THE SWANAGE BELLE - 25th Sept. 2010

It appears 'Black 5' 44932 is down for this trip to Swanage, and return, but too early for timings. Believe the whole train gets towed back to Southampton before 44932 resumes haulage via Milbrook, Romsey and Andover.
Still a few seats available I believe:
http://www.railwaytouring.co.uk/index.php/the-swanage-belle---250910.html

 

uksteam site and RTC site has the Black 5 working the trip throughout: London to Swanage and from Swanage to London. Is this an error or is the Black 5 going on a lengthy turning move?

 

UK steam now shows return steam leg from Southampton - updated today

RTC site shows Actual Timings as below
Station Depart Return
London Victoria 08:41 TBC (London Waterloo)
Staines 09:33 TBC
Woking 10:06 TBC
Basingstoke 10:53 20:40
Swanage 14:15 (arrive) 17:05 (depart)

Shame they cannot do both ways steam first but with those timings there would not appear to be anywhere near enough time to do tender first to Eastleigh and service engine before return trip is due to leave - in many ways wish they would do the diesel leg into Swanage and we would get the benefit of the climb of Parkstone Bank on way back!! DH

 

Sorry to read elsewhere of 44932's apparent hot bearing problem.
Hope it can be fixed in time for Saturday's tour to Swanage.

 

RTC's website appears to show "Actual Timings": http://www.railwaytouring.co.uk/inde...---250910.html
Apparently, as at 16:30, nothing was found on interrogating NR's TRUST system.
Let's trust Swanage's rostering/timetabling people get details tomorrow. Hopefully a revised timetable, showing necessary alterations, will be put on SR's webpage.
One of the GEN sites mentions that WCRC is rumoured to have a diesel attached to the back - in readiness for towing the train back to Southampton - before steam resumes haulage via Romsey and Andover back to Kensington Olympia [new destination according to RTC].
Hope 44932 gets repaired in time. Any news?

 

44932 is booked Norwich Crown point to Southall tomorrow Thursday 23-Sep
www.uksteam.info/tours/t0923r.htm

David

 

SWANAGE
Arrival 13:53
Departure 17:15 (47 [?] haulage back to Southampton)

 

Caught through Putney this morning

 

The arches once carried the 'down' line into Clapham/Waterloo from the Wimbledon dept of the old Southern Railway.
This was done away with many years ago to save on maintenance.
The 'up' portion still remains further down the track on the right of the (above) picture where you just have a gradual slope leading off the Windsor line.
The track can either be used for up or down.
Today it's rarely used as unlike the early years where it was used prolifically by passenger traffic going to the depot,or via Wimbledon.

 

Bearing in mind the evident tricky lighting in Putney Cutting it's an atmospheric photo of 44932 on the Down Windsor Fast. Shame about the ever present graffiti.
It still looked in fine condition on arrival at Swanage at 14:00. Apparently the noise from the Black 5, coming up the 1 in 80 from Corfe Castle, was truly awesome [10 + Class 37 = Load 13?]
I could be wrong of course, Aperture, but wonder if you meant to say the former viaduct used to carry the "Up" line from Wimbledon - rather than the Down line.
Presume the present bi-directional 'ladder' junction, (Point Pleasant Jcn. - just out of sight), manages to cope with current levels of traffic.

 

As I mentioned in my previous Quote:it was a single track DOWN line(to Waterloo)..the UP section(to Wimbledon) is still in place(the arches on the right is a give away)you enter further down on the right which you cannot see in the photograph.A similar arrangement is outside Twickenham station leading to Kingston (Surrey) but on a much smaller scale.Except Putney was on a grand scale,I remember them removing the bridge just in one Weekend.

I should know,I travelled this section going to work every morning to Waterloo in the 1940s Sothern Region days and remember seeing the trains come down that slope.The great days of the electrics,and Im sure earlier in life steam would have used this section as well.(1800s).

 

Is this the location we are discussing?

 

Yes that is the location

 

My apologies Aperture for misunderstanding your original post.
I assumed you were describing the routes by the normal Railway nomenclature of lines going TO Waterloo generally being called 'UP', and lines away from London being called 'DOWN', irrespective of gradient.

 

I passed the arches twice today-Im surprised they left the columns standing,I suppose it would have been too many bricks to remove and would have held up the line too many hours over weekends.
Another little gem-where the engine is,it was one of the very first experimental pieces of track to be 'welded' (what we now take for granted.)during the 1940's.I could never understand why the line wasn't the ordinary,click-click,as the train passed over.The other lines each side where not welded until the latter part of the century.

It only was a short rail lasting about a couple of miles through Putney.But did it leave a lasting impression.