SRPS Railtours: 2019 Steam Programme

A rather frustrating day at the lineside, but Fife always seems to deliver in the evenings!

Gresley A4 No. 60009 'Union Of South Africa' - Freuchie by Jonathon Gourlay, on Flickr

Gresley A4 No. 60009 'Union Of South Africa' - Jamestown Viaduct by Jonathon Gourlay, on Flickr

 

Don't quote me (as I only know faces from pics on here and in the mags) but the Outward driver could have been Ron Smith.

 

Some nice chuffs from the front, but plenty of growls from the back.

Southbound out of Aberdeen No. 9 appeared to take the train out of the platform 7 on its own, but out on the main the 37 erupted into life and was clearly assisting although may have eased off after a couple of miles. Same recovering from the Montrose and Arbroath slacks.

Pity as the train was gaining on schedule and would have been interesting/useful to see how much 60009 had in hand.

Like the Tornado run there was considerable assistance on the return after Dundee.

So done 2 trips with diesel assistance.

Hope solution can be found to shunt move at Aberdeen so no need to take a diesel for the Tornado trips in late summer?

 

The obvious solution is to station something capable of shunting 12 coaches at Ferryhill.

Id imagine that's a conversation for NR and the operators.

Perhaps something else is at play tho, pure speculation here but maybe the owners & operators don't fancy taking on the Aberdeen run without any insurance by way of Diesel?

It is an easy route which one could lose time and the subsequent path on....?

Perhaps someone better informed can attest to that?

 

I'm not better informed, far from it, and I agree that a lot of delay minutes could rack up if things went pear shaped in the wrong place, but three points occur

1. Is part of the problem at Aberdeen that Ferryhill is not within station limits so the shunt moves which are permissible at Carlisle (say) are not permissible at Aberdeen?

2. Is there any chance of that changing, and could the A1 Group and DB be the best change agent?

3. If all else fails, could a LE path be found for the assisting diesel over the Tay Bridge and the diesel attached/detached at Dundee during the water stop?

What were the loads in the famous 1965 A4 era? My recollection is six or seven. In fact the Scotrail 125 fleet so much in evidence last Wed is a bit of a re-run in a way.

 

1. Not sure. Before this recent revival Ferryhill was overgrown almost all the way up to the mainline, with only the occasional Tamper sitting at the edge of the site. The track renewal to the turntable was comprehensive so perhaps that is the case.

2. I don't see the harm in them trying. But what are NR's thoughts on 11 coaches unassisted over the Aberdeen run....?

3. That has been done on other parts of the network hasn't it? Didn't a certain Deltic do that to Edinburgh recently?

Indeed, Aberdeen is once again playing retirement home for East Coast greyhounds and I for one have no complaints on that!

Sure. I'm inclined to agree. Its only two points to resolve and I suspect they will in time be resolved as I imagine NR, the loco owners and the tour operators would all prefer a simpler solution to the current setup.

1. A water facility at Ferryhill so a visit to Craiginches isn't required

2. A solution to the shunt in Aberdeen itself. My own opinion is a diesel stationed at Ferryhill is the answer to that.

 

Is it safe to say that Sunday’s trips will now be cancelled due to mechanical failure?

 

No, it isn't! Any mechanical failure is news to the loco's maintainers or operators.

Please don't spread unsubstantiated rumour or gossip.

JS

 

I did not create this rumour! Old Fife Railways is a facebook page which has a user which said that there was a firebox problem and usually that's serious. The question is why did it not come south from Inverness yesterday?

 

You did however post on here in a I've heard something but I'm not saying what fashion.

Dave B

 

You may not have created it, but you’ve spread this rumour on one of the most viewed railway forums on the internet. You only need one of the regurgitating ‘news’ websites like RailAdvent to read this, just think of the stories that would be shared across Facebook and Twitter, reaching thousands of people very quickly...

That doesn’t sound like a recipe for disaster, does it?!

James

 

I only went searching for answers and someone said that there was a firebox problem. When will it come south from Inverness?

 

Yeah, I only signed up in March and I need time to learn to stop spreading rumours. I apologise for any inconvenience caused but I can't lie that I'm majorly concerned that the engine will not be ready for Sunday and my lifelong dream of being on it crossing the Forth Bridge will not happen. Realtime Trains is what made me worried by the way.

 

Use a combination of common sense, putting two and two together (i.e. using information direct from the source) and a large pinch of salt when it comes to understanding RTT...

 

Not the first time you have spread doom & gloom rumours. I recall you did something similar regarding No.9

Perhaps a period of mature reflection would be in order before you rush to the keyboard.

 

Ian Riley posted on facebook saying it'll be coming down from Inverness at somepoint this week ready for the trips on Sunday, Times will not be made public due to the trespassing problems down south.

 

Real time trains did not have any detail of No 9's recent SRPS run to Aberdeen at all and I was on it! This was a surprise to me but I was told on here this is not unusual, but it did give me a worry considering I travelled over 600 miles round trip and had two nights in a hotel. Trust the promoter and loco owners only, everything else is rumour!
SRPS and West Coast have been in the game a long time, they know what they are doing - if in doubt give SRPS a call they are usually very helpful.
I think sometimes we now have too much information. 20 years ago you had your tickets and a letter with departure times and that was it - you just turned up at the station and off you went - oblivious to any last minute repairs or emergencies that may have occurred to get the engine on the train!

 

RTT had the times for the movement from Bo’ness to Linlithgow only 5 minutes (night have been less) before the due time for the movement. Similarly the departure from Linlithgow was only on RTT about 5 minutes before departure. I didn’t notice the time of activation.
The departure from Aberdeen was also reported very late on RTT

I too had travelled a similar distance as yourselves but if you look back in this thread there is a very useful post from a chap who had seen the information that No 9 had been seen in steam so I was more confident than you as to her likely appearance !