Railway Touring Company's 2017 Programme

I had typed incorrect month for a couple of dates, now corrected.

 

Rtc always do plenty of trips to York in Nov and Dec each year

The normals like the Xmas markets there

 

;
The Midland Main Line is blocked completely between Bedford and Leicester on 4th June.

 

RTC's Christmas stuff is up. Prices have once again gone north of £100, so will definitely be looking for quality, not quantity next year. 1T57 will hopefully be commemorated.

Might do one of the out and backs with 46233 to get mileage out of 60009 as I need 66 miles to clear it for 1000, but there's nothing particularly adventurous.

 

But what with?
70013 mainline ticket expires in March, so it is due to be with 45305 on the GC End of Steam Gala in August 2018.Will 70000 be repaired and be Available?
45231 apparently requires extensive repairs to the boiler so unlikely to be available.
44932 will it be overhauled?
The 8f and one the Fives from the Riley stable will probably tbe available.

 

Not really fussed as long as it's commemorated.

 

....and no mention of 35018. Locos are 46233, 60009 and 45305. Salisbury is the place to be on Thursday 14th December when the RTC Sherborne train will be passing through while SD will be paying a visit as well.

 

44767 and 44871 would be the closest recreation of the final pairing. Not sure how the former is progressing repairs wise or whether the latter could be spared from usual peak season demands.
If 70013 falls a few months short of being available it will be a real shame and a little negligent to my mind.

 

To put a positive spin On Oliver Cromwell, I think it shall be operated wisely and responsibly over the coming year. Let's be optimistic that 70013 may have a chance for some mainline operations summer 2018. That keeping in mind that with the 8f back and a couple of Black 5 in overhaul and operation that these occasions are possible.

 

Negligent in that the anniversary of the historic role 70013 played has been in plain sight so my view is that more should have been done by the partnership to ensure as far as possible that it would be available to mark the occasion 50 years on. The fact the certification expires in such proximity to the date I find frustrating as I am sure the folk at the sharp end do too. If the custodians need help to ensure its availability I am sure it would be forthcoming.

 

You can't "help" with the expiry of a boiler certificate. Expired is expired. Yes you can sometimes get a short term extension - not sure of NR's position on this - but if the inspector says "game's up chaps. Time to strip the boiler," there's nothing you, me nor anyone else can do about it.

 

Correct. My point being the timing of the next boiler overhaul perhaps ought to have borne in mind August 2018, especially as some expensive, extensive and protracted boiler repairs have been undertaken during the course of the ticket.
I am a little surprised the owners have not worked with their partners to enable the historic event to be commemorated in the obvious way.
I only say this out of frustration which I am sure is shared.

 

Yet in this case the owners perhaps have more obligation than most for commemorating historic railway events.....
You don't get that?

 

So the same locomotives MUST be wheeled out for every commemorative event, thus tiring said locomotives out? 70013 was used for the 40th anniversary, so it doesn't really need to make an appearance this time.

To be fair on all parties, the locomotive hasn't had a great two years, and the repairs have quite rightly taken priority, and have taken a long time to complete. Commemoration can be done in different ways.

 

A diesel hauled tour over the original route at £15.75p per head?

 

The 50th seems the most significant and IMHO should have been prioritised for 70013 by the NRM. If an appeal for fundraising was needed 2 or 3 years ago it should have been made. Academic now but avoidable, clearly not seen as significant by many.

 

Well, we can also blame Steam Railway for not having the foresight in their appeal and the restorers for not timing it right. Or maybe not.

It seems everything needs to be prioritised until the event is complete, then the circus moves on as though nothing happened for the remainder of the ticket, such is the fleeting nature of railway enthusiasm.

70013 got plenty of use over the years, to the extent that I purposefully stopped short of doing 2,000 miles after seven trips, such was it's omnipresence. It essentially took over from 34067 as the go-to machine to prop up the tour market.

Whilst it makes a noise at the chimney, and I recorded my highest mainline speed behind it, I'm still not that fussed about it not being available next year. Equally, the limited number of boilersmiths would mean that even if it had been withdrawn early, the boiler would have to have jumped the queue for it to be ready in time.

 

Those of us actively involved in loco preservation and overhauls have a slightly different view of things to the armchair experts. If they had delayed the overhaul by a year so as to have had 2018 within the 7 year ticket, people would have moaned that time was being wasted. Then there is the small matter that no loco can be guaranteed to run for the full length of its ticket anyway. Heck, the damn thing could fail on the day anyway. I presume all of the locos you've overhauled have always been available for significant anniversaries.