RTC 2025

Going to be fun 45 minutes on 27th November at York

44871 on Norwich to York approx 1220 P5
(no times yet on RTT just movements to NRM)
https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/se...7/0000-2359?stp=WVS&show=all&order=wtt&toc=WR
60532 Blue Peter 12:30-13:00 P9
https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/se...7/0000-2359?stp=WVS&show=all&order=wtt&toc=WR
Neil

 

There are many reasons why that couldn't happen even if the service was otherwise nil!

 

Today at Earlswood. The train had been delayed by about 14 minutes at Herne Hill and got down to 22 late around Purley, but had recovered here to 15 down. The earlier snow had stopped and the northerly wind hid the coaches to advantage! Video to follow.

 

On the train. It was fun pacing the Thameslink train on the 'fast' line.

 

Surely that long list of places with no times against them implied a different routing was taken to that planned.

 

Good to make a bit of minor railway history by taking an MN where one has probably not been before. An interesting scene at Victoria this morning with 35028 and the British Pullman on Platforms 7 and 2 respectively.

 

My short film at Earlswood this morning.

 

She must have really motored to make up the time lost between Croydon and Haywards Heath. Probably because she was as cold as the rest of us!

Some photos now up at https://railwaygalleries.smugmug.com/MainlineSteam/Steam-Tours-in-2025

 

Yes it did miss out the Gainsborough route

 

Clan Line making history as the first Merchant Navy to Eastbourne, captured at Coulsdown, Berwick & Stonegate:

 

35028 Clan Line is seen working the Christmas Sussex Belle at Coulesdon South, Berwick, Stonegate and Clapham High Street, Enjoy

 

Not the best of luck at Spatham Lane crossing!


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Bad luck there Dan - I would have loved to see what the picture would have been like without the unit in the way. I used to cycle over to there in the last weeks of steam on the Central Section to photograph a daily steam working from Crawley New Yard to Eastbourne in April '65. It looks to have changed quite a bit in the sixty years since then.


Peter

 

That’s a great picture! I had more luck there last year…


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Lovely shot. I must have been right next to you. Perfect weather for the Eastbourne run last year, also in 2023. By the law of averages, hardly surprising that we didn't get much sun yesterday.

 

Thanks for posting last years shot Dan. Strange as it may seem Black 5s were less rare than Merchant Navies on that bit of line back in the day. My last steam run on the Brighton Line was behind 45299 on the final Stirling - Newhaven car sleeper of the 1964 season. The family used this train to get to Scotland for our summer holidays again in 1965 (a class 40 turn that year) and again in 1966 which was a Peak job. My only steam run down there in preservation was with 45407 in 2002. Back in '65 when I took my picture Spatham Lane box was still there with manually operated gates but work was about to start on fitting automatic half barriers and closing the box.

Peter

 

Merchants weren't regular visitors to the Central section very much at all from everything I've seen, primarily because they weren't needed. The boat trains and expresses on the Eastern and Western sections demanded such motive power, but Newhaven never generated much traffic, and what it did was handled easily through other means. Plus most of it was electrified much sooner than the other sections. Other than the odd jaunt to Brighton works or running in turn there just wasn't the work for them in this part of the world.

 

MNs had a fairly restricted route availability, I think they were banned on most parts of the Central Section and some lines in Kent, it was why the heavy Night Ferry was double headed with a light Pacific and 4-4-0 when it was routed via Maidstone East.

 

Didn't the night ferry require turning each day ?The route was a very lengthy *round the houses *.The Railway Mag reported it was about half the distance in mileage of a run from London to Dover .Orders were given that it was to be double headed because of some stiff gradients en route, and several times in one week the train had stalled causing lengthy delays.

 

The stiff gradients were on the Maidstone East line, Bearsted Bank, that was an RA5 route so barred to a MN. When it was routed via Tonbridge I’m sure it was worked by a singke MN but I stand to be corrected.