Clan Line 2022

Good, but it seems odd that their web site has no more trips to book. Still interested in why today's may have been the last Chertsey trip.

 

Today's Belmond British Pullman filmed at Trumps Mill Lane, Virginia Water:

 

I think they are now being marketed as The Golden Age of Travel. There is a full programme of steam hauled Belmond Pullmans this year

 

Interesting - I wonder what options there are other than the SWML. Of course, it's possible it won't be the Surrey hills circuit at all.

 

I have been wondering about this ever since Clan Line's March "Surrey Hills" which went round and round South London because the closure of the Windsor Lines west of Feltham meant that going straight down the SWML from Clapham Junction to Woking wouldn't have given sufficient time to serve all the courses of the meal.

All the circuits that spring to mind are longer than the Surrey Hills in terms of mileage but may not be that much longer time wise. Top of my list of suggestions would be Victoria- Chatham-Canterbury East- Dover Priory - water stop at Folkestone West - Tonbridge- Bromley South Victoria. The SWML, as you say is another possibility - London - Winchester- Eastleigh- water stop at Hedge End or Botley - Fareham- Pompey Direct - Virginia Water- Victoria. This would be a lot longer time-wise, however, unless the crawl round the Windsor Lines could be replaced by running through Wimbledon. The circuit via Prices Risborough, the new Bicester chord, Oxford and Reading is another possibility. This is only my idle speculation but doubtless all parties concerned have been looking at the various options. It will be interesting to see what they come up with.

 

When I mentioned SWML I really meant getting from Wimbledon to Woking for the Surrey hills runs, and I notice that the BP site has several Kent circulars and then some more Surrey hills ones, so it's intriguing to speculate what routeing may appear if nothing is to go via Chertsey in future (BTW, is that confirmed and if so, why?).

 

The current route is a bit stop start with a final stop at Longhedge Junction for 20 minutes, not the most salubrious part of SW London to be looking out on while you polish off the last of the Champagne.

 

Well, I have made a couple of suggestions above that fit the bill. It would be good if any new routes included at least part of the two traditional Bulleid-hauled Pullman routes - i.e. London-Bournemouth and London-Dover. The current "Surrey Hills" circular only really touches these route in the initial mile or so out of Victoria and Byfleet Junction-Woking (and then it's on the slow line)

I love the scenery of Guildford- Redhill "North Downs" line, especially having grown up in Dorking, but historically, it's Mogul territory. You don't really associate it with Pacifics and pullman trains.

Which is why a route around Kent would be worth considering as it doesn't take so long from Victoria before you can escape the stop-start and also, within no more than 15 minutes- you are travelling through an area which, while still suburbia, is considerably more pleasant than Longhedge Juntion or the scrapyards on the WLL between Kensington Olympia and Willesden.

 

Kent offers various routes out of and back into London, giving a range of overall journey times.

 

As does Sussex, out ward through Tunbridge wells, to Hasting, along the Marshline to Ashford, up to Tonbridge thence to Redhill then back to Victoria,

 

I think even Clan Line might struggle with the 1 in 47/53 on a sharp curve out of Tonbridge with 13 carriages.

 

Just bear in mind that train crew route knowledge will have some bearing on the proposals.
Route knowledge isn't maintained for a geographical area for freight crews, more what traffic flows do they work.

Cheers, Neil

 

It's a shame all the junctions in NW Surrey face the wrong way, thinking Wokingham and Frimley. If they don't use Chertsey and the main line is not available from Wimbledon to Woking, I can't see another way to the Surrey Hills line. Possibly the New Line from Hampton Court Jct?

 

There would probably be no paths (especially with a full Elizabeth Line service) but via Acton, Greenford and the Chiltern Line to Oxford and back from Reading via Virginia Water would at least provide some pleasant scenery for a great percentage of the journey if the Surrey Hills is a no.