70013 London - Bath 19/12/17

70013 got the tour home efficiently - 35E into Paddington

 

Video from Southcote, Berks and Grateley Station.

 

A lucky shot of Cromwell arriving at Paddington, given my (beer) meeting with a friend ended rather (a lot!) later than originally intended.


Paddington arrival by Tim Easter, on Flickr

Cheers,
Tim

 

A couple of videos from Newton St. Loe & Keynsham (no passengers aboard). Apologies for some camera jumps when turning!

 

One story I was told was that the original plan was to run from Paddington, not Victoria and that the water calculations had been done on that basis. Running from Victoria involves a bit of extra mileage but also meant that the ECS had to leave Southall very early to cross the GW main line and ended up sitting in Willesden SW sidings for 2 hours. So basically the loco had no water from about 5:30 am till the Overton stop at about 12:30.

It was an interesting route on the outbound leg although with hindsight it would probably have been better to have gone down the Berks and Hants with water taken at Newbury. Anyway, having sorted the water out we got a non-stop run to Bath and managed to claw back some lost time.

Return run was very slick. Lots of fast running and an early getaway from the water stop leading to arrival about half an hour early at Paddington! Mr Poole doing a fine job on the footplate as ever.

 

75 miles should be doable, but not with all that sitting around. Plus using steam heat would've used a bit of water as well.

 

Taplow yesterday...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/alts1985/25308987578/in/dateposted-public/

 

If this is of a 4-5-2, something's badly wrong!! (Typo in the title of the videos).

 

A superb catch, with exhaust even this close to the end!

 

Thankyou! I'll be honest; I wasn't expecting any exhaust myself, so it came as a hugely pleasant surprise. What really amazed me though, is the sheer lack of anyone else with a camera, save for evening commuters with their phones as they headed to catch a train from platform 3....

Cheers,
Tim

 

Being 35E may have beaten many photographers! I love the coloured lighting on the canopy, assuming it is a seasonal thing.

 

The departure from Basingstoke was strong, after a stand of over 20 minutes, and didn't suggest a concern with water levels! It would be interesting to know if NR has any input into watering plans - should the plan, for example, take account of alternative watering locations, the ease of transferring from one to another, etc. Clearly, loco operators want to avoid the extreme outcome of dropping the fire at all costs, but how much margin should be allowed? Should NR also be aware of the potential for knock-on delays arising from prolonged stands (i.e. from 'side-lining' as non-service workings) resulting in low water levels? The back-up plan is horribly complex to assess of course.

 

Great shot Tim

 

A couple of mine from yesterday.

https://flic.kr/p/22DRe5h
https://flic.kr/p/21mPz42

 

All things like this should be taken into account because it’s not just about mileage. There’s the long pathing stops and steam heating also. Any fireman who’s sat in a station for a prolonged period heating stock will tell you how much steam heat will chomp through the water.

One thing I always aim to do at the water stops is fill my boiler up as full as possible before the tender is full, then we are as full as can be to hopefully cover any eventuality. You never know that extra 200 gallons or so could one day be the difference between running out or just making it to another water stop, such is the unpredictable nature of running on the railway!

 

Spamcan 81 and Alastair - can you clarify what was on the back of the Belmond yesterday - looked like a 67 to me. If that's good enough for DBC/MNLPS then it should be OK for everyone else.

This little industry we all support absolutely cannot allow situations to develop where steam is holding up service trains, causing return trips to be cancelled etc.. The planning has to be defensive enough to make sure there's going to be enough water, and have a rigorously tested backup plan that gets you out of trouble quickly and with minimum fuss. Hoping a hydrant on Basingstoke platform might work, sending a water tanker driver to an unfamiliar location etc. does not make for a satisfactory plan. Someone needs to do whatever is the modern equivalent of knocking a few heads together and having a robust conversation about how we make sure this never happens again.

Happy Christmas all!

 

Looking at YouTube videos it was 67005. Last December DBC/Belmond did the same when Tornado ran the route, on 17th December 2016, with 67012 on the rear (as such I guess is is their usual practice to run diesel support on that route at this time of year). Royal Scot ran the same route this summer without a diesel on the rear.

 

Yes there was a 67 on the back of the Belmond BP yesterday,as there sometimes is, particularly in the winter. I don't really understand your point - are you saying that you think all DBC operated trains should be like this (as is most definitely not the case currently) and that we all have to be "OK" with that? My earlier post was in response to someone who said that you "had to have" a diesel on the back - I merely pointed out that that was absurd as dozens of DBC trips operate without.

I agree with all you say in your second paragraph by the way. Hopefully, lessons will be learned from whatever went wrong with the planning this time.

 

IIRC the 67 isn't there for shoving. Wayne has posted on here more than once that DBC have strict rules about diesel assistance and they can't just power up when they feel like it. On the occasions it's there, IIRC it's primarilyfor eth/on board services and nothing else. Wayne also explained that a 67 runs at quite high revs when generating so don't confuse noise with diesel assistance.
And find me the 67 on the rear of these Pullman and other DBC operated runs.

 

The Belmond has it's own generator coach and I thought the diesel was there for insurance on Gomshall Bank during the leaf fall season which officially ended last Sunday. perhaps Wayne could confirm.