The Scottish Lowlander, 27th September.

Well, that will be a great relief all round.

 

Never mind the loco change - 30 mins is long enough to amble to chippy over the road rather than run like a loon!

 

Some of the 2 minute junction allowances could also be omitted with smart enginemanship and a fair bit of luck. Bellshill is an interesting 12-minute stop. Increasingly looking forward to it, and will be selecting beers tomorrow evening! Eden Valley Goods Loop is another interesting one.

 

Anyone know if it could be possible to get off the train at the stops at Carstairs (30 mins) or Falkland DGL (40 mins)?

Pity the Bellshill stop could not be extended to 30 mins (there's a Morrison's just beside the station - could help with supplies and boredom alleviation kit).

 

Carstairs is in a loop, as is Falklands, so not unless you have a ladder and NR PTS training.

 

Well full marks to RTC ...full refund now being offered ....and accepted ..
will be a bit wary of ambitious tours next time

 

Best to ask for the Bellshill Stop to be extended to 30 mins then (reduce the time at Carstairs).
This would be the perfect midday stop (nearby Morrison's).

 

On the original trip, there were 12 minutes at Carlisle (outbound), 10 at Hawick, 15 at Glasgow St Johns, 10 at Kilmarnock and 10 at Carlisle (inbound). Not much time for a wander.

 

I'm booked on this trip and have been as of February, unfortunatly 2 members of our party are no longer coming due to the changes, but RTC were no problem when I called and have given a full refund for these two tickets.
So I have to say good on them for that I have also been assured by RTC not to worry about 'toilet problems' ..... Holding my breath on this one......( I will be quite literally if there's no water to flush lol )

There are still 4 of us travelling on Saturday and I for one am really looking forward to it. It was all about the locos and the hills that enticed me to book this trip. Although disappointed that we are no longer visiting Edinburgh , we had never planned to eat there due to the small amount of time we were meant to be having. So our picnic bags, plates , cutlery and table cloth are all ready to go .

We are located in coach H , 5 B&F , 6 B&F and will be wearing our LMS patriot tops, so you can't miss us! some of you may know my brother Gavin , who regularly volunteers on the patriot stand . Come and say hi if you have some time to kill lol!

I hope that all of you on this trip have a great day

Kirsten

 

http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/U50724/2014/09/27/advanced

60009 Crewe to Carlisle move.

http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/U50732/2014/09/27/advanced

Carnforth loop to Steamtown light engine move. I'm guessing this is the diesel loco that has brought the stock down from Carnforth coming off?

 

I presume so. At least it won't be with us on the important bits, so I'm quite happy about that. As they will be setting out at 03:42, I think we should give a collective pat on the back to the 60009 support crew (and WCRC footplate crew, who will presumably be leaving the footplate at Crewe?). It puts everything into perspective.

 

Carstairs is usually a water and pathing stop, and one can assume that Falkland Jn is as well. Bellshill looks to be just a pathing stop, so I doubt it would be easy to take time from one and give to the other, especially now that most of the slack in the WTT has now been taken out.

 

In a way, I'm surprised the diesel's heading back to Carnforth, as it will be needed later in the day. I guess they couldn't find anywhere to store it at Crewe, or its to do with the crewman's hours. Regardless, at least it won't be around on the hills.

 

If this is true, it defies all logic. You can't believe that there is nowhere to park a diesel at Crewe. If it is down to hours, he could ride on the cushions Carnforth rtn. The extra fuel and effort for the steam loco. Plus the small matter, that most of us would prefer not to have it on back anyway.

 

Possibly stabling fees come into the equation.

 

I think the Patriot crewe should treat the day as a first training run for when we get on to the main line, as there will be some long days then for the train crew.

We will have a donation buckets on the train, so when the buffet runs out of beer you will have somewhere to put the spare money - coach H , 5 B&F , 6 B&F!

Kevin
Chief Engineer
Patriot Project