'The Capital Christmas Express'. 23rd November

So the delays were caused by the wrong type of paint!

 

Sort of.

 

Stranger things have caused delays- reading the NR Sussex route log recently, the root cause of a recent delay on the BML was a van in for servicing (it had spare parts for a piece of machinery in it).

 

Saved by the third rail? Something must have stopped the reciprocating loose end of the rod digging itself into the ballast. Hence the fireworks in the mobile phone screen capture - end of rod skating along the live third rail until the locomotive came to a halt. What proportion of Tangmere's typical route miles have third rail, and then divide that by two to get some idea of the luck required for Tangmere's right hand connecting rod to land on a third rail on the right hand side of the track at that moment.

 

Yes, i was wondering how lucky we were to have dodged a bullet here. As you know i was on-board and amazed at the seriousness of the consequences. damaged sleepers, 3rd rail and damage to insulators etc

 

Obviously a case of things going tits up !

In serious mode - you mention that Transport Acts can be changed but I am counselling that that - and similar reactions - are simply knee-jerk which increasingly seems to accompany such events. There is a procedure that will now be enacted to find out what went wrong - and why - and I feel it important to let these processes be completed before taking any pre-emptive action.

If there are any problems emanating from this event it is the keyboard warriors who seem to seek their moment of fame without appreciating that their contributions could be counter-productive and create problems where none exist. I accept that as one of the posters I am equally as guilty as some but surely now is the time to let matters take their natural course and await the official reports from RAIB as investigators, RTC as train operators and WCRC as locomotive owners should they wish to reveal such information.

Sometimes Silence is Golden !

 

Since when have RTC held a licence to operate on the Network? Surely they have chartered a train from WCR who operate it and in this case also own the loco. It must just be a case of happening on RTC's watch but could just as easily have been on half a dozen other promotors watch.

 

Correct WCRC is the TOC and operator, it is their name will be shown on the tickets as such.
RTC hire the train from WCRC and sell seats and have their own train manager on-board. The guard and loco crew/RO are WCRC and they organise with NR (& with liaison with RTC) what happened to the passengers during this failure and WCRC will also clear with another TOC if their tickets can be honoured in cases like this.
On Sat night despite the 3 hours delay the pax were comfortable and warm on-board the train and the plan to remove the damage and make good the loco to move forward to Basingstoke and terminate the tour was deemed the quickest scenario...even quicker than running the diesel back and then around, remove Tangmere and then dragging the train forward to Weymouth. There was no other quicker remedy. No fantasy spare locos or crews around sorry lol
The loco i do not know who owns it now.

 

My video from Saturday, featuring 34067 on the ill-fated Capital Christmas Express:

James

 

Didn't Kitmaster beat you to the idea with their motorised box vans? A far neater solution and you can have plastic valve gear so it doesn't really do any damage.

 

No need to amend Transport Acts. It may be open access but steam locos don't meet group Standards and are subject to derrogations. These can easily be taken away. However, there is a strong political lobby in terms of heritage railways and steam operations on Network Rail. Look to the Report of the All Parliamentary Group on Heritage Rail, if you haven't read it. http://heritagerailways.com/cmsAdmin/uploads/Value-of-heritage-rail-report-by-APPGHR.pdf Whilst primarily concerned with heritage railways, it does cover charter train operations, in particular the cap on liability for delays.

 

Reason I said Bulleids as opposed to Spam Cans was I'm unsure if the rebuilds incorparate motion parts from the originals or whether the whole set up was replaced, ie were rods here and there retained ?.

In any case, I'm sure the problem will be found with time and steps taken to prevent a reoccurence so normal service can resume.

 

That's getting quite near to my virtual steam concept for the new P2 as circulated in our group. Automated firing and feedwater plus replica engine crew and remote control from central NR base. No need to travel or lineside as you could enjoy the whole experience on your iPad in the comfort of your own home
No risk to anybody. One step nearer to eliminating the human race as being unnecessary.

And you all thought brother Yeti was cynical.

Oh for the real days of steam when it was all so simple. I can still remember those days very clearly
A world inhabited with real characters

Don Benn

 

Even if there is a Diesel nearby, how does it connect to the rear of the train with a queue of units occupying the 3/4 sections behind ?.

In any case the diesel on back argument really is the least of worries by a long way here.

 

Those dodgy digits again ! Sorry - meant to say RTC as tour operator not train operator but presumably they too will have an analysis of the event, action(s) taken and the outcome if only to give (deserved) praise for those whose on-the-spot decisions helped ameliorate the situation.

 

To call today's railway efficient really is taking the piss!

 

Touche!

 

First sensible post on here!