70013 to Yeovil - Sherborne Christmas Cracker 14/12/17

Clan Line hauled the 12 coach Waterloo Sunset charter from Waterloo to Yeovil on 9th July. No diesel required on that occasion. <BJ>

 

July 9th - high summer (for what that's worth), class 8
December 14th - winter, leaves, ice, snow, steam heat required, class 7
Do the maths
These anti diesel comments are just so boring

 

Not an anti diesel comment at all, just a fact. <BJ>

 

Sorry but I don't know your name to reply to - you are correct of course - it is a fact - but the fact that Clan Line took the train unassisted in the summer is not comparable to the Britannia taking a similar train in December. Because you only brought forward one fact that I interpreted as anti-diesel is why I responded the way I did. All facts need to be seen in their wider context otherwise they are capable of misunderstanding. So you're not anti-diesel if the operator believes it is appropriate or it if is needed for shunts etc?

Mike

 

I simply made the point that a diesel was not required for shunting at Yeovil Jct for the Waterloo Sunset charter train.
That had nothing to do with the power of the locos involved, the weather or the conditions of the railhead on the day.
I resent being called anti diesel. I would dearly love to see or travel behind a Deltic, Western or Class 40 on the main line but those opportunities are becoming increasingly rare.

Have a good Christmas everyone.

Bill. <BJ>

 

I totally understand your point and generally agree, but I can promise you I was following pretty much every train movement on the tour's route religiously on RTT that morning as the delays and connections were key to my journey west chasing the tour. You're right, 70013 didn't cause the delays, but there were a couple of times when the fact it was a steam tour contributed to delays that had been recouped slipping back slightly again.

Ironically the tour left Victoria on time and was proceeding absolutely fine until it got back onto the south western main line after its Richmond loop and got caught up in knock-on delays from the earlier problems. But by that point, the following trains out of Waterloo were largely on time again and that's where the fact the steam tour - through no fault of the steam - had been knocked slightly out of its path did contribute to the further delays more than another service train would've done. 70013 needed the 11-minute water stop that kept a back-on-time Waterloo-Basingstoke stopper behind it. The slower acceleration meant that once the next Waterloo-Exeter service (which was on time) was closer than scheduled to the steam tour, it was losing time between Basingstoke and Salisbury. Effectively 70013 came back out onto the main line at Woking right at the point between the final delayed trains and the first back-on-time trains, and it did have a slight effect on the latter because the unique considerations of it being a steam tour had more potentially for causing further knock-on delays.

Those were all minor delays and I don't suppose they impinged on anyone's day, and ultimately they weren't 70013 or the concept of steam tours' fault. My point was just that on a congested route such as Waterloo-Yeovil, at a time of year when the 'big railway' is prone to stepping on its own tail without any help from steam, the fact the steam tour had an 'acceleration aid' on the back to give it a better chance of keeping out of the way when caught up in delays was, in my eyes, sensible - and used sparingly from my own observations at several stations. I would've grimaced but accepted the logic of it if that diesel helper was modern, but the fact it was a loco barely any younger than 70013 and a piece of railway heritage in its own right that was absolutely appropriate to the region was a great addition to the day - for me, if not for the majority.

(I should add that my dream railtour is probably a pair of Cl.50s on one end and a pair of Manors on the other, with equal amounts of uphill travel in each direction - so I'm definitely odd and out of step with most in my tolerance of all flavours of heritage traction)