Winter CME's, February 2012.

So I am going to bring up going that 3 letter b word...

It was no where to be seen at any point in the journey, kudos to that, but I have to admit, I was thinking... That was a bit of a leap of faith, when it was raining pints a second on departure from Carlilse, with that load behind knowing worse weather was coming and the trains behind on time... Brave choice... I for one wouldn't have complained if it had been on the back, or LE just behind.. Circumstances on the night it would have been forgiven.

James, RTC, footplate crew Etc all deserve thanks for sticking to their word, this trip shows where experience paid dividends.

 

5305la website now confirm "Ollie" this saturday, double headed black 5's on the 18th and "Ollie" again on February 25th and March 31st

 

Heard the 2 fives will also have 3 extra coaches... So maybe a few extra seats in the offing...

 

There doesn't appear to be any comments on here about the condition of the Class 86, which was making its first main line tour after a repaint at Washwood Heath. I know the loco is the owners pride and joy, so it would be nice for a bit of praise for the other loco involved in this train.

Must admit that the tour appeared a great success, despite all the issues with the deteriorating weather conditions throughout the day.

 

It was a nice shade of blue and had a phenomenal ability to roast your backside, which may have resulted in usually high sales of beer and Anusol

 

Walking home in stockport at night is a dangerous thing to do these days! your a very brave man!
Seems the tour was well then, I will admit, though our coaches on the 28th were cold, they weren't frozen!
Hope you all had a good time and thanks for the brilliant videos!
Matt

 

The 86 did look great although putting back the head code kit would really make it. When given the road it also went well although I don't know if it made the 100 as I wasn't timing.

 

Yes the 86 was a credit to the train, in fact it was a USP to the train...

Instead of "something WCRC" on the front it was heritage traction... More railtours like this please.
Funny how I took electrics for granted only a few years ago, but as I wandered down platform 12 at Crewe that familiar wirr on an 86 instantly made me rush that bit faster down the stairs as it came in.
it looked fantastic ( as someone else head codes would be cool) but the paint job is top notch, it worked just like an 86 should....

A bonus was waiting at Carlilse as 87002 and 86101 were lined up (both BR Blue)... No reason to suspect they won't be there next week either....This added to the feel of a 1980s railtour !

 

86259, What a neat electric locomotive that is.

Glad that Oli is set to go for Saturday!

 

Not to mention its heating capabilities was very well received on saturday... We were roasting !

 

The use of an 86 vs an asthmatic box has to be a good thing on the WCML. I've next to no interest in either, but after the steam leg I just want to be conveyed home as fast as possible, and an 86 seems to fit that bill. After all, I doubt the stock is certified for more than 100mph.

 

Good to see the comments about the 86 as well as the steam, and as ADB968008 said it has a USP for these tours, being much more capable of maintaining the strict timings required on the WCML - if only more tour operators realised the benefits of using electric traction on tours, and with 86101, 86259, 86701, 86702 and 87002 available for main line tours it is a shame they aren't used a little more often. Whilst I am a modern traction fan, the combination of an 86 and steam certainly has an appeal to me and hopefully I am not alone.

I know Mr Ross (I am currently working on a book about the loco on his behalf) and will ensure that these comments are passed on to him, as I know he is very proud of the loco and between himself, the staff at Willesden and Boden Rail Engineering, some hurdles were jumped to ensure that it was completed in time to work the train. In relation to the headcode boxes, I think there is a desire to restore these at some point in the future, although none of the boxes or mechanisms remain behind the panels - I think if the mechanisms and blinds can be sourced then it could probably happen.

Regards

 

Now here's a thought - a 47 etc must burn a fair bit of juice on a typical WCML tour job, whereas with an 86 ......

Do they have a meter on board? Should the tickets be cheaper?

 

The Class 86 was a brilliant idea, and very smart it looked too.

It was a real "heritage" experience - heritage electric/steam locos, Mk1 carriages with dodgy heating and steamed up windows (sometimes iced-up), Nescafe coffee from the buffet car. The line-up of other heritage electrics at Carlisle was a bonus. Some of the passengers seemed to be dressed in 1970s style too ...

Pity that noone was using a cine camera or 35mm film. They should ban all these modern gadgets - mobiles, digital cameras, blogs, discussion forums, ipads - from heritage railtours.

Richard

 

Agreed, Richard. Don't forget the duffle bags and bottles of Tizer.

 

Just to put the record straight - my mobile was the only way that 'Ethel' (the travelling IT department) could actually get his photo online. And he was slagging off my technology on the forum as well.

As for gadgets, I forgot to mention the GPS gear which various passengers had. Useful for knowing where we were when you couldn't see out of the windows.

Richard

 

Suprised they didn't need a box on the back for the all the extra electrical gear... eep:

Anyway sounds like I missed out on a cracking day. I will have a look at the vids when I have a proper internet connection in the next few days.

Neil.