Cathedrals Express Valentine's Day Lunchtime Tour

Might be worth having a look at WCME 24th Jan No. 105

 

61306 on the return leg at Trumps Mill Lane.http://stephenleek.smugmug.com/Railwayphotos-1/Mainline-Steam-2015/i-cppWCkz

 

Saw her at Deepcut on that stretch, the B1 was working hard and going like the clappers. 56 seconds for the exact one mile from Deepcut Bridge to the signal gantry, equals 64mph. Video of that will be up later

Here we go, video of the diesel being dragged protestingly along by the mean steam loco!

 

I wasn't at Carlisle but I saw the video. I don't believe the example at Chiswick is dangerous behaviour but even if it were, what does noting it achieve? The number of posts about photographs or videos showing an act considered reprehensible in the view of the posters is disproportional to the degrees of risk portrayed and the probability of the posts ameliorating any future risk taking, perceived or real.

 

I "noted" it because it is impossible to miss if you look at the photo. But rather than divert this thread any further, I've now deleted the original reference.

The return leg departure from Chiswick. Left arrow from first pic takes you to the rest:

Chiswick Return

 

Saw the B1 on its return at Woking with a good turnout to see her. Unfortunately, the diesel gave the train one hell of a shove particularly when clear of the up platform, possibly to avoid any controversy from the likes of you and me.

Video to follow.

 

It was really motoring through Fleet and I was hardly aware of the Class 47 0n the back. Unfortunately the light was virtually non-existent so I had to use 1600 ISO to be able to use a fast enough shutter speed; my pictures are therefore somewhat on the grainy / noisy side. However, they're a record of the occasion and they are now on Flickr; this is the first one in the Photostream :

RD10634. 61306 MAYFLOWER passing through Fleet. by Ron Fisher, on Flickr

Clicking on it will enlarge it and take you to the other one. Hope they're of interest.

 

Fair enough, had not seen that angle before, however I still think such an incident from a trip is possible if your nowhere near the edge, I'm sure we've all seen incidents where someone has tripped, tried to stay on their feet before eventually falling over, often covering 10ft or more in the process, so such an incident is still possible regardless of proximity to the edge or not IMO, certainly has happened a few times with passengers on service trains a few times, and difficult to see what you can do about such things.

 

Not a bad trip today but not a glorious one either.
What impressed me the most today was the turnout of people, not just on the stations but on most of the bridges along the route. We also stopped quite a few kid's football matches along the way with everyone stopping to watch 61306 pass by. There were nearly as many people as when 60163 Tornado made it's debut in the South in 2009. Also a fair few out in the fields too.
We were quite shocked at Woking to find our coach, K was at the front of the formation . So we enjoyed a great soundtrack from the B1 on the outward leg. The first section from Woking to Guildford saw Mayflower racing along with the obvious nudge from the back aiding this rapid acceleration. At Guildford she was surrounded by onlookers and I spotted TV presenter Lucy Worsley amongst the crowd. Was she travelling on the tour I wonder? She had disappeared before I could ask her. The B1 worked hard on the next section to Havant and Eastleigh but that was about it for the day.
After Eastleigh she was flying along but she was wasn't making any noise on the long gradient up through Winchester and one of the SD staff we know came back from the support coach and commented to us that there was far too much pushing going on. We lost interest in the performance at this point.
The B1's surefooted, powerful departure from Woking even had a massive shove from the Diesel once the train was clear of the station. Below is my video of the Woking departure:

 

Gonna head out and see her pass through Haywards Heath later. Not seen a B1 (though my Grandad knows/knew one of the founders of The Thompson B1 Locomotive Trust who bought 61264)

 

Getting away well from a very wet Basingstoke before the Diesel kicked in:

 

I love the Deepcup video 6029 King Stephen, I was at Liphook in the morning and got a nice shot, then drove to Deepcut but thanks to the roadworks couldn't find anywhere to park the car so came home early. Here is my shot from Liphook:

 

Surely they are in a position to do something about it?
Like the comment from HH in #22 earlier.
Can anyone comment positively why this was the case today, bearing in mind both 4965 & 34067 were solo today?
Was thinking about booking on the 1st of March Cardiff trip with 61306, but absolutely no chance of that now for obvious reasons. Their loss my gain, better things to do with 100 quid & get what I pay for.

 

He wasn't one of the people "at the top" but I don't know whether he mentioned it to those in charge. At the end of the day those in charge only see these days.
The service wasn't great today either. We only had one free drink in Premium Standard with the second one abandoned as contents of the pots were milky water and something brown which we couldn't work out what it was! After that the the staff disappeared. Not the fault of the people serving, more a lack of organization as I think the staff were diverted to serving in the dining section. We didn't get offered another drink until it was literally time to get off at Woking.

 

If they are only thinking of money why are they paying for extra fuel and a crew for a diesel if it's not needed.

Perhaps I am being too naive but I just don't buy this idea that WCRC just attach diesels (and incur the associated costs) for the sake of it.

 

Somebody had fun with the electronic information signs at the stations I went to today. All London bound trains were heading to London Waterlove.

 

Although it was one tour, it had very distinct stages so I split it into three films.

Stage 1 - Up the hill into Worplesdon.

The weather was good, and the B1 clearly working its shift, even tho you can tell there was a notch or two of assist. Thats fine the whole consist sounds and looks the part for a good experience.



Stage 2

The weather took a turn for the worse, and so did the tour. Battledown flyover was chosen because I suspect this is a unique shot, I doubt you'll find another vid of the B1 over there from that viewpoint. Visibility had gone to pot as a heavy rain shower had just passed and the B1 appears to have lost interest or given up for the day for whatever reason.



Stage 3

Chertsey. A different view, and I was hoping that some water and a good fire rake would have sparked some renewed vigour. Good whistle here but clearly the fire in its belly is doing nothing more than cylinder lubrication



So clearly this tour was, as they say a game of two halves.

 

My effort, approaching Botley:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-31469515

aww so cute