Re: [VIC] H220 (was: Surviving R classes)

[James Brook <ajmbrook@ozemail.com.au>]

John Dennis wrote:

> Is there any other N class preserved
> anywhere, or are we stuck with 432, one of 5 in a class of how many?

There is an N class in the Port Dock museum. It is one of the ones sold to the
SAR. Apart from N432 and the one in SA, there aren't any other N class locos
surviving.

> I am not concerned about R704 being preserved with its knackered
> boiler, especially not since the museum is (currently at least) for
> static preservation...<snip>

There should be a "normal" R statically preserved in the museum to show people
what the VR R classes looked like.  If a normal R was preserved (eg: R700 or
R753) there would still be two other normal R's running (R761 and R707). R704
would then be an ideal loco to return to service because it would be slightly
different to the other running R classes. The current Steamrail or 707 ops R
class locos are not representative of VR locos, mainly because of the extended
bunker and the non-essential modifications like the headboard on R761 and the
nameplate on R707. There should be one standard example of all surviving loco
classes in the museum to show people what they looked like in VR service, not
Steamrail or 707ops service.


--
- James Brook -

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