35028 Clan Line to Exeter - now 10/08/19

Not sure the crew would have wanted to have been stationary at Axminster. The climb to Honiton could be interesting the rain that has fallen whilst we have been stationary won’t have helped either.

 

Of course, the obvious difference is that, on this largely steam forum, a 'box' is on the other team, so to speak, whereas a 'kettle' is on the home team. Vice versa for some other forums where steam are the 'away' players! Now, had the 'Leader' (36001) been preserved, would it be a 'box' or a 'kettle'?!

 

RTT has it 96L from Basingstoke, but it regains 89 mins by Overton! No stop at Chard either? Was the fast line failure after Surbiton weather related, I wonder?

 

The flashing single yellow must be to regain the up fast at Hampton Court Junction?

 

As flashing is a deviation, the adjacent up fast is at red, , I guess so.

 

Leader = Hotbox?

 

Loses the sense of speed a little for me with the extreme zoom out at the end, but looks to be well up to the limit.

 

That works! I sometimes think there's a resemblance to the class 66, so perhaps 'Steamshed'?

 

Seems to be getting away with a bit of luck on the weather front. There have been 3 fallen trees on the West of England since passing through.

 

There are days when everthing, including the weather, works for you. Unfortunately today wasn't one of them. Other commitments precluded a full chase so plan was to go to Byfleet and get it going full speed on the fast line. Arrived in full sunshine so all was well. Two minutes before it was due Tracksy showed it had been switched to the slow ( that should have happened at Woking) so a quick dash to the otherside to get a c**p shot in what had quickly become pouring rain. The first one in b/w is probably the least bad but nice to see.

 

35028 on load 11, no diesel.

After all the concerns over fire risk it was wind and rain that threatened to scupper progress.

Once on the down fast we got up to 40 thro Clapham, 62 thro Wimbledon and 74 Surbiton, max 77 before weave to slow thro Weybridge. Back on fast for P4 at Woking.

A few slips getting away, max 42 before weave to slow at Brookwood then 50 at milepost 31. Max 74 before we caught up 07.42 WAT BAS stopper.

Held for a 444 and a voyager, passed Worting Jn in 11m 31s from BAS at only 22. 75 in dip over Hurstbourne via and 73 up other side. 77 max before Andover eased to 74 and 72 over hump at Red Post Jn. 76 in dip over Monxton via fell to 67 thro Grateley & over summit. 76 max Porton. Tnl Jn 40m 51s, checked into SAL as the Pompey - Cardiff was 9 late.

SAL - GIL 29m 13s. 61 thro Dinton and 68 thro Tisbury with 70 max after, 65 min on Semley, brief 78 max down to GIL.

On restart up to 40 at Bugley bridge before Buckhorn Weston Tnl, 72 max before checked to 19 before Templecombe. Recovered to 35 on the 1:100 to post 113 1/2. Nice run down to Sherborne.

From Yeovil Jn restart up to 40 at Sutton Bingham and 64 max before Kingswood bridge slack. 64 max before Crewkerne fell to 45 after the tunnel.

Checked but ran through Chard Jn due to service train disruption. Held beyond Axminster. Up train crossed and assumed we'd be held for dn service, but got road. 41 before gradients bit. Speed fell to 32 before rallying to 36 thro Seaton Jn. More slips, down to 24 around Black Sands but recovered to enter Honiton Tnl at 27 and emerge at 35. Driver said only 160 lb in steam chest due to rail conditions.

Clear road thro Honiton but various clearance slacks down to Exeter. Arrived Central 24 early.

Diners had to hurry up "We apologise for the early arrival".

 

Could be a speed restriction through the platform for steam, which of course anything coming off the climb Staines would not be impacted by sas it would not reach the speed Caln Line was at.

 

54 thro Byfleet eased to 21 for the clearance slack at West Byfleet.

 

I quite like that B&W shot, it has a sense of grimy 1960s reality.

 

Thanks for a great report!
......On restart up to 40 at Bugley bridge before Buckhorn Weston Tnl, 72 max before checked to 19 before Templecombe. Recovered to 35 on the 1:100 to post 113 1/2. Nice run down to Sherborne.....
Yes it was a really nice run down to Sherborne.!Well down crew and No 35028 and well handled on Honiton bank. Great bonus of extra time in Exeter too.

 

Yes, grainy/rainy but still OK. I would probably have gone to the up side here anyway, but Hersham would have been my spot. I abandoned plans to nip out for a shot as the weather looked as if things might go awry. The support coach, while it works with the Belmond set, jars with anything else. Oh, to have the green set back for this sort of run!

Sounds like there was a lot of tinkering to fit in with service wobbles, but a 24 minutes early arrival is a mixed blessing. The repeated heavy rain may have been useful, as a long dry spell can lead to a film of debris accumulating which light rain only makes worse - heavy rain washes the rain head clean.

Another success for the people who put this together - well done.

 

35028 at Dorchester Road Bridge Sherborne ..

 

Clan Line departed from Exeter 23 mins late at 16:13, following the 1A89 Penzance to Paddington service. <BJ>

 

No need to apologise, I was too busy trying to hold my camera still in the weather.

 

Because of the late departure from Exeter the 17:01 Weston SM to Paddington service will precede the steam charter to Bristol.
The good news is that it runs non stop so should not hinder the progress of Clan Line. <BJ>