Saphos Trains

Or maybe they enjoy treating themselves? Aren't tight. If somebody has a mortgage paid off, several hundred £ a month becomes available overnight. £350 is less than £1 a day over a year.

I'm certainly not rich or a massive high earner but I plan and save money to be able to afford to be able to do nice things.

Everybody has different money priorities and some people are better with money than others.

 

I wonder how a kink in the track may be "suspected" and prove not to exist. Was it a malicious report of some kind, perhaps?

 

Hardly the case. Driver's will often say that, with enough route experience, you're often driving through your backside. By that, I mean you tend to know each track joint, points crossover etc due to the way it feels from your seat.

If a driver has, by chance, felt something that doesn't mesh with their feeling of 'normal' of the route, they'll call it in. We are encouraged to by our managers, and contemporaries at Network Rail, because for every instance of 'No fault found' you'll find another where the fault is recorded and an ESR is suddenly in place. An oncoming incident hopefully avoided?

So this leaves us with "No problem found". Well, that doesn't mean the report from the Driver was erroneous. The two can co-exist, a change may have occurred but the change is not outwith the acceptable parameters set. What we feel while we drive, admittedly, is probably erring on the side of hyper sensitivity and our reaction may seem over cautious. However, nobody wants to be the next driver in an incident, and nobody wants to also be the driver who could have avoided said incident by making a reactive report to a change to our normal perception of the route.

 

Good run up from 60007 from Bristol to Shrewsbury. However SNG has failed at Shrewsbury with brake block problem. Looks like diesel hauled return.

 

Just departed Shrewsbury with the diesel 54 mins late, 60007 left in Coton Hill.

Sent from my SM-S908B using Tapatalk

 

Spot the difference...

 

No headboards.

 

60007 between Bromfield and Onibury.
Grey skies absorb the exhaust but the rain was holding off.

 

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:90962/2023-08-31/detailed

No. 7 returning to Crewe light engine shortly.

 

I assume it'll be turned first as it was facing south at Coton Hill.

 

Use of Diesels
SNGLT members should be aware that we have been advised that for operational reasons it is expected that a diesel locomotive will be attached to the rear of most of the planned tours. The diesel will assist if requested by the steam driver or inspector due to either poor rail head conditions or excessive gradient against load and timings. An initial response is typically that the steam driver asks for the diesel to be run in "notch one", which equates to the diesel taking its own weight and very little else. The steam footplate crews are very minded that it's a steam rail tour and so do drive the loco as designed.

The 'Sir Nigel Gresley' Locomotive Trust Ltd

 

Thank you for reproducing such a clear summary of the "diesel on the rear of the train" situation.
Can other owners and promoters be as clear please?

Cheers, Neil

 

Sounds reasonable to me. There are days like today where the steam loco fails where you’re just glad of the diesel to get you home. On the other hand I prefer no diesel for assessing true locomotive performance and for the sake of authenticity.

As for Saphos - we were really impressed but the quality of the catering and level of service. A really enjoyable day out. Thanks to the hardworking Saphos team.

 

Without risk of poking the bear...

The above is extremely fair and transparent & to be applauded - however, the recent tour to Plymouth necessitated going over gradients that would require significantly more than notch 1,especially with 11 coaches. I would have liked to have seen a couple of coaches less & the generator car used on a trip where part of the attraction was the climbs themselves. I don't see the point of running a performance orientated tour which then needs assisting, might as well have run another Torbay!
I am sure the A4 trustees would also like to see how their loco would perform unassisted over the Devon banks too.

 

I disagree, they say in the statement the initial response is for notch one. If an A4 is not allowed with 11 carriages over the South Devon Banks then the diesel will be required to do more. I for one would not pay for steam on at Taunton to Kingswear, however Plymouth is a longer run and better VFM.

 

Can't imagine steam locomotive's performance is even considered by the typical Saphos Customer. Anyone with that in mind would never travel with them.

 

Running with steam in the 21st century is always going to be a compromise. There is the old adage that the profit is all in the last coach so what would two coaches less mean to the level of fares charged? In steam days that sort of load would probably mean an assisting engine on the banks but double headed steam would be another luxury that would impact on the cost.
It’s quite possible that an A4 could take eleven up Hemerdon but what happens if it does sit down? These things are planned well in advance and railhead conditions won’t be known until the day. Where’s the nearest rescue loco? If I was the operator I wouldn’t want to take the risk.

 

The weather in the south-west is set to be very good tomorrow. For any photographers / videograohers planning to see the train at Cockwood Harbour (17:56), be aware that high tide is not until 21:24.

Also, the stop at Tiverton loop on the return is not necessary, as there are no other trains in the area. <BJ>