VT – Dual Pannier - East Midlands Rambler – 14 April 2012

I am pleased to announce that we have finalized the rout for this tour and it’s up on the website. The route should appeal to all. Dual Panniers (9600 and L94) in Birmingham International might cause a few double-takes from the Pendolino passengers!

From Tyseley Warwick Road we head towards Walsall via Sutton Park, then a brief stop at Bescot. Forwards to Aston then Birmingham International where the 2 Panniers run-round. The train then reverses back to Aston and up to Lichfield for a brief stop. Continuing through Lichfield Trent Valley to a water stop at Alrewas Level Crossing. Onwards towards Branston Junc, Coalville and Knighton before returning to Tyseley Warwick Road via Nuneaton.

Approx departure from TWR at 07:45 returning at 17:45....

East Midland Rambler - Double Headed Panniers featuring 7752 & 9600 - Sat 14 April 2012

Last November we ran a similar day tour that was sold out and considered a terrific day out by all I spoke to; reticent of branch-line steam tours of old.

Help to keep our two panniers on the mainline!

 

Tickets booked - can't wait

 

Are there any plans to use these two machines on any tours later in the year ?

 

Yes.....and I'm not saying anything more for a while!

 

You just love to 'dangle the maggot' to see how many bites you get, don't you ?

 

I wish I was that calculating! We just haven't decided what to do with them yet!

 

We've booked on the April Pannier trip which looks great. However, may seem like a daft question now but, I see that alot of the Pannier runs seem to be pretty circular. Is there no way the Panniers could go, well, somewhere, and back...rather than on a circular. I don't know where and I don't know how but is it possible? Or are they a little bit slow for the job? I mean, Lincoln with the Panniers would be great but could they keep the pace?? Just a thought...I don't know! lol

 

Even if you could get a path speed wise to Lincoln, there would need to be numerous water stops which would turn what is a comfortable day out with a tender loco into a Marathon, I don't think the Panniers can do much in excess of 30 miles without water, though im sure Ben will correct me if wrong.

 

Maybe not Lincoln, but maybe more like Ruddington? That would nice with Panniers...

 

What about a trip to Rowsley South (Peak Rail) ?

 

Send them south! loads of sleepy branch lines to explore, perfect! haha.

On a serious note the looe trips were amongst the most enjoyable rail excursions i've been on, despite the short distances involved. The run back from liskeard to plymouth even more so, magic .

 

Ruddington might well be doable seeing as they have visited Loughborough on the MML before, as for Peak Rail, I suspect the tricky bit pathing wise would be between Kingsbury & Derby, I think that's a 125MPH stretch for Voyagers, I think Panniers have been up this route as far as Burton but always turned off there.

 

Dont want to sound pushy, but what about Buxton? You did the run with the 5 in 2010 and I reckon (even if it is LMS terrain) that two panniers into buxton station would look pretty good!
And remember people, they do have the water carrier, less waterstops for that!
Matt

 

IIRC, the water carrier could not be piped to the locomotives on the Leicestershire tour last November - too difficult with two locos, and tank-engines at that. However, it meant that they didn't need to worry about road-tanker access or finding a near-by hydrant for some of the stops.

 

Thinking about out-and-back trips, how about a "Shakespeare Local" with the panniers one Sunday, instead of the regular "Shakespeare Express"? Out and back via the North Warwks. with a couple of extra stops to top up from the GUV. The timings would have to be adjusted from the usual paths to accomodate the extra stops and lower top speed (IIRC that's 45 mph, not 30 as suggested earlier?) Is that practical? Or a summer weekday evening might be fun...

 

Why not Bridgnorth?

 

When we utilized the water carrier on the non-stop Bristolian, it was gravity-fed via a flex-hose into 5043’s tender with a non-return valve to stop reverse flow. We can’t do the same with the Panniers as the tanks on the engines are higher than in the water carrier – hence we have to pump the water in – can’t do this on the move.

The water carrier allows us to stop in places (Birmingham International) and fill up without having to search for a hydrant or trouble Bells & 2 Tones.

As for destinations vs. circular tours with the Panniers – we have to be very mindful of 45mph pathing. We could do a destination, but we are hesitant about sitting in endless passing loops. Plus – a circular tour is a destination, but the outbound and return journeys use a different route!

As for the far-away places, we would have to take the engines there overnight (we are not keep on putting our engines on lorries), so the costs are escalating. There are a limited numbers of coaches & seats so the ticket price goes up….etc.

Regarding the Shakespeare / North Warwick line, again we are limited on coaches, but this time it is the run around at B’Ham Snow Hill – the signaling only allows for 8 vehicles, so again it comes down to rising prices, especially if the water carrier is involved…..etc etc.

Anyone starting to get an idea of the fun we go through with these things yet?

 

The trip a couple of years ago, with 9466 and 9600, doing both ends of the severn valley line looked great fun. Would love to see that done again. Perhaps once we've got 7714 back in traffic for some home haulage over the SVR section?

Ben, I'm sure many of us underestimate the work it takes to run the excellent trips you do, but I for one am eternally grateful!