5th April 2003

Wessex Trains
Excalibur Express

Route:

Notes :
(1) Route & loco confirmation required. 
(2) Taken from the Wessex Trains Website : We decided however to stop the train at Godstone because we were having difficulty maintaining adequate air pressure in the braking system without which the brakes would automatically be applied. We were fortunate once more to have Ian Riley and his engineers with the train and after their brief examination the fault was traced to lubrication starvation on the locomotive's air pump. After the pump was re started "Tangmere" pulled the train to Tonbridge where an early stop for water was taken. We remained concerned however that the pump would not continue to work reliably during the remainder of the journey and decided that rather than become a main line performance risk we should seek the help of a diesel locomotive from E W S to supply air pressure for the train's braking system. A diesel locomotive was subsequently attached to the rear and "Tangmere" pulled the whole train to Canterbury West. Because of operating restrictions in Shakespeare Tunnel we were also unable to keep the diesel locomotive on the rear of the train, so we decided to head the train with the diesel and use a combination of diesel and steam power on the return journey.

34067 passes East Croydon (photo : www.railway-images.co.uk)

Source : Wessex Trains Website

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