The Dorset Coast Express 2023

Here's the up train at speed through Fleet last night:



Ron.

 

I have just noticed on RTT that on the 17th there is also a Northern Belle to Weymouth and both ECS go to Jersey Sidings. Not sure if that would scupper the use of the U as I think there are only two sidings from memory and I assume the U would need to be attached to the London end in the sidings. Although it does go to Bournemouth and back as well as an ECS, so maybe a narrow window to aim at if everything ran to time.

 

Worthy day to head to Weymouth then! As far as I can see the only reason for the run to Bournemouth and back may only be to allow the U class into Jersey sidings? It has a quick turnaround at Bournemouth.

 

That was my thought although I seem to remember Statesman going to Dorchester once for a layover. Not sure if the NB is longer or not.

 

Northern belle now scheduled to go to Yeovil Pen Mill instead for servicing - must definitely be to leave jersey sidings clear

 

At least today I can have the pleasure of listening to it from the comfort of my lounge chair as it is hauling service trains on the SR.

 

....and as on the Dorset Coast Express this year, a diesel at the rear of the train <BJ>

 

Not all day though.

 

At the moment an extra coach is added to the 1330 from Swanage to cater for the summer peak loadings . The coach is removed at Swanage before the last round trip. As this makes 6 coaches the 33 which brings the stock in for the 1330 stays with the trains.Therefore two trains ex Norden advertised as steam are in fact diesel. We are going to Swanage on Saturday for the Model Railway Exhibition at Harmans Cross travelling by SWR and bus in order to get a DL free run on the 1120 Swanage. I had hoped 34028 would continue until Saturday but my luck seems to be out on all counts

 

The office told me today that the are still trying hard to get the U involved.,There isn’t a return path on RTT yet

 

Paths to Weymouth from Swanage and back from Southampton have now vanished. Guess that's that then, another season without 31806!

 

And the normal return path had appeared

 

Indeed

 

I received an e-mail from RTC a couple of hours ago advising me to ring the office on Monday regarding the U Class, but it doesn't look very hopeful. Quite possibly West Coast and NR have been unable to sort out whatever the problem is but have yet to inform that ladies at RTC that 31806 isn't going to be running.

I have been waiting for four years to do this trip and the anticipation followed by the subsequent disappointments in recent weeks have been most frustrating. True RTC can't do anything about heatwaves, strikes or lockdowns which have messed things up in previous years but it does need to have a chat with West Coast to establish once and for all whether it is feasible to continue to advertise the DCE with 31806 (or some other steam loco) heading the return leg from Weymouth to Southampton before it publishes its 2024 programme.

 

I find it interesting they're still advertising Christmas trips with 6233 at the head when the last update from the PRCLT (I think it was on their IG story) was that the locomotive wouldn't be ready until Spring next year....

 

The website has been RTC's Achilles heel for quite some time. There is a lot of goodwill towards the company from many of us on this forum. I have had some great trips with them over the years but you do not always get what it says on the website. In particular, when a new tranche of tours is announced, the descriptions are all too often cut and pasted from the corresponding train which ran the previous year, even if the loco which headed it up may have gone out of ticket. Often, changes of loco are highlighted here on this forum well before the RTC website is updated. The descriptions of the journey also sometimes contain inaccuracies. Take a couple of forthcoming excursions. The blurb for the 11th November "Armistice Kentish Belle" refers to the line for Rochester to Sittingbourne as "the North Kent Line" but that is the name usually given to the line through Dartford and Gravesend, with Rochester to Sittingbourne being part of the London Chatham & Dover main line. On 6th December, The 6th December "Sussex Belle" does not really "cross" the South Downs. Apart from the Lewes area where the line briefly crosses an outcrop of chalk downland, the Downs remain to the south of the route all the way to Eastbourne.

These are admittedly minor niggles, but I wouldn't have thought that it would be that expensive to put a bit more time and effort into improving and regularly updating the text on the website. To repeat, I wish RTC well, but wish the company would tackle what has been a long standing weakness in its tour promotion.

 

I think the reason has already been discussed up thread, or on either the project Wareham or Swanage thread. 31806 is currently "Out of Gauge"
I assume on paper. through various platforms. Apparently the gauging office was in York but Network Rail moved it to their new HQ at Milton Keynes, resulting in the staff at York taking redundancy, It would appear that the details for 31806 did not transfer to MK for some reason.
The main problem today is that nobody is prepared to put their head above the turret and make a decision in case it rebounds on them and they find themselves facing dismissal.