35028 Clan Line to Exeter - now 10/08/19

No further details and not yet open for bookings, but this has appeared on UKRT website:

https://www.ukrailtours.com/news/so...LMSAt-vvxF4iWNE7XZfHEJ0tAZuyyDZBCGGNlYIFcimvs

Saturday 29 June: Main Line Steam, London to Exeter with 35028 ‘Clan Line’.

 

Yes, it's still in the planning stage, but a lot of work has already been done in working out logistics etc for what will be a pretty long - but exciting - day. The plan is to run from London via the LSW main line to Exeter, 3 hours or so there, back via Bristol and Westbury to Salisbury, then return to London as outward. Probably more miles in a day than we've ever done before (unless someone tells me differently) but of course in the middle of the year there is maximum daylight.
Clan Line has a fairly quiet period in the first half of this year, and this is highly likely to be its first non-pullman trip of 2019. Put the date in your diary and keep an eye on the UKR and MNLPS websites.

 

Fingers crossed it all comes together as planned - sounds a cracker and I’ll certainly hope to be on-board.

 

I think that sort of mileage has been done before.

I vaguely remember this trip did happen http://uksteam.info/tours/t01/t0324a.htm but only because there was a wheelset issue with 34016 very shortly afterwards that 35028 also had so would have been grounded her had the problem surfaced a few days earlier.

Looking forward to it. Just hope the weather is a little more steam friendly this year.

Andrew

 

Clan Line did a similar run on 24 April 1999. Out from Waterloo to Exeter and back via Weston Super Mare, Bristol, Westbury, Salisbury to Wimbledon then via south London lines to Victoria. This trip was a farewell before its overhaul that year.
Looking forward to this run.
Des

 

Well, this one should have happened in June 2013 : http://www.uksteam.info/tours/t13/t0630a.htm but did'nt (failed FTR). Had to endure a 67 on front all day instead.

Will be interesting to see what kind of path can be found for the 29 June trip. MNLPS/DBC have often been able to work wonders in the past.

 

Also a Deltic going thru Exeter on June 29th.

 

Shame about this. We thoroughly enjoyed the Chiltern & Downs trip last November and were hoping for some similar shortish non-pullman trips just like there were in the first few months of 2018. Anyway, I do look at the Clan Line website regularly and appreciate the updates you post on this forum.

It would be great to see 35028 down here in Sussex one of these days - a part of the world it has hardly ever visited - although I appreciate that devising a convenient circular route isn't easy.

 

What sort of mileage does this work out at?

 

Thanks, just thinking about long steam mileage tours, the Scottish Lowlander rerun must have been around 500, but what about the original one?
Sorry about the drift....

 

The 2014 Lowlander was around 518 miles in one day with three locomotives, which is quite an achievement on today's railways. Still possibly the best tour I've done. However, 385 is pretty good going for one locomotive. The longest I've had with 35028 is about 371 on the ACE in 2017.

 

Thanks for that mileage...My guess wasn't too far out then.

 

It is certainly intended that there be another Chilterns & Downs trip this year - later in the summer.
You are right John; a circular trip round Sussex is quite a challenge operationally. The Brighton Line is very crowded, so pathing is tricky and it's likely to be a bit of a trundle most of the time. You then need to stop at Preston Park for water, fit in with the services along the coast route to Havant and then carry on through to Eastleigh and back to London via Basingstoke. The Pompey direct or Mid-Sussex routes are options, though again with the problems of pathways and water stops, and all have to be via Eastleigh to keep going in a circle.
Some people like a 'circular trip' with steam of 5 to 7 hours, whilst others prefer a longer day that actually goes somewhere as a 'destination'. We know we can't please everybody, and costs remain a concern, but I'm happy to take on board any suggestions from people reading this thread as to what they would like Clan Line to do. Only those likely to travel mind, not just photographers.

 

The ‘standard’ Kent circular would be good as was done in the past but with a clear path on the racing stretch from Ashford which ought to be easy with the half hourly service of SE trains

 

A suggestion, which no doubt will invoke an avalanche of issues, but here goes anyway. How about a circular that utilises the Chiltern & Downs itinerary as far as Didcot North, then Didcot West Curve/ GWML to Thingley Junction - Melksham - Westbury - Salisbury as an outward leg (156 miles approx.), returning via Romsey - Eastleigh - and the Portsmouth Direct (or even Mid Sussex). Return mileage via Woking / Staines would run out at around 119 miles, making about 275 in total.

Costs are mentioned as a concern, but on the basis of this sort of mileage, such an itinerary could be priced up as a "destination" rather than a "circular" outing if a layover at Salisbury proved feasible. And it could appeal to both camps of supporters as a reasonable compromise based on length of day. Finally, I believe that most, if not all of the territory covered by this route would already be familiar to Clan Line and the MNLPS.

And yes, I would travel, if only in steerage! In fact, I would postpone and rearrange other commitments for this if needs be. As I said, just a suggestion, but a useful way of passing the time to quell the impatience of waiting for bookings to open on the June 29th outing to Exeter.

 

Thank you as always for your comprehensive reply, sir. Yes, I am certainly keen to travel, although I rarely book on more than one trip per year due to both time and financial constraints. Living in East Sussex, not liking long days out and wishing to take my wife with me (who likes long days even less than me!) options are rather limited. RTC and Steam Dreams tend to go for long days and their Southern-based trip usually feature a tail-gunner, and with VT (when they finally publish their 2019 programme) too far away, Saphos not doing anything much in the south this year and Tornado concentrating on Scotland and the North, I'm pinning my hopes on Clan Line, especially as I have never been disappointed when 35028 has been at the head of a train I've been on.

I agree with Don - Kent is good both for a not-too-arduous circular or for a trip with a destination (Canterbury). With the racing stretch between Tonbridge and Ashford and some serious climbing on all three main routes, it's ideal for a loco like Clan Line to show off her paces.

Point taken about Sussex. London-Ashford-Hastings London might be possible if the weight restriction on the bridge between Hastings and Ore was dealt with. If Clan Line could run round the stock at both Eastbourne and Hastings, that would open up another possibility (London-Lewes-Eastbourne-Hastings-Tun Wells- London) A run-round was incorporated into one platform of the new layout when Eastbourne was re-signalled in the 1980s and a tender-first path along the coast to Hastings ought to be possible as it's only a few miles and not a particularly fast stretch of line. Running round at Hastings, with three through platforms, ought not to be a problem, but Eastbourne's three platforms do see rather intensive use and unless Eastbourne was seen as a destination and the stock parked in a siding for a couple of hours (As opposed to a "circular"), I'm not sure whether the manoevre to run the loco round could be completed without the stock occupying one platform for too long and thus delaying regular services.

Anyway, it's at least a suggestion, even if it turns out to be impractical. Having used the Eastbourne line for many years and now with Hastings-Tunbridge Wells being one of the lines I use when I have to travel to London, I'd dearly love to cover both routes with steam.

 

Although largely true, I wonder if you had spotted this October offering....
https://saphostrains.com/saturday-26-october-2019/
Braunton or Britannia are mentioned as possibles for this, and with 7P at the head end, I wonder if this might be sufficient to persuade a no-tail-gunner configuration, which I believe has been a something of a rarity (or at best very occasional) with Saphos outings to date.

 

I think we are waiting to see whether the experience of last season and the generator van enable them to operate diesel free on the trips where it is not needed for operational reasons. Trips like the Lakelander and the Fellsman should give a pretty good indication.