Steam Dreams 2013 & 2014 Archive

Agreed, it's a fine loco. Pity it couldn't have been put on the train to Swanage instead of 70013. It would certainly make a change. Be it with SD or RTC, 44932, 34067 and 70013 have almost monopolised the through trains to Swanage since they first started to run four or five years ago.

 

44932, 34067 and 70013 have a much greater route-availability than an A4, though, which may have something to do with it. Who knows, with a late-notice change, you might get an apple green B1 instead...

 

A recent e-mail from SD says that 61306 will be their "main loco" for next year. Lets just hope that they don't wear her out on overloaded trains as they don't have much choice of other loco's for the first half of the year unless some of the Carnforth fleet comes south......................

 

The key will be running her on routes where she can haul a commercially viable load, and keep to time on the path given. I do not consider the Portmouth direct a suitable route particulary if the TSR's are still there.

 

That trip is 2 days before it head south, hauling the return of the trip from Scarborough.

 

And we don't know what that might be although I bet it's more than the usual 8 that I remember on B1 hauled Cambridge Buffet Expresses.

 

34067? 60009? 46233? 5029? possibly 70000, maybe 35018 and perhaps even 6023?

 

What sort of loads did 73096 go with ?, as a 75MPH class 5 itself that should be a good yardstick for a B1.

 

Hasn't 73096 got a double chimney though ? Wouldn't that have given her an advantage of the B1 ?

 

No, single chimney.

 

You probably have to be a bit careful in any discussion about "load x" to make sure you are comparing like with like though, especially when comparing pre-1967 and modern performances. For example, pre-war carriages (still common into the late 1960s) were typically 30 - 32 tons; Mark 1s are typically 35 - 37, depending on bogies. So (as an example) a pre-1967 B'mth express with 10 Bulleids / Maunsells in tow would have a tare weight equivalent to about 8.5 - 9 Mark 1s.

And then of course there is the issue of how, pre-67, you actually kept time: in particular, with a (nominal) 90mph maximum, it would be possible to run a heavier load slower uphill, but let the train fly on the flat or downhill to maintain a fast point-to-point time. That option is not so possible on the modern railway while being restricted to 75mph.

Tom

 

Nope. No BR 73xxx 5MT got a double chimney as far as I know. Some of the 75xxx 4MT did though.

 

A better yard stick would be current operations... 44932 has been sent out with 12 on, even 13 on occasion...
considering the first 2 hours usually involves a 20-30mph trundle around Londons suburbs then journeys after that 1st water stop tend to be towards the end of the destination and so only a shortish run that tends not to be a problem, of course longer runs tend to have a diesel on the back when it's a class 5 on the front..

 

Ok, thanks, yes, I was thinking of 75069 I think which ran mainline with the SVR during the 90s if I remember rightly.

 

Not sure Standard 5's ever had them, and their improved performance on standard 4's is questionable.

 

11 on my only trip behind her, which was my first mainline trip.

 

And not just class 5 locos. Britannia had a class 47 in tow on its last run on 15th March, which was an SD special to Salisbury, which did not need a diesel due to lack of turning facilities (as you would for running to, say Swanage or Weymouth) I fear that 61306 is going to be towing or being pushed by a diesel for many of the runs for which SD is advertising it in the early part of next year. Pity really. A B1 would have been something different and I would have liked to book on next March's Horsted Keynes- Ely trip, but until I am confident that SD will either not put a diesel on the back or indicate clearly in their brochure when they plan to do so, I'm afraid I won't be booking with them. I feel very sad to say this, given Marcus Robertson's Southern pedigree and the good 100% steam runs I have enjoyed with SD in the past, but it's a lot of money to splash out for something that isn't really what you want.