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How easy is it to run a train to Portsmouth? Type 3 to the Sea - The Prologue Part 1
Saturday 10th August 2019

Report by Dan Hitchens


So when do you start planning a train? Well for NR you need to bid 12 weeks before and with freight agreements 14 weeks. Therefore, Sat 10 Aug 2019 minus 12 Saturdays is Sat 18 May, simple, sit around on Fri 17 May, have a chat, send it in and jobs a good 'un. For the Portsmouth tour this doesn't come close, but it was that sort of attitude, sitting around having a chat, that started it all.

The first VT special had 13 weeks; 'The Welsh Warrior' Sat 7 Dec 2014, the WB64 ('Pretendolino' Mk3 stock) farewell. James Dobson and Andy Grundy walked into Virgin Trains (VT) Control and said WB64 is being retired; do you want to do a farewell, and it's 13 weeks this Saturday we went into melt down.

87002 To Glasgow 37025 to Ayr then 87002 back to Euston non-stop. Job done and we pulled it off. Well not exactly; the 87 hadn't hauled a train for 12 months and 37025 wouldn't be ready. Other traction wouldn't keep to the paths and could cause issues to the booked Table 65 West Coast timetable. With possible failures and the first VT charter style train since a few private VIP hires, it was agreed that the farewell would be loco-hauled with two VT Class 57s to just North Wales. We then found it would all be too difficult with our TOC safety case and the Union agreements. So DRS would be the TOC and 'The Railway Magazine' the booking agent. Little did we know that days after agreeing this and the refusal to use 87002, it would work to York and back in place of another loco on a charter!

The loco was proven but it was too late as we had already planned and submitted the spec to NR. I didn't know that WB64 was out of gauge for everything west of Chester due to modifications to all other Mk3s except WB64! Virgin then advised that WB64 would be withdrawn earlier due to recurring Time Division Multiplexer faults. With the train advertised it was agreed by the board that on Fri 6 Dec 2014 WB64 would do its passenger farewell on the normal Birmingham diagram with VT staff and then we would have it for the Saturday. Anyway the farewell ran but what did we say farewell to, other than the end of loco hauled stock on Virgin Trains? What we knew was that after arrival at Crewe WB64 went to Wembley de-branded but none of us knew that it then went to Norwich for Anglia.

Except for the Driver Van Trailer the set was used in service. WB64 is now part of the TPE training fleet at Crewe LNWR. Ironically, we passed it on 'Type Three to the Sea'; half by the Potteries Loop on the way out and other half by the Up Fast on the return. 37682, one of the pair of 37s to Holyhead and back was dragged to Derby and cut up. We missed that one, so it was farewell to 37682. The other was 37419 'Carl Haviland' (an ex-North Wales passenger loco) with DRS 57 302 'Chad Varah' on the rear.

Following this tour Virgin Trains, DRS and The Railway Magazine jointly ran 'The Bournemouth Flyer' (22 Aug 2015) and 'The Independent Yorkshireman' (19 Jun 2016). You must be thinking he is waffling up some branch line, come on get to the point. The point is that on 'The Independent Yorkshireman' Neil Chapman MD of Hovertravel, travelling as a guest, suggested running a train to Portsmouth.

So on 3 Sep 2016 we wrote a draft Chester to Portsmouth spec with two DRS Class 37s, a Virgin Class 57 and the usual Mk2s from Riviera so 'The Solent Syphons' charity train was conceived. 'The Railway Magazine' doesn't usually do the logistics for trains but was again happy to take bookings for us. DRS had to look at dates around the Northern Belle with crew availability and dates that Riviera had stock.

By the next chain of emails at the end of Sep 2016, use of 37558 'Avro Vulcan XH558' was suggested which entered service that summer. With many following the real 'XH558 Vulcan' in its last season could we run a train with 37558 and a Newton-le-Willows (Vulcan) built 37 to give us two veteran Vulcans on the train. Suddenly we had 'The Vulcan Vectis' with 37558 and friend. We tried to plan the route so that the Vulcans could ascend the Lickey as well as crossing the East Midlands…

Crewe - Madeley - Stafford - Penkridge - Wolverhampton - Walsall - Sutton Park - Water Orton - Nuneaton - Narborough - Kettering - Luton - Hendon - Brent Curve - Acton Wells - Southall - Reading - Basingstoke - Eastleigh - Botley - Cosham - Portsmouth - Cosham - Botley - Eastleigh - Chandlers Ford - Salisbury - Westbury East Jn - Bath Spa - Dr Days - Cheltenham Spa - Bromsgrove - Kings Norton - St Andrews Jn - Park Lane Jn - Sutton Park - Walsall - Wolverhampton - Stafford - Madeley - Crewe.

This was pushing DRS route knowledge of the two drivers that signed Portsmouth to the limit and we wanted time there. So it was Crewe 02.00 back 23.00; maybe not, but you have to start somewhere.

In Dec 2016 we found out that in 2017 there were only three dates that married up but felt that none worked. Who else could we hire stock from within the politics of the railway? We looked at SRPS stock which was not on the safety case of DRS then. During 2017 VT became very busy; DRS had changes coming especially for the team that had run these trains. 'Railway Magazine' became involved in the amazing Euston to Glasgow tour with 50007 & 50049. The result: no train would be possible in 2017.

Well, I did spec Class 221 Super Voyagers to Mallaig with some Polmadie drivers. I also did the first spec of a tour to VT depots with stock and Class 08s. Wembley, Oxley and Longsight, 'Rodney's Independent Trotter'. In 2017 speaking to a long-term friend at GBRf Dale Williams, about a Class 50 and 73 tour to Portsmouth, I rewrote the Portsmouth tour (knowing GBRf would take the 50s back to Glasgow). Spring 2018 would be the first possible date but with what stock and GBRf were very busy with their own successful trains? In spring 2017 I went back to DRS at Crewe to see if we could run in Sep just before the leaf fall and bring the 20s back from overhaul at Barrow Hill via Portsmouth.

'Four to the Shore' was born; four Class 20s and a 57 on the rear, losing two 20s at Eastleigh. The Class 20 speed and mileage was against us as well as the lack of stock. WCR stock was not on the VT or DRS safety case. We have always used a booking agent because the Virgin Trains system would result in all the money going into the one big pot, then we had to prove how much was ours. However, before we could sort out a booking agent, the Class 20s were refused anyway as they would be leaf fall only!

Again, no further on, I then spoke to someone called 'Kev' at the Branch line Society. Apologies, my first thought had been the tours of many years ago, hum Branch Line, 'well they spend all day in yards going nowhere fast'. I noticed the 18 Mar 2017 'Bound for Craigy' East coast train to Edinburgh. Exactly what I had in mind but for the West Coast. I was at work in VT Control watching goings on with our then partner TOC, Virgin East Coast, on the day of that tour. The BLS definitely doesn't spend all day in a yard! The PR in the industry about 'Bound for Craigy' raising over £43,000 was amazing so I accepted an invite to the 'Pickering Paxman' to meet Kev. 'Invited' meant stewarding a coach with a gentleman from DRS Control whom I knew! I gave the plans for Portsmouth, Mallaig, Dundee and Oxley to Kev. I was surprised by the enthusiasm and enjoyment and professional way the 'Pickering Paxman' was run and have been a regular part of the Society's steward team ever since that tour.

In autumn 2017, with our new BLS friends added to the mix, DRS, and Virgin Trains (VT) had a conference call with Hovertravel based in Ryde about a 2018 summer special train. The DRS team had changed from the one that ran VT's previous three charity tours with most of the original team now at Crewe Locomotive Services Limited (LSL). However, DRS's Sam Dixon very enthusiastically took up the reins and suggested options. Right, summer 2018 here we come. SRPS stock to Preston, Class 88 to Kilburn Loop (reverse) with two '68s' to Havant; Class 88 to Portsmouth and the '68s' back to Preston. 'The Pompey Cat'; we all agreed to go away and come back by Dec with the train. Unfortunately, DRS could not confirm the Class 68s with the TPE contract then still unconfirmed. Unofficially the '37s' had been planned to be withdrawn ASAP (this was reversed later with some Class 37 contracts won in Cumbria and Anglia) but their Class 47s had already gone. We ended up with only Class 57/3s and SPRS stock which was still a 'no' and not on the safety case.

I don't have a problem with Riviera stock but just wanted to run a train with Mk1s, if only once. Riviera also had more commitments with their Mk1 rake and the stock hire price had changed considerably since the Bournemouth Flyer, so it became apparent that 2018 summer was not going to happen.

Talking with Kev after the conference call and getting the train off my chest we approached the LSL guys that we at VT had previously worked with. They agreed on paper that we could probably run a Liverpool to Portsmouth train shared with DRS. The conference call happened with a group of people that get on very well and combining what we have together to do something for the greater good. 47635 or 47/8 Crewe to Liverpool; '88/68' pair to Wembley, pan up on the '88'; '88/68' Wembley to Portsmouth diesel; 47635 or 47/8 helping as needed to Eastleigh; '88/68' Portsmouth to Liverpool and then 47635 or 47/8 Liverpool to Crewe. 'The Up Pompey' was born. For various business reasons, despite good relations, this combination and joint working was not a runner in early 2018.

Could LSL go on their own just using their own locos? D213 had just joined the fleet early 2018, was it ready? LSL then advised us they could not guarantee stock with the number of trains it had agreed to run for Saphos. We knew that LSL were putting together a second rake, but it wouldn't be ready in time. So reluctantly I put the Portsmouth train to bed. Here we have a MD of a company, head of 'Visit Portsmouth' and on the board of 'Visit Isle of Wight' wanting to offer a great number of off train options, with great PR and raising money for a charity, and I couldn't even get the train off the shed.

In the summer of 2018 many things changed personally for me and I felt that the Portsmouth train would be lost. I knew the options we had could not just disappear, so I spoke to Mike Hoptroff at VT who had been onboard from the start. I was going to give the train away to anyone that could run it. We couldn't lose the choices we had been offered for a charity train benefitting from three years of work. We had by then had Class 20, 37, 40, 47, 50, 68, 73 & 88s on the train at some point. Mike agreed but VT and the Railway Magazine had some crazy idea in their heads about a Crewe open day with LSL. I spoke to James Dobson and he also agreed about the Portsmouth train and little surprised me when I found out he was behind this Open Day with every Freight Operator and as many Train Operators as they could get together. I wished James well with his event and set out on my own.

I turned to Kev with three years of work and first refusal after the trust put into me and the time already spent by Kev. My only condition was to look at it and if he couldn't run it let me pass it on to someone else. I don't know what Kev thought, there was no stock, no date, no locomotives, no charity but I did have hovercraft, tube trains, museums, history, ships and shopping complexes. You could see Kev's cogs whirring but with so many trains on paper, in his mind or open for booking on the go, you never know. How many '33s' do West Coast Railways (WCR) have? WCR stock? If not GBRF how much for '50s'/'73s'? What would margins be for charity? SRPS stock? Kev still looked at me as if I was mad.

It was time to take Kev for a ride to Ryde. In Feb 2019 we went to the Hovertravel boardroom on the IOW. I was welcomed back as I had been going for years and Kev left a little in awe after a 'winning' new hovercraft, the enthusiasm of Neil, plus the view across the Solent from the board room. Within minutes Kev looked at me: We are going to Portsmouth. I had my doubts not in Kev but in believing it would ever happen. This would be my fifth attempt after the Up Pompey, Pompey Cat, Four to the Shore, Solent Syphons/Vulcan Vectis. Kev had all of the options, locos, routes, stock and ideas. We agreed in principle four hours in Portsmouth and a Crewe start - less risky than from further north.

Coming back from Portsmouth Kev made notes: WCR stock and question marks over the locos. I didn't hear much for a little while as Kev had to speak to WCR about stock. By the 25 Mar 'Version 6' had a proposed date of Sat 10 Aug. I spoke to James Dobson and between LSL and Crewe station they had started to finalise their mass Crewe open day. With this moving forward for Sat 8 Jun, a BLS tour for Rethink Mental Illness on the following day was investigated and so the 'Sunday Yicker' was conceived.

One morning shortly after, Mark Thomas a friend, BLS Member and fellow Three Peaks Challenge catering crew member, mentioned that the train to Portsmouth for RNLI with Class 37s sounded amazing and thanked me for what I had done‽ I checked my emails … nothing there … I saw Kev that weekend and grinning he said that WCR had agreed and here was the spec for a '37' hauled train. It was very close to the one I have had for years with a few changes for BLS track requirements. The only change from Version 6 was 'Up Pompey' crossed out and replaced by 'Type Three To The Sea' and the charity was now the RNLI. We had lost the '57' on the rear to a third '37' as it was in the summer.

'xx/xx/19' was the date, my heart did drop a little with no date, though 10/08/19 had been mentioned, it was definitely not a public knowledge train yet, but progress. The email chatter picked up. Could we have all three '37s' on the front on the way home? Could we run the back loco around at Fratton, Guildford, Reading or Nuneaton? The next email chain again included Sat 10 Aug. Then a date I won't forget reading, 3 May, when WCR would bid for the charter to NR. 'Save the date' was in the 9 May BLN 1328 and slowly I started to believe. Bookings opened in BLN 1329 of 30 May with many options.

The three 37s on the front on Saturday could not be guaranteed so with a few questions to WCR it was agreed that Sunday's Crewe to Lancaster ECS would be a Class 1 public train. The 'Tri County Triple Tractor' was made public, crossing Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Lancashire; 100 participated.

Continued in Part 2.

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