Cathedrals Express August 18th - 44932 to Weymouth - t0818B

I think it's ironic that it was the modern technology (TPWS) that failed and prevented the old technology (steam) from running today.

 

Class 37/7s are banned between Yeovil Pen Mill and Yeovil Junction. Like all locomotive hauled trains and HSTs, they are restricted to 40mph between Castle Cary and Dorchester Junction.

 

John2 - is that a new restriction on 37/7's between Yeovil Junction and Pen Mill? I thought that 706 had worked there on several occasions in past unless my memory is getting worse than I thought it was !! Thanks DH

 

No, the restriction on class 37/7s and 37/9s has always existed and until last year also applied to Castle Cary to Dorchester Junction as well. The restriction on the heavyweight class 37s is being enforced more strictly now.

John.

 

I do worry sometimes about the amount of knowledge there is shown here about boxes! (Wink)

We got the news that 44932's TPWS had failed yesterday quite early, and of course passed it on to any other linesiders we met. So they didn't hang around for no reason.

Was shocked by the number who then asked me what sort of d....l it was that was hauling the train. Me? Know what class of box it was? (Shock)

 

Ralph. It is with great shame and embarrassment that I reveal, publicly and for the first time, that in the last year or so of Deltic operation I was sometimes seen travelling behind one with my stopwatch. And standing on the lineside with a camera.

And whilst the Truth and Reconciliation Council is still in session, I reveal also that Fred Hoare, that wonderful gentlemanly Salisbury driver once gave me a "conducted tour" of the cab and controls of a Warship Class at Waterloo. Then gave a very fast run to Woking. He described the Warships' performance as about equal to a good West Country Class. If anyone would know that, he would. But as all us timers knew at the time, (to our considerable advantage), the Warship failure rate was way above that of the Bulleids.

 

I reckon Kent Yeti is as stauch a steam fan as it is possible to be - just like me!
As a train spotter - first trip was to Exeter St David's in April 1960 - the spell of steam was sewn. To a young kid it offered everything from raw power, noise and darned good looks!

Even at 12 years old, I could distinguish a clear dividing line between steam and diesels and it quickly became apparent that the majority of spotters were anti-diesels. In fact, we used to brand them as odd balls.

The reasons for posting this is in response to the reliability of the Warships. Having joined the railways at Taunton in July 1963 as a telegraph messenger boy - prior to going into Taunton West Station signal box as booking lad - I noted dozens and dozens of Warship failures (D8XX and D6XX) and in 1963 Taunton shed provided steam substitutes, as did Reading, Westbury and Bristol St Philips Marsh on several occasions. This all changed in 1964 when steam was banned west of Bridgwater and Castle Cary.

For me you were a steam man or a diesel man. Like oil and water, to me the two did not mix.

Just like Ken Yeti though, I succumbed to an invitation from the driver of a class 47 at Plymouth North Road in the 80's and sat in the cab across Brunel's bridge to Saltash where I lived at the time. Alas, it was the most uninspiring thing I ever experienced and never wished, or indeed did, do it again. My memory flashed back to 1963 again when my Uncle Reg who was a driver at Taunton, brought a light engine down from Westbury and as I was on late turn that day, he stopped at West Station home signal and asked me to jump on board to whisk me away to the MPD. The loco was 6999 Capel Dewi Hall and this REALLY WAS inspriational.

 

'I reckon Kent Yeti is as stauch a steam fan as it is possible to be - just like me!'

And myself !

Brian

 

Agreed and the former are wonderful machines whilst the latter are only so much scrap metal.
Cue Hunslets Finest to eulogise the 47s.

 

I feel amongst friends now!

Back to topic. Am I right in assuming that the problem yesterday could have a fairly easy fix?

Probably worded that wrongly, but it's not like a major loco component failure.

That is said with my usual expert engineering skill base. Took me six months of cleaning the toilets at Longmoor in the 1960s before I was promoted to scraping similar substances off of 34023.

 

Thanks JohnS for update on restrictions - makes sense now! DH

 

Ahh yes now we are talking. You do of course mean the Paxman Valenta powered HST's don't you Ralph

 

There are those on the group more qualified to reply than me but I believe TPWS is a fairly complicated box of tricks so maybe not such a simple fix. I'm guessing here but once fixed would there be the need for a second FTR exam before the loco could go anywhere?

 

there's always a ftr before any locomotive goes anywhere.