Brighton Belle update

There's another update on the BBC News web site about the Brighton Belle set.

BBC News - Brighton Belle train restorers discover carriage

 

excellent condition is Hazel!. More power (DC of course) to them!

 

Could a member of the Brighton Belle team please contact me

I have tried through their website.

Cheers

 

Pages 16 and 17 of the latest Pullman & CIWL News has some encouraging news on the project - "For the first time our team at Barrow Hill are working on three of our six cars at the same time. An influx of additional highly skilled and committed welders has greatly increased work flow and capacity and we have had approved a new and significantly strengthened spine design for the underframes". Work is now underway on the interiors of Cars 85 and 91.

Chris

 

The Brighton Belle featured on tonight's Inside Out, it should be available to watch imminently.

 

According to the prog,they will be running the first service later this year.

 

Starts at 20'30".

 

The latest Pullman & CIWL News has on pages 41-45 some great photos of the progress being made especially now the underframe is being fitted with electrical gear, as well as news of an upcoming event at Waterloo and TV appearances too.

 

Any updates/news? Website seems so quiet

 

last i read it was due to undergo test running at the end of 2016, with services starting this year, Im assuming that the timescale has slipped its going to be interesting to see what kind of uptake there will be for Pullman tours , and being tied to 3rd rail territory its going to be interesting what destinations turn out to be most popular,

 

Will there be enough time though to serve luncheon unless they take a very roundabout route, 50 mins isnt it Victoria to Brighton ? A white cliffs type operation out via canterbury back past dover a round trip i think may well turn out to be a more profitable route

 

Which TOCs will be able to operate the train?

 

Will it run driver only or driver + guard, I would have thought the latter but you never know these days.

 

That is a very good question, do DBS cover 400 emu on their drivers booked traction? the only TOC's that do are those who already operate such traction, and then, could they operate a non standard unit ? Southern operate 455, which are as near to the traction controls as you are going to get but would they have the staff to operate charter trains? but they would not have the route knowledge to cover off region , i wonder GB RAILFREIGHT operate 73's do they have a licence to operate passenger charters? that would be the most likily candidate , unles the operators of the belle set up as their own operator and employ their own drivers using drivers with previous route and traction knowledge

 

i expect they used to manage in the old days, with two units

 

Southern?

 

As far as I can tell it will operate in much the same way as other charter operations - they had already announced a partnership with UK Railtours and GBRf had been announced as operating the trial runs.

I think we can safely assume that GBRf will be operator of choice - they already operate charter services around the country including Belmond's Royal Scotsman and the Hastings DEMU trips, and they are the only mainline operator of 73s which the 5BEL should now be capable of working in multiple with.

 

Would that be prior to the 60163 trip on 29th March previously announced as the first steam over the reopened line?
A special train behind 60103 would be more fitting to my mind.

 

sure they all look the same.