Dartmouth Steam Railway General Discusssion

There are refreshments at Paignton and Kingswear though so there is a chance when at the ends of the line and the trip isn't long enough to go without for too long. Don't you need a license to have alcohol on board the train as well?

 

Nope, licences are only required for premises of a fixed address - which a train isn't!

 

Thanks for the feedback everyone, it's something I can pass on for future events so keep it coming... I'm also glad everyone seemed to enjoy themselves which it great to hear.

The only trouble with a buffet car would be the fact it wound'nt get much use other than events. We have cafes at both ends of the line which sell a range of refreshments and with our station Paignton being located right in the town centre, there are options to grab a variety of food at lunch, something I do often!

Having beer on the train is sometching I will pass on... We did have beer on sale in Paignton cafe this year. Having beer on train means it will take room up in the BSK which we use as wheelchair and pushchair storage which on busy trains is valuable space but this is something we can look into.

Our next event is the Dartmouth Regatta! Keep an eye out for our regatta timetable which will include some trips behind D7535 (evening only). We are also trailing a park and ride from Churston on Saturday. Keep an eye on our website for more information soon!

 

A great event. Would it be possible to have another day with the double headed Manors and the 25 in the early Autumn?

 

Cannot use Churston station car park, now a bus depot. The Greenway bus takes up about 6 spaces. !

 

The plan is to use some of the fields around the station, including the grammar school car park for the public to park their cars and then catch the train to the regatta. We will be running a few trips just between Churston - Kingswear & return for this.

 

How long is the manor there for, would love to see double headed again

 

Managed to catch the Manors at Goodrington on the evening of the 17th following a visit to the South Devon.

http://preservedrailway.weebly.com/dartmouth-steam-railway.html

 

Here is the timetable for the 2015 Dartmouth Regatta. We are running an extended Orange Timetable service with late evening trains. All services will be steam hauled except the ones marked diesel which will be hauled by D7535. Timetable below:

We also have two visiting mainline charters over the Regatta:
Friday - Pathfinders Torbay Flyer 2xClass 20s
Saturday - Statesman Rail Dartmouth Regatta Statesman 2xClass 47/57s

This year we have launched a new park and ride service (Saturday only) at Churston. Passengers can park there cars at Churston using one of the two parking areas (see leaflet) and then catch the train down to the Regatta from Churston station. We will be operating a shuttle service in the evening to/from Churston & Kingswear where passengers will be able to enjoy the air displays and fireworks.

Regatta Leaflet: http://www.dartmouthrailriver.co.uk/userfiles/reg_2015.pdf

 

How come 7820 was hired in exactly? I thought it was to cover 5239's absence but both locos were out today..

 

'Cos their owning group wanted a holiday? I don't know specifically why it went, but I do know it left GWSR for the summer due to too many steam locos here and the associated problems with paying enough steaming days all round etc. I imagine they saw an opportunity to pair two black manors; 7820 will be repainted soon into green.

 

The main reason to why 7820 was hired in was to cover the possibility of 5239 going out of service early (e.g. If anything went seriously wrong and would take a while to fix). 5239 is to be withdrawn at the end of the season.

It has also been realised that we really need 4 serviceable engines for the season due to the amount of running we do, we currently only have three... (5239, 4277 & 7827)

It has also given the opportunity to do some work on other members of the running fleet during the summer, something which would be a struggle if we only had three engines.

 

Any double heading with the two manors coming up??

 

Probably paying a visit next Thursday 13th August - any idea what might be running yet?

 

Don't hold your breath anytime soon Alex, I'm told the new tender is going black to match the engine and that green is probably 2-3 years away. make do with a green 7903 when it returns for the start of 2016.

 

Oh, thanks for letting me know. I was under the impression it was going green as soon as their tender was finished. Still, we've got plenty of other green engines!

 

Any double heading? Soon..

 

No plans that I know of at this moment in time, if anything changes I will be sure to post it on here.

 

For clarification:

The DSR approached us a few years ago regarding the hire of 3850, at that point we were unable to assist and agree terms suitable to both parties given the short time frame available, however, we were most glad to be approached by the DSR again this year expressing interest in the hire of 7820 for the summer. Whilst the GWSR may seem flush for motive power at the moment it is worth highlighting that they are running off a core fleet of only 3 locos for the peak season, with 2 being required on many operating days. If one is out for a washout/maintenance all of a sudden you have no spare, things have got a little close to the wire.....! The GWSR kindly agreed to 7820's release to assist the DSR, we are grateful of both the DSR for offering us the opportunity to work with them and the GWSR for being able to facilitate the visit. We certainly didn't 'have' to leave for the summer by any means.

Andy B is quite right regarding the re-paint, such is the popularity of the black at the moment she shall remain that way for a while longer until the black paint itself becomes a little more tired and warrants the expense (and potential down time) of a re-paint.

Regards,

Mike Solloway

DMLL

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Dinmore Manor has been a most welcome visitor on the DSR this summer. She certainly looked great with Lydham Manor when double heading. Stirling work being done by her.