Swanage Railway General Discussion

On a different matter the Swanage station webcam has stopped working. Anyone know why? Nice to look at this in between our many visits

 

https://www.railadvent.co.uk/2023/0...ordshire-railway-for-hands-on-experience.html

Some joined up working within preservation

 

It's back working now, I suspect it was just a glitch, all sorted now.

 

It had been out since Monday so I guess the "man with the hammer" turned up today.
Mind you first time I have seen or three lines in the station full of trains on a non gala day.

 

Yesterday's RTC Swanage Belle between Grange Road Bridge and Creech Bottom Crossing, heading away from Harmans Cross and at Swanage prior to the return journey.

 

How can I find the loco roster? I have trawled the website.
Am visiting on Saturday so wanted to know what was running.
Ian

 

There is no loco roster on the website,Manston was out on Tuesday and Wednesday but I don't know what was out today.No trains Friday but someone else in the know might know what is out on Saturday.

 

Manston today as well.

 

Ok thanks. Anyone know what's running tomorrow?
Is there any chance we would see the T3 on steam?
Ian

 

I imagine it will be Manston based on this shed image this morning and the fact they will still like that about 15:00
My loco roster (of what ran) shows 31806 ran for 10 days followed by 34028 for 15 days. 34070 has only run 9 days this turn, plus of course Monday and today with no trains anyway.
As far as I know the T3 is still in Herston Works, tender was still at Norden RRIC late this afternoon on its own.
Of course you know Autumn has arrived when there is no service on a Monday or a Friday and you can view the signalbox under a bus roof.

 

Class 33 working trains today

 

No it was Manston on the first round trip and the 15:00 has departed Swanage with the 33 leading and Manston on the back, so "the right way round" for the steam leg. Never saw the 11:20 or 13:30 services to see when the extra coach was added.

 

Last train of the day. 16.20 also still 6 car with class 33 leading towards Norden.
Historically, were weekends in Sep still green with 1 steam and 1 DMU as was all of June??

While I love the railway I really am disappointed when I see top and tail with the 33, when its advertised as a steam service. Really feels to be that the railway has massively watered down the experience. Alot of people paying £18 for a return want a steam. (Nothing wrong with DMUS and the 33s, I love them but for the classic normal family................)

Swanage around mentioned a lot of questions from customers about why its not steam hauled, while there is a steam on the back is still not steam hauled.

I really hope next year the railway can go pack to running 5 MAX car steam services with an extra service on for example weekends when its busier

 

The actual words in Swanning around were "Some customers had reservations about their steam train being diesel-hauled in one direction, but otherwise it was very successful" Must be your interpretation that that was "lots"
I am sure they were folks who were unhappy (NP members?) but on the trains I was on that were T & T I never heard anyone mention it at all.
To me it is all about flexibility, I have not seen every train this week of course, but the busiest train I have seen was the 10:40 from Norden on Tuesday. If hoards of people come in on the morning services then they are likely to be going back on the 15:00 or 16:30 so the ability to add or remove a coach without having to run a second service seems logical to me, especially as the weather for a specific day can never be guaranteed.
It is also no longer the summer (even the 30 & 35 buses end tomorrow and the X50 did earlier than that) so even the bus companies are working to reduced demand, even the 50 reverts to hourly on Monday.
In an ideal world, pre Covid and a European war things may have continued like normal, but that is not the case here or at many other lines these days. Take the WSR, SVR or the NYMR there are now plenty of timetabled diesel only trains, way different to a few years back. Today at the WSR you could have even had a 33 hauled service that gave you an hour in the rain at Blue Anchor waiting for the WSSE tour to return.
I do tend to see a lot of posts on many threads that seem to think that Heritage Lines, far from being in survival mode are awash with financial resources to cart around fresh air. I know people will accuse me of it all being about the money, but really it is.
So at the risk of winding you and @gricerdon here is the 10:40 at Townsend Bridge (NO DIESEL) and the 15:40 approaching Afflington (which I only went out for as I did not have an image of that combo).The Bulleid chatter (very loud for down here) told me the 33 was doing little if anything, which does align with what one of the drivers told me last month when I asked. .

 

When I went on Sunday the first and last trips were steam only

 

That was the day the service fell apart was it not? I saw two early trains cross at Corfe on the webcam both an hour late. RTT for that day looks like a bad day on the Weymouth line for SWR.

 

We did a round trip on teh second train of the day from Swanage & saw the last steam service leave, all were on time

 

We are staying at our favourite hotel in Corfe last week this month but the railway won’t get our money if a DL is involved. To show trains as DL hauled when they aren’t is wrong in fact it’s dishonest.

 

It would be better to have 2 steam locomotives top and tail a 6 carriage train, (to have extra passengers due to the better end of peak season weather), but guess the cost would be much more and will need more volunteers, than using a 33 diesel loco, and the majority of passengers do not mind?.
Next week the weather is back to normal for September, so a single steam locomotive and 5 carraige train will match the normally expected number of passengers this time of year?.

 

Why would you need more volunteers if the second loco is steam than if it is a 33? The direct requirement is you need two additional crew either way.

And we’ve been into it many times before: I’m not convinced there is much saving to be had running a diesel over steam in any case. What I’d really be challenging is the operational need for six carriages. If that could be cut to five, you could do away with what is - whether steam or diesel - an expensive way of operating. For example - is one of the vehicles sn RMB? If so, including it in the formation and thereby introducing an operational requirement for a second loco is almost certainly costing you more than the RMB is making in additional profit.

Tom