LITTLE AND LARGE ‘PACIFICS’

It was fascinating to study the ‘Then and Now’ photographs of Flying Scotsman and Typhoon together again after 90 years (SR466). Congratulations to the Bluebell for setting this up. Another major change undergone by ‘Scotsman’ in the intervening years of course, is the changeover from right‑hand to left‑hand drive, as evidenced by the brake ejector pipe seen in the earlier photograph,

SOME OF THE ST ROLLOX CREWS WERE NOTORIOUS DRINKERS, AND WE HAD SOME HAIR-RAISING RUNS

while Typhoon has retained its right‑hand drive. One puzzling feature on Flying Scotsman, however, is the rod and crank arrangement in the upper picture immediately below the ejector pipe. Did this operate some device inside the smokebox? Paul Smith, Southport