Hello all,
Didn't quite know whether to put this here or in "preservation", as you'll see......
I've noticed as I browse around the abundance of photos on the internet, it is often really easy to spot when a loco from the "Modernisation Plan" era is in service, or conversely stored, withdrawn, bought for preservation etc. It seems as though locomotives in service rarely exhibit any outward signs of rust (even though they may be 50 or more years old), but as soon as they are out of service, deep patches of rot and seam corrosion are evident, sometimes painted and patched over in varying shades.
How much effort has to go into keeping these old-timers ship-shape, and are many of them extremely crumbly just under the surface?
Didn't quite know whether to put this here or in "preservation", as you'll see......
I've noticed as I browse around the abundance of photos on the internet, it is often really easy to spot when a loco from the "Modernisation Plan" era is in service, or conversely stored, withdrawn, bought for preservation etc. It seems as though locomotives in service rarely exhibit any outward signs of rust (even though they may be 50 or more years old), but as soon as they are out of service, deep patches of rot and seam corrosion are evident, sometimes painted and patched over in varying shades.
How much effort has to go into keeping these old-timers ship-shape, and are many of them extremely crumbly just under the surface?