The Bath Christmas Market - 10/12

Well said, sir. Thank you for posting. Yes, in an ideal world, there'd be no need for the 'insurance', but these days one has to 'minimise risk', and given the problems this year, we're still lucky to have what we do.

 

Apologies if this has been raised before, but could someone explain why, if a diesel has to be put on the rear for insurance in certain conditions, it cannot be switched off when not actually assisting.
I go on steam trips to try to relive the 1950s and 60s and the noise of a diesel can ruin the experience -particularly if travelling in the last carriage on a circular trip when it might not be possible to hear the steam engine at all. If the diesel was silent most of the time, I wouldn't care whether it was there or not and this would surely stop a lot of the complaints from other people.

 

Short version is if your running on Vac Brakes and you switch the rear Diesel off you won't get the brakes off, you can do it with Air but depends on the loco and coaching stock of course, the Green Train which Steam Dreams use more often than not have a fair number of Vac only Mk2's.

 

My compilation from yesterday:
South Coast Mainline Steam - Saturday 10th December 2011 - YouTube

The good thing about yesterdays box, is that at least it was a preserved 37 & not some modern trash. Its thrash out of Dunbridge did sound good. I'll get my coat now as my taxi is here!!!

 

The stock with 34067 yesterday was not the Green Train, that was in use elsewhere. It was the mainly maroon mk1/met-cam pullman stock which I think is dual braked as is 34067. Don't know which mode it was operating though. In reply to JS, all trains are not "assisted" but as I said before 34067 seems to come off worse in this respect. Yesterday's seemed to suffered badly for some reason on the assistance front, I repeat my question, why was "assistance" given at what you might call easy sections, particularly on the GW main line pulling out of Bath for instance? I am still not convinced the "as required" or on request rule is adhered to, more just willy-nilly.

 

I think the original question posed was meaning why the Diesel isn't shut down when it's not assisting on the rear, yesturday it was obviously fired up because it was assisting.

As i said earlier i suspect 34067 may have got itself a reptutation and WCRC are unwilling to take chances with it currently, for one reason or another it's come to grief at Exeter, Goodrington, Ore, Filton and Martin Mill, ok they were all for various reasons but the net result was unacceptable delays on a bank.

 

My Dad's video from Shoreham-by-Sea... 34067 Tangmere accelerating through Shoreham by Sea 10/12/11 - YouTube

 

Delay Minutes have been incured on the Bristol Bath Corridor Brittania left a couple of minutes late recently and caused quite a few delays 1706 from Bristol Warminster was held to allow the steam to overtake a strange decision in my opinion as we were checked by signals all the way to Keynsham the 1714 Westbury was also delayed so sometimes diesel assistance is needed we are indeed lucky to still have steam on this route as come 2015 there will not be any paths on this route so enjoy it while you can.

 

I think a diesel on the back is unfortunately one of those "nasties" we're gonna have to accept for insurance policies, luckily for the Belgian Marine tour the box didn't seemed to be doing much when I saw her pass Charing. However my friend was at Balcombe and said that when Tangers crossed the viaduct the train was barely doing 30mph and the loco wasn't working at all. The 37 was doing all the work and he could hear it all the way past Balcombe Station. A 12 coach electric was then just a minute or two behind creeping along under single amber lights. The loco seemed fine when he saw it depart Haywards Heath earlier during the morning so perhaps all wasn't well with the loco by the time it returned.

 

Many trips do, recent memory was the VT nonstop to Marylebone.. I recall the 47 being shut down after it brought the stock in... It was not audible when I saw 5043 racing through Wembley a short while later.

 

Watching that video really saddens me for obvious reasons. I notice that no one has come forward to explain why so much shoving was done on this tour. Certainly wasn't hill climbing assistance.

 

Which negates David 1984'S theory in post #44. VT's stock is vac braked.

 

Unfortunately not, I just decided to go back and check my video ( I have it on my iPad).. It was ticking over... But not assisting.

 

You sure it was shutdown ?, a 47 on tickover is not very loud and will be even quieter on the back of a train thats 'racing' through anywhere, epecially with 5043 drowning out all the sound on the front end, in my experince with VT tours with 47773 on the back it has been on tickover.

You can ask anyone you like with the technical expertise about it, but im 99% confident they will come back with the answer i've given.

 

Fair enough, ADB has corrected his post.

 

I think we must conclude that Tangmere is not being put under any stess at the moment, and being given DL assistance when other locos would not be. I saw this train in the Test valley on Saturday, between Romsey and Dunbridge. The gradient is very gently uphill, and I would not expect any of the current mainline locos to need assistance here unless there was some abnormal circumstance, such as an exceptionally heavy train, running very late and needing to make time, a shortage of water, or a problem with the loco. Indeed, I've seen Tangmere working this section several times this year, with a DL on the rear, but without assistance, and going rather faster. Other comments about the places where assistance was provided (Balcombe, Keynsham, etc.) would seem to support this theory.

Tangmere seem to me to be clanking rather a lot at the moment. I noticed this a fortnight ago, too, on the train from Swanage to Euston, when she again received quite a lot of assitance. Maybe now that Ollie has taken over the Hastings Belle on Wed 21st, she'll be whisked off to Carnforth for winter maintenance.

 

I think Balcombe was just the evening as she seems in control on a Youtube video of her going through in the moring and she seemed to be in charge entering and departing Haywards Heath in the morning. There is a video of her in the evening going through Balcombe in the evening but is difficult to play on my laptop for some reason but the small snippet I got it sounded like the diesel was making more noise.

 

As far as I know Tangmere is still booked for the Cathedrals Express lunchtime tour on Thursday 22nd though. I would expect this to be 12 coaches and presumably involves the climb of Martin Mill Bank so I guess some assistance this time is almost inevitable.