The Armistice Kentish Belle 11/11/23

No, my point was that it will have to come back to somewhere in London at some point even if the supposed riots have reduced the city to rubble! Obviously there have been many PLANNED finishing stations that differ from the origins.

 

I toyed with the idea of going to Tonbridge to see it but my line is closed for a week and I expected the tight connection for the hourly return from Tonbridge to Redhill to be too fragile to risk. However, in superb sunshine, it ran to time so I would have got away with it. Hope all enjoy the run in this rare weather! Had it been a Southern loco I probably would have risked it...

 

OK, clarification noted.

 

Not a good location or a particularly good photo, but short of time today with a family event due to start soon, so I grabbed what I could at a local location. I needed a photo of a Jubilee to put with the only log I ever timed behind one; 45562 a few years back, 19 August 1967 in fact, on the famous 10.17 Leeds to Carlisle which was a good run. And classmate 45596 looked to be having a good run along the Medway Valley at East Farleigh today.

Thankfully I checked RTT before going out and saw that the timings had changed - a water stop at Wateringbury would most likely have blocked the road over the level crossing there for a long time, had, I was told, been moved to a bridge near to Maidstone West whose existence I am not aware of.

 

Handsome Beast.

 

Yes, although it would be hard to think of a better-named place to do it!

 

Folkestone West

 

Nice photo, but some still feel it's OK to go down the ramp?

 

Two that spring to mind are when 47593 refused to start at Jersey Sidings and eventually the tour left with D6515 and terminated at Clapham Junction.
I seem to remember some SD (in its old guise) tour running so late it terminated at West Brompton about 01:00.
Another SD tour ended up at Paddington instead of I think Liverpool St due to some operational issue.
Did the Britannia debacle not terminate short of its start point and a service train was used earlier this year?
I was discussing your point about not being able to access Victoria on Wednesday with one of the stewards and how he and his wife would get home from Kenny O, the obvious alternate.

 

Kingsferry Bridge, Perfect lighting and weather.

 

It does happen, of course. The 'Britannia' tour which suffered a catastrophic failure at Chilworth was towed back to Guildford initially (where I imagine many continued under their own, ahem, steam) and then back to Victoria after a considerable further delay. It did, though, still arrive at its intended destination, at 0240!

 

A fine shot indeed - credit to you for such a long journey for a such a short clip!

 

Thanks to RTC, West Coast and the Bahamas Locomotive Society. A very enjoyable day.

 

Filmed at Adisham and Charing:

 

Opening up through Faversham

 

45596 working up to speed at Bax Crossing, between Sittingbourne & Teynham.

 

The tanker was at the end of Bower Lane and not on a bridge. There is a footbridge over on the line in this location.

 

I imagine that should have been realised when planning the working! To satisfy my curiosity - does anyone know whether 45596 was working with any effort through Tonbridge on the down working? I would have gone there but feared it would still be coasting after descending Hildenborough.

 

Thanks Paul. I had checked that location using Google street view and thought it a rather restrictive for a tanker. Must have been damn good work by the tanker driver and crew to have done their vital job there, and, from the RTT times, just about within the limited time allowed on a line with a half hourly service each way on a Saturday. The unsung heroes that allowed me to go out and grab a photo of a loco class I hadn't seen since August 1967! Not forgetting all the others concerned with running todays trip.