Steam Dreams 2022

34046 photographed this afternoon climbing past Swanwick in the sun looking and sounding magnificent with the DL on the back on but not working

 

A record shot. There was some required track and over two years since my last run with 34046, so decided to do the afternoon shuttle from Chichester. Nice to see it suitably bedecked with a wreath.

 

Another record shot of Braunton stood awaiting departure from Reading this evening - just want to also offer thanks to the footplate team and I assume LSL staff member for handing out a couple of lumps of coal from the footplate and a few pin badges to the youngsters stood on the end of the platform taking pictures and video's - be fair to say you made their evening!

 

A bit of a record of various parts of the tour. It seems to have all been a bit leisurely making it in one leg without a water stop. I guess an exuberant speedy display was not appropriate this weekend So we have a brief bit of the journey down, servicing at Chichester, and the Hamble bridge both ways. The sun shone, I had a good lunch, and a day out where we get precious few steam on rare routes down south these days

 

Bookings for the Santa and Christmas Steam expresses are now out. It appears the Christmas Steam Express is doing the Surrey hills instead of the Hounslow loop.

On top of that, Sir Nigel Gresley is now down to do the London to York and London to Lincoln trips, and one of the Santas. Looks like the A4's coming down south and running on its home turf for Christmas!

 

Booked time off work and decided to book myself onto the York trip behind SNG. Been wanting to do an A4 out of Kings Cross for the first time for a while (just missed out on No. 9 twice in 2019) and the fact SNG is still going to be in Wartime Black was just an added incentive (and that my last trip behind it was when I was 2/3 and I just turned 31!), so really looking forward to it.

 

Although not advertised as such yet, its been said on the 60007 Facebook page by an admin that SNG will now be doing the London to Bath trip on 5th December instead of 34046, as they'll just keep it in steam after the Lincoln trip on the 2nd.

 

Santa Steam Express was shown as 60007 on December 14th but now shown as 61306 as per the rest of the days it is running. Anyone know why the change ?

 

Pure speculation, but as I said above 60007 is doing the bath trip (it's now been updated on the website to say as such) so, maybe after said trip she's heading back to Crewe by which time 61306 will have moved down to Southall and thus will do the Southend to Chichester trip and the Santas?

 

60007's timings for the York trip (outward journey currently missing)

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/se...7/0000-2359?stp=WVS&show=all&order=wtt&toc=LS

 

RTT also has the timings for the ECS movements at Kings Cross, but again no timings for the departure of the tour as yet. Still looking forward to being on this one though.

 

Steam dreams have put the outward timings on their website:


I have to say, I'm quite disappointed at the route.
I had plans to chase this, as the thought of a Wartime Black A4 Pacific sprinting down its home turf from London to York was all too tempting.
But, going via Lincoln both ways, and stopping at its birth place of Doncaster, instead of speeding down the fast both ways? Less appealing

However, this is a sign of the times, and I don't personally think most passengers who are not 'enthusiasts' care what route they do. The railtour is for passengers, not lineside photographers, and if this is how you have to ride an A4 out of Kings Cross to York these days, then so be it, and I hope its an enjoyable time for the passengers.

 

I'm booked on it and received the timings from SD, I'm a bit disappointed about it not being the full ECML to York too, but in fairness my main motivation was a trip behind 4498 on the mainline (only other one I've not done on the mainline is Mallard, but that last ran 2 years or so before I was born) and probably my only opportunity to do so in Wartime Black.

 

I wonder if the delay in the outward being loaded when the return has been on RTT for a while was anything to do with the route, perhaps they were trying to make it work via ECML and couldn't in an acceptable time. The ECML is one of the few parts of the railways that may actually have more services post Covid thanks to Lumo.

 

Strangely, the outward journey still isn't on RTT. Everything else is, all the ECS movements etc, its just the outward that's missing.
It's great that Steam Dreams provide the timings on their website, otherwise we'd be none the wiser!

 

Delays in appearing to RTT corresponds to a delay in uploading to the system. This is reflected by the delay in clearance such as GLA etc. LSL and SD will have final timings and RTT will show shortly.

 

On the other hand, via Lincoln gives some non-wired stretches if you are 'chasing' for photos.

 

Also gives a mate of mine ‘working from home’ to take the long way back home after walking his kids to School

 

Has any York trip run via the ECML recently? They now all seem to go via the MML or Lincoln if out of KX.

 

Not sure, my last tour was also ECML with Tornado in December 2019, and that ran to and from York direct, but that was a week or 2 before the end of LNER's HST services.