Dorset Coast Expresses - 2013 season

The class 47 working very hard pushing 70013 through Weybridge this evening.

 

From what has been posted and the various videos clips it did rather look like Ollie was pushed most of the way to Weymouth and back.

Except from Weymouth to Southampton where it was pulled!

But. A big but, (. .) , so far so good. I've not read any reports of any steam loco caused lineside fires since NR introduced it's fire risk strategy. And that has to be a very good thing. IMHO.

 

Sorry for duff info........came from a usually 100% reliable contact!

 

Given that 70013 was just an expensive headlight for the entire trip, I doubt anyone would have noticed if it failed.

 

Well, you'd notice when a headlight fails, as usually they turn off, and so give off no light.

 

The driver wouldn't notice, he was 12 coaches away at the back.

 

It goes from bad to worse. There may be an argument (a very small one) to push the train out of Woking but this is Weybridge, several miles out of Woking and on a slightly falling gradient on the way to Waterloo. Why the hell Ollie needed pushing at this point is beyond understanding.

It really is undermining steam on the mainline. Spark arrestors were fitted many years ago and underwent vigorous mainline tests in the dark to see if the major sparks were being arrested. If they were, the loco passed its mainline test. If they weren't, it failed.

And now all of that seems to have gone by the wayside. The lineside yesterday was not "tinder dry" and Ollie's spark arrestor would have done its job as intended.

But no, we had box pushing downhill - the confidence in the mainline steam market will start to plummet if this carries on.

 

That is true, but unfortnately that argument has been rather undermined when locos with such spark arrestors have caused lineside fires. I don't like the current situation any more than you, but I think the operators have got to be seen to be doing the right thing and gradually return to the normal state of running - one lineside fire caused by an unassisted steam loco just because we don't like it and we would be back to stage 1.

 

It is a difficult situation but its an operational railway and thus I don't really understand what they are supposed to do. There is not going to be the time to go through the whole route saying push her, please don't push her, push a bit here so how they can manage this on an operational service I cannot think.

In terms of spark arresters, they obviously are not that efficient taking note of the fires that have occured (for instance no doubt 30777 and 48151 passed their tests), it seems something of an assumption to say that 70013's arrester would have done the job, do you kniow that for sure do you?

Its not an easy situation for anyone but in the modern time where delay laibilities can be substantial what is better, to have trains using diesel power or to just plough on start a few fires and then get an outright ban. Its no doubt costing the operators a pretty penny to dual crew trains so I imagine they are on the case, and unlike all of us they will have the benefit of the facts.

 

Today's weather doesn't help the cause either. One place that always seems to get rain is Ireland, lucky them! At least any steam over there is not a glorified ornament.

 

At best, the VSOE will be pushed around by a skip (from behind, as local control seem to accept that as a valid form of working), at worse it will be skip hauled.

 

Exactly and I cannot imagine that sending someone out to test the mositure content of lineside vegetation every 200 yards is high up on NR's list of priorties at the momnent.

 

An act that wasn't required. The fire risk yesterday, based alone on the previous three days weather and the weather on the day, was clearly minimal, if not practically zero.

 

There would not have been a fire, you know and I know steam tours have run unassisted in higher fire risk periods than those prevalent yesterday. So the answer to your question would be Yes, because there was a significantly lower risk than normal.