Main Line Events for 50th Anniversary of The End of SR Steam in 2017.

1) The signalling at Dorchester South has not changed and is still controlled by Dorchester South signal box.
2) Detaching at Wareham would require the banker to:
A) go to Swanage (easier now that Worgret Junction is signalled by the Dorset Coast Panel instead of the old groundframe).
B) run to Bournemouth (not preferable).
The down sidings at Wareham are signed out of use so these are not an option.

 

For those looking for something to suggest that the 50th Anniversary really will be done reliably and in style, much, much better news - potentially - posted on the UK Railtours Newsfeed last Wednesday (21st September). Previewing the UKRT 2017 Tour Programme, their website states

"We will be marking 50 Years since the end of steam on the Southern Region, featuring rebuilt Merchant Navy class Pacific 35028 Clan Line. Two trips will utilise the Belmond British Pullman and two will be with other stock".

A mouth-watering prospect to cling on to through the long winter nights. I had previously come across one reference to an outing with the Belmond stock, and indeed this is already provisionally shown on UKsteam as a Bournemouth Belle (note tbc), featuring 35028 (note again tbc) for Wednesday 5th July 2017. From a personal point of view, I wasn't optimistic about the affordability of this. But the reference to "other stock" now suggests that the hoi polloi will indeed be catered for in the tour programme on a different occasion. So I'm now counting myself "in", and I will be adjusting my 2017 railtour budget accordingly.

And, being UK Railtours, I'm sure that when the tour details are finally released, they will be presented with a clarity that won't need resort to a whole lot of speculation and conjecture about how the specification of each outing will be delivered. So I'm confident that the celebration of the 50th Anniversary really will be on a sound footing

 

I am still holding out for something spectacular, like the Bournmouth belle with 35028 being held at Basingstoke as a Salisbury to london comes in with 35018 at the head with both running one on the fast one on the slow to both end up at the buffers at Waterloo at the same time hopefully side by side

 

I like to take my wife on a main line trip once a year, but down here in the Sout hEast, it has been a pretty rotten year with little to tickle the fancy. Although I get UKRT's regular mailings, I hadn't spotted this one and thank you for drawing it to my attention. A combination of 35028, DBS and UKRT means a great performance and 100% steam - i.e., no diesel on the back. I'll be watching closely.

One point to note for 2017 is that there was more to the end of southern steam than the Bournemouth line as far as special trains were concerned. The Redhill-Guildford line saw a few special trains that year and there was the "Sussex Rambler" hauled by 34108 Wincanton on 19th March which ran to Eastbourne. When RTC has visited Eastbourne on a number of Decembers, the inevitable diesel then tows the train to Hastings before the train proceeds back to London via Tunbridge Wells, but given DBS managed to organise tender first running from Southampton to Weymouth (or was it Swanage?) a few years back, I wouldn't have thought that the less intensively -used Eastbourne-Hastings line, where trains don't go that fast, should be too much of a problem fro tender-first working and running round is possible at both resorts.

This won't replicate the route of the March 1967 train, but it would still be a reasonable commemoration and slightly more feasible than, say running a USA tank down the Fawley line, which also happened that year!

 

Woking and Basingstoke are beautiful places when a Bullied steams through the stations. At other times they ain't beautiful. Ha ha.

 

Have to agree, Basingstoke is all concrete hi rise, at least the last time i drove through it, i grew up in Woking, so know it well yeah Woking station with Clan line on the fast running on greens, thats a sight, but very unlikily, whats woking known as " stop all junction" ? best place i ever saw steam, Weybridge after dark one very memorial day, an M7 on 4 mk 1's out of the dark hooter going, say hullo to the ghost train, as it hurried through the station on the slow, leaving only the smoke and smell,
Then 5 mins later, just when you had gotten over that, comes Clan line on the rest of the rake, on the fast going like hell, what got me, was the look of sheer dis belief on the faces of people on the platform waiting for a service train, first an elderly tank engine comes through , then an steam hauled express with in 10 minutes of each other, it was the look of " did i just see that? or did i imagine it"

 

One thing that may work, and tick many boxes is a tour down the Brighton main line, engine runs round, and runs tender first from Brighton to Eastbourne, again then it runs round , this time smokebox first from Eastbourne to Ashford then down the main to Tonbridge, and back to Victoria , and loco ? Braunton ? or if a MN has been passed for these lines maybe 35018? if tender first is a problem Could an ED, or 33 be used , it could shaddow the tour, then could be used to haul the tour from Brighton to Eastbourne to save on running round both at Brighton and Eastbourne.then run as shaddow following the tour to london.

 

But 2017 isnt just about Bournmouth to Waterloo, i would hope the tour organizers do look on it as a celebration of Southern Steam .
Now, when was the last steam hauled tour on the Brighton main line ? and when did Eastbourne to Ashford last see steam ? IMHO, i would like to see 2017 as the year of Southern Steam, with hopefully tours on some routes that have not previously not seen steam, whilst we are limited to suitable locos, to maybe 2, or 3 southern, what i wouldnt give to years ago when there were many more, including 30055, anyone remember guildford shuttles ? but we are where we are,

 

The RTC's Bognor Belle (13th December 2016) will be covering pretty well the whole Brighton Line south of Clapham Junction apart from the section from Preston Park to Brighton. On 8th October, the Royal Wessex will probably do likewise, except it will be an ECS move north of Three Bridges. As for Eastbourne-Ashford, there is a problem betwen Hastings and Ore. I think it's a weight restricton on a bridge.

There actually aren't many Southern lines which haven't seen steam since 1967 and there is usually a good reason for those that have been excluded. Some of the more unlikely lines which HAVE been visited include the Fawley Branch, Sheerness, Dungeness, Hurst Green-Uckfield and Windsor & Eton Riverside.

While Big Al has injected a note of realism into the debate, I think we're all agreed that it would be good for a bit more steam down here next year and not just on the Bournemouth line. Now the Folkestone-Dover line has been reopened, a few more steam trains to Canterbury wouldn't go amiss. There's no run-round issues, an interesting destination, plenty of capacity and thanks to HS1, nothing running terribly fast for any length of time on any of the classic routes in Kent. I visited Paddock Wood a few days ago and was really struck by how quiet the former main line to Ashford and Dover has become compared with pre-HS1 days

 

At least one previous tour has done London - Eastbourne by steam, dragged from Eastbourne to Hastings by the diesel on the other end then headed off (steam hauled) back to London via Tunbridge Wells.

It could of course also be done in reverse, visiting Hastings first.

Similarly steam from London to Brighton diesel drag from Brighton to Eastbourne, then steam back to London via Plumpton is a possibility.

In Kent the London - Canterbury via Ashford allows for a return via Deal and Dover with no reversals, as does London - Faversham - Ramesgate - Ashford - London or London - Faversham - Caterbury - Dover - Ashford - London