There are several in preservation. I am aware of 3 - The Bluebell, Watercress and Swanage all have one.
LGB Queen Mary Caboose
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Rather magnificent vans are QM's. Can see how the US Name got captured now. I think the naming in UK was cos they were as big as the QM so there is a tangible link between the names across the Pond.
I also rather like the Shark PloughBrakeVans, not quite sure why but my first recolection of one was in a siding at Wakefield Kirkgate when I was very young. I guess it could be their Vintage look, with the Plough they are very useful to Preservation Lines and the one below illustrates the breed. I believe this one is at Shenfield, I certainly saw one at that Station just over a year ago.
There have been attempts to Preserve the Shenfield Shark which have all been thwarted due to its location next to Overhead Live Wires and various Lineside Boxes in the way. My solution would be to jack it up a little then move it out sideways. Something that a Breakdown Gang in the old days would have managed in an hour or two with 3 or 4 guys doing the job and another 5 or 6 Governors watching.
The so-called 'Queen Mary' caboose is named after the habit of the-then annual West Coast Large Scale Model Train Show holding taking place actually on board the former RMS Queen Mary, now a permanently-moored hotel and conference centre. [A few of us attending a while back suggested changing the name to 'Queen Maud/Moored', a pun that went way over the heads of most of our fellow visitors...[
Anyhow, back then, ALL the major players in LS - LGB, USA Trains and Accucraft - issued very limited numbers or custom-run cars and/or cabooses proclaiming the show - hence the cognomen 'Queen Mary'. They seem to have acquired a cachet of rarity that increases their perceived value, often many times more than their original selling price.
Hope this clears it up for ya.
tac
Ottawa Valley Garden Railway Society [ovgrs.org]
PS - Sorry, Fred, I just looked at the previous page where you addressed this business quite satisfactorily. I'll pull my post if you want.
Anyhow, back then, ALL the major players in LS - LGB, USA Trains and Accucraft - issued very limited numbers or custom-run cars and/or cabooses proclaiming the show - hence the cognomen 'Queen Mary'. They seem to have acquired a cachet of rarity that increases their perceived value, often many times more than their original selling price.
Hope this clears it up for ya.
tac
Ottawa Valley Garden Railway Society [ovgrs.org]
PS - Sorry, Fred, I just looked at the previous page where you addressed this business quite satisfactorily. I'll pull my post if you want.
Apropos of very little, the Royal Air Force aircraft recovery trailer, usually towed by some kind of Bedford tractor truck, is/was also called a 'Queen Mary'.
The name is said to have been a nick-name derived from its extreme length - a nod to the RMS Cunard Queen Mary.
tac
The name is said to have been a nick-name derived from its extreme length - a nod to the RMS Cunard Queen Mary.
tac
Many years ago,,,tooo many,we used to holiday on the Isle of Wight,happy days as a boy of about 8 or 9,used to stay in the old station at St Lawrence nr Ventnor,as was then a holiday let,exploring the old trackbed was great fun,anyway on the last day of one such trip I was woken quite early as we had a bus to catch,,they wouldn`t tell where we were going only that it was a special trip.Ended up at Cowes on a jetty and getting onto quite a large boat and headed out into the Solent,Presto!!!!We were out there to see the arrival of the RMS Queen Elizabeth and the SS United States,as I recall about 20 mins apart,from a boat they were huge and beautiful
I remember being told to hang on tight as we crossed the bow wave,still remember as if it was yesterday,only problem was the Queen Mary was my favorite,don`t know why and still possibly my favorite ship to this day,some years back while in Los Angeles we drove down to Long Beach and went on the old lady,Oh what a day,bridge,engine room all of it visited,and some video,think I must find it out.So in the end got to see her
I believe the SS United States is now a rusting hulk on the eastern coast of the USA,someone will know where,such a shame,I think the plan was to restore her but the money ran out?...and the Queen Elizabeth sank in Hong Kong harbour after catching fire as i recall?
I remember being told to hang on tight as we crossed the bow wave,still remember as if it was yesterday,only problem was the Queen Mary was my favorite,don`t know why and still possibly my favorite ship to this day,some years back while in Los Angeles we drove down to Long Beach and went on the old lady,Oh what a day,bridge,engine room all of it visited,and some video,think I must find it out.So in the end got to see herI believe the SS United States is now a rusting hulk on the eastern coast of the USA,someone will know where,such a shame,I think the plan was to restore her but the money ran out?...and the Queen Elizabeth sank in Hong Kong harbour after catching fire as i recall?
Its in Philadelphia, some way south of the city centre. (Pier 83 or thereabouts)
Seen here 15 years ago after taking I took the Broad Street subway down to Snyder and then the trolleybus east along Snyder Ave.....
There have been several supposed "buyers" for it, including at least one of the big cruise operators, but nothing has happened and it's still there - unlike the trolleybus route that shut about 18 months after my trip!
If you fly into PHL Airport, you can get a good view of the ship out of the right-hand windows of the plane if the approach is from the north. Done that a few times but haven't attempted a photo from the air as yet.
Looks like she would make a great Trump Hotel. Glad to see she still exists though sad to see that she is unwanted.
The former SS United States is not rusting, but rotting - her upperworks are built mostly of aluminium, which is corroding away into powder as you watch. there is nothing that can be done, apart from a total upperworks replacement - costing maybe a $1Billion.
Not even Mr Trump would be happy to foot THAT bill.
tac
OVGRS
Not even Mr Trump would be happy to foot THAT bill.
tac
OVGRS
I didn't write that he couldn't afford to, I wrote that he might not be happy to do so.
tac
OVGRS
That angle of the photo is about the same as the view from the boat in the Solent,memories,,the ships of that era had style and grace,IMO the cruise ships of today just look top heavy boxes
Add onother at the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, out and about last Saturday at the Spring Gala on the Goods Shuttle to Ingrow. Seen here in the Turntable Road at Keithley waiting for the next trip.
Talking of the Queen Mary, the current one passed through here last week. She's one mighty big boat.
I was coming into work on the train, and between the line I was on, and the QM, were a couple of rakes of BR MkII carriages... fleeting memories of ol' Blighty.
I was coming into work on the train, and between the line I was on, and the QM, were a couple of rakes of BR MkII carriages... fleeting memories of ol' Blighty.
I have one of the LGB models here that is painted black and lettered for the D&RGW...one of "The Queens"...I wonder what I could convert it into, that would be of some use on the IPP&W. As it is, it is surplus to our caboose (Van) fleet. Or I could put it on the market...any takers ? It is already converted to body mount Kadee couplers...
Fr.Fred
Fr.Fred
A prototype for everything...
http://www.cs.vintagecarriagestrust.org/se/CarriageInfo.asp?Ref=3484
Though a little smaller, I would reckon?
http://www.cs.vintagecarriagestrust.org/se/CarriageInfo.asp?Ref=3484
Though a little smaller, I would reckon?