West Somerset Railway General Discussion

Will this be the first Merchant Navy to run on the line?


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According to Steve's website, 35005 Canadian Pacific has visited. Don't know when though!
Ian Coleby

 

2005 Autumn Gala



Pic by John Newberry and licenced under Creative Commons

See "Snapshot"

Steve

 

Do the Southern Region's Pacifics manage the climb from B/L to C/H any better then LNER's Pacifics , if so and why ?

 

Is this the only steam locomotive with its wheel arrangement as part of its name?

 

BB and WC Bulleids such as Manston, Sir Keith Park, and Braunton never had any trouble.....as to why FS did, I cannot explain.
Robin L.

 

Probably not; they are, as are the A3s, better for crew familiarisation. Pacifics are very different from 4-6-0s.

35005 'Canadian Pacific' was not in the best of condition. As I remember it there were reports of problems with the tender, sticking regulator etc.

With the first train of the Gala (29/9) 35005 'Canadian Pacific' on a very wet and misty morning, came to a halt at MP169.75, but restarted and reached Crowcombe in 17mins 38 secs from Bishops Lydeard. The rest of the days running was uneventful. Schedule maintained on the 12.15 & 15.55 from Minehead and the 14.10 from Bishops Lydeard. The load was only 6.

I had one journey on the Friday which was ok.

On the Saturday with the 12.20 from Minehead we came to a halt in the cutting before Washford. We had crawled out of Blue Anchor barely reaching 16mph with the inevitable result. The crew elected to call for assistance and 9351, which was 'thunderbird' at Williton was dispatched and we duly reached Washford in 61-37 from Blue Anchor. I remember the incident well as I had decided to have an 'all day breakfast' in the QB after leaving BA. Throughout breakfast we were stationary in the cutting at its deepest point, a somewhat uninspiring view.

2005 was not a good year for delays at Galas. At the spring event, 3440 'City of Truro', also on the Saturday, with the 09.10 from Minehead came to a halt within 200 metres of the Washford platform. The S&D guys hearing what had happened ran down from Washford with a bag of sand and sanded for some 20 metres in front of the loco and with regulator, openings and closings we slithered our way into Washford in 31-11 from Blue Anchor. My suggestion when we had come to a halt, that we emulate what used to happen on Sole Street bank (climbing out of Rochester), was not accepted ie we shovel earth from the embankment on to the rails. I have a memory of a fireman in the late 1950s walking up Sole St throwing earth on to the rails and a Battle of Britain crawling and slipping its way up behind him.

Canadian Pacific on the Sunday in 2005 ran ok. However on the last train of the day, the 17.35 from Minehead, we left BA rapidly attained line speed but immediately we reached the 1/65 the brakes began to leak on and we fell to 5mph before miraculously vac was reestablished and we accelerated back to line speed on the 1/65. The rest of the journey was uneventful !

Experience with 'Clan Line' suggests she will be in somewhat better condition than was 'Canadian Pacific'. She was always one of the best of the MNs up to July 1967 and I suggest over the years since then she has proved to be in 'Preservation' arguably the most consistent performer of any loco on the Main Line.

Bulleids, as with all Pacifics require careful handling. The adhesion factor, particularly on the light Pacifics is not favourable. Whilst it is true that we have had various WCs and BBs over the years at Galas, working through on specials and resident at times there have been instances where slipping has been severe and the odd stop not unknown. Much as I love Mr Bulleid's creations it is the nature of the beast. To see one passing Queens Road with 500 tons on the 'Belle', wheels still slipping is a remembered joy as is 101 mph behind No.35003 at Fleet and then 100mph at Brookwood, 71 mph at Roundwood with 430 tons or 79mph up the grade before Dorchester on a dark wet evening with a Weymouth crew keen to sign off! I could go on and on !

Michael Rowe

 

Thanks for sharing

 

35005 'Canadian Pacific' will soon be in better condition http://canpac.watercressline.co.uk. An imaginative heritage lottery fund project of the type WSR could have been working on had so much time, energy and money not been wasted on squabbling in recent years.
Barry

 

The MHR overcame it's difficulties of the 1990s, and for that we are all delighted.(I am a member and was then, although I seldom visit these days). I believe the WSR is set to similarly overcome whatever ructions may have occurred more recently here in Somerset. (The reported scale of the ructions does seem to exponentially grow the further one travels from Somerset

Michael Rowe

 

Gosh, was that City of Truro trip really 13 years ago? My recollection (I was on that train) was that although speed got very low, it never completely stopped. I recall, though, losing about 25 minutes on the timetable, which would accord with your Blue Anchor to Washford time.

With regard Bulleid pacifics and slipping: any loco will slip in the wrong conditions - Bulleids are far from unique in that regard. There is a well known example of an LMS Duchess spending an hour trying to get away from Liverpool Lime Street due to lack of adhesion, and Winkworth notes in his book two weeks of observation of every departure from Rugby, on a falling gradient, that showed not a single clean start by a Duchess.

My hunch about Bulleids is that it is difficult now to ascertain how much their reputation for slipping is because they were particularly worse than other locos, and how much is simply because they were more observed than other similar locos. There were large numbers of them, relative to LMS or LNER pacifics; and by virtue of proper mainline steam lasting out of Waterloo longer than any other express service meant they attracted more observation in their closing years than other types, and more observation means more opportunity to see them at their best and worst. So one at least needs to be careful attributing greater observation of slipping with a greater propensity to slip, relative to other comparable types. I have some notes from a well-known Southern driver who drove many engines on BR and he is insistent that when driven correctly, a Bulleid is quite sure footed. The regular modern-day performance of "Clan Line" round the Surrey Hills with a heavy train, or the ease with which original condition pacifics could work the Devon Belle (12 - 13 Pullmans, so over 500 tons tare) over Honiton Bank (seven miles of 1 in 75 - 1 in 80) would seem to support that assessment.

Platform 7 at London Bridge was apparently a notably difficult start for up (London bound) trains, being on a rising gradient and sharply curved. If for any reason a pacific couldn't get away, the following electric train would be drawn up behind to bank it out of the station - minimising rush hour delays!

Tom

 

Hmmm. Those ructions seemed quite lively sitting in Bishops Lydeard and Crowcombe Village Halls...

All healing now of course thanks to the hard work of a whole lot of dedicated people, including yourself, but it's still difficult sometimes not to think of what could now have been achieved had all that time, money and energy been channelled into something positive instead.

Barry

 

And unlike now they would have compatible buffers and couplings. Thought - did they drop the EMU Buckeye and lengthen the buffers or just give it a shove and hope there was no damage as SR emus always traveled with the buckeye raised and buffers short.

 

We were behind Manston a couple of years ago on a gala heading down to MD, pulling out of Watchet up the incline the engine wheels were going ahead & the whole train was going backward. It took about 10 mins & several shunts to get going again.

DJB.

 

Why is clan line only going as far as BL on return and diesel back. Is it staying at Lydeard to be used on Torbay expresses.

 

Yes,at least 9 list on the WSR.org site

 

Fantastic search function on wsr org.

 

Yes.

 

Regards the Seaward Way crossing re-lay next autumn, are they going to lay a track panel in on the op side against future developments?!

 

Is that for when the commuter trains commence Jim?