A New Steam TOC (North of the border)?

No mention of this in the discussion elsewhere regarding the awarding of the Scotrail franchise to Abellio but tucked away on page 7 here is the bullet point that reads 'Steam special services to promote local attractions, grow tourism and sell Scotland'. Some more meat to be put on those bones but it would seem that, as it's contained in the brochure promoting the new Scotrail franchise, it's not a reference to existing steam services like the Jacobite but rather to something new. It'll be interesting to see how Scotrail propose to run these trains and whether it is done in-house or in partnership with one of the two existing mainline steam operators.

 

I suspect it will be outsourced to DBS/WCRC, but another TOC training up steam drivers would be no bad thing.

 

Indeed it does however Scotrail (in the dim and distant part when part of the BR empire) did train men on steam and it's entirely possible that some may still work for the company and 'only' need refresher training.

I suspect though that a partnership with one of the two existing mainline steam operators is far more likely as in the recent past Scotrail have contracted out the manning of anything not viewed as core traction - sleepers and Fife Circle loco-hauled trains for example. It is worth considering that WCRC are stretched covering their existing commitments in Scotland and DBS have no steam-qualified men north of the border (although they too may well have men who were passed on steam in the dim and distant past). I wonder if much thought has yet been given to the provision of these services and what influence the current FM has had given the headline story in last month's Steam Railway with regard to the Borders line.

And, Big Al, in the interests of full disclosure, I can claim no credit for 'spotting' this particular commitment, all I have done is bring it to the attention of this forum.

 

That is why I felt the need to nuance the statement with quotes around the 'only'! It was obviously lost in translation. And unlikely as it may seem to some, many of the steam footplatemen currently working on the mainline were trained by BR(post-1968)/EWS/DB Schenker so it is quite feasible to teach someone who drives trains for a living the intricacies of steam operation.

I'm 99% sure, however, that if this comes about it will be in partnership with a company that already has steam on its safety case..

 

Assuming they were at least 18 in 1968, anyone trained by BR would be at least 64 years old now and probably retired, if not I would question how many would like to take up firing again at that stage.

I have just passed on the IWSR, my very capable instructor works is a Freightliner Driver who did some steam work in late BR days and enjoyed it, so joined the IWSR some time after. I learned to drive Underground trains before steam ones...

 

I think it can be safely assumed that any use of steam, most likely that envisaged for the Borders Railway, will be undertaken by an existing steam operator on their behalf - WCRC initially operated the Cambrian Coast services on behalf of Arriva Trains Wales, so a precedent exists.

Chris

 

Abellio planning steam trains for Scotland

"New ScotRail operator Abellio is planning a steam renaissance which could see extra tourist trains on many rural routes to showcase Scotland’s dramatic scenery.

The Dutch firm, which will take over the franchise in April, is investigating running steam trains on up to eight routes, including over the Forth Bridge, The Scotsman has learned."

Blimey...

Chris

 

I wonder if there'll be a McPlandampf.

 

I wonder how willing WCRC will be to run extra steam tours on a regular basis around Scotland vs their own competing interests on the Jacobite ?

With 45231 up for sale on another thread, could be a good move for SRPS to enquire.. Scotland's going to need a mainline steam shed/fleet of loco's to sustain 7 routes of regular steam...

but what an opportunity and tbh if marketed correctly I can see this being a big winner for Scottish tourism promotion... steam hauled "whisky" trains has US$ tourist bills all over it... and at a good premium over regular UK steam railtour rates.

 

Abellio doesn't "have" to use DBS, or WCR. London Underground doesn't. If the new franchise and Network Rail Scotland decide jointly that they are going to go it alone with kettles, who is going to stop them? Someone from England? Good luck to anyone who tries.

 

When my pals and I went up to video 5043's trip to Edinburgh, we nicknamed Culross "McDawlish"!

Very true. All they need to do is write their own saftey case and cross-train a few crews on steam. Chances are there are one or two with relevant experience already. Maybe they'd need to recruit a couple of experienced drivers or traction inspectors to supervise the training, or perhaps they could hire them in on a consultancy basis.

 

Given their expertise I suggest SRPS at Bo'ness might be in the frame for a lotta new business.

 

Might be a good opportunity for owners of medium sized locos to base there too.

 

not forgetting a new P2

 

It may as well as theres a good chance it will be doing little with DB like Tornado. Meanwhile, the name Prince of Wales might be a headache now, as in Scotland the heir to the throne is the Duke of Rosthsay and that is Charles' title when north of the border.

Still, if it were to venture north it might be intersting to see how it copes on the MDTR, and thus reignite the whole debate on rebuilds again...

 

It might be interesting to ponder an even bigger headache the PoW name might have been had the vote gone the other way on 18th September.