A1ST Bath Spa Christmas Ex 1/12/16

My footage of her in beautiful winter sunshine. Filmed at Padworth nr Aldermaston, Kintbury and Keynsham. Enjoy.

 

My footage of Tornado at Freshford in the sunshine of the Avon valley.

 

My efforts from Yesterday.

 

The Bath Spa Christmas Express

Wasn't going to do a report for this one but as it's our last of the year and there were some good bits ...

With trains starting from Victoria the term 'Express' seems rather inappropriate these days, the reason we rarely venture to that part of the capital. We did this time mainly due to the ridiculous fares on the GWR on a weekday and there being no Reading pick up/set down. At least the car wasn't that frosty and the predicted fog non-existent.

The stock came into Platform 2 early, a short train for 60163, 10 including POB and Generator Car. Despite the light load the Class 67 assisted to Grosvenor Bridge Jn due to the frosty rails. The journey from Victoria to Staines was really dire. We were following a stopper to Weybridge which made our journey stop/start/slow until Feltham Jn. Between there and Staines we hit the heights of 47 mph. Even with this spurt of some kind of speed, at Staines, our first pick up point, our average speed was an inglorious 20.3 mph, egg timer pace. We had some distance between trains now and the journey to Ascot was half decent though top speed was only 52 though we reached 60 briefly approaching Star Lane before a PWS dragged us back to 20. 90 minutes for the 28 miles from Victoria??? Note to self: Stay in bed in the future and join near Reading.

The max on the leg to Reading was 59 near Winnersh Triangle and we rolled through Reading at 36. Things improved immediately on a proper railway, God's Wonderful, where at last Tornado got the chance to run with some freedom. The big engine accelerated to 46 up the mile and a bit of 1 in 307 through Reading West and picked up to 62 down the mile and a half of 1 in 323. There's almost 4 miles of 1 in 825 through Theale and here it got noisy enough to hear from the last coach. Speed rose to 69 and to 71 coming off the mixed 1 in 220/level section. It's a steady non-taxing climb for miles, nothing more than 1 in 410 to Newbury, and the big engine duly bowled along at 70+ through Aldermaston and Midgham before dropping to just under 70 through Thatcham to the approach of Newbury Racecourse, our water stop.

The tankers were there and the water was taken quickly but we didn't move at the booked time. After a while there we were told a whistle failure was preventing us from leaving - a first for Mrs S and I in the 828 Steam Hauled Mainline Railtours we've done in the preservation era since 1984! The support crew were confident they could rectify the problem. We heard a few shrill efforts now and again and then the superb chime whistle - but apparently that one is not actually approved for use these days! Then the high pitched whistle came back to life but by the time we got a green signal, the Bedwyn Stopper was in front of us. When you follow the stopper it's down to luck if it gets across from the down to the up road quickly and other trains stay out of the signaller's eyes.

Things looked good and Jim opened the engine up as soon as we got onto the main. Newbury was passed at 28, 50 late. It's a gentle climb to Hungerford, 8 miles away. We accelerated hard to 67 through the station and hit 70 mph, 10 miles out, 3 miles from Bedwyn where the brakes came on quite hard. Good try but got it wrong!!! Down to 25, 5 miles to Savernake Summit. Still the big engine accelerated away and we topped the summit at 61. We noted a PWS 50 board just over the summit that could affect the eastbound climb in the evening. It's downhill to Lavington where Kings reportedly topped 100 mph in steam days. You could see how as Tornado got to 77 so easily 2 miles below Bedwyn. Speed was checked and Pewsey passed at 72 at the start of the 4 1/2 mile long 1 in 222 down to Lavington. It was hard up front to keep near 75 and we flashed through Lavington at 77. This is a section of mainline where 90 mph could be achieved and held. 2017 perhaps?? We didn't drop below 70 until 3 miles further down the bank, not too many miles from Westbury.

We crept around the Westbury Avoiding Line and drifted through Trowbridge(48); Bradford Jn(35). Speed picked up rapidly then to pass Bradford-on-Avon at 61; and Avoncliffe Halt(60). We lost a bit of speed up the I in 414/242 to Freshford(56) then picked up to pass Limpley Stoke at 61 before hard braking. The Dundas Aqueduct restriction is back, 30 eastbound and hopefully only in the one direction. We joined the GW proper mainline at Bathampton Jn(43) and trundled into Bath Spa for our set down, some 48 minutes down.

It's 11m 65c to Bristol Temple Meads and there's always a chance of getting to 70 or even 75. The tight right hand curve prevents a charge out of the station and with the exception of a mile and a half of level track, it's almost a continuous gentle 1 in 1320 down to BTM. By Keynsham, 3 miles out we hit 70, and achieved a max of 73 just as we entered Foxes Wood Tunnel, 3 miles from BTM. Decent running that led to a 41 minute late arrival, Bath Spa to BTM in just under 16 minutes. The Train Manager optimistically informed passengers to be back at BTM for a prompt 1737 departure.

After dinner and a few beers at the Knights Templar we saw the train heading for the depot just before 1600. There was no sign of the train then until around 1715 when Tornado hauled the train into P11 tender first. The engine was detached quickly and ran down to Bristol West Jn and back through P9 less than 10 minutes later. Good signalling led to the engine being back on the train close to the departure time. We left only 21 down. We charged out of the station up the 1 in 1320 and entered St Anne's Tunnel at 46, 2 miles out of the station. Speed rose quickly to Keynsham(61); Saltford Tunnel(66); and Twerton Short Tunnel, our max of 72. BTM-Bath in just under 16 minutes.

All things being equal we were due to run non-stop to Theale UGL, some 70 miles away. In general gradients are not significant, few steeper than 1 in 150. We got to 42 by Bathampton Jn and accelerated rapidly to 58 up the climb to Freshford - but then had to brake hard for what seemed to be a 20 mph slack under Dundas Eastbound. Think they overdid it up front as we dropped to 5mph!. Still that made the climb noisier and more fun. We got to 50 before Freshford, a mile and a bit away, then sped through Bradford-on-Avon, 4 miles in, at 57. We had to slow for Bradford Jn(27); then ran through Trowbridge(42) and got to 54 before braking on the approach to the Westbury Avoiding Line a potential pinch point to blight non-stop running. Signals went our way as we crept up on Hawkeridge Jn(15) and we left through Heywood Road Jn(35) to start our climb to Savernake. Speed picked up over the mile+ of 1 in 500 (49); 5 miles of level track (69) taking Tornado onto the 5 1/2 miles of 1 in 222 through Lavington (68); the grade eased through Woodborough (72) and over undulating track to 76 approaching Pewsey. Then, as we feared a PWS of 50 around Wooton Rivers slowed us and we only passed the summit at 52.

Once on open track speed rose rapidly to 75+ approaching Bedwyn; Hungerford(71); Kintbury(70); roared through Newbury(76); Racecourse(73); Thatcham (72); Midgham(72) and Aldermaston(71) before drifting to our Water Stop in Theale UGL. Even with Tornado and only 10 we only averaged 58 mph from Hawkeridge Jn to Theale. We did run non-stop through Reading(18) and once onto the Southern it was the usual trundle. We got to 37 on the 1 in 136 climb to Earley before the inevitable check. We drifted through Winnersh Triangle(23); Winnersh(31) before being checked through Wokingham(20). Tornado slipped a couple of times on the climb - have no idea of the gradient - between Star Lane (39) and Bracknell(29) before drifting down to Ascot where we decided to leave the train to avoid taking another hour or so for the 28 miles back to Victoria. The big engine made an impressive departure - necessary as there was a non-stopper 9 minutes behind it.

Hardly a great Railtour, never going to be. What you know you're going to get from Tornado is almost guaranteed mile after mile of effortless 70mph+ running when it gets the chance. Even on this train we managed 57 miles, 24 continuous after Savernake on the return, from MP68 west of Bedwyn down to MP44, past Aldermaston. The average over the 24 miles was 73mph. We logged our 8,500th mainline steam mile behind 60163 on this train on that section.

Thanks to UKRT, the A1 Group and DBC for running the train as best they could within the paths NR gave them. Special thanks to the guys who solved the whistle problem.

We're giving up for the year now. Not been a good one really. We've been British Mainline Steam bashing for 33 years now, 828 tours in all but in 2016 we had a struggle to find 19 proper steam hauled tours to travel on, only covering just over 4314 miles behind 9 locomotives. Ranks at 17 for us. 2017 should be much better, particularly with the reopening of the S&C.

 

Great stuff!! Yet another thoroughly absorbing account, and yet another potential candidate for "Railtour Review of the Year" if the idea of proposing some sort of "Best of 2016" poll still has any currency.

 

Was brought up in Ascot and I now commute from Ascot to Waterloo 3 times a week. Just think yourself lucky...
Despite new trains much slower than in 1970s - 80s. More pax (good) but longer dwell times, numerous level crossing delays etc. Have given up timing the Leckies as no fast trains any more.

Always try to do steam trips on this line, can count 777, 828, 35028, 34027, 60009, 71000, 60163, 31625(?), 41312 and 48151 to date...and 60019 and 61306(?) -Mayflower.

 

That was an excellent report. Your attention to detail and your enthusiasm is second to none. Thanks for sharing.

If you recall, the day of your railtour was bitterly cold with temperatures hardly above freezing point. I had the opportunity to film the train from a field at Claverton, a mile or so before Bathampton Jct. In the shade the grass was white with frost, in the sun the grass was very wet. My feet were very cold and soaking wet. News filtered through that the train was running 50 mins late. The temperature was dropping like a stone and the shadows were getting longer and longer. Eventually the shadow was nearing the track but then I heard the sound of Tornado accelerating away from Dundas aqueduct. As the train passed by the glint on the engine and coaches was really pleasing. The steam from Tornado hung in the air until long after the train had passed.

Yes it was cold but the sight of Tornado on 1st December, 2016 will stay in my memory for many years.

Thank you again for the report and many thanks to the A1 folk, UK railtours and DB for running the charter. <BJ>