Bluebell Branch Line Weekend 21-23 April

Having built an Airfix model of a pug when I was young, I've always been keen on them, and along with Hastings will make a great Gala. The other Lanky engine: I had a ride behind it back in October... another nice engine, and be good to see it having a proper work-out.
Just been announced the Pug's in LMS livery for the first time since the 1940s!

 

11243?

 

A yes of course the Pug

 

Tom I gather from Jon's photo charter e mail there is no plan to run 52322 with the Mk1's during the actual gala. Any rationale behind that you know of, as a BR liveried (non SR) loco I would have though that was the most appropriate set.

 

There could be any number of reasons:
Because the locos swap round between coaching sets, it would only rarely be hauling what you claim to be "appropriate" coaches anyway?
Showcase that we can turn out four sets of coaches without a Mk.1 in sight?
Mk.1s were essentially restricted to Main Line/Express and semi-fast services in the period represented by that loco's livery, and therefore not appropriate for a Branch Line event?
The Mk.1s have by far the worst seating capacity to weight ratio?
Green Mk.1s are no more inappropriate behind an L&Y loco than Green Bulleids?
Other than the catering set (even lower seating capacity) we only have three operational CLC Mk.1s, including the low seating capacity BSK?
As a branch-line/goods engine, it wouldn't have hauled Mk.1s anyway - it's got the early logo on the tender, and locos in that condition hauled largely pre-nationalisation coaches (certainly on branch lines) since larger numbers of Mk.1s only came into service later on?

 

Oh, and two others:
You can only travel behind it in a Mk.1 on its home line, and almost anywhere else it goes (although I rode behind it last year in pre-grouping and ex-LNER stock at Embsay).
It gives Jon the chance to do something different in the photo charter compared to the Branch Line Weekend

 

The timetable has no key to the notes and I cant work out what they are. Anyone?

 

The loco(s) are at the top of each column. Double headed moves show both locos with the leading loco listed first. Top and tailed moves show the trailing loco in brackets.

The letters on the latest version of the timetable will be shunt notes in the special traffic notice issued to operational staff, but as I haven't seen that yet, I can't tell you what they are! But typically will just detail any coupling / uncoupling moves to be made, plus possibly specific stopping points if they are not the normal ones. For example, my hunch is that note "a" on the Saturday will probably say something like "On arrival, loco 11243 to uncouple and shunt to up sidings. Loco 72 to uncouple and run round via south crossover ready for departure at 10:40".

Whether they get issued to the public I don't know; I suspect not.

Tom

 

Ok thanks

 

A reminder of last year's autumn gala:


A trip on the Bluebell behind 73082 CAMELOT:























Hope you like 'em.


TTFN,


Ron.

 

Unfortunately any mention of 73082 tends to get me singing along to this little ditty…

 

I must say, some of this timetable makes for difficult reading, though admittedly without shunt notes. I've tried to get my head around some confusing parts of it, which I'm sure the shunt notes would clear up. Main couple of examples are, I assume Hastings attaches to the rear of the 1:30pm train from Horsted to Grinstead. The other being the 1:30pm departure from Sheffield Park, 11243 is shown in brackets to be the trailing loco but is ahead of Fenchurch, so is it front or rear? Given the 3:10pm from Kingscote is shown as Fenchurch alone, I assume the rear and is detached at Horsted?

I understand that this sort of thing does take time (I've written many a timetable!), but I feel a more user friendly version would make for easier reading and understanding. Even just splitting the Train and Trailing locos into separate lines can make a difference.

 

Funny, I remember once someone saying to me:
"What's the matter with up and down?"

Personally, I'm thinking the same thing.
I swear events nowadays are either:
Needlessly complicated.
or
Downright Meh.

Surely something in the middle wouldn't be such a bad thing?

 

For clarification, I have no issues with the content or complexity of the timetable, just the format in which it is presented!

 

I agree, what a palava!

 

It seems you can't win with gala timetables! Just go back on NatPres and look at the furore that occasions when lines have a gala but don't publish a timetable in advance, on the proviso they want to restrict that information to paying customers! As things stand, there's a timetable freely available but it is basically just lightly reformatted from the working document, which isn't published.

Branch Line Gala always has a complex timetable, with moves centred around Horsted Keynes, and the service being at least partly operated as separate SP - HK and HK - EG services, so it will necessarily be more complex to follow than, say, Giants of Steam tends to be. What I can say (having seen the working notices that are starting to appear in my inbox) is that there will be brake van rides in a short goods train at Horsted Keynes, though due to the "Jewel in the Crown" works at Horsted Keynes meaning Platforms 4/5 are out of use, they will be a bit more limited than normal. They will instead I think get some rare track.

Anyone who really wants to understand events at HK is welcome to get the Brio out and plot them by hand!

Tom

 

We know, but like everything else, something gets delayed - EVERYTHING gets delayed.
When your timetables that complex, boy, what a headache.

Something like what happened last year, would be better:
3 full line services.
1 Kingscote - Sheffield Park service.

Probably would entail some engines double-heading but hey, its a gala, that's what happens.

 

There’s recovery time built into the timetable, and from experience, we never have moves (coupling / uncoupling etc) that are planned for unrealistically tight times - unlike on some other lines I’ve visited. Plus of course it is incumbent on operational volunteers to read the notes such that they know what they are supposed to do, in advance of when they are supposed to do it!

Branch Line a gala is operationally intense, but all the more fun for it. I’ve heard it said that Giants of Steam is designed with enthusiasts in mind, and Branch Line weekend is a thank you to volunteers.

Tom

 

Hardly better. Probably far worse, since you also have to allow time for the smaller locos to take water and coal. I do recall a gala at Llangollen where, thanks to them failing to plan for the watering of locos, and the inflexibility of their signalling, the train I was on ended up stuck in a passing loop in the middle of no-where for over an hour! Our signalling is very extensive, with track circuits covering many miles of track, and advance starters and outer home signals many hundreds of yards out of the stations so trains can enter the section whilst locos are running round at other stations with full signal protection and overlaps, something relatively few other railways can manage.