'The Royal Duchy' 2013

Great that 44932 has made it but in a way there has perhaps been a missed opportunity. There was, maybe, a chance of having a totally new engine on this route and one that would be capable of taking 9 with no difficulty. Smaller than the Black V too. There is always another time.
Should be a good trip tomorrow with Mr. Churchill at the helm, it just needs the weather conditions not to make adhesion conditions tricky.

 

I agree - purely from a selfish point of view that because of my slowly healing leg I can't get out of county to see some of the other engines!

Is there still a gauging issue at saltash - I was lead to believe that is why engines such as tornado and the duchess etc can't make it into Cornwall - or is it down to operating companies etc? I guess if an A4 can make it ok there shouldn't be a problem?!

For those thinking of making a trip to see 44932 today, the weather is awful!! No need to pack your bucket and spade for the Cornish riviera today...

 

Black '5' 44932 + load 8, looking and sounding very good, through Flax Bourton tunnel on time at 08:59. <BJ>

 

Should be quite a spectacle on the gradients. Hope all goes well.

 

hey all railway folk
here is my picture of today's royal duchy hauled by LMS Black Five 44932 At Exeter St Davids

many thanks
YRM.

 

44932 1Z39 arrived back at Bristol TM at 22:23. The loco and support coach detached from the charter stock so I presume this will run back to Southall tomorrow . There is an ECS movement in the system for a Bristol to Carnforth train, possibly 47.580 http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/U50745/2013/06/17/advanced . <BJ>

 

Or possibly the Black 5, as it's timed at 60mph?

 

Agreed. There appears to be no reason to take the Black '5' to Southall if there is little chance of it heading a railtour. <BJ>

Edit: Now showing on uksteam http://www.uksteam.info/tours/t13/t0617p.htm

 

But is it ECS or LE?

 

UKsteam says "Engne+coach: Bristol-Carnforth". Makes sense - coaches likely to return to Southall for use on Tuesday's Canterbury Belle?

 

Yes, but RTT says ECS, and 715 tonnes trailing load.

 

Whatever the consist, it should be passing Ludlow about now. Has anyone seen it?

 

AFAIK, it is the Black 5 + POB. 47580 and the ECS went back to Southall this morning.

James at SVN

 

Yep, it was going well on Llanvihangel...

 

I thought the problem was more that certain loco's won't fit on St Blazey turntable ?, some would with a bit of overhang, but the fence on one side doesn't help with that, There was/is a gauging issue that prevent larger loco's reaching Penzance, but any at Saltash would be new on me.

 

RTT (and headcodes for that matter), can't differentiate between ECS and Loco+support coach, it see's the support coach in the formation and assumes ECS and the headcode becomes 5Z rather than 0Z regardless of whether it's just the support or load 11, remember RTT, TRUST etc, were not set up with the quirks of mainline steam operation in mind.

David at UKSteam can because it's a person (and enthusiast) doing that info rather than a system.

Trailing load is best disregarded generally.

 

GWR4090 posted a few months back that Halls and 777 are too wide to go beyond Plymouth.

IIRC, the loco length limit on St Blazey TT was discovered and fixed when 6201 went down there a few years ago. The story goes that the offending fence was removed with an angle-grinder and the support crew promised to put it back later. Whether they did, and whether it's in the original place or a little further out, I never heard.

There was a height limit (I think) on the down line beyond Par. Black Fives, Brits and Bulleids were OK, but Kings and Castles were too big. Therefore, when Steam Dreams ran their mid-summer weekend trip to Penzance in 2010, it was steam hauled only to Par going down, then the locos ran wrong-line Par-Penzance in the small hours of the morning, ready to haul the train back up to London. Again, whether that limit still applies or has been fixed, or got worse, I don't know.

 

If the one affecting Halls and Sir Lamiel is the one I'm thinking of, that's prior to Saltash (Devonport/Dockyard area ?), but neither of which are likely to appear on the Duchy so it shoulden't be an issue, the height limit beyond Par you mention is probably the one I'm thinking of.

 

My video from yesterday's Royal Duchy with 44932, as well as the ECS movement on the Saturday with 47580 from Southall to Bristol:

James at SVN