The Waverley - 11/08/18

That's the spirit!
As regards the options, due to the high probability of fire risk measures being needed and forseeable for several weeks I would have contacted all the customers when it first became apparent this was likely an issue to explain that diesel haulage would be necessary, offering a partial refund or discount / transfer to a later steam hauled train.
In respect of the Tornado train, cancelling it a few weeks ago would have been wisest in my opinion.
So there you go.

 

So you are completely happy for a railtour operator to advertise for, in some cases, 2 weeks or more (as did UK Railtours recently with the Bard of Avon) something they KNOW they are absolutely not going to be able to deliver? Really?

Surely one of the great advantages now we have instant and multiple ways of communicating is that tour descriptions, warnings about possible loco substitutions and/or diesel assistance can be updated in literally a few minutes? That is just good communication and surely an integral part of "making the best of a difficult job".

 

I'm heartily fed up with people telling me what I should or should not enjoy. I understand why diesel assistance is used in high fire risk situations but that doesn't mean I should enjoy the experience. I've been on two "steam" trips where diesel provided most of the power and that ruined the day for me completely. I'd earmarked a few mainline trips for this summer but once the dry weather set in and diesel assistance was announced, I cancelled my plans and will wait for normal service to be resumed. I hope people booked on these assisted tours have a great day but they're not for me I'm afraid.

 

I would be interested to know how enthusiasts would react were a future iteration of Network Rail to decide to ban all main line steam operations?

Mainline steam is not a God-given right, after all.

 

Don't think they can under Open Access.

 

An interesting thought: unless the ban was under safety reasons or perhaps, accommodating 75mph max services on a 125mph railway was an issue - "if you can't run at line speed, get off?"

 

Bit of noise from Jubilee on the CME on KS Railcam.

You'd have to ban freight trains and many E/DMUs as well.

 

I'm not sure that tour operators and one-offs are considered the same way as open access operators are though?

 

I Do not think Open Access and Open Access operators are the same thing either.
Open Access was enshrined in privatistaion that if you had a loco that meets the required safety case and a TOC to run it then you have access.
Open Access operators are those TOC's that do not have a DfT awarded franchise or management contract, such as Grand Central. As I understand it they pay to use the network, take the risk and give the DFT no profits or receive no DfT support.
WCRC may get near being an open access operator with the Jacobite, but not with any other purely charter services, it just uses the open access rules.

 

That's pretty much my understanding of the system.

 

Footage of 45690 Leander on the Northbound Waveley at Kirkby Thore . Also in the video is footage of 60009 on the S&C Golden Express and 45699 on the CME.

 

I and many others were at Ais Gill signalbox on this very day 50 years ago, happy for it to remain in my memory and wallow in nostalgia

 

Leander passing through Garsdale with the northbound. The signalman at Garsdale was proudly wearing a period uniform specially for the day. He blended into the surroundings of the station so well, it took me some time to realise it was not the norm!


https://www.flickr.com/photos/iancawthorne/43984185101/

 

Really lovely shot Ian, perfectly framed in terms of what is behind the tender - who would ever know. And a backdrop to die for!

 

My offering of ''1T57'' from Dandry Mire. A privilege to bring my father along with me to remember his experience 50 years ago to the day. He was at Ais Gill for both legs as a young 20 year old, only a year young than I today. Magical.

 

I am guessing there were at least two, if not three 1T57 headboards on the original tour in 1968? I understand the one Leander carried today was one of the originals. Comparing to archive photos, that appears to be the one that the double headed Black Five's carried - the "5" in the headcode is smaller than the other characters. On other photos of 70013 and 45110 the 5 looks larger.

Also noticed that Leander has "Carnforth" on the bufferbeam, as per 44871 in 1968 - added for the day specially I suspect? It wasn't there on last Sunday's Waverley. Another nice touch.

 

For the umpteenth time - 'Open Access' relates to who acts as Train Operator, not what they operate the train with!

Anyway, once the UK leaves the EU, Open Ac cess can be abolished as it is a 'nasty' EU requirement!

Steven

 

The reporting board was mine and, you are quite correct, it was the one carried by 44871 in ‘68. I also supplied the ‘Carnforth’ buffer-beam sticker, although in ‘68 it was painted.

So, we had a double-header with a 10A-allocated black 4-6-0 and another 10A loco. I’ll leave the other alumni on this forum to debate the other issues ad infinitum et tedium. We and the passengers had a good day out (as did most of the passengers on the other trains) and that’s what matters.

JS

 

Same question as put to 26_DM, given the circumstances.............what would you have done ?

 

I refer you to the latest update from the A1 Trust.