A full head of steam

A reference in last Tuesday’s Craigie to a locomotive as a “machine” prompted Geoff Bray to get in touch.

His coals having been understandably stoked, the Forfar resident feels it’s important to flag up a few bits of slack terminology and technical detail that were bandied about in our anecdote inspired by regular contributor Thomas Brown’s picture of an ‘iron horse’ that still runs on the Strathspey Railway in the Highlands.

Mr Bray says: “As a lifelong enthusiast of

all things pertaining to rail transport for over 70 years, I feel some correction to the article regarding the Black 5 story is needed.

“Firstly, there were sadly no Class A1 Pacifics taken into preservation, as they all suffered under the ‘gas axe’. ‘Tornado’ is an exact reproduction of this class of excellent LNER Pacifics, bearing the continuation number 60163, built by the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust and completed in 2008.

“Secondly, the description of the Black 5 is incorrect, in that the wheel arrangement is 4-6-0 and not a Pacific. The Stanier Black 5s are so called because of their power designation of 5MT – Mixed Traffic, or Class 5P/5F – having a mid-range capability of 5, for passenger and freight use. So the printed terminology of “Black S 5” is an error.

“This locomotive as 45025, since withdrawal in 1968, was bought for preservation by Ted Wilkinson for use on the Strathspey Railway, but has had various works carried out and has run on other railways. It is now at home in Aviemore.

“As an aside, locomotives are not trains, they pull or haul trains. Also, like ships, should not be referred to with the prefix ‘the’, but referred to as ‘she’. For example, 60163 Tornado or HMS Prince of Wales – no ‘the’ required as they are ‘living things’ and not just machines.”

Every day here at Craigie is very much a school day, Geoff, so thanks for providing your informative Black 5 facts. We’re always pleased to set the record straight!