nightstar.train

So still no generator car or ETH fitted loco? The Mk2 def fleet are not going to be very pleasant as soon as the sun comes out. Or when it's cold and dreich.

Chiltern's Mk3 sets are 6 coaches + DVT, so there has been some end of platform wibble about the Mk5 sets being reformed. Chiltern currently have 6 Mk3 sets. The Mk5 fleet is 13 sets plus a spare DT. So if you disbanded 3 sets you get 9 spare centre coaches, so could make 9 sets of 6 coaches and one of 5. Tremendous waste of the spare end coaches and DTs though. CAF might be willing to make you a few more coaches if you ask nicely, and have wheelbarrows full of cash. Chiltern might do a Virgin and run more frequent, shorter trains. Or maybe they don't have sufficient loadings to justify the 6 car sets. I hope, from a purely selfish modelling perspective, that Chiltern get a new livery if they get the Mk5s. I really don't like their grey with extra grey, much preferred the original blue and white.

W301, a diagram 16 Restaurant First, was repainted into chocolate and cream in early 1962 and is noted as running in the Red Dragon. It would've run with a open third/second as a pair*. All five of the diagram 16 RFs were built for the Western region, although it's unclear how much service they saw. They were anthracite powered and were quite unsatisfactory. They also had two of the diagram 700 full kitchen cars, which usually ran as a triplet with an open first and an open third*. *There were restaurant thirds and firsts. Externally they were identical to ordinary open 1st/3rd, but were branded restaurant. Internally they had loose seating rather than the usual bench types. They weren't always available however and ordinary open 1st/3rd could be subbed in.

And of course it's entirely possible to close the door on a Mk1 or Mk2 and it to not latch completely and then fall open by itself, or if someone leans on it. CDL prevents this as well. Even if the person functions perfectly the door mechanism might not. And of course a huge proportion of people and tourists won't have ever travelled on a slam door and will be unfamiliar with how to operate them. Until I took her to a heritage railway I don't think my wife had ever used one. Her local lines all had sliding doors from before she was born (early 80s). And yes CDL could also fail, but it's a double redundancy. It's the swiss cheese model of accident prevention. For something bad to happen multiple failures have to happen, not just one.

As stated before the regulations apply to ALL of WCRC, not just the Jacobite. And they operate services on the main line at up to 90mph, and passing trains doing 125mph. And again the fact that the Mallaig extension is 40mph, and that heritage railways run at 25mph is a shoal of red herrings. There are no regulations currently for heritage railways to fit CDL. There ARE regulations for operators on the national network to fit it. Full stop. WCRC are refusing to do so as they don't want to spend the money. That's it, that's the whole issue when you boil it down.

One of the "mistakes" that WCRC made nearly caused the worst rail accident in recent years. It was sheer good luck that their charter train didn't plow into an HST. They have very poor form when it comes to safety standards. But talking specifically about CDL. It isn't just related to their operations on the WHL to Mallaig, but to all their operations. They run up to 5 trains a day during their peak times, all over the network and interacting with service trains. And unfortunately WCRC have poor form when it comes to doors and accidents. From the judicial review (that they lost)* It seems to again be luck that no one was hurt in these cases. In the first quoted the passenger could've been hurt falling from a moving train, and platform staff, other passengers, train spotters could've been hurt by a swinging door coming down the platform. It is not a David vs Goliath situation. It's a lone cowboy refusing to play by the rules that every single other operator plays by. *https://assets.caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewhc/admin/2023/3338/ewhc_admin_2023_3338.pdf

I can't find a reference just now, but it's oft quoted on here that Bachmann have spent £1 million on the class 37 and 47 retools. I can't recall if that's each, or for both, but tooling must be a huge chunk of that, it's the main cost of a new model. Research and CAD are cheap by comparison.

Talking about tooling and paying for it I had a very interesting discussion with the Rapido trains guys at Model Rail Scotland. I noted that they and Accurascale released a whole load of models all at the same time in a wide variety of liveries, whereas Hornby and Bachmann would release 3 one year, and then 3 the next year etc. The answer I got was that is because the Chinese factories expect the new entrants to the market to pay for the whole cost of tooling up front. So they (Rapido, Accurascale) have to release a tonne of models to recoup that investment and make a profit. Whereas the established players have better terms and can pay over a longer time, so can afford to do a few models a year.

I've found this diagram of the route from Fort William to Mallaig*. To me it looks as though the route to Mallaig is harder work then the route from Mallaig. If the engine gets better traction one way than the other, then you'd want it that way round going to Mallaig. Looking at it I'd say the run up to the summit near Glenfinnan is about equal either side, maybe even harder coming from Mallaig, but crucially you are starting from a stand heading northwards, whereas coming south you have a run up and get some momentum up. *Clipped from the PDFs here: https://westhighlandline.org.uk/the-west-highland-map/

There's simply not room. The railway is tightly bounded in by the main road on one side, and houses and/or cliffs on the other side. I don't know where the turntable was originally, but I don't think it was big enough to turn a black 5. There's a picture of it here. Looks too small for a black 5 to me, and judging by the track leading to it I think it was were the main road now is.

I have a theory as to why they do this, but I'd need a full carriage working diagram to confirm. It goes FTW to FTW to change platforms, as others have said. But the reason it does it twice is to swap the front and rear units. Although it's shown as one train on RTT it is actually two, front unit goes out and back to P2, then the rear unit does the same and they swap position. This done to allow units to rotate through the works when they reach Glasgow. That's my theory, that fits the circumstances. Another possibility is to allow the bike wagon to change ends when it's being used in the summer. Although why they'd keep doing it in the winter, practice maybe?

I've come across this really weird working on Real Time Trains. It seems to scheduled for every evening. The train starts in the station, goes out to the junction, back to station, to junction then back to the station finally. https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:W60888/2024-04-15/detailed#allox_id=0 It has actual times listed for last night so does seem to have run, it isn't some sort of ghost working.

Maybe. But I’d think a rake of Mk3s with 37s will attract a lot more rail enthusiasts than “civilians”. Overseas tourists will want a steam engine pulling red coaches to get the Harry Potter experience. And even if it’s aimed at local tourists it’s still very short notice, and rather early in the morning. The last trains did get some punters, but not even enough to fill 2 coaches. I doubt it made a single pfennig in profit. They’d be better running in the afternoon Jacobite slot. Although do WCRC own that at this time of year? They obviously do in the summer, I’m not familiar with their access agreements.

It’s such a shame they announce it with so little notice. Fort William is a long way from anywhere, and you’d have to stay overnight as even the sleeper doesn’t arrive early enough. I think they’d get a lot more punters if they announced it for a fortnight or sometime in May. I’m in Paisley and would quite like a trip, but can’t swing this Friday. As to WCRC, I wonder if the guys and girls at the ORR are looking the Facebook videos with their heads in their hands, then stuffing a briefcase full of prohibition notices and booking tonight’s sleeper? I do think that WCRC are breaking the spirit, if not the letter, of the law. Also what are they thinking running a train without ETH? And presumably the Mk2Fs aren’t through piped for steam heating either, so all the coaches will be freezing. Temperatures up there aren’t breaking 10°c today.

Foxtrot uniform, juliet indigo mike.