Steam Dreams Banbury - Swanage 19th April 2012

Thought this tender running was happening from Eastleigh after being turned via the depot loop ....time will tell

 

Thanks for the update David and likewise hope that there are no issues with 46201 coming this way - one of her big sisters made it a few years ago so hope that the lack of times means nothing untoward on that front

Thinking further on the tender first running - there is a precedent for this on the Eastleigh to Bournemouth route but with ECS and not with loaded trains. The TBEL services to Bath and Bristol last year ran with the loco bring the ECS down and back tender first but these were early morning and late evening trips when the limited speed is not so critical. DH

 

The engines that run the Shakespeare during the summer have to go tender first out to Stratford. Is that right. Is this move similar?

 

Timings now available thanks to uksteam. Note that the train runs tender first for two and a half hours.
t0419a.htm

 

Great. 20mins less in bed, 2hrs 30mins at 45 mph, only 2 hours in Swanage, and 30mins late on return - that's going to go down well with the ladies! :drama:

Advertised times were Dep 0900; Arr 1420; Dep 1700; Arr 2200

 

All true, and not at all uncommon, sadly. On the other hand, on this tour there is a silver lining, since you now get steam haulage all the way, including, on the return, Parkstone bank (1 in 60) and the long, though gentle, climb from Eastleigh to Litchfield Tunnel. According to UKSteam.info, it should be non-stop Southampton to Basingstoke. Maybe someone like Kent Yeti can tell us how 49 minutes for this section compares to Merchant Navy schedules?

I'll be late for work on Thursday morning. I can't remember the last time a steam train stopped at my local station, Tackley...

 

Indeed, a double edged sword. Will the noise from the loco drown out the noise from the whinging wives I wonder??

 

True but the North Warwickshire line which is used for the outward run has a very sparse timetable on Sundays, something like 1 train an hour last time I looked and when you consider the top 1/4 of the line is in the Birmingham suburbs too.

 

Well what a pleasant surprise !! Looking forward to a nice noisy climb of Parkstone Bank next Wednesday tea time!!

Just to pick up on Big Al's comments - we did have tender first climbs of Parkstone Bank (on ECS not loaded trips and in late evening) with Britannia and DNZ several times last year and very entertaining they were to!!!! Look forward to this years efforts on the ECS from Bath starting in early May DH

 

So a revised timetable is approved so there is no diesel what so ever in the consist, 100% steam haulage throughout and there's still people moaning!

Fair play to SD for having a go and trying to run it differently. I'd just tell the whinging wives to pipe down or stay at home!

Am heading round my mate's house in Eastleigh next Thursday evening so think a trip to Shawford will be in order to see Lizzie heading towards Winchester, especially as she's not stopping at Eastleigh either so should be making some decent noise!

 

....and therein lies the rub. Often what's manna for the enthusiast is purgatory for the norms, and it's the latter that provide the majority of the income on these tours, in 1st class dining. Try explaining to them why they are spending 2.5hrs travelling slower then a freight train when they've already been going 3 hours and would really like to be strolling along the prom at Swanage already. As for telling the wimen to pipe-down or stay at home, that probably explains why so many enthusiasts are single, or at best divorced :argue:

 

Looking forward to this on Thursday, other than a Torbay Express a couple of years ago this will be my first main line steam trip. Originally I had tickets for the first Help4Heroes Special (6024 & Tornado), when that was postponed we couldn't make the suggested alternatives so paid the additional to join this trip. The idea of leaving a close(ish) station to our home town for a run to the coast behind 100% steam being particularly appealing. Having said that the we that are travelling are my wife and myself and with young kids one 3 yrs old and one 7mths logistically any similar sort of day out requires a bit of forward planning - luckily grandparents will have a child each ! However, I am not sure the other half has yet fully appreciated that she will be stuck in a carriage for at least 12 hours and I am not sure how to broach this or prepare her for this yet - hopefully I will make it up as I go a long / suggest a cider or two ! The idea of at least another hour in Swanage would have been ideal, so at least have a relaxing bite to eat without being overly time conscious. Going forward cost, timings and departure points will all start having a bigger impact on our / my ability to travel.

 

Have heard rumours the timings are to be revised via Andover on outward. Same times to Basingstoke then non-stop to Soton Goods loop at 12:40-13:00. Then 6201 runs tender first to Swanage (water stop at Brockenhurst for 8 mins). Return timings remain the same.

Please don't shoot the messenger though! Should be a slightly better itinerary, with the up hill bits at Monxton on the outward an the climb to Basingstoke and Parkstone bank on the return.

My source is reliable, but keep checking UkSteam.info for updated times!

James at SVN

 

Swanage Railway website states charter due to arrive 15:14 & depart 17:00 (from bottom of special timetable).

 

Posted by Roger Smith on SE-Gen

 

What does 'RR' 'RM' indicate at Soton UGL plse? RR = Runround I guess?

 

So that gives less than 2 hours at Swanage which compares poorly to the UK Railtours "Royal Wessex" tour which has a 3.5 hour stopover (although it does have diesel haulage back to Southampton). I would have thought that would have been a bit of a turn-off for the non-enthusiast. I know my wife was less than thrilled when we went on a railtour to Swanage a couple of years ago - 5 hours on the train, less than 2 hours off it and then back on for another 5 hours.

I thought that Steam Dreams policy was always to have 3 hours in the destination if possible - seems that this has been sacrificed in order to avoid having any diesel haulage as part of the itinerary.

 

Certainly not gone down well with the domestic staff here, and the possible new itinerary doesn't improve upon that either. 6hrs 20mins outbound ain't good for oldies with bad backs etc. I wonder why a 50min water stop is required only half an hour after setting sail, couldn't the loco be watered in Banbury?

 

Steam Dreams and RTC have advertised tours( from London) with 3 hours at Swanage, but seems to get cut back first by the path given by Network Rail, then the Swanage Railway so they can run a service around it. Looking at UK Steam Info it seems the path given varies around the the motive power available.