CATHEDRALS EXPRESS: MHR TO BLUEBELL WITH 34046: 2ND OCTOBER 2014

One to Swanage with a reversal and pickup at Woking might be possible.

 

or via Guildford and the Portmouth direct line, but would probably have to be on a weekend, and use the Swanage's mainline registered diesel to pull the train back to Eastleigh.

 

That is about the only shot possible at Cook's Pond. Apart from the public footpath the rest of the lake is private and inaccessible.

 

Couldn't believe my eyes when I saw mention of an 8 minute stop on the SW mainline at that time of day. Well organised and it seemed to go like clockwork. Agree with you entirely - hats off to NR!

 

Wow, Nat Pres'ers really have taken me back down memory lane with his trip. Thank you muchly. Maybe I should have gone out to follow it myself, but too busy summarising Owl trip field notes.

But seeing Reigate in the last clip of the above did bring back some lovely memories. Not a Bulleid, but the same level crossing. A bit changed now, but the crossing box is still there. I don't think that has changed much at all! Things were built to last back in those far off days.

Here you go. 30911 on the 09.25 Margate to Birkenhead on 29th April 1962.






My old push bike at the bottom right hand side of photo. Did a lot of cycling that Easter Holiday to various SR steam locations.

Not the sharpest photos but to me they are OK.

 

Videos from my Mum and Dad

 

Great photos, looking at them the only two things still standing are probably the platforms themselves and the signal box!

 

You are right Mr Knowwun. It is not only the southern, as there are many divisions of Network Rail who really do make an effort when it comes to steam and today was a fine example. It is such a pity that NR York do not fit into that profile.

Someone should the culprit over their knee and give them a good spanking. I so hate stubborn kids!!!

 

I remember those trains at Reading, used to swap for a Reading GW loco (usually a Castle) in Reading Station.
One of the highlights of my Saturday trainspotting days.
As an aside, I thought the "Southern" section was taken over by BRCW type 3's (D6500's) around 1961 with the second stage of the Kent Coast electrification.
The said type 3 hauled both the up & down trains instead of two Southern steam locos.

 

I guess that second one was taken from the lower steps of the footbridge? no frame in that box now of course.

 

MHR to SVR was another Daylight favourite. I remember a tour that took Union Of South Africa back to the SVR after an MHR gala, and returned with 73096, which had been a guest at the SVR gala. I think that was the first time I filmed on the Oxford-Worcester line (the "Old Worse and Worse").

 

Steam railtours that arrive at a Gala would be a bit of a bonus...

Sure you have the stock to stable and other logistics.. but during the day, most railways' service stock would be out on the line and the carriage storage empty...

Brings in passengers by rail, brings in a loco for the gala (at no cost), will bring in other members of the public by interest...
Have seen this done in other countries and makes for some interesting station departure announcements in later afternoon...

 

Sorry, but I disagree. Bringing a railtour load of passengers in to a gala is likely
to be a logistical nightmare for the railway concerned.

Sure it brings in about 400 extra passengers but these all arrive at the same time onto am already busy railway. If the railtour does not travel along the railway, the next departure will be ridiculously overcrowded. If it runs along the line, a path has to be found on a railway already running its most intense service, creating a big gap in the timetable for normal gala passengers. Carrying gala passengers on the tour along the line can have its problems with the train almost certainly being too long for most stations.

The tour passengers will probably only get 3 or 4 hours at the gala - not enough time to get the full benefit of it being a gala.

The loco bringing in the tour will need servicing so probably won't have time to haul any other trains, so no real benefit for the gala visitors there except just being another loco to photograph.

The tour will need to get back onto NR on time, so any delays on the railway (which are not unknown at galas) will cause problems.

The WSR often used to have incoming tours during galas, but I think no longer accepts them for the above reasons.

 

Sounds like the mindsets of the people planning the logistics are the problem. Sure a gala is a chance for volunteers to play trains as much as the public and so I can understand why they wouldnt want to take responsibility for real train planning, but addressing the points made...

1. Whats the difference of 400 people arriving at your BR connecting mainline station at the same time by a non-traversing railtour to your line... either way 400 people will be on your next train... or are you suggesting that large groups of people should be discouraged at a gala ?

2. Gaps in timetables can always be solved by adding a coach or two into the consist...(if your losing a loco + Pob on arrival then there's ability right there) even if it has limited passenger carrying ability it's capacity on par to say.. an Autocoach on a service train filling the same path ???, based on your argument why do we have Freight trains at Gala's because surely the impact is the same on the path/schedules....etc... yet we have freight, breakdown, parcels etc etc at every gala...

3. All loco's need servicing, being another loco to photograph is exactly the reason why we have gala's isn't it ?, I didn't say the railtour had to run from Scotland to Lands End... it's a gala it could be coming from your nearest city as an attraction to the event... it could be in at 10/11am and out at 5-6pm... enough time to do a turn (Not many loco's get a dozen turns a day at a gala)... rail tours aren't exactly known for their start / finish 9am-5pm durations

4. And with regards getting off the railway.... the difference in this challenge to any other day is ???

At the end of the day it's an attraction for the public, a railtour could originate at the railway and "grow it's length" for a day just as easily as one could arrive too... even if it only went a dozen or so miles off onto the big railway and back.

It comes down to desire and will, but it certainly could be a lot more efficient on costs (2 light engine moves into / out of the gala & resourcing it), benefits free attractions on the event calendar as well effective in creating additional revenue...
The risks.. one less freight train, being a bit more on the ball in planning of one train's departure.

Sure it's not for every railway, many could

 

From experience, I'd say charters should be restricted to quiet days.

I remember an occasion on the WSR when there was an incoming and outgoing charter. It arrived about an hour late, but still had to get back to Norton Fitzwarren on time. Add in the fact that the gala was using the line to maximum capacity anyway, and the relatively long section times, and the result was the timetable went to chaos - we ended up getting the last train back to Dunster about two hours late and almost too late for a meal in the pub - all that for a train that we had paid the railway good money not to be able to catch anyway!

Thursday worked well for the Bluebell, but we still had to rearrange our public service a bit. Even so, putting 400+ passengers at SP and the Bessemer Arms all at once pretty well swamped the place - it would have been chaos if we had also had a normal complement for a gala. We would also have been stuffed for platform capacity, trying to crowd an eleven coach train into six coach platforms and then get rid of it for a few hours. Even the top and tailed eight coach relief train we ran on Thursday required some very precise stops at SP, while still leaving the engine beyond the starting signal - which effectively blocked the station for any arrivals until we departed. Doing all that in a gala would have been asking for trouble.

Galas are good for railways. So are incoming charters. But not both on the same day - the infrastructure simply couldn't cope.

Tom

 

Very sensible comment Tom, from someone who knows from experience.

BTW, is that you on the fireman's side of 30847 in the video of it leaving SP?

 

Yes - not really showing my good side! Think I need to wear my hat

Here's a couple of snaps from the first top 'n' tailed down train, one approaching Leamland Junction, the other going through rock cutting.





Tom

 

Tom, words of wisdom. Bearing in mind most galas at heritage railways are pretty well attended, it is surely a better idea to bring in the 400 passengers of a mainline charter when there is capacity to service (i.e make money) from them? Adding to the queues at buffets when they are already full to capacity is a good way to upset customers and staff alike! The car park at Alresford was pretty full at 07:00 on Thursday, I suspect that "normal" people who arrived later for the market (Thursday is the busiest day in Alresford, a street market and the Country market in the Community centre too, normally very difficult to park on any Thursday) weren't too happy either!

 

I see there's another rail tour due to arrive at the Bluebell on the 9th Oct with two class 73s.