Locomotive Class 31 cold start at Meldon Quarry Dartmoor

20 Benson & Hedges, 2 cups of tea and this loco's ready for the day😁

Wonderful to see another old loco spluttering into life again. Long live heritage traction!

Some excellent noises. They really ought to be sampled for a drum track 🎼🥁

Wow! Thats special, thanks for sharing this. I used to cycle the granite way upnto Meldon often and get a mars bar at the buffet car (now gone sadly) when I was growing up in Okey 20 years ago. The sidings were lined with those diesles and carriages just melting away like a sad rusty scrap yard. So lovely to see this video though when it was all alive.

Built in the late 1950s, what a goer!

I always did find it entertaining how these engines seem to "start" with about two cylinders, then the rest join in once the first pair are firing. Although some people would love to sample the tune it's playing for a drum solo

It looks exposed to the risk of vandalism being stored overnight in such a location. Surprised to say the least!

I didn't realize class 31 had several hit n miss engines as a power-plant lol🤣

I'd say that was a win, started fairly evenly for a cold engine. Not sure the engineer poking individual pumps into full fuel helped but probably helped identify the slow to light off cylinders.

That was a bit of a struggle, but aging locos get like that way, at least it runs once it warms up!

Here we have each cylinder taking its turn to have a go on the piston ring they borrowed from a Austin Allegro ! 😄 📣Get some brake & clutch cleaner down the bloody inlet boyos!” 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Ah another standard EE startup!

Love the video and loco sounds

Quite honestly, it sounds like my ten-year-old lawnmower, when I start it up 😂

Starts only in orne cylinder,later two,later three.....at the end more cylinders working. This issue Is because compression pressure Is a bit low. The ideal ignition fuel temperature Is 500.....550 celcious. In the cold start in old machines,this happen frequently. The flames are consequence for the clag (fuel sprayed as steam)in all exhaust system.A single spark make the clag to ignition AND,of course,flames are present. When the engine Is hot and all the cylinders working,the clag Is no present AND the engine run normal.

I’d love to see this towed into London ULEZ today (September 2023) and then started.

nice start 👍

What we used to call a “brush” loco in my seventies days

A grumpy startup!!!

Bloody hell Dave Law aka Skinny has been on board