Welsh Marches: VT - 05/03/22

Making me wonder now if the 5 March 2022 V.T. Welsh Marches express is still going ahead according to travel updates off T.F.W. there a currently no trains running between Shrewsbury and Hereford due to a landslide on the Marches line with only 11 days to clear the landslide by N.R. and vast flooding in Shrewsbury from the aftermath of storm eunice and storm Franklin.

 

The line between Hereford and Shrewsbury has reopened in both directions. <BJ>

 

Intrigued to get an Email from VT yesterday with this in:

ALL ABOARD,

The First Train of 2022
The Welsh Marches Express
Saturday 5th March

Buy Now

Vintage Trains have a fantastic first train of the year on offer as we visit the cathedral city of Hereford on the first Saturday in March.

7029 Clun Castle will haul The 'Welsh Marches Express' as it departs Tyseley Locomotive Works (where there is free parking for those who book in advance) in Birmingham, before speeding along the Great Western Railway mainlines.

A circular route: Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Shrewsbury, Welsh borders line through Craven Arms and past Stokesay Castle.
After the first leg of the steam tour, you can enjoy a few hours in the historic city to explore the many interesting areas, Hereford has to offer.

This tour is for the true enthusiast!

We climb Llanvihangel bank, journeying through the Severn tunnel, then along Brunel’s Bristol to London Great Western Main Line and returning via Oxford and a climb over Hatton bank.

You can board and join the train in the morning at
- Tyseley Locomotive Works or
- Birmingham New Street (returning to Birmingham Snow Hill)

Don't Miss out...BOOK NOW
Extra private tables for 2 people have been made available
Go to the website
www.vintagetrains.co.uk
or
Call 0121 708 4960

Anyone from VT care to comment? True Enthusiasts would book in a heartbeat if the train was running with just 7029 on the front and carriages behind. Is that what's being implied? No diesel?

 

7029 is hauling the train, what more is there to say? I don't really get this obsession with knowing if a 47 will be in the consist providing the thermals for the trip. Will and I have already said it will. On all of the tours VTL have operated in the past 12 months and in future tours where a diesel is confirmed as *hauling* the train it has been advertised. For example the Tyseley-Derby-Bristol tour with the Duchess last year, and the upcoming Settle & Carlisle tour both explicitly advertise the diesel hauling part of the train.

 

The boarding arrangements at Tyseley seem a bit of a pain. The gate to the car park will only be open between 07:20 and 07:45. So it will be getting locked half an hour before the train is due to depart.

 

The boarding arrangements at Tyseley Loco work just fine. Just get there in good time. Club may be open if you need the loo. Just ask. They just need to make sure everyone is properly seated prior to departure.

Hope 7029 is genuinely unassisted on Saturday, as Duchess couldn't cope without diesel assistance last autumn.

In the meantime very much enjoyed the Castle and Duchess unassisted up the Lickey in November, more than happy to have shared my data with John Heaton for RM and Mike Hedderley for Steam Railway.

I'm booked on Duchess over S&C on 12 March, attracted by the diesel free plan Hellifield - Carlisle and back. Hope the times are finalised soon?

 

I've had 46233 duchess of Sutherland on the Summer 2015 C.M.E. up the S. AND C. and back over Shap and that was unassisted both ways and joined the train at man vic originally when the tour commenced at Crewe and returned. it's very hard in nowadays mainline steam climate to get unassisted trains without a tail gunner on the back all cos of air brakes are needed for carriages with dual braking, or that the excuse is they dont want vac brakes stock running on N.R. or incase the Kettle fails.

 

The Duchess run was very much down to the atrocious rail conditions and the Duchess unable to put the power down: even then intervention was minimal, aside from a shove up to Church Stretton after really struggling for several miles. Hopefully conditions will be much better tomorrow.

Very much looking forward to my first ever run behind Clun and first GWR mainline steam for a number of years.

VT tend to run slightly shorter trains than most and can adjust train lengths to loadings more nimbly as well - this makes a difference.

 

We love the Marches and it's a shame it's so rare to see locomotives with just carriages in tow on the line these days. In previous VT incarnations we loved the Welsh Marches Trains with 9 and sometimes 10 in tow. Hope Clun is allowed to run unassisted tomorrow but I don't suppose many on board on Saturday will give a monkeys what the diesel is doing on Saturday as long as there's noise and smoke coming from the steam locomotive up front.

 

Have I ever told you the definition of insanity? It’s repeating yourself over and over again and expecting a different result.
Have I ever told you the definition of insanity? It’s repeating yourself over and over again and expecting a different result.
Have I ever told you the definition of insanity? It’s repeating yourself over and over again and expecting a different result.
Have I ever told you...

Anyone know how to change the “diesel on the back” record? It seems to be stuck.

James

 

Every time when one of our members dares to mention a 'diesel on the back' you are there to confront the person about their opinion.

In life we all have different views on different topics. Why can't you accept that 1020 Shireman, in this case, does not feel the same as you?<BJ>

 

Been a bit unlucky this morning at Birmingham new st to try get the V.T. welsh marches express I accidendly got mistaken by the pathfinder Westbury to crewe via wolverhampton diesel charter coming in on platform 10 same platform what V.T. were using its cos it had chocolate and cream coaches and was the only charter advertised on the and it arriving at 8:10am I accidenty got on it thinking it was V.T. so fortunately the train manager let me alight at Wolverhampton and dident charge me so I'm on the service train via Shrewsbury to Hereford to pick up the 2nd leg of the V.T. welsh marches tour.
Davo 56F

 

7029 Clun Castle storms up the 1 in 127 past Bayston Hill Quarry with Vintage Train’s Welsh Marches Express.

 

My efforts today north of Craven Arms with the Long Mynd and Caer Caradoc in the background, and crossing the River Wye south of Hereford.
I do hope Davo got the train Ok. We've all got trains mixed up especially in busy, gloomy locations like New St. If there are to be diesels assisting, it's nice to see them in 60s livery.Good that there was no modern headboard too.

 

Could be some interesting performance figures between Pilning and Swindon ….


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

That really sucks Davo. I thought it was you I saw at Wolverhampton as we trundled through the platform. Hopefully you boarded at Hereford OK

 

And a short rake of Mk2s/pullmans hauled by a Castle look just like Mk1s hauled by a DB66?