Torbay Express 2015

I'm afraid Mayflower won't be double heading with Tornado as she is vacuum braked only, and DBS won't operate vacuum braked locos.

 

Not trying to claim one type is better than another, just wondering if for example, LNER types may carry more weight on the front bogie and rear pony truck, as they were rarely if ever expected to encounter a steep and twisty Devon hill, so lack of adhesion wasn't as big an issue, whereas LMS types were expected to battle Shap & Beattock so a bit more thought may have been given to adhesion and hill climbing ability, likewise the Brits were supposed to be nearly go anywhere types so an ability on the Devon or Scottish banks would again be considered.

Course the GWR went for the best arrangment for short, stiff climbs - no rear pony axle at all.

That tight S bend by the caravan park at Waterside seems to be the most vicious part of the climb.

 

It is untidy as Bath council and Network rail will not spend money on the site before it is electrified.

I visited the area recently and was amazed at how the vegetation had grown in 12 months. I and others, Mr. Bristolian and KristianGWR included, stood at the far end of the gardens for the shot of the Torbay Express. Two days previously I had cleared approx. 100 metres of weeds and brambles between the wooden fence and the wall so that we could get our shots. On the morning of the charter we then cleared overhanging branches to improve the visibility. I agree that the shot is not perfect but the video sequence of Tornado blasting out of the tunnel in the far distance and then passing under numerous bridges through the gardens takes some beating. <BJ>

 

LNER Pacifics manage the NYMR ok and that's steeper than the PDSR and not exactly straight either.

 

Adhesion weight is more likely to be the limiting factor than the nominal tractive effort. Stalling usually results either from slipping (which means insufficient adhesion) or from shortage of steam (which means actual TE well below the nominal TE). A stall despite full boiler pressure and no slipping would be very unusual and would imply a serious mistake in rostering that loco for that job.

 

I suspected as much, you should send an invoice to the council for your services Maybe there should be a Nat Pres gardening club to tackle other 'problem areas'...

 

Gresley pacifics were daily performers on the Waverley route which was pretty steep ( 1 in 75) but twisty as well. I forget the mileage of check-rail that was installed on the line, but it was quite substantial.

 

Having written up my timings I think Sunday's train with 60163 and it’s 12 coach train on a pretty awful day is worthy of a report. Our crew from Bristol was Driver Fred Lewis, Fireman Steve Rodenhurst(?) and Traction Inspector Tommy Rees. The departure was brisk, reaching 47 by Foxes Wood Tunnel and maxing at 65 at Twerton Short Tunnel. Time to Bath Spa was 16mins 10secs, not bad at all. Not much of note to Westbury where the weather deteriorated.

We accelerated away from Fairwood Junction that was passed at 38 to a speed of 61 at Blatchbridge Junction at 61. We were checked and only passed East Somerset Junction at 48 and then reached Brewham Summit, the top of the ¾ miles of 1:107 at 41. Fred used the level and undulating grades well and speed was kept in the 70s before Bruton to the bottom of the 2 mile 1:330 through Keinton Mandeville which we topped at 67. The short 1¾ of a mile of mostly 1:264 to Somerton was started at 76 and topped at 72. Speed remained in the 70s until Taunton approaches. We missed the Holy Grail of an even time from Westbury to Taunton again, taking 1½mins for the last half mile, covering the 47¼ miles in 48mins 39secs.

The bottom half of Whiteball went well with speed rising to 54 by mp168; but there was no pick up on the short level section around Wellington. Speed fell steadily to 52 at the foot of the mile of 1:90, topped at 44, falling to 40 on the 1:86, and to 37.7 at the top of the ¾ miles of 1:80, a speed held into the tunnel. Speed picked up to 41 at the summit at 174¼. I thought it was a very decent climb for load 12 on damp rails. We passed through Exeter St David’s at 28 and speed increased steadily to pass Exminster, 4¾ miles out at 63, well below the ‘Exminster Challenge’ of passing the box at 70. The next challenge is the climb from Aller to the summit of the 2¼miles at 1:110 that starts just before Kingskerswell. Speed dropped steadily from 40 to 34 and to 28 at mp218. All the drivers tend to ease before the last quarter for some reason.

Churston on a damp day is no fun for Pacifics. Despite commencing the 1:71 through Goodrington Sands at 28, speed fell to 21 in the first mile. Unusually 60163 slipped three or four times, the slip on Broadsands Viaduct pulling speed down from 13.5 to just under 10. Over the next quarter of a mile it looked as if we might stall as was quoted elsewhere as speed fell as low as 1.5mph. The DSR crew did a brilliant job keeping the train moving forward and we crawled into Churston at 6mph. On the return, the less steep graded way, there were no dramas. We commenced the 1 ½ miles of 1:66 at 27 and topped it at 17, speed increasing up the 1:75 to almost 20. Don’t forget the DSR crews haven’t seen 60163 for nearly 4 years so all in all they did well considering the conditions.

Our crew for the return was driver Graham Ward, fireman Vince Henderson and Traction Inspector Colin Kerswell. Graham took the start gently to avoid slipping and speed rose to 23 then dropped back to 20 over the ½ mile of 1:91. We dropped down into Torquay at 32 and then Graham really opened her up. The noise was deafening as we roared through the station and attacked the mile of 1:56 at 37, speed only falling to 29 through Torre. He eased up the remainder of the ¾ mile of 1:73 to drift over the summit in the wet cutting at 25. Some climb.

After the 60mph trundle from Teignmouth to the Warren, Graham opened her up and we passed Starcross at 70, Exminster at 72, and held speed in the 70s until the approach to St Thomas’. Surprisingly we were allowed to run through Exeter St David’s at 42. Speed rose steadily to 51 at Cowley Bridge Junction and reached 72 passing the old Cullompton Platform. Speed dropped to 68 on the mile and a half of 1:155 but picked back up to 71 on the slight downhill section around Tiverton Junction. We roared through Tiverton Parkway station at 70, a speed held to the start of the 2¼ miles of 1:115 to the summit. At mp176 speed was 67; at mp175 it had fallen to 61; and the summit at mp174¼ was passed at 59. We ‘passed’ the old Whiteball Challenge by diving into the tunnel at 60.3. Considering the persistent rain, it was a very good climb with load 12. Max on the way down was 79 at Wellington. The time from Exeter St Davids to Taunton was 29mins 44secs, inside an even time which is to be expected with no stop at St David’s.

We were held in Taunton East Loop by a late running Paddington, and then we had to wait for the Leeds as well. With Colin Kerswell, the Traction Inspector now on the regulator we reached 62 by Cogload Junction and passed Athelney at 70. We hit the bottom of the 3¾ miles of mostly 1:264 through Langport to Somerton at 71. 60163 sounded superb as she attacked the bank, speed only falling to 62 into Somerton Tunnel, the summit of the climb. We approached the climb to Castle Cary at 74, tearing through the station at 69. We hit the start of the ¾ miles of 1:98 into Bruton at 68, thundering through the station at 66, a speed held to the foot of the 1:93 the climb to Brewham. We only lost 2mph to the ¾ mile section and the short easing saw speed rise to 66 then fall back from 63 to 62 on the ¾ mile of 1:98. We held 62 onto last the half mile of 1:81 to the summit which was passed at 60. Not bad for a shocking night.

That’s pretty much it for the entertainment though in days gone by the final challenge was to achieve 70mph or more on the run to Bristol after a set down at Bath. We weren’t really expecting it but after accelerating to 53 by Twerton Tunnel it was a possibility. We roared through Saltford Tunnel at 68 and reached 70 down the 1:1320 into Keynsham, maxing at 71 entering Foxes Wood Tunnel where there was some hard braking on the approach to Temple Meads. All in all a very good day for the 400+ travllers, despite it raining all afternoon in Dartmouth.

 

Last time we did Churston with 60163 in 2011 they had to ease down from over 20 on the station approach, albeit on a dry day.

 

Certainly a fine sight for a few of us at Twerton Meadows in the gloom, no wonder it was early into Temple Meads...


mono by Rich Andrews, on Flickr

 

A couple more photos from down by the sea wall:

Teignmouth

The return at Dawlish

 

Steady rain for 50% of the day in Somerset. More rain due on Thursday night and Friday.
Hope the rain in the west country is enough to prevent another ban on main line steam. <BJ>

 

A message from South West Rail Gen today.

''56103 at rear of depot in between sheds, visible from spine road bridge, Tornado started up next to it''.

'Started up'? .....I had to smile. <BJ>

 

OK, the truth is finally out. They've managed to hide a diesel engine inside Tornado's boiler.

 

Truly excellent report. Many thanks.

 

I agree. As an ex Taunton West Station SB booking lad, 29 minutes is extraordinary with 12 on. In steam days, 40 minutes was allowed between Exeter and Taunton start to stop and on Summer Saturdays. 50 minutes. That said, a County, Hall, Grange, Castle or King, in addition to the growing number of Warships, had to be facilitated and yet it was very unusual for even a Warship to arrive early up from Exeter.

 

I hope Tornado's footplate and support crews have their oilskins and sou'westers with them. Looks like Sunday will be very wet in Devon & Somerset. The climb past Waterside to Churston could be quite tricky...

 

After the amount of rain that has fallen in the west country today I would imagine that the steam ban due to fire risk may have been relaxed by now. <BJ>