Steam Dreams 2013 & 2014 Archive

It will be West Coast who decides rather than SD , and it may be influenced by the path/times given for servicing and watering.The Newbury to Ely trip in October had a diesel on the back for operational reasons although it was unclear if it was for shunting and/or because there was no water stop on the return( trip came back via ECML rather than the line via Harlow The loop used for watering in in the past at Harlow is no longer available).

 

I agree but 1 of my 3 trips to Chester up the West Coast mainline had one as far as Rugby. Hauled by 6201 and although listed on UK steam as West Coast I thought it was DBS, particulary since the trip was originally due to be hauled by Tornado.
Neither of my 2 trips to Ludlow/Shrewsbury with SD have had a diesel on the back.

 

Diesel from Lowesoft on the return so looks like Mayflower going back to the NNR.

 

This rather unfortunate sounding post has appeared in the "Galas and Events" section of the Forum:-

That will be a bit of a blow to SD if this is not finished by February and a great shame for everyone lookingforward to seeing a B1 where no B1 has gone for a very long time. Still, a lot can happen in three months.

...and one of them picks up at a number of stations on the "Surrey Hills" route. Lizzie has been a pretty rare sight in the south (in fact, LMS express locos in general have made fairly few forays south of the Thames in preservation era) so I would hope that this one will sell well, as it's certainly something a bit different and hopefully with an 8P loco will not need diesel assistance.

What's the betting that the Cranmore-Bluebell trip in October WON'T be hauled by 6201? I doubt if anyone has ever tried gauging the the South Croydon-East Grinstead route for an LMS pacific before. It would be great to see 6201 on the Bluebell, but if I were a gambling man, I certainly wouldn't put any money on it

 

Has 61306 worked since it failed at the NNR gala in August?

 

Yes it has, it has worked until it's washout was needed

 

In the latest Steam Railway re Mayflower - No Boiler lift. Work being carried to ensure it is reliable including some stays being replaced as a precautionary measure. Almost all SD trips ( excluding S&C ) in March and April likely to be Mayflower, website will be updated as soon as they are finalised. Owner quoted as saying the only mainline work planned is with Steam Dreams at present, because they have given us a load of work.