Steam Dreams 2024

A warm day in Cheshire so nothing but a heat haze from the chimney at Wardle heading for Chester and Hargrave with the ecs run to Crewe.

 

A video from Wardle:

 

With the twin towers of Beeston and Peckforton castles guarding the horizon, ex-LNER A4 Class 4-6-2 No. 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley heads Steam Dreams London Euston to Chester charter past Hargrave on the final stage of its outbound journey on Saturday 11th May 2024.



Cheers,

 

I went over to Crewe yesterday Saturday 11th May to see 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley with 'Steam Dreams' Chester charter from Euston to Chester
https://railway-photography.smugmug...y-2024/Crewe-Saturday-11th-May-2024/i-v8LdrQG


Neil

 

Some photos of 46100 in East Anglia last Wednesday.

Hurrying into Suffolk at Brantham, between Manningtree and Ipswich.


Working away from March.

 

I've just checked the SD website and I'm sure 60532 was originally down to haul the Exeter trip in July from Taunton, but the tour loco is now TBC.

 

It is not shown on the SNG tours page as one they are doing.

 

I was considering this trip partly for the sake of the climb from St David's to Central but mainly for Blue Peter. If the loco is uncertain I'll wait for another trip. I was on the climb on 8-9-2014 with Bulleids at both ends.

 

Surely whatever steam loco is on the front the train will be pushed up the hill by the accompanying diesel won't it?

 

Certainly, but the climb is steep enough to need hard work from both ends.

 

Times have appeared for the trip from Windsor to Norwich on Tuesday 28th. Goes around north London to Stratford before running on the GEML both outward and return. Locomotive TBC on the website, believe this is steam hauled throughout?

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/se...8/0000-2359?stp=WVS&show=all&order=wtt&toc=LS

 

EMU??
Change of traction, presumably to steam, at Clapham Junction; hardly a quiet location for the purpose.

 

It’s pathed as an EMU, it doesn’t mean it is one, a loco change can’t be undertaken at Clapham Junction

 

Do not see them doing a loco change in 7 minutes! Plus P4 one of the two up Windsor platforms. Just a pick up I think. OTT has water stop as Witham DL.
Looks like could be steam both ways, water Marks Tey on the way back. Possibly much assistance from the "banking loco" with only one water stop each way.
The EMU thing is similar to the way it changes to a 745 at Diss. I have seen 175/158/159 mentioned on other tours. Either a change on the NR system or someone new entering data I suspect.

 

That is what I thought, yet RTT does show the change there:

 

46100 crossing the Twenty Foot River at Beggars Bridge near Whittlesey on its way to Chesterfield the other day.
2024-05-08 46100 BEGGARS BRIDGE - TURVES by KING COBRA 92, on Flickr

 

I am greatly pleased to see *complete* rakes of crimson and cream behind the locomotives on these last few pages of very fine photographs - so much better than dreary maroon

 

Looks like erroneous input at NR. Assuming 70000 is ill, it will be interesting to see what is used.

 

Why erroneous? We know that as the system does not recognise steam locos it takes various incorrect combinations to allow the pathing to fit. Many tours change loads and "power" during tours when nothing actually happens. From memory the regular CME path changes at Hellifield from 715 tonnes to 420 tonnes, yet all that happens is the loco takes water.

 

Why, because the ECS to Windsor also includes a bizarre mixture of 100mph EMU, 75mph EMU and 60mph diesel timings, and that's just on the Clapham Junction to Windsor section, as well as the outward run showing as 100mph EMU, 75mph diesel and 100mph EMU again. There are 95mph diesel options instead of 100mph EMU for a start, not that the runs will reach anywhere near those speeds on the CJ to Windsor stretch, obviously. If this is all 'correct' timing information, I understand even less about these timings than I thought, as, although I totally get the 60/75mph steam maximum speed timings, I cannot get my head around a steam-hauled train being timed for 100mph max, given the overall 75mph UK steam speed limit.