I like the look of the engine -- that weird rounded front, and then the...I'd call them "fenders" if that were a car or bicycle. Is this a real engine, or a speculative sketch?
Eleanor is absolutely in love with trains and begs me to take her on a train ride. But she wants to travel in trains from a few decades ago, not the Amtrak ones of today. The Durham is a former train station and they have retired trains on display that visitors can walk through. We go through it at least three times each visit.
The painting is 'Mallard on The Elizabethan' by Mike Jeffries.
London and North Eastern Railway locomotive number 4468 (original), 22 (LNER 1946) and 60022 (BR), named Mallard is a Class A4 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotive built at Doncaster Works, England in 1938. It is historically significant as the holder of the world speed record for steam locomotives at 126 mph (203 km/h).
The A4 class was designed by Nigel Gresley to power high-speed streamlined trains. The wind-tunnel-tested, aerodynamic body and high power allowed the class to reach speeds of over 100 miles per hour (160 km/h), although in everyday service it rarely attained this speed. While in British Railways days regular steam-hauled rail services in the UK were officially limited to a 90 mph 'line speed', pre-war, the A4s had to run significantly above 90 mph just to keep schedule on trains such as the Silver Jubilee and The Coronation, with the engines reaching 100 mph on many occasions. Mallard covered almost one and a half million miles (2.4 million km) before it was retired in 1963.
The Elizabethan [pictured in the artwork] was a flagship express that ran non-stop over the 393 miles (632 km) between London King's Cross and Edinburgh Waverley from 1953 to the mid-1960s. Until September 1961 it was steam-hauled. In its day it was the longest non-stop run in the world. Two crews were needed for the six-and-a-half-hour run. They were able to change over mid-journey by using a corridor tender. Only a few locomotives other than Mallard had such a tender.
@ Mudpuddle: If you click on the picture with your mouse (just once) you should get a much larger picture (or tap on it with your finger if you're using a tablet). The sign on the front says "The Elizabethan" The sign on the side says "Mallard" and the engine number on the front (top) is 60022 which would probably make any Brit train enthusiast swoon.
@ Stephen: Definitely real! It's the classic streamlined Mallard shape. I've never been a train nerd (though I know some) but even I recognise the distinctive Mallard look - although it probably helps to be a Brit to recognise is straight off. I do need to read more about our locomotive heritage. It's FULL of great stories.
@ Sarah: I find most modern trains very boring. They're just a way to get from A to B reasonably quickly with the ability to read during the journey. I don't use them very much. I was lucky enough to travel on a steam train (not very far) about 20 years ago which was a LOT of fun. The destination - a place called Pickering in Yorkshire - also had a great bookshop.
Yes, the trains today are super boring. I would still like to travel on a train with Eleanor, but I already know she will be disappointed that it does not look like the ones we play on at the Durham.
7 comments:
couldn't quite read the inscription... Holmes and Watson in one of those cars, probably....
I like the look of the engine -- that weird rounded front, and then the...I'd call them "fenders" if that were a car or bicycle. Is this a real engine, or a speculative sketch?
Eleanor is absolutely in love with trains and begs me to take her on a train ride. But she wants to travel in trains from a few decades ago, not the Amtrak ones of today. The Durham is a former train station and they have retired trains on display that visitors can walk through. We go through it at least three times each visit.
The painting is 'Mallard on The Elizabethan' by Mike Jeffries.
London and North Eastern Railway locomotive number 4468 (original), 22 (LNER 1946) and 60022 (BR), named Mallard is a Class A4 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotive built at Doncaster Works, England in 1938. It is historically significant as the holder of the world speed record for steam locomotives at 126 mph (203 km/h).
The A4 class was designed by Nigel Gresley to power high-speed streamlined trains. The wind-tunnel-tested, aerodynamic body and high power allowed the class to reach speeds of over 100 miles per hour (160 km/h), although in everyday service it rarely attained this speed. While in British Railways days regular steam-hauled rail services in the UK were officially limited to a 90 mph 'line speed', pre-war, the A4s had to run significantly above 90 mph just to keep schedule on trains such as the Silver Jubilee and The Coronation, with the engines reaching 100 mph on many occasions. Mallard covered almost one and a half million miles (2.4 million km) before it was retired in 1963.
The Elizabethan [pictured in the artwork] was a flagship express that ran non-stop over the 393 miles (632 km) between London King's Cross and Edinburgh Waverley from 1953 to the mid-1960s. Until September 1961 it was steam-hauled. In its day it was the longest non-stop run in the world. Two crews were needed for the six-and-a-half-hour run. They were able to change over mid-journey by using a corridor tender. Only a few locomotives other than Mallard had such a tender.
[From Wiki]
@ Mudpuddle: If you click on the picture with your mouse (just once) you should get a much larger picture (or tap on it with your finger if you're using a tablet). The sign on the front says "The Elizabethan" The sign on the side says "Mallard" and the engine number on the front (top) is 60022 which would probably make any Brit train enthusiast swoon.
@ Stephen: Definitely real! It's the classic streamlined Mallard shape. I've never been a train nerd (though I know some) but even I recognise the distinctive Mallard look - although it probably helps to be a Brit to recognise is straight off. I do need to read more about our locomotive heritage. It's FULL of great stories.
@ Sarah: I find most modern trains very boring. They're just a way to get from A to B reasonably quickly with the ability to read during the journey. I don't use them very much. I was lucky enough to travel on a steam train (not very far) about 20 years ago which was a LOT of fun. The destination - a place called Pickering in Yorkshire - also had a great bookshop.
tx, CK i'm pretty illiterate computerly speaking... that would be beyond scary, being the engineer traveling at 100mph!!
Yes, the trains today are super boring. I would still like to travel on a train with Eleanor, but I already know she will be disappointed that it does not look like the ones we play on at the Durham.
Post a Comment