61306

I see that B1 61306 has now been removed from all Steam Dreams trips until March 2017. I guess that the overhaul at Carnforth has proved more extensive than originally planned.

 

That's disappointing news. The owner was hoping she would be back in steam by the end of August this year. The boiler must require a bit more attention than expected as I recall that was the main focus of this overhaul.

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It's not that long into its ticket is it? Was it 2012/3 it returned to traffic?

 

The latest report on the B1 in Heritage Railway says that the B1 will hopefully be back in steam by Christmas. Rather a lot of faults were discovered with the boiler which required a lot of attention. With all of the work carried out the owner hopes to have her in steam for the next ten years.

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It shall be interesting to see where she ends up if she is back by pre Christmas. The CE's but I would like her on those WCRC Christmas runs. Easier said than done of course. Being optimistic helps.

 

Does anyone think that 61306 "Mayflower" may return back at the North Norfolk Railway at Weybourne or as only an Steam Gala Guest?!?!?

 

I would guess it's future is on the mainline. Even when it was supposedly based on the NNR it didn't seem to spend much time there.

Personally would love to see it on the NNR, but the line seems to be doing ok for motive power so not sure if there would be a need for Mayflower.

 

According to the report in Heritage Railway Magazine she will be heading to Southall after she has completed running in and testing from Carnforth. She is rostered for Steam Dreams work apparently.

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Oh dear that's a shame

 

I think you're quite brave to make a statement like this, Don, but I'm inclined to agree with you. Given that SD is predominantly London/SE-based, it is going to find itself now in competition with UKRT's Clan Line non-BP tours and possibly before too long, the Hosking TOC as one would guess that once it has settled down to running out of Crewe, a second set of approved routes within striking distance of Southall may be on the cards in the not-too-distant future.

With Clan Line/UKRT/DBC, we know what to expect - a powerful, well maintained loco and no diesel on the back apart from the initial shove out of Victoria. We obviously don't know quite how the Hosking/Icons of Steam TOC will evolve, but if trains do run under its auspices in the London/South East area, I would imagine that a similar formula would operate in order to attract as wide a customer base as possible.

Now if SD can fill its trains without relying on the enthusiast to any great degree, all well and good. However, I was recently sent some literature encouraging me to travel again with them. I'd be happy to, but unfortunately, a 5MT, (albeit passed for 75mph) and a fair likelihood of some rear-end assistance doesn't offer as appealing a package to myself (and I don't think as an enthusiast I'd be unique in this respect) as, say a diesel-free tour behind Clan Line, Royal Scot or Braunton. In other words, Mayflower isn't the right engine really to entice enthusiasts to travel with SD. Bring 35018 down from Carnforth when it has been run in and go for a nice simple diesel-free itinerary like London-Salisbury out via Andover and back via Roundwood or the Portsmouth Direct and that would be a different matter!

 

What you say is very true but as is routinely mentioned across this forum, enthusiasts are said to make up a minority of ticket sales and so long as a steam loco is on the front of the train few are concerned whether there is a diesel on the back. It may very well be the case but routinely assigning a steam loco that is not able to take the intended load without assistance is a fairly cynical strategy - that's business I guess.

 

Sorry if I didn't make myself clear, but that was precisely my point. There does seem to be a reasonable market for a good day out going to an interesting destination with a steam loco up the front and no real interest on what (if anything) is on the rear. Steam Dreams, indeed, has done much to develop this market and if the company is making a decent profit catering for such people and doesn't feel any need to cater for a significant section of the enthusiast community, then it's fine with me. After all, the bottom line is that the company has found a business model which works for them. That is far more important than the feelings of a few enthusiasts - but having said that, we still have our feelings!

 

Looking good. Fingers crossed for the test runs.

 

Video now removed from YouTube.

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I saw 61306 at Carnforth last week, it had just come out of the paint shop and was undercover in the running shed.

The paint job looks fantastic, every bit as good as 35018s. (Different shade of green of course).

I don’t know how far 61306 is off from running, but of course that’s less important that what colour it is.

 

I thought the loco was owned by the same person now running SD, so that would make sense. I also thought I read somewhere that SD had said they would prefer to use double headed steam locos rather than a diesel at the back where possible.
Of course WCRC crewing options may or may not impact on that desire I guess.