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The Quantock Intruder: 26/05/18

Discussion in 'What's Going On' started by Big Al, May 17, 2018.

  1. twr12

    twr12 Well-Known Member

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    34028 didn’t have any problems in 2006.
     
  2. Hemerdon

    Hemerdon Member Friend

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    My video of The Quantock Intruder taken on the West Somerset Railway.

     
  3. 6026 King John

    6026 King John Well-Known Member

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    I was on that train - 35005 wasn't well at all. It was struggling on the flat bits before getting stuck on Washford Bank. Not sure what the problem was but 9351 piloted it for the rest of the day as I recall
     
  4. 46229

    46229 New Member

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    Sadly some uninformed comment appearing on this thread. Adding the 33 at BL was 100% the right thing to do given the potential forecast conditions. 6960 slipping and slithering out of BL on the 1015 to MD was illustrative of the potential issues with light rain falling. In fact, it started spotting with rain only an hour before the charter arrived with reports of drizzle further on at Watchet - the worst sort of conditions. The final decision was taken by experienced railwaymen at the sharp end with intimate knowledge of the line. Had the forecast been for a fine dry sunny day it would have gone unassisted. As it happened, it stayed dry pretty much all the way through but it would've have been unprofessional to take the risk, wreck the timetable on a busy day and delay a large number of customers, including potentially a late presentation back to Network Rail for the charter. The 33 driver notched on to take its own weight, so 35028 was effectively hauling itself and its train only. It should be remembered that not only 60103 has stuck on the WSR banks in the past 12 months - 6960 did in December on load 6 and most of the home fleet have had their moments when conditions were against them.
     
  5. gricerdon

    gricerdon Well-Known Member

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    You should have seen 70013 at the GWR Gala. Absolutely immaculate!
     
  6. On those occasions it was either 53808 or 3850 I believe - both more than capable on the WSR. Whereas locos not designed for plodding uphill on twisting routes with a heavy load may find it difficult if there is rain about. The WSR is responsible for running the WSR. Also responsible for getting mainline trains back onto the mainline on time. If a mainline train turns up with 11 on, then the WSR will decide how best to move it safely and timely along the line. It has a table showing the load limit per loco type. Anyone have it?

    Steve
     
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  7. Big Al

    Big Al Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Moderator

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    I've read comments elsewhere about the financial value to the WSR of visiting charters. However, yesterday did rather expose the complexity of hosting such visits. Having now thought about how the WSR ended up doing what it had to do over helping Clan Line get to and from Minehead, it does appear that there is a list of issues:

    1. A line that because of its own topography can present challenges for trains, even the WSR's own fleet.
    2. Local weather that can require safeguarding action in the wet or the potential wet.
    3. The complexity of what to do when an air brake train turns up at Bishops Lydeard.
    4. A turntable at Minehead that carries a weight restriction for big locomotives.

    I've been to the WSR several times on steam charters and with no previous issues over steam haulage, the necessary operational decisions made yesterday came out of the blue and not just to me. That did take the edge off the second half of the day. Maybe future visiting charters need to carry a health warning, or at least what might happen is shared with the paying public before they book.
     
  8. torgormaig

    torgormaig Part of the furniture Friend

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    Reading this thread it occurs to me that people are forgetting that unlike some steam railtour visitors this one is an air braked train and therefore unsuitable for the WSR's fleet of vac.braked steam locos to relieve or assist in any way. In this instance there is no option but to use a diesel loco, which according to @46229, was the path taken after an appropriate operational risk assessment on the day. It is not really much different to the problem of running a vacuum braked train on the air braked network except that the situation is reversed. Here we have an air braked train visiting a vacuum braked railway.

    Peter
     
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  9. Your last point is very appropriate - but do remember visiting charters are organised by tour operators, not the WSR, so the onus is on the tour people to make sure their customers understand the product.

    Steve
     
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  10. Big Al

    Big Al Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Moderator

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    Absolutely right. When Tornado went to the Severn Valley Railway, everything was fine up to the point when the air brakes on the steam loco (Taw Valley) failed. They had to muster a diesel to take the train back along the line.

    Not saying it's easy. All I'm saying is that it never occurred to me that the WSR would have any concerns about a MN plus 11 navigating the line, whatever the weather. And with respect, drawing any conclusion about a MN compared with an A3 with 6ft 8in drivers (which is what everyone on the railway was talking about) is a bit of a chalk and cheese argument. But I'm not the Operations Manager and that's what a risk assessment is all about. It was all just a bit sad.
     
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  11. goldfish

    goldfish Nat Pres stalwart

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    That would have been a neat trick, as it was cut up in 1974…

    ;)

    Simon
     
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  12. free2grice

    free2grice Part of the furniture Friend

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    The clue was in the name of the railtour, 'The Quantock Intruder'. <BJ>
     
  13. OldGit

    OldGit New Member

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    A couple from yesterday's run....

    2018-05-26 Clan Line Paddington.jpg 2018-05-26 Clan Line Pewsey.jpg
     
  14. 60017

    60017 Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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    Now re-named 'The Quantock Whinger.'
     
  15. Where's Mazeppa?

    Where's Mazeppa? Member

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    So, without wishing to intrude on the very informative exchanges about the WSR leg of yesterdays tour, anyone got any more morsels of information that might throw more light on what looks to have been a very lively main line performance by Clan Line on the outward run??
     
  16. hampstead

    hampstead New Member

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    In lieu of any other mainline footage, here is a smidgen from Midgham.
     
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  17. gricerdon

    gricerdon Well-Known Member

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    On a very hot and dry 17th June 2017 6960 took 9 coaches forward having taken over from 46233. This was 335 tons full and driver John Gibbons with Damien Moore firing produced one of my best ever climbs out of BL sustaining 25 mph. Equally good on the steep and curving climb away from Wachet reaching 21 by MP 180.25. Yes it was dry but this is no slogging freight loco. Whilst I would trust Clan Line with 11 even in the damp conditions I suspect the issue was more to do with air braking plus lack of knowledge about just how good Clan Line is. Ask Wayne Thompson about how to handle her in poor rail head conditions. In the circumstances I think the WSR did the sensible thing.
     
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  18. misspentyouth62

    misspentyouth62 Well-Known Member

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    Are there really some out there who's day was spoilt because a Class 33 was used as 'insurance' at the back of the train over WSR?
    I was in coach G so close to the front outward and at the rear returning and was pleased with a great day out. The appeal to me was a Merchant Navy doing it's stuff on the mainline rather than traversing WSR metals at sedate pace so for me, D6575 certainly didn't dampen my spirits at all. Appreciation to WSR, UKR and MNPLS for putting on a good day. Shame the weather remained a little murky in the West.
    The return leg behind 67016 was delayed slightly as we got caught up behind late running service trains compounded seemingly by no trains running via Swindon.
     
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  19. Big Al

    Big Al Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Moderator

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    Headlines were in #25. But in more detail....

    A fast exit from Paddington until we caught up other stuff by Ealing. A fast exit from Slough until we hit all the fussing around to get us across at Kennet Bridge for the pick up. We took 12 minute in from Twyford, no less. On the Savernake climb we hit 70 just before Bedwyn and then breezed up to the top with a min of 64. Despite being stopped for three minutes before Woodborough to be be warned of a trespasser we kept booked time from Newbury to Frome with a pass on the Westbury avoider that was, shall we just say, rather nippy. On the trespasser, and assuming that the person we saw was the one that concerned the driver on the London bound train, you do have to wonder at the thinking of folk, meaning those in the cab. But, of course, I'm not the person in the cab wondering whether someone standing on the top of a low embankment or at the entrance to a path crossing is suddenly going to leap into my path. Anyway, it cost us time that fortunately had no knock on effect.

    Starting from the signal to exit the Frome loop at Blatchbridge Junction we ran the 40.7 miles to Taunton in 38 min 46 sec and after Brewham, topped at 59.5 mph, it was 75 ish all the way apart from a momentary dip to 71 at Somerton Tunnel East . Climbing was at a remarkable 18% cut off, I was told, with a little more for the final mile on each climb.

    So all in all, once again a very powerful and efficient performance from the loco and the DBC crews.

    (And on trespass, that clearly is a safety issue, we are almost in a no win situation. Unless the statistics say otherwise, I think that the greatest danger for train crews is to be found on station platforms rather spectators at the lineside or with cameras but, of course, you cannot ban the public from platforms!)
     
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  20. 6026 King John

    6026 King John Well-Known Member

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    I wasn't on the train (at the GWSR gala) but I would have felt exactly the same as you so long as the main line performance was good and unassisted. I actually thought beforehand about how the this train would be worked on the WSR and would have been surprised if they had attempted to do it without assistance, either steam or diesel being given, given the nature of the line, length of train and reputation of Bulleids for slipping and sliding!

    Am I right in assuming that Clan Line was crewed by WSR men rather than DBC from Bishops Lydyeard?
     
    Last edited: May 27, 2018

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