Vintage Trains - First trips with Clun Castle

You may be missing the point here. RTC have been running steam charters for many years. As an established organisation they have proved that they can operate in a safe and professional manner.
New charter companies such as Saphos and Vintage Trains have to show that they can also operate in the same way. It takes time but the rewards are great. <BJ>

 

Hopefully the Shakespeares will run DL free

 

Absolutely right

 

That was down to WCR, the TOC, not RTC the Tour Operator.

 

Well how do you heat an ETH only coach with a steam engine and no genny car then? What do you do if you have a failure out on the road and where's the nearest vac braked loco? As others have said it's a start up operation so lets just be patient no point running before you can walk.

 

That is why we'd like to know the consist beforehand. Only the Riviera Coaches have ETH only. We don't even know if any of them are going to be used on the Cotswold Explorers etc. There were none on the Press Release Train, 6+the GUV, and VT have stated that 8 of their coaches are passed for mainline running. We often only ran with 8+the GUV with WCR as TOC. Tyseley's Class 47 was usually the nearest 'rescue' engine then. What has changed is the risk of failure and recovery has passed from WCR to the VT TOC. And since when have Class 47s been infallible?

 

I'm booked on the Cotswold Express next Saturday (like many here I suspect) so we'll see what happens. A diesel certainly won't be required for shunting at Oxford, given how it's a circular trip, and the 7 day weather forecast is tentatively pointing towards a double digit temperature day so arguably ETH won't be needed. We'll have to wait and see.

 

Not necessarily true. There are a number of options at Oxford but all involve at least one reversal, since you can't leave the stock sitting in the platform for 3 hours. Oxford only has 2 platforms and it's a very busy place. You start to cause congestion if you stay there for 3 minutes!

Although you can propel ECS in certain circumstances (@Romsey and others who do this for a living may be able to explain exactly when), I suspect having a tail-end DL would make this sort of reversal much quicker.

 

Covered the TOC thing in #126 above. You might well be right. We've booked on the 9th and it would be good to know in advance if there's going to be a tailgunner. Not bothered about writing the money off but don't want to have to drive from South Wales to Birmingham to find the 47 on the rear and have to turn around and go back home. Too early a start for us for that.

 

Photo of Clun Castle taking the ECS into Birmingham this evening.

 

Load 7 and diesel, sounding good as it erupted through the Jewellery Quarter. With load 10 equivalent shouldn't be the need for overkill from the rear up Old Hill.

 

Issue 490 of The Beano arrived this morning. It includes more VT tours from June onward, and dates for the Shakespeare Express. Tony Streeter may be jumping the gun, and there are probably a few of the usual Beano bloopers in there, but here goes:
Cotswold Explorer: Apr 6, Jun 1, Jul 6, Oct 12
Welsh Marches: May 25, July 11, Sep 14
Chester Venturer: Apr 28 [sic], Jun 8, Jul 20, Oct 19
Shakespeare Express: Every Sunday Jul 21 - Sep 8

 

Looks like anyone travelling on the Shakespeare on Sundays by train and don't have their own car are going to lose out, unless its a late morning departure or afternoon departure good job I've booked twice on Clun castle then on the 7th march to Worcester and on 18th May on the Cotswold venturer. With me been from W. Yorks and I rely on public transport and cycling to get to various heritage lines.

 

A measured climb of Old Hill due to the 20mph slack through the station and also following a stopper which caused issues and a bit of rain thrown into the mix. The 47 was on a touch and left the bulk of work to Clun. I think this loco will comfortably follow in the Earls footsteps.

 

I'd agree with that analysis. A couple of pics from the evening:

On arrival at Moor Street


The Gaffer

 

This on youtube. Clun tackling Old Hill. Class 47 just idling on the back through the station

 

A fine passage through the Jewellery Qaurter which was followed by 7029 Saluting the SVR through Kidderminster.