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The Great Britain IX

Discussion in 'What's Going On' started by Big Al, Mar 30, 2016.

Page 38 of 41
  1. GWR4707

    GWR4707 Nat Pres stalwart

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    So tour arrived at Kings Cross and Leander safely home to carnforth, all done for this year.
     
    GWR4707, May 4, 2016
    #741
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  2. 981smithy

    981smithy Member

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    Footage of Leander on the final day...........



    Hope you enjoy.
     
    981smithy, May 4, 2016
    #742
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  3. DOH46229

    DOH46229 New Member

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    DOH46229, May 4, 2016
    #743
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  4. John Stewart

    John Stewart Part of the furniture

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    This leg isn't going to cause significant timetable disruption if it doesn't run perfectly.
     
    John Stewart, May 4, 2016
    #744
  5. charterboy

    charterboy New Member

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    45699 didn't go to Doncaster ;-)

    No headboard was put on any of the.diesels

    45699 carried the headboard from Grange to Sellafield on day 4 where it was removed in a position if safety with no ohl

    45690 carried the headboard today, day 9 from.Carnforth to Hellifield whereby again it was removed
     
    charterboy, May 4, 2016
    #745
  6. charterboy

    charterboy New Member

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    That's probably because not many people were seated in the brake coach or indeed one of the met cam pullmans ;-)!!

    Yes work was being done up.from by the steam locos, but as per my post yesterday evening, day 8 contained.4 of the bigger climbs for steam locos and thus a great shame that they involved shoving of some degree

    Regardless of whether the train was on time or running late shoving would have occurred.
     
    charterboy, May 4, 2016
    #746
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  7. MellishR

    MellishR Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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    So what would have happened if you had been in charge?
     
    MellishR, May 4, 2016
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  8. charterboy

    charterboy New Member

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    Well after they weren't delivered on last year's farce which was.Gb8 and given.that this.was supposedly the last ever.gb tour, I would have ensured some contingency in case of late loco.withdrawal

    Albeit loco withdrawal is unfortunate there are currently other locos.available, which had a.contingency been in place, could have been.gauged if necessary

    Still, the photters got steam up front.puffing away in their photos and the posh class were too busy stuffing their faces to.notice the.shoving, so let's forget about the.steam.enthusiasts in first class who've paid.a.couple.of grand each year to enable this grand tour.to.actually take place...... ;-)
     
    charterboy, May 4, 2016
    #748
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  9. Groks212

    Groks212 Well-Known Member

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    Your contingency I assume would have a loco sitting in steam somewhere with a support crew waiting just in case they were needed then?

    Dave B
     
    Groks212, May 4, 2016
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  10. stevenjcrozier

    stevenjcrozier New Member

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    Fantastic shots

    Steven
     
    stevenjcrozier, May 4, 2016
    #750
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  11. 99Z

    99Z Guest

    Or put two on the front and leave the diesel on the shed.

    Where have all the steam loco's gone, if only 4 were available for this trip ?

    Given 4 prolonged periods of bans in 3 years, one would have thought the mainline steam fleet would be in tip top condition, Crews hungry and eager for work.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 4, 2016
    99Z, May 4, 2016
    #751
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  12. Bulleid Pacific

    Bulleid Pacific Part of the furniture

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    *Stretches arms and yawns*
     
    Bulleid Pacific, May 4, 2016
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  13. Big Al

    Big Al Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Moderator

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    Without knowing the detail of the GB tour, it doesn't take an expert to realise that it is far more complicated than, say, nine separate one day trips. Aside from dealing with the hotels, coach transfers and looking after the general well-being of everyone, the train related logistics and the people involved must have been considerable. And then there are the hidden potential issues like, for example, the fact that 44871 was in continuous steam for the best part of a week. Nothing unusual there at one level except the fact that there is the minor matter of ongoing maintenance and prep/disposal using the same people.

    @99Z asks where all the steam locos have gone. A good question and actually not an issue that has anything to do with either the RTC or WCRC except that Scots Guardsman was not available although they did provide a substitute. So we are back to the whole fragility of providing steam locomotives that are seen to be reliable and available when they have been pre-booked for charters.

    Without naming names, it is self evidently becoming more apparent that some locomotives and loco groups seem to be more reliable than others yet with every locomotive there is a risk. One way to manage that is to use the heritage fleet as carefully as some owners already do, not overcommit them, leave space for regular maintenance rather than 'light-up and go again' tactics and increase loco hire fees to maintain income. That will push up the cost of steam charters and lead to less of them but I think that may be a good thing.

    This will apparently be the last GB tour but there is nothing to stop much shorter 3 day trips continuing and I think there remains an attraction in that model. Plenty of options come to mind - Cornwall, South Wales and of course the West Highland. So thinking caps on everyone.
     
    Big Al, May 5, 2016
    #753
  14. Enterprise

    Enterprise Part of the furniture

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    This is a myth that is often repeated on NP. I only travel in "posh class" and I assure you that many there are knowledgeable and discerning and dislike shoving diesels.
     
    Enterprise, May 5, 2016
    #754
  15. RalphW

    RalphW Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Administrator Friend

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    And I wonder what class charterboy was in???
     
    RalphW, May 5, 2016
    #755
  16. Groks212

    Groks212 Well-Known Member

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    Disrespectful to those who pay the most class judging by his stuffing their faces remark.o_O

    Dave B
     
    Groks212, May 5, 2016
    #756
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  17. Enterprise

    Enterprise Part of the furniture

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    Why should anyone take offence from charterboy's remark? I don't, I enjoy the opportunity to stuff my face from time to time.
     
    Enterprise, May 5, 2016
    #757
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  18. Alberta 45562

    Alberta 45562 Part of the furniture

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    He's only been on virtually all the GB's over the years (as have others). Whereas some people on this forum haven't been to see it,never mind travel on it.
     
    Alberta 45562, May 5, 2016
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  19. Steamage

    Steamage Part of the furniture

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    Day 9 began with the earliest start of the trip (for me) and the shortest "working" day - up at 05:45, all done by 10:00. OTOH, it also gave my pals and me the most of what we were interested in filming: unassisted steam in sunshine and glorious scenery. The conditions at Clapham were perfect, with Ingleborough and Pen-y-ghent clear in the distance, curlews, lapwings and larks calling across the moors, bright sunshine and only a moderate breeze. Leander put on a great performance (so much for my "well-informed source" :oops:) and I didn't mess up the long pan through Clapham station and over the viaduct. My final shot was on the edge of Hellifield, complemented by an good array of semaphore signals. The trip home was uneventful, and I had the car unloaded and the kettle on by 3:30pm. It was a little galling, though to be driving through warm sunny weather on the last day of my holiday.

    Many thanks to all involved with organising GB9. Maybe it wasn't a "classic" (3 and 5 stand out in my memory), but that wasn't for want of effort and ingenuity on the part of all those working so hard behind the scenes. I hope that RTC aren't out of pocket as a result, and will run something similar again in the future. One line-sider I met said that, when asked whether GB9 really was the last one, @meltonnorth replied "ask me again in a fortnight". Make of that what you will.

    The new car behaved itself very well - 58.9 mpg over 2175 miles, no tantrums, no back-ache.

    And now I'm back at work...
     
    Steamage, May 5, 2016
    #759
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  20. charterboy

    charterboy New Member

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    Indeed, I've been on all the Gb tours since Gb3 with the exception of GB5, thus 5 1/2 trips

    Thus I think I'm readily placed to comment!!!

    I only rarely frequent this forum due to the armchair wibbling

    Oh and all trips have been.done first class, thus I reckon around 12/13k ploughed into the steam market as a result of travelling on these tours
     
    charterboy, May 5, 2016
    #760
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