Heatwave continues to affect main line steam
VT aims for two working ‘Castles’ by Christmas
THE LONG spells of hot weather and minimal rainfall throughout August continued to impact railtours, with the majority of trains either running with show‑pony steam – where a diesel, either tucked in behind a steam locomotive or at the rear of the train does the lion’s share of the work – or sans steam completely.
It’s fair to say that this summer hasn’t been great for connoisseurs of main line steam, while the promoters, operators and Network Rail have had to continually adjust plans – often days before a tour was due to run – to ensure tours could still run.
However, there is one positive to report compared with SR535’s column: steam hasn’t set any embankments alight over the last four weeks.
“There haven’t been any more lineside fires since we last spoke,” Ian Stone, customer relationships executive (charters) at Network Rail, told me when we caught up on August 30. It’s fair to say the fires that may have been started by Duchess of Sutherland and caused more than 6,000 minutes worth of delays to other services on July 16 provided a wake‑up call to the industry.
“Fires caused by steam trains are, thankfully, rare and much effort is put in place to avoid incidents happening, such as fitting ashpan sprinklers and spark arrestors to locomotives, but we do have to appreciate the increase in recent years of dryer and hotter weather and adjust our steam operations for this,” Ian admitted to me, as he pondered at what point should steam operations during a heatwave be pulled.
“We need to appreciate crew and passenger safety. Staff are not getting younger, is it right to subject people to these temperatures?” Ian told me. “This comes back to good contingency planning.”
Ian makes a good point: Mk 1s – especially when stationary – can resemble greenhouses when it is hot, making daytrips uncomfortable for passengers, let alone those who are working on the footplate or in the kitchen car.
Elsewhere, Ian told me there has been an improvement in delivering finalised timings to promoters compared with 12 months ago, when passengers were receiving details 48 hours before trains were due to run (Down Main, SR524).
“Things have slipped a bit but I believe it’s a significant improvement on last year,” Ian told me. “If promoters getting timings one to two weeks beforehand is acceptable then yes, it is OK, but we are aiming for four weeks beforehand.”
Railway Touring Company MD Kelly Osborne echoed Ian’s comments. She told me: “It’s been a trying time for everyone in the industry – with the strikes and heatwaves – but the charter team has done its very best to accommodate all the issues that we’re all coming up against. Timings‑wise, we’re more than satisfied with what we’re getting.”
RTC’s ‘GB’ to spring back into action
THE RAILWAY Touring Company’s ‘Great Britain’ nine‑day steam extravaganza is set to return next April – with new destinations promised.
The highlight for many will be the final day with steam along the East Suffolk Line to Lowestoft, Britain’s most easterly railway station, while other places not usually served by charters include Llandudno (days two and three) and Blackpool (day six).
“There’s a slight shake‑up – only as in we’re not going into Cornwall and not going as high into Scotland,” RTC MD Kelly Osborne told me. The furthest south the tour will go is Plymouth and the furthest north will be Aberdeen.
“We thought we’d do a bit of a shake‑up – reach parts of the country that we haven’t done before with the Great Britain and change it a little bit,” she added. RTC (and others; I lost count of the number of times that Steam Dreams in the David Buck era advertised trains) has been attempting to reach the East Anglian seaside town, but Kelly said she is confident the ‘GB’ will make it all the way to Lowestoft.
“Come hook or by crook we’re going to
WE THOUGHT WE’D DO A BIT OF A SHAKE‑UP – REACH PARTS OF THE COUNTRY THAT WE HAVEN’T DONE BEFORE Kelly Osborne, Steam Dreams
get there somehow. Lots of people have said ‘let’s get the GB to Lowestoft’ and hopefully the stars will align,” she added. “We’ve also never taken the GB into Norfolk, so it has a sentimental factor for us as everyone has said ‘you’ve never taken it to Norfolk’. It would have been good to take it to King’s Lynn [where RTC is based] but I don’t think that would be allowed. The aim is to see a few different places to keep people interested.”
The different routings and destinations appear to have gone down well with passengers; Kelly told me she has “been blown away by the response, which is fantastic.”
“I don’t think we’ve had such an instant response as we’ve had this year. There’s always a daunting moment when you launch it, ‘is it going to be popular? Are the regulars going to like it?’ but we’ve been blown away by the support,” she added.
Following the format of 2022’s trip
– which was actually 2020’s, albeit postponed twice owing to the impact of the pandemic – locomotive allocations have not yet been released. “I’ve made a conscious decision to not list locomotives until we know what is available,” Kelly told me. “When we confirm the tour, we’ll announce which locomotives will be hauling which legs of the tour, and it’s a case of waiting until we can comfortably and safely run what is available. Yes, we’ve got the gauging profile and the database and we can pick and choose and finalise things, but the reality is that it is best to sit back and wait, and you never know, something else might become available which we don’t know about at this stage.”
Fit cameras to locomotives to deter trespassers – BTP
BRITISH TRANSPORT Police has called on owners of main line-registered steam locomotives to work with the force and fit forward-facing cameras to help prevent trespass incidents.
Flying Scotsman has a camera which was fitted by Network Rail to deter trespassers (Down Main, SR520) with the camera able to provide footage in real-time to NR employees and the BTP.
“Would I want every locomotive on the national network to have a forward-facing camera on it? Yes. It’s a simple answer – BTP absolutely would want it because, if the worst should happen, it will help us deal with issues and resolve them. It would allow us to get the best possible information about where people gain access to the railway lines and understand what they do when they’re on the tracks, while it also supports train drivers,” inspector Becky Warren told me when I asked her if other locomotive owners should fit cameras.
Becky also opened the door for locomotive owners and operators to collaborate with the force more in the future. “It’s all very well having a camera on the front of a locomotive, but if we can’t access the footage then it’s a waste of time. We’d need to be able to access the footage in real time remotely to see what the locomotive ‘sees’,” she said. “If steam locomotive owners are going to put CCTV on locomotives without speaking to BTP about our requirements, then that’s a shame, and owners may end up replacing equipment at a later date. I’d recommend that owners liaise with BTP so we can get the best product that can help everyone.”
During a wide-ranging interview, Becky said that “out of all trespass on the railway, steam doesn’t represent a big percentage”, however, she called on enthusiasts to do the right thing and not stray onto railway property.
“Trespass itself is obviously an offence, but when we’re talking about this specific situation these are people who are clearly wanting see beautiful trains and really enjoy the spectacle,” she told me. “We want people to see steam but we don’t want any harm to come to anyone and we have to stop people from harming themselves, either on purpose or by accident. That’s why trespass is an offence. I would suggest that a foot crossing is not a safe vantage point as they are very dangerous places to stand and not good places to spectate. Nobody should be on the railway.”
Becky Warren, BTP
VINTAGE TRAINS’ Michael Whitehouse is confident of success in 2023: “We’re training two steam drivers who should pass out by the end of the year, so we should have three steam drivers next year. We’re building up the competence step by step, the trains are getting better, and by Christmas time we’ll have two ‘Castles’ and three steam drivers,” he told me.
The two drivers to be passed out are Alastair Meanley and Kevin Cronin, the
IT’S ALL VERY WELL HAVING A CAMERA ON THE FRONT OF A LOCOMOTIVE, BUT IF WE CAN’T ACCESS THE FOOTAGE THEN IT’S A WASTE OF TIME
latter of whom is interesting because he already drives trains for a living – albeit electric ones.
“Kevin drives for Avanti in his day job and is part of the ‘Duchess’ support crew. It’s good because he already has a licence, he has the route knowledge, and now all he needs is the conversion to steam traction,” Michael told me.
Incidentally, this month marks four years since Tyseley gained its passenger operating licence and VT has battled through a pandemic and, latterly, heatwaves and strikes.
“We’re still here, we’re still selling tickets.
We’re covering our costs, the trains are running. We’ve lost one or two trains because of the strikes and, of course, we’ve been affected by them but we have to be big boys and get on with it,” Michael told me.
Elsewhere, Michael claimed that this year’s ‘Shakespeare Express’ season has hit record patronage. “The Commonwealth Games has been very good and our marketing has been very good in terms of targeting local people. We’ve also been offering catering in tourist class – on the last trip there were 82 afternoon teas served, which is unheard of. People want to go out for the day at a reasonable price,” he said.
As for the future, perhaps most interestingly, Clun Castle will be taking on the Settle & Carlisle line for first time since 1967 on September 24’s ‘The Cumbrian Mountaineer Express’, which will run via the ‘S&C’ on the outward leg, with the return journey running via the West Coast Main Line.
As we closed for press, the plan is for the ‘Castle’ to join at Hellifield and come off at Crewe on the return leg, though this is subject to change: if DB Cargo can provide a driver,
No. 7029 will be in charge all the way back to Birmingham…
Swapping parts is a win-win situation
I completely agree that it is a real shame to cut up or dismantle a steam locomotive that has managed to survive until now just because it stands so little chance of ever being restored to working order.
I completely agree that it is a real shame to deprive a restored locomotive of specialist parts that could be readily obtained from a languishing unrestored and potential scrap locomotive.
So, why not combine these two points of view?
Put simply, remove the parts from the scrap locomotive that are required for the running locomotive and then refit the broken or defected part(s) from the running locomotive onto the static one. By doing so, the scrap locomotive will always remain visually complete. The fact that the boiler doesn’t work or any of the innards do not work is not an issue. It is the overall image and impression of the locomotive that matters in a non-runner. Non-runners are appreciated in the museum. We all understand that a museum exhibit will not run or, in fact, will likely never run again.
For instance, it makes no difference if this ‘scrap locomotive’ has a duff boiler and its connecting rod has a massive crack in it. And if there is no part available for the museum locomotive, fabricate a copy in timber and fix it in place; that’s clearly demonstrating this part is not available but its impression of what it was (just as English Heritage does, for instance, on its buildings). The ‘scrap locomotive’ can be visually smartened up and partially restored to become a worthwhile exhibit at any museum.
Meanwhile, out on the railway, its sister can be busy plying its original trade with original parts.
In my book that’s a win-win. Martin Green, Tunbridge Wells
Ed: A great compromise. Going further, perhaps cosmetic restoration (as opposed to mechanical restoration) is a better solution for some of the outstanding exBarry locomotives. Does a locomotive need to be operable to have value? Answers on a postcard, please.
Locomotive butchery is not preservation
I was very sorry to learn of the demise of No. 7027 Thornbury Castle. I have followed the locomotive’s mixed fortunes since the mid-1960s and hoped that it would finally soon be in steam again, after a roller-coaster existence since it came out of Barry.
It is not just ‘another engine’, but quite a celebrity with a famous pedigree.
As an owner of rolling stock myself, I of course rigorously defend the right of any owner to do completely
as he pleases, but cannot help feeling that the surprise dismantling of a famous GWR-designed 100mph express 4-6-0 is not a good move in the second decade of the 21st Century. A ‘Night Owl’ 2-8-0, however meritorious, is simply not in the same category, and could perhaps have been completed in a less controversial way.
I am reminded that the true definition of ‘preserved’ is merely life extension, and this is exactly what has happened to ‘Thornbury’. I hope that other significant survivors are not butchered in the same way in the years ahead.
Howard Johnston (former SR editor), Hunstanton
Do promises matter?
Having read your editorial regarding the use of No. 7027 as a donor for the 4709 project, I take your point. However, there is a world of difference between using a few spares off a rusting hulk which may never be fully restored and an engine which is well on the way to becoming a main line attraction again.
I understand why the 4709 people want this engine for the boiler, but they knew what was involved when they started the project. Surely, fundraising is the answer, however long it takes, rather than wrecking another locomotive’s realistic chance of steaming again.
Then there is the question of ethics. If Jonathan Jones-Pratt is to be believed – and why would he make statements that are not true – the GCR gave an undertaking to restore the locomotive and not sell it on. If this attitude of ‘promises don’t matter’ goes unchallenged then it is a sad day for preservation. It will do nothing to encourage those currently at work in the movement and also possible future members. Vivian Oliver, by email