West Coast Santa trains 2017

WOW, 30158 Wow they kept that quite, A drummond L11 4-4-0 scrapped back in the 1950's is it going to pilot 35018 ?

 

Now either:
a. You have been on the road to Damascus
or
b. your user id has been hijacked

 

You dont mean .................JS

 

neither after several trips through the washing plant he decided to co operate

 

Neither.
It seems to me both reasonable and probable that a diesel will be used in support.
If you want to know you will have to ask because it is far from clear. That much has not chqnged.

 

The WCRC website says diesel from Lancaster to Carnforth then steam haulage thereafter - couldn't be clearer methinks.

 

Very good , slight key board slip LOL

 

Quite? Always a good idea to double check your reply when commenting on someone’s typo .

 

The only way to cut out any ......... BS

 

Yes...........

 

It could actually be a wee bit clearer Fred, assuming the diesel stays throughout.

 

Ah, you are off the medication...

 

Is Carnforth a boarding point?

 

I think you will find unwavering consistency in my views as the cabal routinely point out. As in all cases I think there is, regrettably, unavoidable circumstances where a support loco is needed and that loco inevitably will be a diesel - I have always been resolutely clear in that opinion. What I am equally certain of is that where this is part of the operating basis it should be mentioned in the marketing. In this case I would find it reassuring to know a reliable heat source and delay mitigation measures have been planned in the form of an assisting diesel loco - it perplexes me why the info is not thought to be positive and worthy of inclusion but they are sold out now so its a non issue.

 

Yep. This the path for taking the Diesel off the train. If they choose to

http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/U54125/2017/12/03/advanced

Edit: link.

 

Maybe this is as close as you can get... "These traditional carriages will be hauled by diesel from Lancaster, then from Carnforth one of the oldest steam engines in service today will take over for the remainder of the trip" But as you say, time will tell. I guess the first of the three will be informative but a four hour meander should not be challenging for a class 8 alone and steam heating has been good in the past on WC.

 

From an operational perspective the risk of not taking a diesel vastly outweighs the benefit of pleasing a handful of purists, given the type of train it is.
The meander includes a couple of notorious banks so given the time of year etc solo would be a huge gamble for 35018 IMHO.

 

Nothing to dislike in prospect. Perhaps I have an over cautious nature but the risk of stalling, delays or ineffective heating would make me take insurance.
Incidentally, there is much less condensation generated using ETH which means passengers get a better view through windows and it feels less damp.