, without the involvement of Beyer Peacock back in 1947, K1
would almost certainly have been scrapped in Tasmania.  Certainly there is
no evidence of any rail preservation in Tasmania at that time, and precious
little in the rest of Australia.  We should that the Brits for that, without
having to worship at the altar of anglophilia.

Now if the topic was shifted to Tasmanian Pacific M3 (I think) that was
shipped to England approx. 1990, my views change somewhat.  Here is an
engine that should have remained in Australia, IMHO.  Perfect for operation
on any 3' 6" tourist line.  On the other hand, we still have at least 2 of
these sitting in parks in Tasmania, not to mention a couple of H class
engines...

Ed




Ben Fisher wrote in message <87ph6n$oia$1@nnrp1.deja.com>...
>In article <389EB9E8.F062C914@enet21.com.au>,
>  "chris@enet21.com.au" <chris@enet21.com.au> wrote:
>> The poms don't worry much about Australian heritage just look what
>they
>> did to the Tassie garret (conversion to oil burning). And is running
>> South African locos in Wales part of pommy history? It has as much
>> historical significance as the Penndennis running in Australia.
>>
>> http://www.bangor.ac.uk/ml/whr/k1.htm
>
>Pleased to see my page getting a mention (some of this got cross-posted
>to uk.railway)!
>
>I don't have a view about Pendennis Castle, but when the Tasmanian
>Garratt (K1) is finally running in Wales towards the end of this year,
>you'll scarcely be able to tell the difference from the original. There
>will just be the top surface of the oil tank flush with the surface of
>the rear tank where the coal space was, with a filler and vent on top
>(that detail came to me from the man who's leading the rebuild). The
>livery will be the original black lined in red. The replacement of
>components such as the boiler and the platework of the tanks (most of
>the original cab platework remains though) is a routine matter of
>replacing materials too far gone for operation, as happens in any number
>of steam (or diesel!) restorations or routine maintenance every year,
>around the world. Attempts were made to reuse parts of the boiler (which
>was from K2) but it was too far gone.
>
>As for the relevance of K1 or the South African Garratts to the UK,
>they're examples of locos built for export by UK industry (though I'll
>admit the design of the NGG16s isn't British), and the Welsh Highland
>revival is providing a line where they can work in the sort of terrain
>they were conceived for, and will bring pleasure to thousands, rather
>than vegetating in a museum (as K1 was) or a virtual scrapheap (the
>NGG16s). As the first Garratt, there's a strong case for arguing that K1
>is a loco of world significance rather than just the heritage of any one
>country.
>
>Historically, K1 has spent most of its life in the UK - arrived in
>Tasmania early 1910, worked until c.1929, shipped back to UK 1947,
>purchased by Ffestiniog Railway 1966, loaned to York Museum 1976,
>removed 1995, under restoration since then. And... the approach to the
>builders (Beyer Peacock) to ship it back to the UK in 1947 came from the
>Tasmanian railwayman (Mark Gray) who assembled what he thought were the
>best bits of K1 and K2 into the loco that came back to the UK.
>
>Incidentally the Welsh Highland has plenty of supporters and members in
>Australia - including at least one who's been over as a volunteer!
>
>Ben Fisher
>--
>...............................................
>Dr. Ben Fisher University of Wales, Bangor
>WHR Project: http://www.bangor.ac.uk/ml/whr
>*** Usual disclaimers, blah, blah, blah ***
>
>
>Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
>Before you buy.