RTC 2023

Days Out advertised several trips with 34067. The company went bust a good few years before the loco appeared on the mainline.

 

I visited Didcot on the day she was towed by 70013 to OOC in 2017. I only had time to see her being prepared in Didcot yard for her very brief return to the ML (as captured below). A real shame that she never made it to actually hauling any railtours.

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Scotsman being serviced at Salisbury earlier today.

 

I don’t want to knock Ms Osbourne and her team I can imagine it’s rather a challenging task to keep quite a few plates spinning, but I really don’t think it’s good idea to advertise a tour with loco x on this date if it’s still in bits.

 

Trouble is there is a good bit of cudos and £ to be made if you have first use of a newly overhauled loco. Witness the draw of Pendennis Castle recently at the SVR. I don't see an issue so long as you are open that 'x' loco will be used as a back up if the advertised one isn't available.
Most enthusiasts know there is a inherant risk attached with steam loco maintenance and are probably well aware of a current loco's status in this day and age. Those who aren't aware are probably not that bothered what's on the front anyway, as long as it makes some steam & goes chuff..
I must admit though that I thought my booking for Tornado to Kingswear in September was pretty safe when I made it back in April, now I'm not so sure!
There was a few tongue in cheek suggestions of renumbering Green Arrow when Flying Scotsman's 1st overhaul became rather protracted..doubt many would have noticed!

 

You would think Tour Promoters would ask Loco owners to see if it will be ready in time for that specific Tour. But if 6233 is not available then 45596 could be a substitute

 

I think they probably do, however, within loco restoration can lie huge amounts of supreme optimism...

 

Yes, 6023 was one very caged lion on heritage railways and we never got to see the full potential of the revised blast pipe arrangment either - real shame. Suspect some records on the Devon Banks could have been under threat.

 

Funny is funny!

 

But then surely you advertise it as being from a pool of locomotives?
Or even how’s about something like ‘whilst we’ve requested locomotive x we may have to to substitute it with something our partners at West Coast can provide’

If 6233’s had a steam test and it’s clocking up some miles at Butterly, then you could be reasonably confident it would be available for November. The fact it’s still in bits and it might just be ready at the end of November just makes me think ‘don’t advertise it for that then’

 

I think the issue is the amount of time it takes to plan a tour. By the time it actually gets advertised it has probably been in the planning stage for several months previous, or up to a year previous. Proposed locos have to be submitted to Network Rail long before it's due to run for gauging etc.
I have no doubt 6233's owners have every intention of the loco being available at the end of November and have probably commited their loco to RTC on the basis of recouping some of their overhaul expenditure via the Christmas trains, but until you take something apart you never know what you might find - look at 35028 & Tornado.
6233 is a popular loco and some will book specifically for it. Yes more seats may indeed be shifted because it's the Duchess. So I can't blame RTC for advertising their intention to use it. It is a more attractive proposition than 'Carnforth Pool'. I am sure in their T&Cs a substitute loco is covered, however, in the past RTC have been flexible in transferring bookings if something isn't quite as advertised.
Its an intermediate rather than major overhaul too for the Duchess, quite different to advertising a loco missing a boiler or even an untested Barry overhaul as per 6023 & Tangmere mentioned above, that is a more major issue for me!

 

The loco is due to be completed in November but there is some uncertainty as to whether this dead line will be met.

Kind regards

Graham Oulsnam
Chairman
PRCLT

 

The other way of looking at it is if you think your loco will be ready in November your not going to not offer it for any work till February just to be sure, there is a risk then it’s sitting in the shed over the busy Christmas period not earning any money!

 

Flying Scotsman on yesterday's Salisbury Express, seen climbing Upton Scudamore, sitting at Salisbury during servicing, speeding through Eastleigh and departing Basingstoke:

 

Somehow had never noticed the corridor tender, do they ever use it?

 

Yes it has been.

 

Nice video and muggins here managed to make a cameo appearance 2 mins in.

 

Out of interest, did you expect to see the loco servicing in the down sidings?

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Any clues regarding times today? Can’t find any times on RTT?

 

No times even in the local press, but I've just seen someone has posted links to times on Railcam, on Anglia Gen (Facebook group). I'll share here assuming that is ok, if not mods please remove.

KX - Norwich: https://railcam.uk/rcdata/RCData2_d...elBJT1dMmj02t6obzmYo9PIZzWZyYOElTNUNdyONVXDHc

Norwich - Yarmouth (Diesel led?): https://railcam.uk/rcdata/RCData2_d...XvXlLXeDgfQ8LgHF6jCTh0G-o11uvo9xGzzudPNHJar-M

Yarmouth - KX: https://railcam.uk/rcdata/RCData2_d...nOV4SZRo5Xp5Y99KitGw2ikpTWjUyhyhyMaglh_LHjXGw