45699 - Cathedrals Express - Padd to Stratford Upon Avon - 23/04/16

So where's the steam coming off for this one, given the gauging issues at Wilmcote ?

 

What steam? Only joking(well partly!)

 

That may not be as funny as it sounds given today's current climate.

 

The Statford Upon Avon trips out of London, have all run without diesel assistance in recent years, but I have a sneaking feeling that Galatea might not be trusted to run on it's own while it stays down south. I Hope to be proven wrong !

 

Galatea is guaranteed to run.........................................I'm away for the weekend and will miss it

 

Diesel Dreams confirming Saturday will be diesel hauled ! How they still have a clientele is beyond me ! There was a few rumours that WCR are not allowed to operate out of Paddington.

 

Yes this trip is now top'tail diesels, and it is operating in and out of Paddington, the trouble is the gauging problem with Galatea at Wilmcote.

 

Or does the GWML gauging gremlin strike again ?

Taking a loco that doesn't usually work much down south anywhere near the former WR does seem a little like playing Russian Roulette

EDIT - Maureen beat me to it - at least it wasn't a GWML gauging problem this time

 

It's the road bridge at Wilmcote which is the issue. Can't be a width issue, as we all know the Hall Class goes through on the Shakespeare, allbeit at the lower speed. I wonder if Steam Dreams tried to source another loco ? Surely they knew weeks ago that this trip was going to be an issue.

 

Should be Rip Off Dreams or Cowboy Dreams. Actually replace "Dreams" with "Merchants".
That's two trips in a row this has happened. I wouldn't ever touch them with the longest bargepole ever again.
Ironic is that I still get mailshots & emails from them. The mail goes straight in the shredder & the emails immediately deleted.
As asked before, why are they so determined to run without steam power instead of cancelling?
Apart from the fact that negates them from issuing a full refund.
We all know what happened to the last trip they were so determined to run without steam , aka Bath incident.

 

Well, either the bridge aperture is sub-height owing to track works/road subsidence, and/or, Galatea is more than 13' 1". The width issue could be slight track re-alignment, etc. Has a 'Jubilee' run this way for several decades? Looking at Bing maps, it appears that the whole road over the bridge has been re-surfaced recently, which shouldn't have changed the gauge, but who knows?

 

So much for SD telling me the other day on Twitter that 45699 had passed her gauging checks to operate the tours in the South
My apologies to anyone who booked this up after seeing my post in the other thread about 45699 passing the gauging checks. In my defence I was only posting information given to me after I had asked SD directly on Twitter.
What a farce.

 

Sadly I have to agree with you. I haven't booked with them for many years now and am unlikely to ever again. The culture at the top of the company is the problem in my view. Other tour companies are much better and one in particular has improved dramatically recently. I think it might be wise if Steam Dreams were to change their name as its now become very misleading.

 

agree about the name

 

It's not just the overall height that's important, but also the profile. If the bridge has an arch, then it might foul the widest part of the firebox or cab. Is it over a curve? If so is track canted? A right-hand curve with a cant could bring the loco's "shoulder" (if you see what I mean) too close to the arch. The boiler on a Jub looks like it is set higher than on a Castle or a Hall, and the Belpaire 'box is quite wide... Think about the recent problems with the A30 bridge over the Sou' Western near Sherborne

 

I'm not sure I follow ?

are you saying the boiler / firebox on a Jubilee is wider / taller than the footplate cab profile ?

is it this bridge ? (behind the footbridge)

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=321871
http://www.tyseleylocoworks.co.uk/tlw/images2/5043_wilmcote_stn_pn_m.jpg

 

If it's the road bridge at the station - slight curve, slight cant, no arch and what seems like very good clearance.

 

It could be said to be more accurate than ever!

 

TBH, I'm not sure whether I'm making sense, myself. I was trying to work out how a Jubilee could foul a bridge that a Hall and a Castle fit under - or at least, that a Hall and a Castle fitted under a few months ago.

The only example I can think of where a loco scraped a bridge even though it fitted at its tallest point was when Tangmere went under the A30 bridge at the foot of Oborne bank - summer 2007? In that case, it was the driver's-side "front corner" of the tender that scraped against the arch, even though it is a left-hand bend. The track had crept towards the side of the arch. IIRC, a few months later even the SWT units were creeping through at walking pace to avoid getting scratched.

As to which bridge is causing the problem - could it be the farm track / footpath bridge a little further south?