Dorset Coast Expresses - 2013 season

Would be wonderful but I doubt anyone would allow a Merchant Navy to depart Basingstoke with a moderate load and say, "no speed limits until after the Woking stop". Or even a Light Pacific.

Back to reality now. I do hope it goes ok today.

 

Arrived London Victoria one minute early at 0803, according to Realtime Train Info.

 

70013 + 47245. <BJ>

 

Ollie with hefty push by the 47 left Victoria 2mins down. 10 on with the 47 still attached and doing most of the work when leaving.

 

Thanks for the info' re the 47. Makes my photoing day easier as I've enough shots of that already so no clash with the family events this afternoon. I was hoping for the 33 on the front this evening out of Weymouth as someone had mentioned but you can't win them all. Out of curiosity is that 47 the really scruffy one?

 

They need the 47 to drag them back out of Weymouth to Southampton this evening - expect it was easier to leave it on than path it separately. Some nice slippery rails down in Dorset at present!

 

Through Chiswick at some speed around 0913:

Ollie Chiswick 1

Ollie Chiswick 2

 

Passed Wandsworth Town with 70013 doing very little work (and blowing off) under a green signal and with plently of rain having fallen - why no steam effort, I wonder?

 

Two more pics from Chiswick this morning which might be of interest to some:

Steam back on the District Line

47245

 

There is a nasty bit of curving 1/62 just after leaving Victoria Ralph.



And it's uphill, uphill! LOL!

 

Quite a lot of speed restrictions on that route out of London might be the answer.

But not if the diesel was working flat out on the back!

 

Arrived and departed the Winchfield water stop virtually on time, 47 apparently on full power..... One has to ask why? the train was on time,it was not particularly heavy,by any reasonable standards there could not possibly be said to be a fire risk given the amount of rain fallen and forecast,and the following service train was 4 mins behind.

This is all getting a bit confusing as on other threads it has been said that "routine" rear assistance is not considered acceptable by NR.

 

Agreed, but there are lots of other recent exceptions, e.g. Friday's Scarborough Flyer as far as York outward, Saturday's Cumbrian Mountain Express, Sunday's North Wales Coast Express, yesterday's Welsh Mountaineer on the return from Chester, yesterday's Scarborough Spa Express throughout.......if anything, this is now becoming the rule rather than the exception. But then today's Fellsman is running with the diesel couple inside - if anybody can see any logic in any of this, please advise!

 

For what it's worth as it's taken from my phone. Ollie at Victoria this morning, interestingly no headboard which is usually the norm.



James

 

The 47 is on the rear as its leading the train back from Weyouth to Southampton.
It is also shunting atWeymouth, and ECS in and out of Victoria.

As mentioned elsewhere, nothing chuffs at the front without a push from the back, out of Victoria.
Mystery 47... Not really. 47245 has its usual home at Southall.

There only 1 way this trip will lose the diesel at the back... Install turning facilities somewhere around Wareham or Weymouth, until then its pot luck.

 

I agree, very confusing.

Anyone got any ideas as to why the 47 should be apparently pushing so hard out of Winchfield? Leaving virtually on time and 13 minutes for the 8 miles to the next stop at Basingstoke is not that fast a a schedule.

Maybe a push at the start is still being used until the lineside vegetation condition is fully known.

 

I went to see it at Fleet this morning and three pictures (plus one of the diesel) are now on Flickr. Here's the first one for anyone interested to see them; clicking on it will enlarge it and take you to the others :


RD7942. 70013 passing through Fleet by Ron Fisher, on Flickr