10.45 from Baghdad arrives at last

This is Mespot, lad.

In article , Arthur Figgis writes

Please can you explain the term "NG kettle"?

Thanks.

Gosh. I didn't even know Iraq had a railway.

(S)

In message , andy writes

To me it means "narrow-gauge steam locomotive".

Ref to "Heritage Railway" .... Iraq Rly No 1429 - LMS No 8262.

The number of the loco raises problems.

According to Rowledge (Engines of the LMS) Iraq 1429 was previously Iraq

909, it had started life as WD 547 but on arrival in Persia it was renumbered (Persia) 41.222 - in the oil burning series. It was renumbered some time after late 1944 as WD 70547 and it was allocated to Iraq in 1946.

WD 547 was one of a batch built to Ministry of Supply order by NBL in 1942 and it was sent to Persia (presumably more or less immediately) and never worked on the LMS.

LMS 8262 was built to an MoS order by NBL in 1940 in the number series WD

300-54. It was loaned to LMS as part of a batch numbered 8226-63 by the LMS which also gave them a Crewe Lot number (157). It was recalled by the WD in 1941 as WD 373 and shipped to Persia where it became 41.151 then 41.153 before being renumbered to WD 70576, it was subsequently sold to BR in 1948 when it was renumbered 48262.

John.

Narrow gauge steam locomotive.

Jim.

According to Jenkinson's Locomotive Liveries of the LMS the Series 8226-8263 "LMS Livery probably never carried" and were never included into LMS Stock proper Whilst 8264-8285 were their livery was classed as C2y (All Black loco with 12" numerals and Chrome Yellow insignia with 53" letter spacing on Tender)

-- Merry Christmas

From Gray The Madcaravanner from Chesterfield

You don't have to be mad but it helps

"> According to Jenkinson's Locomotive Liveries of the LMS

Merry Christmas

Many thanks. The picture is starting to fit together.

John.

I have this absurd image of a customs officer leaping out of the way of a whistling 8F as the driver nonchalantly looks up.

Were not the middle eastern Locos equipped with cow catchers? Driver .Its an Aeroplane. Customs how do you make that out? Driver .Its got a pilot up front

G.Harman

A spot of looting eh? Don't like the chances of getting any out before Iraqi civil administration is back, the American administration is touchy about cultural and non-military stuff taken out of the country.

More to the point, they were strategicaly useful - and not in a position to object - when the evil regime of concern was in Germany.

In 2002 they got 50 new locos from China. There are also assorted Canadian, Japanese, Austrian (at least 2 shunters) and French built locos in use. There aren't that many passenger services (though there are a few), but a fair amount of freight is supposedly being carried in the south.

Much of the network is compariatively modern, quite a lot of the standard gauge being built or upgraded from the 1960s onwards. Services were running until the recent invasion, and were going again not long afterwards. The meter gauge network is now gone, but I'm not sure when it stopped running.

Bit simplistic. There was an attempted coup staged by a pro-Nazi group known as The Golden Square. That was in early 1941. We staged an invasion from India, and followed it up by throwing the Vichy French out of Syria.

The Iraqi Railways website has the following note:-

"Preserved Locomotives of British Railways (Fox & Hall, eighth edition,

1993) suggests former War Department 8F no 547, built by North British Locomotive Co in 1941 (works no 24740) might have survived in Baghdad as IRR no 1429. The December 2003 issue of Steam Railway claims an 8F has survived in a compound near Baghdad."

The interesting point is that 1429 may have been known about for some time.

Has anyone got access to either of those publications and can possibly and to our knowledge?

John.

I have this publication and can confirm that the information is shown as above. Unfortunately, there is nothing to add.

Dave W

All,

Herewith the photo of the Sentinel on its plinth outside the railway works in Baghdad.

Has anyone any information on this little beast?

John.