46233 Southend-Gloucester “Cathedrals Express” 10/10/17

Watching and listening from the platform, the situation was handled very well by the PRCLT/WCR 'on the ground'. The fault appeared to be with the testing circuit. A couple of times we heard the 'TPWS' bell ring but it looked as if the driver wasn't able to 'cancel' it. After a lot of trial and error and more bell ringing, the panels on the tender were replaced, the blower opened, and the engine readied for the road. Even then when they were convinced the repair had been successfully carried out, the driver took it down to the signal box at the East end of the long platform to seemingly check with the signalman that the engine was showing up properly on the panel and to do whatever checks they could make with the TPWS for us to go safely on our way.

Time was going to be a real issue as the line between Swindon and Didcot was due to be closed around 2100, which, as much as anything is probably why the diesel was dispatched.

 

I agree the diesel move seems logical.
I am a bit confused as to where the steam section was even reading all the above. Both RTT and OTT seem to imply there was no stop at Milton Junction, (the adjacent pass times seems to bear this out)Hanwell loop or Willesden but both seem to imply a stop at "Southall" although only passing times are shown. Was this stop in the up loop opposite the shed which is really Hanwell loop, the west yard or in the platform 1 of the station, both of the latter would be reasonably unusual? Also as someone said upthread that is a very along way without water, if that is what happened.
Did the diesel fail or was their a possession that caused the Barking termination. I see RTT quotes
"This service was cancelled between Barking and Southend East due to a problem with a steam locomotive (ME)."

Is this just because NR have incorrectly blamed the Duchess for a diesel failure or is the Duchess blamed for the train being a late departure that led to the termination at Barking?

Just interested in what happened no ulterior motive in looking to blame anyone.

 

Cheers for the clarification.

Footage from yesterday including a long wait and an in darkness assent of Sapperton. The three slips clearly audible across the valley.

 

Don't believe everything you read on RTT and OTT. We stopped for 10 minutes at Milton In. Only needed enough water for 50 miles and only 10 on. Guard told me engine was coming off at Southall West. Train took 30 mins from West Jn to Southall so it did happen there. Longer than normal engine swap as POB was on rear of train due to not having time to detach and couple it to engine at Gloucester so 2 moves needed.

 

I was on this. I would have posted some updates but I had not yet made any provision for logging in to NatPres on my phone. I have now done so.

I agree that SD were pretty good at keeping us informed while we were waiting at Gloucester, but even they didn't know everything that was happening. After it had been announced that the electronic problem had been fixed, it was some time before we saw the loco move, and then we were surprised to see it come towards the station. Post #62 may have the correct explanation.

And I agree full marks to West Coast for dispatching the diesel.

After we finally set off, there was the question of where the diesel would take over. Swindon? No, we went through without stopping. Milton? We stopped there and we saw the diesel come past, so surmised that it was taking over. But no, when we set off again we could hear the Duchess pulling us. Didcot? We stopped there, but only briefly, then off we went again. Then, approaching Southall, we noticed that we had crossed to the main and then into the down loop, for which the only possible reason was the loco change. Fortunately, once that had been accomplished we soon got a path all the way across to the Up Relief. We were by then about two hours behind our original schedule, but with half an hour to be gained by missing the loco change at Willesden (though we did stop briefly with the loco at the High Level platform to pick up someone, presumably a pilotman.

I think it was somewhere around West Hampstead that there came the announcement that the train would terminate at Barking because of engineering work. I hope the two thirds of the passengers who had started the day at Southend found seats on one train or another either back all the way to Southend or to wherever else was most convenient for them.

"This service was cancelled between Barking and Southend East due to a problem with a steam locomotive (ME)." The immediate cause was that the train was late, but that in turn was because of the loco problem.

As a postscript: While some of us who had boarded at West Hampstead in the morning were waiting at Camden Road for an Overground train back westward, one person enquired why the loco crew hadn't just disabled the offending bit of electronics. So we told him about Wootton Bassett.

 

Thanks to both Mellish R and 1020 shireman for the detail. Would have liked to get that rare piece of track into the down loop and the yard at Southall West.

 

The Duchess at Gloucester. Lamp post now removed.

 

46233 racing past Old Quarry crossing, near Kemble yesterday. Good to see the speed restriction at Kemble has now been lifted.



James

 

One minor point - taking the picture a smidgen to the right would have avoided the station light appearing to be growing out of the rear of the chimney!!

 

An earlier effort when crouching to the right.
There was a large crowd of people taking photos, not many spare spaces to stand, and the sun kept on going behind a cloud.

 

"This service was cancelled between Barking and Southend East due to a problem with a steam locomotive (ME)." The immediate cause was that the train was late, but that in turn was because of the loco problem.

Yes that is correct delay attribution as the delay should go back to the original incident as far as possible.

Cheers, Neil

 

Both photos now updated.

 

Excellent!!

 

I've been catching up on a backlog of emails and there is one from SD, sent on Wednesday afternoon, apologising for the problems (even though those were not at all of SD's making, or indeed anyone's fault) and providing some further details of what happened. The main point not already covered in previous postings here is that the engineering possession concerned would not have prevented the train from going all the way to Southend but it would have prevented it getting back to West London, leaving it "trapped on the Southend line with nowhere for it to stable overnight, and no driver or crew to move it once the line was reopened this morning". West Coast confirmed with C2C "that they could accommodate all of our passengers on a service back to Southend East" before taking the decision to terminate at Barking.