Dartmouth Steam Railway General Discusssion

According to this Facebook post from Churnet Valley Railway about their gala, 5197 will be 'making a reciprocal visit to Dartmouth upon the completion of the gala'.

 

Interesting....potentially two former USA locomotives on the line and in steam in 2018.

Will miss the GWR sound though..


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Wow that's amazing. Can't wait.

 

Any idea of the likely dates for 5197's trip to Paignton yet? It's something I've been hugely looking forward to since it was first mooted - I love the USA locos and though I know it has its critics on here, the Dartmouth line is one of my favourites in the country for its scenery and gradients so S160 + Dartmouth seems to me a great combination. And does the post above mentioning the possibility of two USA locos on the line this year refer to one being restored somewhere else heading to the west at some point in 2018? I vaguely recall reading about something along those lines a while back but can't remember the details.

I'm not sure anything will quite beat Lydham Manor barking its way up Goodrington bank for me, but if anything's got a chance of displacing the Manor in my affections it's probably an S160 (or two).

 

2253 is the other s160 which is owned by Pete Best. You can see progress on Facebook 'friends of 2253'.locomotive is currently towards the end of major boiler surgery

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5197 is expected to haul DSR Half-Term services and will stay until the spring. For exact operating dates you'll have to wait for the Paignton boys to confirm.

 

Ah great, thanks for the info. Will definitely be there a couple of times in the half-term week then.

 

5197 will indeed be in use over the half term services (Sat 10th - Sun 18th) She will then be spare, covering washouts and failures until she leaves us towards the end of May.

 

Will 75014, 7827 & 4555 all be operating the main season?


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75014 will be sharing the start of the season with 5197. 7827 is due back out of the workshop around April time. 7752 is making a return visit to us this year, with all efforts going into 4555 once 7827 has vacated. Unfortunately a host of constant problems discovered with both the Boiler and Frames of 4555, coupled with an intensive service throughout the year and only a small workforce have pushed her return back further than planned. However, we know a thing or two about GWR loco's, so we hope to have her running not far into the main summer season.

 

Sounds good, shaping up to be another excellent season.


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A reminder for those living within easy reach or anyone taking a few days vacation during next week that USATC loco 5197 should be operating on the line.

 

That seems an odd arrangement to have for me - that's only 9 guaranteed steamings over a 3 month period. I would have thought the owner would have wanted a higher number of days when its earning money with hire fees than just 9. Perhaps there's some sort of base hire fee for the period with an extra amount added on every time the loco is used?

 

It is a reciprocal visit from the CVR, as the earlier posts describe, maybe the usual arrangements do not apply.

 

How many railways are operating daily during this period? It is all very well wanting more operating days but you have to find a railway that both needs the loco and can give operating days. It's also not practical to trip a loco around several lines to maximise this.

 

Nothing strange. The loco is running for 9 days at the start of its agreement. Covering one planned washout (a loco requires 7 days to sufficiently cool for one) the loco is then rostered for its remaining days up until the last day of its "working" contract. If a failure occurs, the loco fulfills the same number of days, just the loco roster is adjusted. We have a loco roster in place for the entire year to plan washouts & planned maintenance to all operational locos.

 

The owners are happy! Its nice to send a loco in return for the hire of 4277.

 

5197 getting its first taste of the English Riviera sunshine today.

 

Wow! There are some things I'd never thought I'd see, and an s160 at Dartmouth's one! I wonder if it's Dreaming of Californication?

 

I'd guess there might have been a few there prior to D-Day ??