No. 46233 'Duchess of Sutherland'. Rugby to Bristol. 3rd Sept.,2015

I think they may have even got that bit wrong. There is a 23 min stop at Willesden but no booked stop at Hanwell in RTT (unless those times are wrong) so presumably the steam is coming off at Willesden?

Agreed,complete farce! Those works at Bath were scheduled many months ago,SD announced the Duchess would work this one many weeks ago and yet again a trainload of people have not got what they paid for. I just can't bring myself to book anything with SD at the moment because I know they won't let people cancel if its goes t**s up.

 

looks like network rails national gauging database is not in place then......... Trying to assess / gauge an engine on NWR infrastructure would not be a five minute job, with all the different gauge profiles around. Over here at LU, it is relatively straight forward, for example SSL predominately two profiles with a few site specific profiles for tight areas. But the process of gaining route approval, can still take months.

If network rails contractors have renewed the running lines, what format would there as-builts be in, lets say they were manually taken and not scanned as an example. If it has not been laser scanned, by clear route software for example, you would then have to manually return to site, record, upload onto network rails database, before said steam engine could be assessed....oh and low and behold the railtour is that weekend. I'm afraid, gauging engines I believe is not as simple as people think / age old computer says 'no' syndrome.

I remember being at a PWI lecture a few years back where gauging was discussed by NWR, showing pictures of the duchess actually, minus it's safety valve bonnet (think it was near scarborough), where to this day I believe, one of the platforms at Liverpool Street is actually not cleared by Clear route for the passage of Class 321's, (think its platform 12). However, this is assessed to such a degree of degradation, basically, worse case track condition, failed suspension, crush loading, number of approaches etc...etc that the computer comes out saying, it would foul the platform copers. However when you then risk assess this answer, you can quite easily demonstrate that the risk of this happening to be ALARP, and therefore Class 321 do in fact use this platform at Liverpool Street. The risk assessment culture we live in, but who would put there neck on the line and sign off a route approval for the Duchess?!?!?

 

Sorry I had a westernism moment. Dome I believe was dislodged

 

Thanks for the likely explanation. It still seems unbelievable that apparently no-one, NR,WCRC,Steam Dreams,or the Duchess's owners could not forsee this problem and do something about it before this debacle one day before travel.

 

Poor old Steam Dreams. I know it has been a bad year for mainline steam charter companies generally, but SDs seem to have had more than its fair share of bad luck. I hope NR get their act together in time for next Thursday's trip to Cardiff. I've been looking forward to seeing, and hearing, the Duchess on Sapperton.

 

I'm told it's not only steam that is suffering last minute changes. West Coast have a Leeds to Cardiff diesel charter running today, one way via the Heart of Wales, the other way via the Marches.
The final timings were issued by NR on the 17th last month with motive power as T&T with 47s/57s. Yesterday they were informed that these loco's were not to be used on the HOW so the tour was to be rerouted via Marches both ways or be cancelled........

 

If the gauging issues are because of rail 'improvements' in the Bath area, then the London to Cardiff charter with the Duchess should run as advertised. The train is due to run via Swindon, Sapperton and Gloucester in both directions.
We've waited a long, long time to see the Duchess back at Bristol and feel really disappointed that the plans have been scuppered.
How the organisers and passengers feel I cannot imagine. <BJ>

 

From the RTN e-mail group:

"Below is an extract of e-mail received from Steam Dreams. At the moment this doesn't seem to be backed up by RTT as their schedule just shows a water stop at Willesden No 7 and I don't think they will re-engine there.
We are looking forward to welcoming you on board to tomorrow’s trip to Bath and Bristol but we felt we should alert you to a problem that has arisen with the gauging of Duchess of Sutherland on the route to the West of London.

While there are absolutely no problems with the locomotive’s gauging (how it fits within the envelope of the Network) on the mainline from Rugby to London and around to the Great Western Mainline, Network Rail has come up with 71 issues on the Great Western Mainline itself and 17 prohibits (where the loco theoretically could not pass the structure in question).

It makes absolutely no sense that the same locomotive was used on this route a year ago and there were no problems and yet now somehow it is out of gauge on such a major scale. It is quite clear to us that the locomotive has not changed shape in the intervening 12 months and nor have there been so many major changes to the Network that this is an accurate reflection of the locomotive’s gauging and we have asked Network Rail through our Train Operator, West Coast Railways, to check this.

This was only made clear to us after the Holiday weekend and if this cannot be resolved in time then we will still run as planned with steam from Rugby around London and on to the Great Western Mainline but between London and Bristol and on the return we will have to use a vintage diesel. "

 

I sincerely hope you are right. Its been a long wait to see the Duchess in action. Day off booked etc etc and now the possibility of it not happening! Its been a bloody awful year, I think the worst yet for mainline steam and I for one will be glad its over frankly.

 

Edited because Nick Gough beat me to it above.

 

SD website seems to be down.

 

I guess,we wont know where the traction will be changed till we see a final timetable tomorrow morning.

 

Hmmm. Has the Duchess run via Sapperton since Kemble to Swindon was doubled ?

 

Better hope it's not a late one on the return leg, otherwise you'll only be hearing the Duchess !

 

As soon as I get on it at rugby in the morning, I'll ask them, then post where she will be taken off.

 

I have been feeling this way for weeks. I can't wait to through 2015 out the window.

 

cheers

 

Starting reading about the issues with this trip whilst on the DCE. Disappointing news for those on board. I was looking forward to seeing her on the GWML tomorrow. Haven't managed to see her in BR Green yet.