VSOE New Year's Eve Special

Just noticed that the traditional New Year's Eve VSOE is running without steam this year!

John Bunch, joint owner of Tangmere, told me that he informed Network Rail that is loco and support crew were available. EWS drivers and inspector were also available and, indeed, looking forward to it as usual!

So the question remains. Why has steam stopped on New Year's Eve VSOE's?

 

It hasn't been steam hauled since 2003. I gather that VSOE decided that steam wasn't needed on this train.

 

Will they have a change of heart when Clan Line comes back?

 

I look forward to a double header with Tangmere and Clan Line.

 

I don't think it is as effective when rebuilt and non-rebuilt go together (having seen CanPac with Blackmoor Vale earlier in the year), better to have two of the same.

(p.s. Can people please stop referring to Spam Cans as 'streamlined'? I have particularly noticed it in magazines. It isn't streamlining, it was how the design was, not to increase speed but to enable the locos to be cleaned in carriage washing plants. Thankyou, rant over)

 

Quite right on the terminology.

Oliver Bulleid never refered to it as "streamlining", but he did use the term "air-smoothed". I understood from a nice guy at The Bulleid Society during Railfest that the easy-clean aspects were designed in, but secondary to the aerodynamics. He also said that there was no evidence of mechanical cleaners ever being used on them in BR days. (And he was an ex-BR cleaner, so he should know!) Interestingly, the angle of the West Country casing is exactly the ladder angle. I can't believe that was an accident, so even when being hand-cleaned OB had designed in a safer system!

As an aside, streamlining doesn't have to be designed for increased speed. It can be used effectivly to decrease the fuel cost to run at the same speed. This is why the MN's were air-smoothed. Don't forget they only got the go-ahead as mixed traffic engines; there was no design parameter for large speeds.

ChuffChuff