35028 Clan Line to Exeter: 12/10/24

At the end of the day, WCR does not have franchise contract to run xxx services with multiple stops with a punctuality off xx% and refund policy if you are xxx minutes late. With an excursion all that counts is that you dont leave your pickups early, and you arrive destination at the advertised time.

If you are a network controller, thats your thinking.

 

This is where I would have gone to film if the coaches had been 'proper'! As it is, it looks a little like an alternative history scene - if the Bulleids had survived into the 70s to work a/c Mk2s!

 

Yeah its a bit "hybrid"

 

That was the planned routeing.

 

Nothing to do with routing, it could have been held outside the station at the junction rather than in the platform!

 

I would have been somewhere in that area too, probably from an overbridge not far away. But the Bluebell yesterday did so very well indeed for me (thank you again to everyone there who are making the G.O.S event happen) where I photographed 34059 with a Bournemouth headcode - ideal for going with a 1960s photo of that loco on the down fast at Brookwood on a Waterloo-Bournemouth train.

Today Clan Line looked to be going very well in @mrKnowwun excellent footage, thank you for that - maybe into the 70s. But, putting aside all my dreadfully fussy issues (so sorry) with MKIIs, the incredibly long day for me (even longer for the support crew I know), the water stop at Winchfield and the diesel on the back at Winchfield, I'm still following progress hoping that it runs as well as current operating conditions allow and that all on board have a decent day out. Even though, with the various delays mentioned above, I guess the diesel may well have been helping to recover time.

To me, when on board many of those heritage era runs behind 35028, I'd have been delighted to have got just one start to stop section time equal or better than the 1960s - once a SR steam loco timer always a SR steam timer! But Waterloo-Woking start to stop looked to be circa 34 mins today, not inside the 1960s 30 mins steam schedule: Basingstoke -Salisbury was circa 52 mins, not inside the coveted even time of just under 36 mins. But there is still the return run to watch later today!

Not complaining - nothing stays the same for ever - but I am little sad today. Cheered up by the fact the Clan Line is now running a series of quiet realistic Pullman trains around Kent, at times on the route of the Golden Arrow.

And of course there are the lovely and mainly BR SR & BR Standard class loco operations on The Spa Valley, Bluebell, Mid Hants and Swanage Railways.

Bryan B

 

Sorry, I now realise you meant the freight, not 35028! Of course, charters have a lot of slack built in and are not subject to 'delay repay' so a short delay at Basingstoke would not be regarded as an issue by Control. Can't say what bringing the freight into p2 would do for other workings, but, at the very least I imagine it would have blocked the junction if it was held at p2's down starter.

Ours is not to reason why...

 

I cannot see from RTT the moves you are referring to. There was an ECS that was always planned to be in front of the tour and of course 1L17 was always scheduled to overtake the tour at Salisbury during the Clan Line water stop. IL17 lost more time between Andover and Gratley than Clan Line did. Which 1W service got delayed?

 

It was the actual booked moves but they caused knock on delays. 4O18 was signalled into platform 2, presumably for a crew change. It then waited for the delayed 5Z50 (the 159 ECS) which delayed it and 1W57 which then delayed Clan Line which in turn delayed the 159 that overtook it. Hindsight is 2020 but considering the container train was booked to wait at Worting jn it probably would have been better to hold it outside. The timing for all of it was quite tight.

 

Yes for sure. Just shows you how easily knock-on delays occur...

 

However, if it was a crew change (I don't know for sure), it would have needed to stop in the platform anyway. It's not meant to be easy...

 

Yes, to be honest I wasn't aware there was a booked crew change until after I looked back at the timings. It makes more sense than it did originally to have it wait in the platform but it also was booked to wait at Worting Jn as highlighted earlier which it did not.

Despite all that, the tour made it to Exeter only 8 down, not too bad!

 

I was chatting to a signaller whilst stewarding on a railtour back before Covid and asked him why tours always seemed to get held even for ECS. He said and I assume this is true, but there must be signallers on here who can confirm, that you do not get into any trouble if you stick to the plan, even if trains are running late. If you go off plan and then things go wrong then you have serious questions to answer.
To me it looked like they followed the plan, with some trains a few minutes late not helping.

 

I would have thought it was fairly obvious, in that anything connected to the normal service (incuding ECS) takes priority over a charter where no delay penalties apply. The converse, of course, is that charters may be penalised if they delay service trains, etc. Therefore, if in doubt, delay the charter above anything else.

 

There was no doubt for me about the ECS going first, that is not what caused the majority of the delays anyway. As @Deepgreen has said I would always expect anything related to pax service to take priority.

 

Clan Line moving past Yatton Loop this evening.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/16582147@N07/albums/72177720321138567

 

I spent the afternoon polishing up my 00 gauge version of Clan Line, my favourite loco. But alas my efforts fell well short of seeing the prototype at Temple Meads this evening.

Looks like St Davids to the signal stop at Bedminster was near even time?

On departure from Temple Meads the diesel was clearly not assisting. Did it interfere elsewhere?

Sort of trip I would have jumped at a few years ago, but the prospect of shoveage and now the coffins make it somewhat less attractive.

But the folks in the aircon firsts seemed happy enough.

I'll get back to cleaning up my 00 N class.

 

45L at Fleet now - don't know why but chunks of time were lost earlier, including at Salisbury.

 

Delayed entering East Yard at Bristol (reason unknown), sent out after the all shacks GWR to Salisbury and wasn't allowed/ready to leave before the 2052 Waterloo from Salisbury. From there the consequences of losing the path.

Andrew

 

35028 passing Brent Knoll. https://www.flickr.com/photos/79185888@N04/54062656335/in/dateposted-public/