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Back to my Home Page Richard Hughes manages to find a railtour to travel on!
It would probably be a mild understatement to say that this year has seen one or two problems on the railtour front. Every conceivable excuse to cancel or postpone trips has been trotted out, save for "Space Aliens Stole The Loco". Perhaps that one will come next year, but currently the reasons given are the weather, and Railtrack's aim to be seen to be doing something positive in the aftermath of the Hatfield accident, however disruptive that might be. So it was no great surprise to learn that Pathfinder Tours was forced to postpone three consecutive tours in November, and unfortunately I was booked on all three. Now, although I do have a semblance of a life other than as a loco basher, this spate of postponements left a rather large gap in my diary. I might have even been forced to resort to do something useful around the house instead. So some gen that an excursion from East Lancs to Oxford on the 18th November would be going ahead as planned, and furthermore would be hauled by a pair of Fragonset 31s, was all the motivation I needed.
I confirmed with a friend and fellow 31 crank that he was interested, and then called the organisers to check seats were available for pay-on-the-day trippers. Another friend also expressed interest, and so early on the Saturday morning, Chris and myself made our separate ways to Nick's house in Leyland. Although the tour's last pick-up point was in Leyland, we had decided on joining the train a short drive away at Bamber Bridge. Despite being only around 20 miles from my house, this was a required shack for me at least, and this was an ideal opportunity to do it loco-hauled. We arrived in good time, a bit too good in fact, as the train arrived 40 minutes late, reportedly due to the ECS arriving late at the originating point of Rose Grove. We had been offered seats in Coach A, and this was the leading vehicle in the 12-coach load.
We were soon aboard the warm train and leaving wet and gloomy Bamber Bridge behind. I'm referring to the climatic conditions, no slur intended on Bamber Bridge, which may be, for all I know, a delightful place. The pair of goyles doing the business was 31602 + 31468, as predicted, and seated in the front coach were the Usual Suspects, refugees from countless A1A tours. The train proceeded slowly around the Lostock Hall Jn to Farington Jn curve and onto the WCML, and shortly afterwards stopped at its final official pick-up staion of Leyland, having already called at such esoteric locations as Rose Grove, Accrington, Rishton, Blackburn and Cherry Tree, as well as the aforementioned Bamber Bridge. The driver now had opportunity to see what the locos were capable of, with a climb up to Coppull, but he appeared to have absent-mindedly forgotten the whereabouts of the power handle, and we tottered onwards at very pedestrian speeds. No pun intended. Things improved a bit after Coppull, but soon we encountered the first of a large number of speed restrictions, the legacy of Hatfield. These proved to mostly be quite short, but nevertheless pretty disruptive to the schedule, even with what under normal circumstances would be some slack in the timings.
Nick and Chris were ready to scribble down some numbers as we passed Springs Branch, and noted 37040, 37043, 37069, 37071, 37074, 37131, 37133, 37298, 37715, 47300, 47213, 47362, 47478, 47530, 47532, 47566 and 47584 here, mostly in a very sorry state, and a few miles further on at Warrington, 08703, 08784, 37680, 56062, 56071, 60021, 60063 and 60083.
We were apparently booked to stop at Crewe for 20 minutes, but cut this to 2 minutes to pick up a bit of the deficit. 47807 was noted in the station on VXC stock, and 92044 went light through platform 1, and on the depot and at Basford Hall, 47146, 47761, 57003, 66505, 86261, 90028, 90029, 90039, 90141, 90149 were seen, along with 47224 and 86621 + 86627 working Freightliners. With a more ambitious driver, there was a marked improvement in performance, at least between slacks. Near Norton Bridge we overhauled another Freightliner with 86604 + 86612 in charge, before another restriction slowed us and the cans regained the lead. We reportedly passed Stafford 36 minutes down, and then turned off towards Wolverhampton. At Bushbury Jn we took the expected route towards Bescot, pleasing the spotters as they were able to get a few more numbers at the latter location. 08888, 09011, 37051, 37055, 37692, 37704, 47357, 56032, 56069, 58049, 60050, 60074, 66123, 66173, 66176 and 92015 were present, along with many others not identified.
Passing Aston, we diverged onto the Stechford line, and then onwards to Coventry, where there was a brief stop for another crew change. We then took the Leamington route, and passed non-stop through the town about 30 minutes adrift. After passing Banbury, progress was impeded by more restrictions, and we had plenty of time to observe the still-flooded fields and swollen rivers as we passed slowly by. Arrival at Oxford was 50 minutes late, but still allowed 5 hours for exploration. I went off to do just that, while my friends opted for a run to Bicester Town because they both required the track.
Meanwhile the train was booked to run ECS to Reading West, engines run-round, and then to Didcot to be stabled for 2 hours, and then the same manoeuvre in reverse to return to Oxford for the homeward run.
Oxford is a place I once visited briefly, but a very long time ago, so I happily spent the afternoon exploring, and enjoyed the experience, despite the wet and gloomy conditions. I wonder if Oxford is twinned with Bamber Bridge? Perhaps not. But soon it was time to return to the station and the start of the return journey. I walked onto the platform just in time to see 57003 roll through hauling a southbound Freightliner, and I then found my companions, and we waited for the train. It turned up a bit late, naturally, and left at 17.59, 14 minutes late. Timings on the return run were tighter, and with the numerous slacks en route, it was inevitable that more time would be lost. However, the train was well driven, with some good stretches of fast running, and plenty of thrash. With Coach A now bringing up the rear of the formation, we had moved into the front carriage, having been earlier told by a steward that there was no objection to this, and there was room available.
The return route was the reverse of outward, and fairly good progress was made. A few new locos were identified as we passed Bescot, 08567, 37428, 37513, 37884 and 66001, darkness preventing more being noted. After Bushbury Jn, a fast run to Stafford ensued, and the train approached Stafford parallel with 87023 which was just stopping, probably on a Liverpool service. We continued on to Crewe, where we stopped for 2 minutes, and then to Warrington, where there was an unexpected call, another 2 minutes, before storming through Wigan, and running into Leyland 1 hour late. The stop here was brief, and a chunk of recovery time saw us reach Bamber Bridge a few minutes later 44 minutes down. My friends and I detrained, leaving the top 31 men to get their last few miles in. We braved the heavy rain and stayed to watch the train depart noisily, before heading for the car and the short drive back to Leyland.
This interesting day out was the 32nd trip organised by St. James' Day Tripper, but the first one that I've travelled on. Despite the Railtrack-induced timekeeping problems, it ran well and provided a welcome opportunity for a spot of bashing with rateable traction for a reasonable £29.00. Thoroughly enjoyable.
Locos used:
31602 + 31468 throughout
Headcodes:
1Z50 Rose Grove to Oxford
1Z28 Oxford to Rose Grove
Stock:
West Coast Railway Co.
No timing sheet was provided.
Distances (miles/chains):
Bamber Bridge to Oxford - 172-02
Rose Grove to Oxford - 190-00
Richard Hughes
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