MNLPS/Clan Line 2018 Programme

Would a merchant not be too heavy for the WSR?

 

Canadian Pacific has visited in the past.

 

and its axle weight is no heavier than Tornado or Flying Scotsman.

 

Sorry it I seem to be harping on, but The Cornishman left Paddington at 08:03 and was scheduled to pass Norton Fitzwarren at 1048, actually passing a few minutes earlier, i.e. well inside three hours. Even allowing for having to run into the down loop and wait for a path across to the up side, it should be possible to reach BL in well under four hours. Why would Clan Line take nearly five? Is it all down to different water capacities?

 

Running from and to Victoria would indeed explain the extra time; but both clan-line.org.uk and uksteam say it's from Paddington.

However thank you for the suggestion of looking at RTC trips. I have compared the one on 12 August to The Cornishman on 29 May.
(scheduled times from uksteam):
29 May 2017 Paddington to Newbury 63 minutes with one stop, at Reading for 2 minutes
12 August 2017 Paddington to Newbury 131 minutes with two stops, at Slough for zero(?) minutes and at Reading for 16 minutes

That indicates that it's all down to pathing, with The Cornishman getting a good path and the RTC trip a very bad one.

 

I can confirmed that the "Clan Line" trip is definitely intended to run from Paddington, not Victoria. As regards pathing, you cannot compare the schedule that "Tornado" had on the Cornishman last May with what we require next May. The A1ST specifically required the fastest possible pathway, and the major factor in achieving that is only stopping when you absolutely have to. The UKR/MNLPS trip by comparison requires pick up stops at both Slough and Reading, so immediately that makes it more difficult to fit in with scheduled services.
Water capacity for 60163 and 35028 is about the same, but it is undeniable that "Tornado" is more economical that "Clan Line" - in fact it has a better miles per gallon return than any other big main line loco. Add in the fact that "Clan Line" will be hauling a heavier load than "Tornado" did in May then it would not be prudent to try to get from Paddington to Bishops Lydeard with just one waterstop. We might well achieve it, but our calculations are always based on a contingency of still having at least 1,000 gallons in the tender on arrival at a waterstop.
The other element affecting this is that even if we did replicate the Cornishman path, what's the point? The only path available on the WSR is the 13.15 ex BL as mentioned before, so nothing at all to be gained by turning up there the best part of 2 hours early! Rest assured, within the requirement of the two pick up stops and two waterstops, we'll still be working towards getting the best possible path to provide for some spirited running.

 

Thank you for that clear and comprehensive exlpanation.
Now I just need to decide whether to book on this trip.

 

Clan Line on its way to Bristol to work the first Torbay of the year this weekend..