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VT - Shakespeare Express 2026

Discussion in 'What's Going On' started by mattspencer, Apr 26, 2026.

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  1. NathanP

    NathanP Well-Known Member

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    Commercial reasons I think. They sold tickets for the ECS working from Birmingham to Worcester for those who wanted to go to the diesel gala at Kidderminster behind a Class 37.
     
    NathanP, May 19, 2026
    #21
  2. Sidmouth

    Sidmouth Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Moderator

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    nothing to do with it . its a diesel drag of the ECS out to the start point . then to turn the engine easily for the return its an easy move to reverse the train at Hatton and be drawn round from Hatton and into Stratford . Saves a lot of time rather than having to do light engines moves along with increased watering , double steam crews etc
     
    Sidmouth, May 19, 2026
    #22
    ragl and Spamcan81 like this.
  3. LMarsh1987

    LMarsh1987 Part of the furniture Friend

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    Sorry, I meant in terms of the steam sections. I was at the Jewellery Quarter for the return and they were running comfortably early and the 37 just roared in to action. They certainly wasn't trying to save water/coal as the Castle was opened up nicely. This is just my observation from recent trips.
     
    LMarsh1987, May 19, 2026
    #23
  4. LMarsh1987

    LMarsh1987 Part of the furniture Friend

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    Quite a clever move from VT to add a shuttle for the diesel gala on their ECS run. Just a shame on the steam legs the 37 is more active than just taking its weight.
     
    LMarsh1987, May 19, 2026
    #24
  5. SplutteringStationPilot

    SplutteringStationPilot New Member

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    The section from Snow Hill to Stourbridge had a lot of speed restrictions for the Castle, which were very tight with the times, as can be seen with the morning run losing time consistently.

    The 37 shoving in between the restrictions allowed for better acceleration to ensure we had a better chance of keeping time and not causing delays.

    The evening run we ran early from Snow Hill in order to mitigate this, and even going early we only arrived 2e at Stourbridge.

    Sent from my SM-S931B using Tapatalk
     
    SplutteringStationPilot, May 20, 2026
    #25
  6. andyjhatton

    andyjhatton New Member

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    I think 7029 is on the Shakespeare Express tomorrow
     
    andyjhatton, Jun 20, 2026 at 6:09 PM
    #26
  7. Will RL

    Will RL Member

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    5043 today, 47773 the assisting diesel
     
    Will RL, Jun 21, 2026 at 9:53 AM
    #27
  8. andyjhatton

    andyjhatton New Member

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    Does anybody know why the Stratford -bound services have been running through Moor Street platform 2 rather than the usual (and booked) 1?
     
    andyjhatton, Jun 21, 2026 at 6:00 PM
    #28
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