Stirling Single Spotted!

Have any photographs ever emerged of number 9 in it's original 4-2-4 form? My references to this engine date from around 30 years ago and at that time no photographs were known to exist. In it's rebuilt guise it was still less than an oil painting. The GWR rebuilds of the Pearson singles as 4-2-2 tender engines are particularly handsome, but I have a soft spot for them in their earlier guises where they were more impressive than beautiful, Cheers, Bill.

Reply to
Bill Davies
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No photographs, IIRC - the GW seems to have shown a creditable sense of shame regarding it - but there was an article in one of the magazines in the last year (Backtrack, IIRC) in which the author had reconstructed its appearance from the known wheelbases and photographs of the rebuilt version. Horrible doesn't even begin to describe it. As you say, it was always pretty inelegant, but going from the article it must have been a whole lot of ugly all in one place in its original form.

Agree on both. In their rebuilt form they seem to have been lovely indeed in appearance (though loathed by the running staff, according to Ahrons). I actually like the craggy, gothic appearance of the unrebuilt versions (and still more the original Rothwell-built engines) but no, they're not beauties.

Bogie singles (with tenders) are generally a well-proportioned type (in spite of some of the exceptions turned up - or should that be exhumed - in this thread): I'd share the palm for beauty for the type between Sturrock's 215, the rebuilt Pearsons and the final batch of Stirling 8' singles. If pressed for a personal favourity I'd probably go for Massey Bromley's

7'9" outside-cylinder GER engines, though..
Reply to
ANDREW ROBERT BREEN

In message , ANDREW ROBERT BREEN writes

Interesting that the caption implies that that monstrosity was based on an English design.

Reply to
John Sullivan

Well, in terms of configuration it's certainly a Crampton. Stevens and Dripps were well up to date on developments elsewhere and it's likely (as Sharman suggests) that the perceived success of (english-built) Cramptons in in .uk, Belgium and the US (one example) encouraged them to have a go themselves, but it's more a case of inspiration from Cramptons elsewhere than being based on any design other than their own.

I'd recommend Sharman's book - it includes advice on modelling these beasts, too.

Reply to
ANDREW ROBERT BREEN

It's a Crampton.

Thomas Russell Crampton had been a draftsman for Daniel Gooch on the GWR broad gauge.

Broad gauge engines had room for a huge boiler, and he tried to get that advantage on standard gauge engines by placing the driving wheels behind the firebox.

Which was not a very good place because there wasn't much weight over them.

There is a section about this particular engine in Mike Sharman's book The Crampton Locomotive.

The book describes his other patents and ideas, as well.

Reply to
Christopher A. Lee

Reply to
David Costigan

The Johnson Single is nice, but my vote still goes to the Stirling as I love the cut-outs in the wheel arch

Steve

Reply to
mindesign

Autocom updated and re-released the K's kits but I don't remember if they did a Stirling Single. I posted the following to this group last October to a similar query:

"The following website:

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the address for Autocom UK Ltd Unit 7 Chapel Barn Yard, Wyle, Warminster, Wiltshire, BA12 0QQ Tel. 01985 248425"

However whether this is still correct is anyone's quess.

Alan

Reply to
Alan P Dawes

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