RTC 2020

If top and tailed with steam, one facing smokebox first in each direction, then the path would be restricted to 60mph (or whatever the smokebox first speed is on the most restrictive locomotive if less), which is already handled adequately on the WCML. Should be more than suitable on a Sunday morning before services begin on the Windermere Branch provided there are no engineering works at the suggested times.

 

That’s a good point about T&T but like you say the 45mph would be a problem.

 

The problem with an early morning start is that most potential customers outside a fairly small catchment area would need accommodation for the night before. That's only a few if the catchment is somewhere like Greater London or Greater Manchester, but if you're starting from Carnforth or Preston a lot of your customers will have the additional cost and hassle of accommodation. That in turn means the trip as a whole has to be sufficiently appealing, so where else do you go besides Windermere?

 

I recall steam used to be more common the other way, but plans to incorporate that leg into an itinerary have come to nought in recent years.

 

There's a good tour from the 60s on Brian Basterfield's site -- Black Five from Birmingham to Carnforth, 45696 from Carnforth to Windermere, boats to Lakeside, 45696 to Ulverston and back to Carnforth, Black Five to Birmingham. Quite a good day out that.

I think Morecambe, Heysham and Barrow might possibly work.

 

Not if the locos both faced the direction of travel.

 

It's certainly not oversaturated in the South of England, Al. Saphos isn't doing much round here and whatever VT might have up their its sleeve, with 7029 being the mainstay of its programme, options south of GWR territory will inevitably be very limited. Salisbury is a possibility (5043 paid a visit two years ago) but that is probably the only Southern destination reachable with a Castle.

Yes, an all-steam Dorset Coast express is definitely an attractive proposition, especially an all Southern Steam combination (31806 sharing the honours with 35018) but further to add to my point above, RTC has completely ignored the South of England for the first six months of the year. The Bournemouth Express on 4th July with 35018 is the first train to run over the Southern. My regular plea to RTC to run a train to Weymouth or Swanage in the spring when fire risk won't be an issue seems to fall on deaf ears.

Same here. I missed out on the Uckfield/East Grinstead t&t with 34046 and 44932 and would love to have another chance to tick off these two lines. I also wish that one operator would try a steam equivalent of UKRT's regular Kentish branch line jollies to Grain and Dungeness

Still, it's good to see RTC venturing into Kent. 70000's recent mishap on Bearsted Bank thankfully hasn't proved too much of a deterrent. The picture shows an 8P loco which, I am sure, could take the fearsome 1 in 60 in its stride outside leaf-fall season, but somehow, I don't think it will be the Duchess which heads up Grosvenor Bank bound for the Garden of England!

 

The problem with top and tailed steam trips in the South East is having suffcient gauge friendly available, sufficent crews ( with route knoweldge) and support crews. The two Seaford 150 trips in 2014 were hauled 70013 and 44932 respectively were top and tailed with a diesel, so was the Past Time Trip to Dungness from Canon Street in 2006 and the Bognor Belle 2017 with 46100,
With Jacobite keeping 2 of the Riley 5's busy from Easter to the end of October , with them likely to be required for some of the Christmas trips , and maintence ( and overhauls/ intetim overhauls) before the Jacboite season starts again , might leave a small window in November or in April if Easter is late .While one five might be available later in the year like 44871 this year, what other gauge friendly locos and available support crews are available to RTC ?
SD have run a top and tailed trip on a trip to Portsmouth and Salisbury with 61306 and 44871 this year but cannot see any of your suggestions being their type of trip, and Saphos would require DBC to crew it and I doubt they have suffcient crews.

I expect the Kentish Belle will be top and tailed with a diesel - previous RTC trips to Canterbury and Faversham were.

 

Mr Riley's Fives aren't the only one's with mainline certificates, though. 45305 is, I think, based at Tyseley for the next few weeks for The Polar Express and 45231 is part of the LSL stable.

 

Would forget Windermere with steam for now. It's not as straightforward as people think... Unless Northern suspend their services as per summer 2018 or Easter this year. It's possible but commercially pointless to go overnight, or you can do pre 0600/23xx onwards. Any of those require overtime or an extra crossing keeper shift to be specially arranged (which isn't as straightforward as it sounds). Sunday mornings you will struggle to get to Oxenholme up the WCML in time to do a return to Windermere prior to the DMU schedules starting. There needs to be no block in the station/on the branch, a crossing keeper available and potentially overnight stabling in the Windermere platform itself if the WCML was under possession at the required time.

 

The calendar is becoming more congested; there are a couple of CMEs that I would usually do that clash with trips already booked (18 July Caledonian and 29 Aug Lakelander).

For something different, what about a ride up the truncated Grassington branch - infrastructure and timetables permitting. Originate from ? with double headed steam from Carnforth down the "Little North Western". Re-jig to top and tail at Hellifield on to Skipton, reverse, then forward up the branch to the NR limit. Back down with maybe a chance of a break at Skipton then off to Hellifield. Return could be as the outward or back to Settle Jn for reverse and crossover, re-jig to double headed at Hellifield then back to Preston via Blackburn. Tilcon train(s) run on Saturdays "as required" - could possibly negotiate a clear Saturday with Tilcon or no trains on a Sunday.

 

The Grassington branch terminated not as you might expect in Grassington but across the river in the village of Threshfield. The name of train, if ever it were to run, would surely have to be, “The Threshfield Thunderbolt”.

 

There's a Black Friday BLK £30 off per seat discount code for all tours in the 2020 brochure/UK list online from today until noon Monday 2nd Dec. Excludes all Flying Scotsman Tours.

 

RTC email today suggests DoS out and UoSA back on 15 February run from Ealing to York.

Also looks as though it's down for the Yorkshireman, which is unusually steam both ways.

 

45 mph coming onto the EMCL after the redmire trip last time was a massive problem! Explains why tour only made it to Bedale.

 

It's got nothing to do with speed, as one direction will always be tender-first. The issue is the availability of slots on the ECML, as the first two miles of the return journey, after reversing at Castle Hills Junct, are in the Up direction on the Down Fast. The time allowed on the Wensleydale Rly (and hence how far the train can go) is dictated by their availability.

JS

 

Thanks - but does it not show that the Wensleydale rerun this time will be engines facing onto the stock back to back, (which is being suggested for the trip in March) so that once your onto the ECML your running at speed over the possibility of tender first off the ECML.

 

RTC's COVID-19 Update: https://www.railwaytouring.net/corona-virus-covid-19-17-3-2020

 

Email received today : -

The Buxton Spa Express Saturday 30th May 2020

With regards to your booking on The Buxton Spa Express on Saturday 30th May 2020, please be advised that due to the on going Coronavirus - Covid-19 outbreak and the extension of the lockdown within the UK, this trip is being postponed until the Autumn.

Once the situation has improved and there is more certainty we will notify you of the revised date for the tour.

If the new date, once confirmed, is not suitable for you, we will be able to transfer your booking to any other tour or hold your funds in credit towards a future booking with ourselves in 2020 or 2021.

Please accept our sincere apologies for any disappointment or inconvenience this postponement may cause.

We appreciate your patience at this time until we are able to confirm the revised tour date. In keeping with the stay at home guidelines we are currently working remotely with skeleton staff between the hours of 10am and 2pm Monday to Friday, should you need to contact us.

Kind regards

The Railway Touring Company