Weymouth & Bournemouth steam: July 2021

My thoughts were just based on making up about 10 minutes between Basingstoke and Farnborough. If that's a normal run, then so be it.

 

I would really expect that a broken rail (yesterday's was apparently unrelated to the arcing incident of 28 June) could be repaired in time, otherwise the Bournemouth route is going to be in chaos for a long time and the railway is in deep trouble!

 

I thought you were about to fall down the steps at the end! The sign-off is amusing - if I haven't been watching I won't see it.

 

Line open this morning after repairs overnight

 

Yes - very unfortunate to have two major incidents on the same stretch like this. Pure speculation but the arcing site looked to have a big ballast build-up at the juice rail's end ramp (partly burying it), which, when wet in a downpour, could easily have caused the arcing. Just my personal theory of a possible cause based on the photos I saw.

 

My footage of yesterday's run. Filmed at Curson Bridge, Ashurst New Forest, Test Lane and Andover. Enjoy!

 

I've got a day off work Friday and thinking of chasing 35018 at Salisbury and Yeovil Junction.

 

Everything on the line was totally stuffed yesterday, it showed the railway at its worse.
I fully except that when things go wrong the service gets made up "on the hoof" but to continually show trains running on time until about 10 minutes before due then stick up delayed, with no mention of how long is not good customer service.
I was at Bournemouth and at one time it had Weymouth and Waterloo showing for the same train. It turned out to be correct as the back unit was sent straight back to Waterloo when it split, but it seemed to be confusing many of the passengers.
Two unusual, but not rare, pieces of track were the up line at Poole and Dorchester South in the down direction.

 

The railway doesn't genuinely include good passenger information in its vision for subsidised private profits. Computers run passenger information and the system is thus inflexible, and humans only take over as a last resort, with a poor interface between the two modes. Even seasoned railway professionals become baffled by some of the stuff displayed and announced!

 

I was at Bolton once and the arrival and departure screens showed trains coming and going on time. Trouble was the job had been stopped due to a failure and there were no trains running at all on that line.

 

The stop at Poole was 'bang road' due to a report that the there was something on the loco that was catching the 3rd rail and causing arcing. The info on the train was that it was the injectors, I assume overflow pipe, NR therefore had issued a stop and examine, hence wrong road so that the injectors could be examined away from the 3rd rail. We had to draw forward to clear the platform so that the support crew could investigate. The offending item was removed, or attended to, NR informed and we continued on our way, even later.

 

Fit a shoebeam and a couple of electric motors in the tender and - bi-mode! More seriously, interesting information.

 

Managed to see Tornado in Surrey, slightly early, on its way to Bournemouth and Swanage.

 

Running late at Eastleigh this morning.

 

A typically undramatic cruise through Hook by Tornado with the Northern Belle stock, which kinda makes it unusual I guess.

 

It lost a lot of time around Micheldever/Shawford - is there still a problem there?

 

Nice shots. Steam on Mk3s is against the laws of nature (even when the loco is newer than the stock)!

 

Nice to see Tornado not festooned with headboards for once

 

Yes - now to try to marry that with proper stock! Of course, I realise that the appearance of the train for photographers/enthusiasts is of very low importance, before I'm lambasted for a lack of commercial acumen!

 

No. There was an issue with a preceeding freight service.