Project Wareham

And with the recent attempts to get Railmotor to Chinnor and Old Oak probably think out of gauge as well.

 

Only one 4-4-0? Ho-hum 'Spose you're right. Pity no LSWR stock could be made safe for mainline use. MKIs would look a wee bit totally wrong in LSW Green, let alone the earlier brown and salmon!

Shame complete 4TCs are so thin on the ground (and red) these days!

Any news on those Swanage DMMUs yet?

 

Although I wouldn't rule out main line for the T3, I think it more likely that the other U and the N would be the more likely recipient of the 'gubins' if 806 were to come out of traffic. Given the amount of instrumentation for OTMR that extends to all corners of the loco however I think it more likely that a Boiler swap and regular 'intermediate' maintenance on the bottom end will keep it in traffic for the foreseeable future. The GSMR and some of the other 'gubbins' is fitted to the tender which should be easily transferable between the Moguls if required.

In any case the amount off gubbins now required for the latest mainline spec is increasingly difficult to keep hidden and I think would rather spoil the appearance & ambiance of the T3.

The grant was actually for 5 coaches but Swanage is aiming for 6. The intention is still to run 5 which fits all our platforms and loops with the sixth being a second brake coach as a backup.

I can imagine the U being used to pilot a charter on the return leg from Weymouth or Swanage as far as Eastleigh where the main engine can turn and take charge of the rest of the journey home. This has the additional advantage of helping the charter up the Upwey / Parkstone bank and avoiding the need for a box on the back.

 

Wrong 4-4-0 i was referring to the T9 as its likily the T3 will if gauging gets any tighter , not fit, only an inside cylinder engine will fit the main line but i can see the sence behind boiler swops as the N& U are both interchangable, I think the future of any railtour working would be on the back of a tour bringing a charter to Weymouth banking it with the U,to Swanage and using that stock to run a Salisbury to Swanage tour with the U, the next day, And on the last day, the tour engine piloted by the U ( 35018 WOULD BE NICE) runs to Salisbury, back to Eastleigh, 35018 comes off to turn , goes on rear, continues to Weymouth then tour with 35018 at head, U banking Returns as far as Wareham, where the U comes off and the tour continues to london .

 

Salisbury, eh? Isn't that regular mainline steam railtour territory? A connection between the "Cathedrals" and a steam service from Swanage would certainly be something different!

 

You can turn and service a loco and stock, and its with in the range of most Steam Engines, i can't think of any other destination that may work as a day out plus the tour engine could always work Swanage Railway Services, Yes Salisbury is a steam designation, but how many return legs, go Swanage, Salisbury, Eastleigh, d ouble headed Weymouth top and tailed then returns to Victoria with a steam banker as far as Wareham.

 

How would that be remotely viable?

Salisbury to Wareham using modern units is typically about 1 3/4hrs, with a shortish change (and reversal) at Southampton. Add on at least 30 mins for Wareham to Swanage and you are looking at the best part of six hours just to do the journey to Swanage and straight back - probably longer if you went via Romsey - Eastleigh - Southampton rather than direct Romsey - Southampton to avoid the reversal at Southampton.

So that six hours, plus whatever allowance you allow for passengers to stretch their legs in Swanage, had to fit within the typically 3 -4 hours of downtime normally allowed for Cathedrals Express tours serving Salisbury. It either doesn't fit, or you are advocating an insanely long day out for little passenger benefit - if Swanage is the sellable destination, why not go straight there?

Tom

 

So probably not a regular thing then! We get the odd mainline steam special through Hove to Chichester (though nowt under the magnificent roof at Brighton since "Taw Valley" caught the Mayor and silver band on the hop by turning up over 15mins early from London Bridge many moons ago).

I'd smash a piggy-bank if a steam special ever ran via the coastway to Swanage. Probably a scheduling nightmare though, as Hove Worthing and Fareham are about the only places with any chance of slotting an extra train onto a pretty busy route and Bob Only Knows how practical arrangements between Fareham and Southampton would be.

 

Three Bridges to Weymouth has be done about 3 times, the last being in April. Steam out diesel back the last 2 times since it is too long for support crews. If has either been Braunton or a Black 5. SD recently did London to Swanage via the Portsmouth Direct.

 

I like this idea! I wonder how the cost of a Swanage-based steam loco compares with taking a DL on the back all day. The steam loco will need 2 crew rather than 1, but for fewer hours, and a light-engine path from Southampton back to Swanage. For the Weymouth version, the assisting loco could be added to the back of the down train at Wareham, though this would extend the steam crew's shift somewhat.

 

44932 worked a Valentine's special to Brighton in 2011. It was an evening run and the passengers were then taken to a cinema to see "Brief Encounter." Steam Dreams was the tour organiser. With the turning (on the Hove/Brighton/Preston Park triangle) and servicing complete well before the cinema-goers were ready to go back to London, the "Five " hung around in Platform 3 for a while and I remember chatting to the crew.

 

Missed that one.

 

Someone said about support crew hours, i envisaged my idea as being a 3 day, 3 separate tours , with people that wanted to do the whole thing staying localy
Day 1 steam victoria, or Waterloo to Weymouth, with 1 loco, at Wareham U class comes on at rear, or follows tour to Weymouth tour returned toped and tailed to Wareham, where passengers can change to service train to return to london tour reverses to Swanage end of day 1
Day 2 U class takes tour Swanage to Salisbury, via Eastleigh engine turns on lavistock triangle return via Southampton runs tender first Southampton to Swanage
Day 3 return trip to london
tour starts double headed to Salisbury vis Eastleigh both engines turn at laverstock, train returns via Southampton deisel drags stock to Weymouth for evening departure to London both steam engines at the front diesel at rear , train stops at Wareham, to lose pilot ( u class) deisel drops off train continues to London U class and deisel return to Swanage ..

 

70013 on 7/6/14 and 44932 on 8/6/14 also went into Brighton (albeit briefly mainly as a reversal) on the Seaford Brighton 150 Tours

 

I recall that operation, but didn't know Brighton was involved at all. I take it turning involved Keymer-Brighton-Lewes (or vice versa)? Long old way to turn a loco .... capacity issues aside, it's much more straightforward on the West Coastway side.

With commercial re-use of the old depot site obliterating the former location of the turntable and more recent redevelopment swallowing virtually every trace of former railway sites to the east of Brighton Stn, it's all changed a lot.

 

martin your proposed tour would certainly be an expensive tour if you wanted to do it all I suspect, plus for the enthusiast most of it is done on a regular basis by RTC or SD on day trips now so the appeal may not be there.

Other thoughts would be
Day 1 although I doubt there may not many who would want to effectively only go one way by steam, if a lot did then a 5 coach unit at Wareham may not be something SWR wanted crammed with tour passengers.
Day 2 would have to be a short train for a U to tackle Parkstone Bank on its own and a lot of tender first running to get back. When the 33 had a TPWS issue at Swanage and 46115 had to run T/F to Southampton Network Rail had to give special approval for what was effectively do it or have best part of 300 passengers stuck in Swanage!
Day 3 Do not quite understand the proposal, is this another trip to Salisbury and then a diesel (from where Swanage?) takes to stock to Weymouth. So where are the passengers at Salisbury or being diesel hauled to Weymouth. If it is the latter what is the attraction in that?
Also not sure you can remove a pilot loco at Wareham as it would have to access the sidings that are not in use at the moment.
Leaving Weymouth at 1635 (on the usual DCE timings) does not get you back to Waterloo until 2130 so not sure what you mean by "evening departure" ( to me means after 1830) although I admit you may save sometime if you go direct from Bournemouth to London. The tour in July got back just before 2100 on a 1736 departure.

 

I was steward on the Black 5 trip, we were diesel hauled from Newhaven Marine to Brighton for reversal to allow steam to haul us to Eastbourne. One of various diesel drags during the day.

 

Swanage to Wareham service wins Purbeck Community Rail Partnership an ACoRP Award:

http://www.swanagerailway.co.uk/new...artnership-innovation-in-community-rail-award

David R

 

Latest news on he Wareham foot crossing:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-42003478

David R