Royal Scot footplate (7 coaches) on  

Yes, getting youngsters involved is a good thing. Its one of the reasons I enjoy visiting the large Great Central steam Gala's at Loughborough. There are always plenty of youngsters involved there and some seem to have a lot of responsibility. 👍

The Black Five you rode on 1991/2 was 44767 because 45305 hasn't run on the Moors

There's a very in depth video on youtube by someone named Hyce about firing a coal burning steam locomotive. It's called Firing 101. Hyce is American so a lot of the terms he uses are different to here in the UK but the basic principles are exactly the same - it's well worth a watch!

Yesindeed,i got burned not wearing one. Lesson learned.but i still have the scar.

The loco was departing cold, straight from shed for the 1 in 49 climb from a standing start with 7 coaches and steam heat on. The coal being used also burns rapidly with little ash or clinker so a bit more coal than usual is required for the climb. You would be unlikely to make it to Goathland if you fired little and often with no backend. Also the train was non stop through Goathland so the fireman had to take that into account. The loco would not be stopping for 5 to 10 mins for the fireman to be rebuild the fire and top the water level up on way to the summit at Ellerbeck.

The little and often method still had room for a thick fire bed. Put a bit more on each round than it’s using and that builds you reserve for the heavy work.

@@nymrfootage Excellent explanation. I was wondering the same thing, having grown up around the Union Pacific's Big Boys and Challengers in Cheyenne. At his retirement party, when asked what was the most significant thing he remembered from the steam days (he was a locomotive fireman then an engineer) he replied his happiest moment was the first time he used an automatic stoker. The really big iron simply could not be fired by hand.

Without actually seeing inside the firebox , it maybe the fire is being drawn more to the right than the left. The configuration of the firebars and dampers can cause coal to burn away more quickly on one side.

Unfortunately, even if you select no adverts, RU-vid still insert them. There's no way round it, that I'm aware off. However, the footage is available on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K disc.

He gets to fire on the way back. 😂

The loco was cold and had just off shed so the cylinders contained a lot of water and condensation. Plus it was cold and damp morning. The owners rep may also have asked for the cylinder drain cocks to be left open until all the water had been expelled. Also, if you look at the chimney as the loco approaches the tunnel, there is still quite a lot of water still being expelled from the cylinder drain cocks. Usually, if loco has come in from Whitby or has arrived from Pickering and run straight round the train, the cylinder drain cocks would be shut much sooner. It's better to be safe than sorry and damage or even blow off the cylinder. Some locos also have inclined cylinders that causes water and condensation to collect at the rear of the cylinder, this requiring more time for the water to be blown out through the drain cocks. Hope that explains it in a bit more detail. Regards.

@@nymrfootage Thank you for such a quick, detailed and informative reply. Now I understand better. Many thanks and all good wishes. Martin Adams

Can't see any grey hair on the footplate, good sign for the future 👍👍👍

There was mostly likely a block on platform 3 due to the guard completing coach checks or the carriage cleaners still cleaning the coaches. Once they are finished they let the signal know and the block can removed. In this video, although edited out, the crew were in platform 4 for about 20 minutes before moving to platform 3.

Perhaps your locos don’t have baffle plates just inside the firehole? This loco, and indeed virtually all British locos, have a baffle plate which directs the cold air entering the firehole towards the brick arch. This causes it to mix with the volatile gasses coming off the firebed and thus promoting combustion of said volatile gasses to give a more efficient burn of the coal. This secondary air is regulated by amount the firedoor is opened. When done correctly this does not cause any harm to the tubeplate, which I think is your concern here.

The young guy (on the right) is trainee fireman. He gets to fire the return trip. lol. The guy on the left at the back of the cab is the LSL (Locomotive Services Ltd) owners rep.

That much coal can also make little smoke if fired with a little care. On the gradient in question, the logos are worked reasonably hard and I wouldn't want to go up with much less.

It’s got a deflector plate and he was firing over the flap. A bit of top air clears the smoke and helps burn more volatiles. All perfectly fine.

Firing over the flap was a common practice, finishing with blocking the fire hole with coal. On the next firing the coal would be pushed into to fire first.