Swanage Railway General Discussion

The patronage was good and as stated above, a number of people used it as a travelling hotel or to experience the ambience of night time and early morning trains.

To reduce noise for our neighbours the overnight crew did not push the engine hard at all. Especially through residential areas.

As per the rulebook, no whistling is allowed unless in an emergency from 2330 to reduce noise even further.

No fire Marshals were necessary overnight. We do not have them on a normal running anyway. They have been provided at the gala during the day purely as an extra precaution due to the sheer volume of traffic along the line.

Neighbours next to the railway boundary were also advised of the overnight running to give prior warning.

I think it was a very good concept overall.

Finally, you may also be aware that the Great Central Railway ran overnight trains a couple of weeks ago at one of their special events. The Severn Valley have done so at a number of their events. This is not a new idea in the heritage sector.

 

One thing I wasn't aware of until my trip over the Norden to River Frome section, was U Class 31625 being stored in a shed at Furzebrook. I was under the impression it was stored wherever 31874 is being restored (any updates on how that's going?). I presume the Maunsell tender at Swanage is the one that belongs to 31625?

 

Sunrise this time of year can be impressive, video from "Southern steam lad"
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1179233773075912
So is a repeat experience from 2003, will it be 21 years before the night train is running again at Swanage or other railways?

 

As far as I know, 31625 doesn't have a tender and instead the tender tank at Norden was supposed to be the basis for a new one, though whether that is the case now I don't know. I think the tender at Swanage (with the sloped sides) was originally paired with 31806 and the straight sided tender currently running with 31806 was 31874s original tender but I could be completely wrong on that. Certainly from photos of BR days it seems to me that the Us used the sloped sided more frequently (and I think it looks more attractive) but I think the straight sided tender has the mainline equipment. Either way, 31874 and 31806 have definitely swapped tenders a few times, with the U being seen coupled to both over various occasions.

Of course, that might all be total rubbish in which case I apologise but from digging around online that's the conclusion I've reached.

Cheers,

PLP

 

It looks line 257 Sqn. is going away from Swanage, It is currently standing at Corfe Caslle station at the moment. Hauled by a diesel loco and brake van.

 

Interesting... Swanage posted this morning
We were delighted to see original Bulleid Pacific No.34072 “257 Squadron” back in action on our railway during Strictly Bulleid 2 last weekend. This impressive locomotive has a strong link to the Swanage Railway and is a firm favourite amongst our crews.
Thanks to the generosity of SLL - Southern Locomotives Ltd, we are thrilled to announce that you'll have another chance to ride behind her! This iconic locomotive will be pulling services over the coming weekend and into the https://www.swanagerailway.co.uk

 

From the Bulleid thread:

 

Yes,indeed. She seems to come out of the Corfe sidings and is going to Swanage.

 

Post Gala services have been worked by various locos prior to departing to their home bases.
35005 worked 5 days post gala.
34072 followed on for 4 days
34053 started working services today.

Three random images from the past 10 days

 

I was guard last week with P&O and today with Skippy. My late turn driver today said that it was a privilege to be able to drive such wonderful machines

 

Impressive of 35005 to be working services at Swanage while she's still in bits at Ropley...

 

Indeed., impressive these MN's
Keyboard fingers again!

 

For some us of us still 'in ticket' it would have been an incredible reminder of when we used to get wonderful value from the SR 7 day railrover tickets; in steam days only of course.

I had thought about doing those Swanage night trains for old times sake. But events stopped me coming to Swanage for the Friday, the first day of my 2 day rover ticket when I had a hotel room booked for the Friday night. But, waking up at home without an alarm at 04.20 on the Saturday morning after a good sleep I was right up to coming down, doing 12 hours at Swanage and then driving home. But then adding an overnight on the trains would have left me in a state not to be fit to drive home after inevitably staying on all of Sunday.

It may be of interest to some to see the sort of steam ovenights that were used in between day sessions timing the trains out of Waterloo

Up on the 'Club Train' 17.35 Weymouth - Waterloo 20.40 (usually joined at Southampton) - called the Club Train as it was often the natural end to a day's timing for us timing gricers, and we would gather in the rear of the train to time it and to exchange steam loco and loco crew news.

Then, for those doing an overnight, it was the 21.20 Waterloo-Bournemouth. Usually still timed and usually left at Brockenhurst as, with certain Bournemouth crews, the connection at New Milton with the up Mail was too risky.

After listening to the train climb into the night from Brockenhurst at or just after midnight (even the slowest of the Bournemouth crews had to open the regulator to make that climb!) there was the welcome sight of the 22.13 Weymouth, the up Mail, drifting down into Brockenhurst at 00.12, where an empty compartment in one of the 3 passenger coaches was usually available for a fitfull sleep to Waterloo at around 04.00 Then the 05.30 to Basingstoke, the 07.05 Basinsgtoke Waterloo and full timing started again on the 08.30 Waterloo-Weymouth train.

There were of course variations to that, often because a known good driver Nine Elms driver was booked for such as the Up Mail. So that had to be timed, and footplate rides accepted with pleasure.

An overnight got harder if it was known a good Nine Elms crew was on the o2.45 Waterloo-Bournemouth paper train, giving the prospect of a good run to Bournemouth and then a good return on one of the up morning expresses to Waterloo with the same crew.

That meant getting off the up mail at Woking at around 03.00 and then joining the down paper train at around 03.20.

At it's hardest was when there was a good Nine Elms crew on the up mail and another good crew on the down paper train! Which usually meant that after full days's timing the previous day, timing trains continued all night and throughout the next day, until usually early afternoon, I'd end up on a Waterlo- Bournemouth run where my timing notes suddenly stopped at Berrylands and started again at Shawford!

So @Jupiter, to some at least, those Swanage night trains behind Bulleid pacifics meant a great deal . Even if, in my case, I can only write about them here and indicate why I would love to have been on them.

Bryan B

 

Tell me about it!

My worst is that I alway have to correct raiwlays to railway, and almost unbelievably, Bullied always starts like that, before being corrected to Bulleid.

 

Brian is a word that I always seem to type as Brain. I used to do it at work, still do it with a friend whose name it is, and even did so typing this initially.

 

Thank you for the interesting post Bryan. I enjoyed reading that one, quite delightful.

 

Well it always was a speedy machine holding the steam record to Basingstoke and 105 mph down Roundwood on the same evening in May 1965

 

I remember them well including some amusing incidents such as one of our number rousing us at Basingstoke insisting we were at Waterloo and had to get off. Such things were known as rover rot. Also the superb breakfasts in the Lancaster grill near Waterloo whilst waiting for the 830 am down

 

Out of interest how is a two train service and what I guess is a 10 coach two loco railtour work on Wednesday?
Normally it is only a one train service on steam tour days.

I would say asking for a friend , but I would be lying of course.

Still 44871 must be a rocket ship (even with its helper) as according to RTT only one minute from a standing start to Worgret Junction from Wareham. Best I have ever timed is 2mins 29 when the 3 coach SWR 159 was operating.

 

I suppose the scheduled steam service will operate out of Swanage Bay platform as will the DMU.
As this has happened before, I guess the loco might uncouple at the Inner Home before shunting into the sidings and an 08 (?) then couples to bring the stock into the Bay before the loco backs onto it's stock ready for departure to Norden. Hopefully the crew will have filled the tender on it's previous visit to Swanage - prior to the rail tour's arrival. It should then have more than enough water for the rest of it's diagram.
But I could be wrong of course!