Cathedrals Express 6233 to Bristol 7th October

No it's not the only reason, it's an insurance to avoid swinging penalties from NR. Example, recently there was a delay of less than 10 minutes on one steam hauled charter. NR then calculated the knock on effect and came up with 99 minutes which at over £30 a minute comes to over £3,200. Now in this case I believe that the original delay was in fact due to a signal fault, but NR had ignored this in an attempt to get someone else to pay the delayed operators their delay costs.
So you are an operator, do you risk this fine for causing a delay when the timings don't leave any leeway, or do you stick an insurance on the back? which then enables easier shunting moves as well.

 

You deliver what you are contracted to do... you have sold a steam hauled tour. As a Project Manager I would ensure all risks have been properly assesed so it would be the right loco with the right load at the right time of year with the right paths. Thats the point of this tour, it was with a different loco than planned. Assistance was required because the laod was too great.

 

As I said in a previous post, I can accept that a less powerfull loco was used as a substitute at very late notice and something had to be done. It is to the operators and oweners credit that 60019 was made available. However, it should have been made clear to the paying passengers that assitance was needed for just that reason. That does not detract from the flawed policy on other tours of sticking a box on the back just in case. If that was sensible virtually every train on the mainline should have a box there just in case!