Retired Engine Driver John Anthony has submitted a guest blog post, sharing his experience of the unique BR Standard 8P Pacific, 71000 Duke of Gloucester.
Hi folks,
He rolled down the platform at Carlisle Citadel in whoops and skirls, the regal “DUKE”, panting steam about his CAPROTTI fetlocks. Now I know very little about “Caprotti’s, yet there was I, surrounded by enthusiasts asking how he worked! So being in the hot seat I bluffed and puffed till the left hand “peg” told me to go. Arriving at Appleby we were twenty minutes late due to shortage of steam! I checked everything to no avail when a pimperly fresh faced youth said “You know why it won’t steam driver? You are not working it hard enough.”
I flogged the “DUKE” from Appleby and it blew its bloody head off all the way up to Ais Gill summit!
John.
Many thanks to John for sending this in! All of John’s contributions can be found on a dedicated web page (please click here.)
Loco Yard 
It used to be said of the St Rollox batch of Caprotti fives that they were ; “aw mooth and nae troosers”, being less powerful than regular 5MTs of both Stanier and Riddles designs. That said, they were fast once they found their feet and with a loud exhaust that some claimed could be heard across the whole north and east of Glasgow when they emerged from Buchanan Street tunnel on their way to Perth, Dundee or Aberdeen. 😊
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Interesting to hear about the difference in performance and wow, that must have been a glorious sound!
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