That Time The GWR Went Streamlining
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- čas přidán 7. 09. 2024
- Off The Rails: A Series Diving Into The History Of Lost & Forgotten Parts Of British Rail (Except This Time, We Are In America).
Back In The 1930's, Streamlining Was The New Big Thing In The Railway World, And Alongside The LNER & LMS, The Great Western Decided to Join The Party!
Thanks For Watching!
"Oh Lord Nelson's trousers! That's a torpedo!"
I gave my best Nigel Thornberry
Fun note: One of the streamlined GWR locos (can't remember which) makes a surprise blink and you'll miss it cameo in the 1941 horror film "The Ghost Train" starring Arthur Askey.
Streamlined Castle
Written by Arnold Ridley of Dads Army fame (Godfrey)
@@22pcirish Could I please be excused?
@@peterrraklliproductions2020 Not now Godfrey.
It’s sure does. It’s the king
Bullied's Pacifics were not aerodynamic,just fitted with smooth panelling allowing them to use the same washing plant as coaches.
This is, sadly, not true! The washing plant story gets around but there’s no primary evidence to support this claim. The locomotives were described as “air smoothed” so there was an aerodynamic level to the design.
@Britishrailwaystories thanks for the correction on the washing plants, I just went with my best evidence. As for the sides, whilst they were slightly more aerodynamic than what went before but the front end was little better than a standard locomotive. It's all down to the flow field around the front end, and any circulatory bubbles formed at speed (they cause steam to hug the boiler obscuring the view ahead). Gresley had the same problem with the original A4 nose until, as legend has it, someone left a thumbprint behind the chimney which caused a circulatory bubble which lifted the steam into less disturbed airflow.
They also seem to have functioned as smoke deflectors.
I expect "That will shut them up" was not an uncommon phrase in the GWR's streamlining department.
As mentioned in viewer comments, “spam cans”, were not streamlined for speed, but so they could easily be washed using carriage washing plants, quite the opposite to speed. The high speeds recorded for these Merchant Navy/Battle of Britain/West Country locos was a mere 108 mph. Considering the majority of the Southern had maximum line speeds (as today) of 90 mph and below, the need for streamlining for speed was never necessary. Also you could hardly call the open front end, streamlined.
There was a story that Collet got so fed up with the marketing dept pestering him for a streamlined design that he took a metal model of a castle which sat on his desk, sent the office boy out to buy some modelling clay, applied it to the model and set it down to the drawing office and told them to make the drawings from that. Sounds too good to be true though.
The bullet-noise design was used on many streamlined steam locomotives, including Pennsylvania R.R. K-4s 4-6-2 #3768, also nick-named "Torpedo." However, 3768 looked a lot better than the GWR efforts because the streamlining including the pilot, and it was gussied up with bright stainless steel. She was also given most of the modern fittings put on K-4s of the time, and featured an extra large six-axle tender with the streamlining carried to the end of the tender. Four more K-4s were streamlined in 1940-1941, but the fairings were much less extreme, and are best described as "semi-streamlined." Streamlining was removed after 1950, for their last six or so years of service.
GWR: All it needs is a little redefining, a slinky slicker swifter coat that's smooth and shining. Give it the curves it deserves with streamlining!
Very interesting 👍 thanks
1:35 I've Didn't Know GWR Quite A Few Streamlined Steam Locomotives In The 1930's In The 20th Century. Thanks Mate. X
I recall the GWR streamliner King story from reading, at the age of 5 or 6, Ian Allen's Trains Annual 1964. I still have the book, so can refer to page eight showing the initial streamline and later return with the V-cab remaining. I also note that the streamline version had a further streamline element in the cover between loco cab and tender. Now, there is a real nerd memory!
They look pretty horrible, but streamlining the trailing edges of the funnel and steam dome is actually fairly smart, because it's at the tail you get the biggest payback at those sorts of speeds. It would be interesting to know how much of all the streamlining done in the '30s was actually effective, and how much was fashion.
My dad saw the King at Reading and said it was the strangest thing he’d seen until then. The family had a lot of members who worked for the railway and the rumour was that it was very enthusiastically promoted by the board and the result was an expression of Colletts opinion of the whole endeavour
Excellent video on an otherwise overlooked pair of locos!
However, could you please consider toning down the music just a tad? Your deep voice is overtaken by the plonking on a few occasions...!
Thank you! I will bare that in mind for future!
I do like it though, its interesting, and then "the royal navy was running out of torpedo's" incredible! 😂
An interesting oddity, the bullet noses and shrouded pilot make these look almost like American streamliners. Those features were both very common on American streamlined steam, seen on engines like the Norfolk and Western J Class, some of the Baltimore and Ohio P-7s, and Pennsylvania K-4 #3768 which was also known as the Torpedo.
Hey, it's the proof we were looking for all along that marketing ruins EVERYTHING they get their hands upon
Certainly interesting video with hints of comedy. Love it!
The Southern had a go with a Schools engine, giving us a Captain Scarlet Pursuit Vehicle 😊😅
I like it
I had no clue this existed but I gotta say it does look nice
I needed to know why they don’t dig a tunnel and do an extension for the main line Train so that they can extend the unused abandoned underground train stations. Why couldn’t they use the part D78 Stock train doors on the sides and also restructure the front face of the A60 and A62 stock that includes the class 313, class 314 and class 315 remix and make them all together and also redesign them an overhead line and also make them into Five cars per units and also having three Disabled Toilets on those Five cars per units A60 and A62 stock trains and also convert the A60 and A62 stock trains into a Scania N112, Volvo B10M, Gardner 6LXB, Gardner 6LXC and Gardner 8LXB Diesel Engines and also put the Loud 7-Speed Voith Gearboxes even Loud 8-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Gearboxes in the A60 and A62 stock, class 313, class 314, and class 315 and also modernise the A60 and A62 stock and make it into an 11 car per unit so it could have fewer doors, more tables, computers and mobile phone chargers. A Stock Train and 8 Disabled Toilets on those A stock trains. why couldn’t we refurbish and modernise the Waterloo and city line Triple-Track train tunnel and make it more Larger and extend it to the bank station, making it into a Triple-Track Railway Line so those Five countries such as Australia, Germany, Italy, Poland And Sweden to convert the waterloo and city line Triple-Track Railway tunnel into a High-Speed Railway lines? The Third Euro tunnel Triple-Track Railway line to make it 11 times better for passengers so they could go from A to B. Then put the modernised 11 car per unit A Stock and put them on a bigger modernised Waterloo and city line Triple-Track train tunnel so it could go to bank station to those Five countries such as Australia, Germany, Italy, Poland And Sweden. The modernised refurbished 11 cars per unit A stock could be a High Speed The Third Triple-Track Euro Tunnel Train So it is promising and 47 times a lot more possible to do this kind of project if that will be OK for London Australia, Germany, Italy, Poland And Sweden. oh by the way, could they also tunnel the Triple-Track Railway Line so it will stop from Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex so that the Passengers will go to Australia, Germany, Italy, Poland and Sweden and also extend the Triple-Track Railway Line from the Bank to Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex Stations so that more people from there could go to Australia, Germany, Italy, Poland And Sweden more Easily. Why couldn't they extend the Piccadilly Line and also build brand-new underground train stations so it could go even further right up to Clapton, Wood Street can they also make another brand new underground train station in Chingford and could they extend the Piccadilly Line and the DLR right up to Chingford? All of the classes 150, 155, 154, 117, 114, 105, and 106, will be replaced by all of the Scania N112, Volvo B10M, Gardner 6LXB, Gardner 6LXC and Gardner 8LXB Diesel Five carriages three disabled toilets are air conditioning trains including Highams Park for extended roots which is the Piccadilly line and the DLR trains. Could you also convert all of the 1973 stock trains into an air-conditioned maximum speed 78 km/hours (48 MPH) re-refurbished and make it into a 8 cars per unit if that will be alright, and also extend all of the Piccadilly train stations to make more space for all of the extended 8 car per unit 1973 stock air condition trains and can you also build another Mayflower and Tornado Steam Locomotive Companies and can they order Every 77 Octagon and Every 47 Hexagon shape LNER diagram unique small no.13 and unique small no.11 Boilers from those Countries such as Greece, Italy, Poland, and Sweden, can they make Mayflower and Tornado Steam Locomotive speeds by up to 147MPH so you can try and test it on the Original Mainline so it will be much more safer for the Passengers to enjoy the 147MPH speed Limit only for HS2 and Channel Tunnel mainline services, if they needed 16 Carriages Per units, can they use those class 55’s, class 44’s, class 40’s and class 43HST Diesel Locomotive’s right at the Back of those 18 Carriages Per Units so they can take over at the Back to let those Mayflower and Tornado Steam Locomotive’s have a rest for those interesting Journeys Please!!!!!!, oh can you make all of those Coal Boxes’s 18 Tonnes for all of those 147MPH Mayflower and Tornado Steam Locomotive’s so the Companies will Understand us PASSENGER’S!!!! so please make sure that the Builders can do as they are told!!!!! And Please do something about these very very important Professional ideas Please? Prime Minister of England, Prime Minister of Australia, Prime Minister of Sweden, Prime Minister of Germany, Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister of Poland and that Includes the Mayor of London.
Hi mate
I hope you are well
Yes I like them both streamlined King and Castle
I do have a oo gauge model of both.
Keep safe ARP
Why do I actually like how they look?
I suspect all the streamlining stuff was to do with marketing and and a nuisance for maintenance. Steam engines where pretty slippery anyway. All to do with marketing and advertising which has just got worse over the years in so much of our lives.
I wonder whether the story about Collet sending out for some plasticine and then smoothing it over a model in a half-hearted way to please the publicity dept. is true. The continuous splashers did get taken up on the 1000 County class of 1945.
That thing is HIDEOUS
Well, I never thought I'd see the day where the great western railway had 2 streamlined steam locomotives
Southern Railway USA be like: Can I borrow that?
One of the GWR Streamliners - either the King or the Castle - made a cameo appearance in a 1941 film version of the play "The Ghost Train" (written, incidentally, by Arnold Ridley, later Private Godfrey in "Dad's Army"). There are shots of an approaching train in one of which the streamliner appears and another with an unstreamlined loco, a piece of poor continuity which would otherwise have gone unnoticed.
It's said that the VW Van had a better aerodynamic profile than the E-type Jaguar, and I suspect something similar is true of streamlined trains.
1:50 is that an old GWR broad gauge engine being used as a stationary boiler?
The replica "North Star" was kept on a pedestal at Swindon Works
@@mikebrown3772 Thats one hell of a pedestal, it feels more like they just wanted to put the poor fella as high up as they could
1:48 I'd say that there is likely to have been as much, if not more effort in fact.
This monstrosity screams engineer designed for maximum efficiency and so what what it looks like.
"Good grief, that's a MOBILE BOMB!"
What speed did the LMS Coronation class reach? Looked so amazing, but good for GWR not bothering with it really. Looks like a half hearted effort.
112 mph.
Titfield Thunder Bolt clip at beginning.
Pity about the annoying music , otherwise most interesting
first thing that comes to mind: :it looks like a "
Although the LNER's Mallard won the speed record, it was due more to the internal streamlining of steam passages than to Gresley's exciting cladding. In fact, only the LMS utilised the services of a wind tunnel in developing the final form of the streamlined Coronation pacifics. Even so, The LMS lacked the race track of long gradient that helped the LNER.
Ahoy! ☎️🤣
I have video suggestion for a video
A video on the BR Class 12
King George V isn’t going anywhere anytime soon…😉
Great westerns effort was as said marketing rather then any actual desire to improve performance/speed
Coronations were de streamlined and even the A4 had the streamlining cut down to ease maintenance with little to show in terms of loss of performance.
Staniers attitude when building first batch of unstreamlined coronations about building proper engines again shows that whilst may capture public attention did very little to actually do anything for performance.
When the Great Western way doesn’t work
The v fronted cab looked ok, and the straight splashers appeared on the County class, but the rest is a nasty lash up that proves the old adage- fashion is the 1st thing to go out of fashion.. B.t.w, have you seen the streamlined Southern Schools class? Makes the GWR's attempts look professional!
The LNER Gresley A4 still holds the record for the fastest steam locomotive which maxed out to 136 mph in 1938 and before it was the LNER Gresley A3 4472 Flying Scotsman (currently #60103, National Railway Museum York).
Mallard took the record from one of the Coronation class which did 114mph
126 mph!
The boiler looks like a bullet!
GRAB THAT BOILER AND PUT IT A 2 TIMES BOILER SIZED GUN.
A bit half arsed isn't it!
Air smoothed. Not streamline.
The GWR kept to its tried and tested locomotives. They had no major intrest in any streaming of locomotives. So a token gesture was made.