RTC 2015

No confusion, Ralph. My Wansbeck receipt says Carnforth (which is why I booked it) & RTC website now says York. Bad news.

 

The 'Wansbeck's been altered quite a bit since December. 06:40 diesel leg from York to Newcastle and no longer reaching Lynemouth, which was impossible to reach last year from Newcastle because of an activated freight Q-path at Ashington. There is presumably still a high risk of this ocurring this year.

Its still a good trip, with the coastal stretch to Boulby quite spectacular, but with the York start, I feel for those who've already booked to join the 'Wansbeck' in Lancashire.

Speaking for myself, I will now probably end up dashing south from the Hadrian (1) to Stevenage and intercepting the 'Easterling' for a trip to Lowestoft instead to make a weekend of it. Will have to consider the options, as it would be a long drive for nothing if I end up missing it.

 

I am looking at the locos listed on UKSteam for GBVIII. Does the list seem a bit unrealistic to anyone else? Day 1 - 5029 & 6023 - I don't think either of these will be available in April.

Day 2 - 34067+35018. Has British India Line turned a wheel yet?

etc.

 

6023 might be ready see my previous copy below. 5029 is due to be at the Swanage Gala if repairs are completed in time. I suspect there will be 2 diferent locos for days 1 and 2 rather than 4.

 

I received a letter from RTC saying that change of start from Carnforth to York is due to "operational reasons". Ah, well, back to Plan B.

 

I heard that that 5029 is shelved for the time being. It is in a long queue of things to get fixed at Crewe.

 

Had to abandon a plan to be on this due to the retiming sadly, no hope of reaching York in time anymore , plenty of track away from the core ECML I need in the north east too.

 

There has confilicting information first report it was withdrawn, then the Swanage facebook page

"Christmas Day present from Swanage Railway and an exclusive for our Facebook followers.

Subject to final contracts and gauging we are delighted to announce that No.70000 Britannia and No.5029 Nunney Castle(subject to boiler repairs being completed in time) will be joining us for our Spring Steam Gala which takes place on the 17th-19th April 2015."

and on the Nunney facebook page added 45 mins ago as I type a link to Icons of Steam Report of Todays date


"We are, unfortunately, starting off this year on a sad note. With the news that No. 5029 Nunney Castle is to be officially withdrawn from service, following her failure of a fitness to run examination, due to leaking boiler stays, back in November 2014.
Because of the nature and amount of work required to remedy the problems with her boiler we have decided to move the engine to the Royal Scot Locomotive and General Trust facilities at LNWR Heritage in Crewe as soon as is practical.

We have no immediate plans for a return to steam for the No. 5029. This is for a number of reasons, not least because our teams are focused on getting No. 46100 and No. 34046 back on the mainline as soon as possible."

 

RTC states that 'The Valentine's White Rose' is to have 60009 with two tenders:
http://www.railwaytouring.net/uk-day-trips/the-valentine-s-white-rose

 

Looks like a copy and paste job, as the provisional timings do not reflect a run with reduced running stops. Indeed, the timings outward are the exact same as No. 4464 'Bittern', on the 13th December run which used only a single tender. The return timings however, are different than to any I've seen.
RYTC Prov give 1710 departure from York, and 2200 into Kings Cross. Looking at all runs this year, to arrive at Kings Cross for 2200 (2207 to be precise) requires a departure from York an hour earlier at 1618. That's going by runs made by No. 4464, 60009 and 60163 this year. From the only evidence I can find, the only two tender run made South from York by Bittern was 25th July 2009. Timings were 16:55 York, 2032 Kings Cross.

So the provisional timings given by RYTC are perfect Northbound for a single tender A4. The return given, are neither long enough for a single tender, or short enough for justification of a double tender. Make of that what you will, but I'd imagine the Two Tenders remark is an error on their proof reading, and that the return timings are optimistic....

 

Isn't that second tender still blue ?

 

Yes it is, it sits in the back of Locomotive Services 2nd Road in the shed.

 

In true Panto fashion, "Oh no it's not".

 

Where is it then?

 

It would seem you are right Jonathon as these appear to be the times on RTT:
Out: http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/U63497/2015/02/14/advanced
Return: http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/U63496/2015/02/14/advanced

 

It was in one of the Barton Hill sheds at the beginning of December in need of a decent clean to remove all the dust off it.

 

I think we should be used to information on tour promoter websites being wrong by now, especially timings. We all know information is subject to confirmation so best not to have any expectations at all it seems to me. The second tender bit does look bad though as that is simply wrong, and implies a lack of care.

 

So I would lean towards Loco Services info vs Swanage for accuracy...5029 is out and quite far down in the queue.

6023 has been promised for the last few years. When it appears on a mainline test run I will believe it. Has the OTMR/TPS/GSMR been fitted yet?

How can RTC get away with advertising these locos when there is little chance of them appearing? Its one thing for a route to be changed due to gauging or a loco swap due to a failure, but to blatantly keep advertising locos that have little to no chance of running?

 

As a new member, you may not be surprised to learn that this question has been asked before, and discussed long and hard. My own view, whatever the circumstances, is that we're a forgiving lot, so although it's frustrating, we've come to tolerate it, and as such the incentive to get these details right simply isn't there.

To be fair, a lot of factors can effect the availability of a particular loco so I tend to go along with the view that unless there is a very good chance of a particular locomotive being available for a tour, nothing specific should be advertised.