Steam Dreams - (61306)/44871 to Worcester - 12/12/18

I've seen the Delay Attribution report and I got the impression the signaller did the "suitable advice given" to the driver. WCRC have disputed the delay being allocated to them, on the basis of that is what steam locos do!

As for the driver, it will take him a long time to live that down.

Cheers, Neil

 

Playing Devil's Advocate here, but I remember reading in a magazine recently that mainline steam charters represent something like 0.1% of all trains that operate on the network so a regular TOC driver can go his entire driving career without ever seeing one, outside of the more popular routes. Speeding past at 125mph with just the barest glance at the blurred form of the oncoming train, when he sees smoke is his first thought going to be "Christ that power car is on fire" or "Oh it's just a steam loco".

 

Bit late but here's mine, having just passed through Fladbury.

 

I doubt if the 1E63 was traveling at 125 mph so soon after departing from Cheltenham. As for not knowing what a steam engine looks like, I'm sure that a Cross Country driver would have passed at some time a steam charter between Bristol and Paignton/Plymouth …...or did the poor soul think it was yet another train on fire? <BJ>

 

A couple in the poor light at Culham and Charlbury

 

Charlbury. The number of times I passed through there in my youth...

 

And rightly so Neil!