LE Movements, ECS and Test Runs 2021

45690 'Leander'. Light engine and support coach. Saturday, 28/8/21
Edit: Now runs direct from Carnforth to the WSR.
Realtime Trains - 5Z45 1016 Carnforth Steamtown to Bishops Lydeard

 

Any times for 45690 moving south from Carnforth

 

Movement now cancelled? Or is there another one?

 

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:U63192/2021-08-28/detailed

 

And the return journey 2 weeks later https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:U63193/2021-09-13/detailed

 

Are you watching you people down south who complain that the north has all the steam locos' ?? Another trip to your land for one of Carnforths finest.
Take care of it, if you break it you won't be getting any more.

 

My post was 'light hearted', a 'bit of banter', nothing to get worked up about............................relax.

 

Not quite true, there’s Southall, Didcot, Mid Hants, Swanage and Yeovil.

 

Do West Coast still have to vacate Southall?

 

I don’t think so. I seem to remember that NR renewed the lease in error. It’s not the most pleasant of depots being open at both ends on an east-west axis and sleeping in a support coach with freight traffic on the adjacent GW mainline all night is not ideal.

 

Southall of course is used now but often the moves are at stupid o clock to avoid the heavy traffic on the GW main line. Many tour ECS moves leave around 0530 so the crews are getting up around 0300. You can turn locos on the Greenford triangle or Willesden of course.
Do the GWS want Didcot used as a tour base I have no idea?
MHR has no turning so needs diesel involvement, as does Swanage and hence lengthy ECS moves both ways. The Poole-Bristol Xmas trips became a 3 day job with the two ECS moves and overnight stabling at Swanage. All these long ECS moves must add in costs which I guess get passed on to the passenger in the end.
Yeovil is good but really only for trips to Sherborne as paths on the Maiden Newton line are not great and service trains seem to keep poor time if you want to reguarly head to Weymouth.

 

That’s interesting, cheers John

 

I think you are correct, I believe they wanted it for a project to store equipment and materials if I remember but I think that project got cancelled, so other than selling it off for housing maybe there is no other use now.

 

Access is through a huge industrial estate so commercial development is probably the only alternative

 

This could descend into a "Monty Python" scenario..."that's nowt we sleep in matchbox's oop north"......

 

45690 Leander seen arriving into Shrewsbury

 

After 36 years in Shropshire my first shot of a steam loco passing Marshbrook signal box, probably because it isn't the easiest of shots to take;
and in all that sun a cloud found where I was, although had the sun been out part of the tender and the coach would have been in deep shadow, the window to get all of this in sun is very narrow.

 

Cracking shot.