Did I mention any date? I would have been spotting a Taplow in '67/68. Plenty of Brush Type 4's passing through at that stage on various workings, including Pullman reliefs. D0280 may even been the substitute Loco on the odd occasion. I think the Drivers I spoke to would have been pretty knowledgeable about their charges and their performance envelopes.
No, but I did, and for a specific reason. Blue Pullmans were introduced in 1960. That means they were designed c 1958. (And ISTR it was a rushed job.) So when they first hit the rails, they were 'state-of-the-art' - or nearly. And the performance would have matched anything else at the time, and far outperformed regular steam timings.
The Cl 47s came along in late 63 I think it was. That may not seem a long time, but in DE development, it was significant, I'd say.
So comparing a Blue Pullman performance to a Cl 47 with 8 on (which was not, in the normal course of things, an economic load at the time - may have just about been for the pullmans - I can't say) is rather like saying the HSTs are underpowered vs Cl 220s.
Could a Cl 47 or 52 with 8 pullmans (which were heavier than normal Mk 1s I believe) outperform an 8-car Pullman. Marginal, I'd have thought.
But as I say, I am sure I remember reading - I can't remember where - an old TI log of Blue Pullmans on the Thames Valley doing 92-95 for miles on end. Was that exceptional - I can't say.
I can't remember how that run performed on the banks.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
The loco-hauled replacement Pullman rake that was utilised whenever a Blue Pullman set was unavailable, primarily on the Western region where utilisation of the sets was highest, consisted typically of eight, and sometimes seven, carriages, so there was a direct comparison to be had there when running to Blue Pullman schedules.
While in the early days of the loco-hauled standby rake, which was available from the introduction of the South Wales Pullman in September 1961 due to the utilisation of all three WR sets from this date, Westerns are recorded as being the typical traction, and Warships and Hymeks are also known to have featured, I don't know whether there might have been changes as the sixties gave way to the seventies.
Yes, I agree it could be compared, but that was not what I read the OP as saying. I saw the substitute SW and Bristol pullmans on the WR a few times - I'm busting my brain to remember what the locos were - probably Westerns. I have some inkling that once I saw a County on the job once too, but that is probably not correct.
Cl 47s were probably the choice loco in the 70s as the Cl 52s were steadily retired.
I am fairly sure the Midland did not have a spare set of LH pullmans around. Possibly in the very first days, but I never saw it or heard of it. They had a spare six car unit, and that was expensive enough to be kept idle at Reddish every day.
