St Pancras and steam railtours.

[Dawg]

Just wondering why Kings Cross, Liverpool Street, Euston, Waterloo, Victoria and Paddington see pretty decent steam railtours starting and sometimes returning, yet I've not seen anything about St Pancras - I'd love to see for example, a Scot take maroon mk1 stock on a midland mainline special...

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Capacity would be one matter. You have near enough or in excess of a dozen platforms at Euston, Liverpool Street (I can't actually remember the last time I saw a steam loco there but I don't doubt it has happened), Paddington, Victoria (split between two halves) and Kings Cross. St Pancras has just four!

 

[Dawg]

I didn't know that. Makes sense... Liverpool St - 60163 Tornado was there last weekend.

 

[LAX54]

I didn't know that. Makes sense... Liverpool St - 60163 Tornado was there last weekend.

Albeit one direction, the trip in the up direction terminated at Stratford.

 

[markindurham]

Albeit one direction, the trip in the up direction terminated at Stratford.

Only because of late running and the need to return Tornado to Stewarts Lane before an Engineering blockade, I believe. Initial plan was to run through to Liverpool Street.

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

I think there has been the odd steamer going from the new St. Pancras in recent years, perhaps upto the Matlock area, but as said above, there are not many spare platforms at St.P now.

 

[markindurham]

Is steam actually permitted to arrive at St Pancras these days? Departures are no problem, but arrivals? OK, the MML services these days don't get anywhere near today's Eurostar platforms & the shops in the undercroft, but when did a steam hauled train last arrive there?

 

[cav1975]

The real scandal is the gross over provision of platform space for infrequent International services while leaving East Midlands and South Eastern to squeeze their frequent services into a handful of platforms.

 

[Kieran1990]

I think Tangemere ran a special Golden Arrow Statesmen a fair few years back from St P Intl down to Folkstone (8-10years ago) via NLL- WLL. But I can't be sure for certain.

 

[gazthomas]

Often steam charters join the Midland Mainline north of St. Pancras, from the North London line with a first stop at St. Albans or Luton

 

[AM9]

Often steam charters join the Midland Mainline north of St. Pancras, from the North London line with a first stop at St. Albans or Luton

Yes they seem to go from Victoria and via the Dudding Hill line, - not sure how they get onto that line from Victoria though.

 

[High Dyke]

There was charter departing from St.P in November 2014. The ECS arrived hauled by 47746, which then worked top+tailed with 6115 'Scots Guardsman' hauling the departure. The train returned via the ECML to Kings Cross. Info here: https://www.sixbellsjunction.co.uk/10s/141109rt.htm

Yes they seem to go from Victoria and via the Dudding Hill line, - not sure how they get onto that line from Victoria though.

In the past I've done a railtour from St.P to Ramsgate and back. The route was via Acton and Barnes. I can't remember the date off the top of my head, but it was Cl.58 hauled. I recall we went in Woolies at Ramsgate and purchased some chrimbo decs for the train journey back.

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

Yes they seem to go from Victoria and via the Dudding Hill line, - not sure how they get onto that line from Victoria though.

I have been that way From London Victoria by Steam, it went through Battersea/Stewarts lane, under the SWT lines at Clapham Jct, coming up on the Windsor side there, then through Putney, Barnes Bridge, a sharp turn just before Kew Bridge, then connecting onto the North and West London Lines and Dudding Hill onto the MML, where depending on the tour, I either went North or indeed South which was a very interesting route.

 

[AM9]

I have been that way From London Victoria by Steam, it went through Battersea/Stewarts lane, under the SWT lines at Clapham Jct, coming up on the Windsor side there, then through Putney, Barnes Bridge, a sharp turn just before Kew Bridge, then connecting onto the North and West London Lines and Dudding Hill onto the MML, where depending on the tour, I either went North or indeed South which was a very interesting route.

Oh I see now. There's a single track chord from the throat of Stewarts Lane to the SWML underpass. London has an amazing number of links that make these transfers by otherwise segregated pre-grouping remnants possible.
Going south at Dudding Hill Junction presumably is to get onto the GOBlin via Carlton Road Junction allowing access to the ECML at Harringay and the GEML via Tottenham South Junction, Temple Mills East and Stratford Central Junctions.
I could envisage a sort of parlour game tracking routes between two unlikely places on the London rail network, (probably something the planners do as a job).

 

[The Lad]

Mornington Crescent?

 

[gazthomas]

Mornington Crescent?

I'm sorry, I haven't a clue

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

Oh I see now. There's a single track chord from the throat of Stewarts Lane to the SWML underpass. London has an amazing number of links that make these transfers by otherwise segregated pre-grouping remnants possible.
Going south at Dudding Hill Junction presumably is to get onto the GOBlin via Carlton Road Junction allowing access to the ECML at Harringay and the GEML via Tottenham South Junction, Temple Mills East and Stratford Central Junctions.
.

Yes that is exactly what I have done on at least 3 Railtours, I think all were with Hastings Diesels, one ended up at Barking from where we went to Fenchurch Street, then Southend & Shoeburynbess, back via Barking/Goblin. another we joined the ECML heading North, infact I think I also did that with steam in recent years too. Another was very unusual, coming from Clapham Jct via Barnes, Dudding Hill, then Goblin I think, linking at Stratford back onto the North London Line and joining the MML towards Leicester, we could not do a more direct route owing to weekend engineering work, so we went over or under a bit of track in the North west London area that we had traversed about an hour before. (There were alot of happy faces on that train. )

It is amazing what you can do using the North & West London Line connections and the odd bit of goods lines too.

 

[Bedpan]

On the basis that Thameslink use St Pancras proper from time to time when there is an engineering blockade preventing use of the low level platforms, I wouldn't have thought that arranging a one off departure for a railtour would be too much of an issue.