Dead Metal

[Roger Wilco]

Regarding 'dead' exhibits - I feel the same way whenever I see Mallard* at York Railway Museum. I always imagine someone slipping in there in the wee small hours armed with a bag of Coalite, some firelighters and a tin of WD40..

* Odd, Duck-based name for record-busting streamlined Leviathan though?

[Renegadenemo]

Regarding 'dead' exhibits - I feel the same way whenever I see Mallard* at York Railway Museum.

I was dismayed by that too. There she was all dead and cold yet not a hundred yard away they had two locos all fired up dripping oil and hissing steam but what impressed me most was how the ground rumbled slightly as they moved. Much more exciting than Mallard

[klingon]

Yeah-used to stand right next to the Buchanan st railway tunnel at Pinkston in Glasgow and the A4 Pacifics would come screaming by 6 feet away-incredible!-the rail lines used to bounce up and down about 6 inches with the weight and "steam hammer"-aaah the memories of a bygone youth!

[Mike Bull]

Back in the early 80s, a lot of the RAF's collection of various historic airframes was housed at RAF St Athan, which was just down the road from me at the time. Among the aircraft held was a Messerschmitt 410, a twin engined WW2 German thing. I knew nothing about the type, and still don't, except that this was one of only two left in existence and that the RAF guys had, just for fun, got the thing going.

Arrive early enough on airshow day and you'd be treated to the sight and sound of two Daimler-Benz V12 engines roaring like absolute bar stewards, all just a few feet away behind a basic barrier. The aircraft shook, the ground shook, the smell of oil and fuel was in the air, and a great impression was left on all.

Now look at the thing-

800px-D-Me410.JPG

Sat at RAF Cosford, utterly dead.

Likewise, the guys at St Athan got a two-seater FW-190 running as well, yet that too is now languishing silently in the gloom at the RAF Museum, Hendon.

Even a runnable aircraft that doesn't fly is a hell of a lot more exciting than one that sits there covered in dust. Musos, take note!

[lsrdatabase]

Regarding 'dead' exhibits - I feel the same way whenever I see Mallard* at York Railway Museum.

I was dismayed by that too. There she was all dead and cold yet not a hundred yard away they had two locos all fired up dripping oil and hissing steam but what impressed me most was how the ground rumbled slightly as they moved. Much more exciting than Mallard

Hi all,
I remember way back in my very young days, (early 50's) my older brother (train spotter type anorak), wanted to go train spotting at Kings X, but Mum told him, only if you take him (me).

What I remember of that day was, while standing at the end of the platform, 'Mallard' came out of St Pancras and crossed over the tracks very near where we were standing. "What is that", I asked, and he explained that it was Mallard holder of the worlds speed record for steam locos, I replied with "Isn't she beautiful". He replied, "I suppose so".

Strangely enough my brother no longer remembers that day, as it was just another days train spotting nothing more. Where-as I still have that memory of seeing 'Mallard', both in STEAM and in SERVICE.

Regards to all, Fred

'I'm just that bloke, who won't go away'.

[Mike Bull]

Bravo, Fred. I'm not into trains as such at all, yet the few times I've seen a live steam loco, you can't half see the appeal of keeping them as living machines.

[thunderer]

Regarding 'dead' exhibits - I feel the same way whenever I see Mallard* at York Railway Museum. I always imagine someone slipping in there in the wee small hours armed with a bag of Coalite, some firelighters and a tin of WD40..

* Odd, Duck-based name for record-busting streamlined Leviathan though?

Without de-railing and taking this thread "off topic", the york NRM have stated in the past (at least since Mallard last ran) that to steam her (Mallard) would add more wear to the locomotive and they prefer to keep the locomotive "As-Is" and preserved for the nation. pathetic. I say Run it alongside the other A4 Loco's. The name of "Mallard" (as well as the other "bird" names) was of Sir herbert Nigel Gresley's choosing, as he was an avid wildlife enthusiast.

Which, in a round-about way brings me to my point.

If Bluebird K7 were to be fully rebuilt, stuffed, mounted and never run but "preserved on a plinth" what purpose would she serve other than to graphically and silently represent a bye-gone era of world water speed record attempts when men were men and British grit and determination were king ?

With Bluebird k7 Being rebuild and "occasionally" (??) run, not only does the nation once again have an item of priceless historic relevance, but the "general" public as well as enthusiasts will be fortunate enough to see and hear and see K7 doing, at least in part, what she was designed for; To run on water, whether this is in person or via archive or recent footage.

No silent stuffed and mounted vehicle could ever provoke the emotions of a living breathing machine like bluebird K7, regardless of how many years may pass between the times it is run.

[polo]

Hear, Hear! well said !, If a machine is sat there doing nothing it is a waste of space. I recently complained to the curator of the War Museum North re a Merlin engine that is sat on a stand, I made a comment to my wife 'what a waste ', as he was stood nearby[I didn't know]. He went on to lambast me with the history of the engine[as if I didn't know already] and how it saved us in the last war. He got it both barrels back with ' how can you treat a war hero by stuffing it and putting it on display, and I pointed out how will children of today remember such a piece of machinery. He has now got in touch with hendon and is having a recording of the Merlin being played next to it and he is researching how to get it working again and to run it at displays. I've joined the 'friends of the museum' as a result. If you don't like what you see,, sorry to shout... COMPLAIN !.. I could copy the letter I received from the curator of the Birmingham museum re the Railton Mobil Special after a complaint I made.. He couldn't even spell MOBIL he sent it back as MOBILE.. copy straight to the mayor of Birmingham from me!. The RMS now has a nice stand all of her own and is in a prominant place with photos of her exploits all over.
For those that haven't ,get onto the website and put in your 2 pennorth re BB running again and make sure you say that there should be NO restrictions of any kind placed on BB. She is a British Icon and in my opinion second only to the Spitfire as the greatest mechanical icon. She should be allowed to dance on the water again..

[klingon]

Totally agree!(did originally write Hear Hear but Polo had the same thought!)-mechanical wear?-what a cop out! it's a bloody machine! of course parts will wear!-thats what workshops are for!-as is?-betcha no more than 50% of the "original" Mallard is there anyway-throught her life don't they think that parts were replaced on a regular basis?-K7 only comprises of a fairly low proportion of the original parts used when she was first built-work in progress is the thing here-you can't freeze time years after the event-otherwise Mallard would still have the original coal in her bunkers!-look at my avtar-a bloody Lancaster on a stick!-I saw this to my horror years ago in Toronto-complete with graffiti art in the bomb bay and coke cans on the wings-thankfully this abomination has been taken down and is now being restored by people who want to see PLANES-not ornaments.thank God Bill et al told the museum fools where to get to with K7-he deserves a medal for that-The Queens Award For Common Sense.!

[Jordangbr]

When I was an Apprentice Fitter and Turner a few years ago one of our tasks was to build a tender for a Victorian steam loco which had been converted by the local ironworks into a saddle tank engine (they scrapped the tender) and later retired it to a school playground where it languished for many years.
Instead of cosmetically restoring it they stripped her down at Vickers in Barrow where Flying Scotsman was once overhauled and restored it to running condition and to it's original configuration while the apprentices made the tender and all it's fittings.
It was very satisfying to see our hard work in action as opposed to being stuffed and mounted.
Furness Railway No 20 is now the oldest working standard guage loco in the country.
Are they scared about wear and tear on something as old as this? Nah!
So it's not as if Mallard is unique now is it?