70013 on The Easterling 17 June

Not sure at what point in time the 5 failed from this thread. Big assumption that it was mid tour. If so could an explanaition be that the tour was planned for 70013 and Pacific with a power classification of 7P. Unless the load was reduced then surely the 5 is being flogged. If it had a diesel on the back too then that is one hell of a load in terms of todays geriatric steam locos. We should be taking more care of the limited resources that we have.

Hard one for the tour operators but do they have insurance agains failure and cancellation including passenger liability?

 

Problem with using anything other than a regular 37/47/67 at short notice is sourcing a driver who's traction knowledge includes signing any of the above classes, at WCRC i'd imagine just about every driver would sign 47's, how many sign Deltics though ?.

As Spamcan says mind, as good as some preserved Diesels are, they are not Steam, so anyone on board has my sympathy, considering I like heritage Diesels, after events this year im developing quite the dislike for 47760.

 

Its fair to say 44932 hasn't been brilliant since it returned, but sometimes you get patches like that, about 10/12 years ago 6024 seemed to get into trouble almost every time it went out, in it's last ticket however it was close to bulletproof.

 

Not relevant - 44932 failed on Saturday, the day before the run.

David

 

Didn't that have an issue the other week, firebars? Had to be box assisted home.

 

"Not relevant" is not appropriate as I clearly stated I was making a big assumption due to the lack of clarity in the thread. The fundamental principle is relevant. By planning tours with the expectation of a particular power class and running the same load with a lower class must have an impact on the loco and may be a contributary factor in any failure, at the time or in the future. Big Al in Post 25 eloquently expresses the view.

These locos are old and precious and perhaps we need to start considering how wisely they are used. I am surprised that the owmers do not make the loading appopriate to the loco an integral condition of the hire contract. They pick up the tab in the end. Just making an observation as it does concern me. Maybe back to the topic of the thread now.

 

I think David was answering your question regarding insurance!

 

Sorry 44932 failed again. It has failed twice when rostered for RTC's Three Bridges-Bath trips - once before leaving 3B and once at Salisbury on the return leg. On both occasions, I turned up to Botley to photgraph it at the water stop, and on both occasions, I left disappointed. Oh well.

I hope it will be back to full health soon, for at its best, it's a truly fine engine. In November 2010, I travelled from Swanage to London and back behind 44932, and it must rank in my top five most enjoyable main line steam journeys. I couldn't believe it when the driver told me at Waterloo that he hadn't exceeded 61mph when (to my surprise) we were put on the fast line between Basingstoke and Brookwood. It seemed much faster than that. Another memorable moment was the climb up from Corfe Castle to Harmans Cross in the dark on the return journey. I've enjoyed the sounds and sights of this particular incline many times on Swanage Railway services behind everything from 41708 to Port Line, but a hard-working Black Five with ten on definitely takes the buscuit. Best wishes to the RTC chaps in sorting out the problems with this excellent machine.

 

Watching the train going through Shenfield Saturday morning there were many sad faces looking out the window. Cant help but feel sorry for people who paid for a steam trip and got a diesel.

Stan

 

And probably no comeback either. The sad thing is that most if not all of the punters wouldn't of found out until they turned up on the day. At least the 71000 Bath trip was totally cancelled.

 

Do tour opertors fully insure against failure that would underwrite a cancellation? If customers feel they have not had what they have paid for they will probably not return. These are often costly investments for the individual/family. Once hooked they will want more, but if they feel hard done by they will not buy again.

 

You are right most people accept that failures are outside the tour organisers control but when youve shelled out a couple of hundred quid to take your family on a special day out and youm dont get what you paid for are you really going to book again?? Not forgetting times are extremely tight for some folks and spare cash is hard to come by.

My sympathies go out to those who didnt get the product they paid for on Sunday.

Stan

 

Agreed. The continued problems we are witnessing could drive the 'normals' away from repeat bookings. At the risk of appearing a heretic , may I suggest we have too much main line steam at present, spreading the finite resource (i.e. the Locomotives) too far and too thin. Many years ago, when steam was one or two trips per weekend, SLOA (as it was then) used to make sure, that as far as was possible, the same locomotive did not operate on consecutive weekends so that there was time to check it out for any faults and effect any running repairs between trips.

Currently we have a situation where there can be three or four tours on any specific date with some locomotives operating (including light engine moves) three or four days per week. With volunteer support crews this really is stretching things.

 

I think you have hit the nail on the head!