Belmond British Pullman 16/05/18 - 35028

SR Merchant Navy Class 4-6-2 no 35028 Clan Line

 

A couple of shots from me, filmed at Claypit Lane, near Longcot, and Bourton. I hope you enjoy it

 

Accelerating 10 late away from Bath.

 

Clan Line arriving at Bristol. https://www.flickr.com/photos/16582147@N07/albums/72157693756572692

 

some shots of Clan Line at Tilehurst and Goring & Streatley

 

Video to come later today...

In the meantime 35028 is seen erupting through Bath Sydney Gardens with the return working to London from Bristol

 

Grove (rail joints?) and Goring

 

South Stoke, Langley Burrell, Sydney Gardens, Goring and Egham.

 

Wow great pictures

 

Thanks - I didn't expect her to switch to main just before Tilehurst so had to rapidly reset my planned shot. Having visible smoke at Goring was a nice bonus

 

Mention of RTT in connection with this outing offers a helpful prompt to take a quick look-see at what sort of performance Clan Line demonstrated on the GWML. I'd always thought that "stately" might best describe the sort of progress that the Pullman would make on this section, perhaps unfairly conditioned by remembrance of the sort of lethargy that the old South Wales Pullman schedules demonstrated along this route in the late 50's/ early 60's. But maybe "purposeful"would be better; I see from the there-or-thereabouts times on RTT that even time or within a whisker was achieved in the down direction start-to-stop over the 29.6 miles between Swindon and Bath. Likewise in the up direction start-to-pass over the same section. And for that matter, just over 28 minutes for 24.3 miles from the Reading start to Wantage Road, including the Down Relief-Down Main weave at Tilehurst East would surely rank, in the immortal words of Eric Morecambe, as "Not far short of Not Bad".

 

Better late than never...

 

Well of course we are talking Clan Line here

 

Not in March 2000 by any chance? My wife & I were on a Bath run then and I must say, we absolutely flew between Westbury and Theale. Clan Line seemed completely unaware of there being a hill up to Savernake

 

I was also surprised to find ourselves on the main from Tilehurst! The signaller did us proud by letting us out there due to a number of late running GWR services, so there was a gap. We would also have been following a late running freightliner service. Looking at realtime trains doesn't show the whole story. We were actually sent along the 'loop' from Reading to Tilehurst so the freightliner service could get by us, we lost quite a bit of time over this stretch. I couldn't see the loop departure signal at first, due to it being on a right hand bend, when Don (inspector) called out 'Green and number two (feather)' I couldn't believe it. But it does take time getting a 520 ish ton train up to speed, which we got up to the seventies somewhere around Goring, then eased her a bit to cruise in the 72/3 range through towards Wantage.

 

Nice to get some footplate feedback from the trip. Thanks.