Steam engine 60163 'Tornado' - merged posts

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

PLEASE NOTE: This rail excursion has been cancelled, due to Past-Time Rail Ltd having ceased trading (see http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=4794.0)

Letters have been sent out to those who have already booked, but the Past-Time Rail website has not been updated since 31 May (when they were announcing "Just 34 standard seats left; First Class fully booked"), and is apparently still encouraging bookings for those seats - so please be aware!

However, there is an update on the UKsteam Info website,

Sat 11-Jul   THE GOLDEN HIND [CANCELLED] updated (05/06)
                 Bristol-Plymouth (OM01) [dbs]
                 60163: Bristol-Plymouth-Bristol

[John R]

I hope those of you on the admin team who were hoping to travel used credit cards to book.

It's very sad as Past Time Rail were a long established operator, and generally had a good record of reliability. Though I'm glad that they have appeared to ring fence the Torbay Express bookings and transfer them on before closing. It would appear the other regular working, the Cotton Mill Express hasn't been saved in the same way.

Wonder what went wrong?   

[Chris from Nailsea]

Thanks, John!

The letter that I (and, I understand, grahame - and possibly others) received:



Chris 

[devon_metro]

So isn't pathfinders going to run it for them?

[Chris from Nailsea]

There's nothing we can find to suggest that, devon_metro: as John R has posted, only the Torbay Express seems to have been taken on by Pathfinder. 

[grahame]

There's nothing we can find to suggest that, devon_metro: as John R has posted, only the Torbay Express seems to have been taken on by Pathfinder. 

The letter doesn't actually say it is cancelled - it just talks about getting money back. However, the Pathfinder site lists the Torbay express but not the Golden Hind, and the publicity for their "Tamar Express" on 8th August now talks about it being "the first test of Tornado over the South Devon Banks" .... perhaps they've not taken on "The Golden Hind" on the basis that disappointed people may transfer to their train which runs 4 weeks later, rather than have two trains run less than full.   

http://www.pathfindertours.co.uk/Steam.htm#Tour080809TTT

[devon_metro]

There's nothing we can find to suggest that, devon_metro: as John R has posted, only the Torbay Express seems to have been taken on by Pathfinder. 

Ah, I was under the impression you were booked up on the Torbay Express!

[RichardB]

Desperately sad to see that Past-Time Rail have gone into liquidation.  I worked with Andy Staite on their Cornish steam week - he is a very good bloke and it was a good company.

Hope we see Andy back in the railways before long.

 

[Chris from Nailsea]

I've now received a letter from a firm of insolvency practitioners in London, confirming that Past-Time Rail Limited is in liquidation.

A meeting of the creditors is to be held in Birmingham on 3 July 2009.

Chris 

[6 OF 2 redundant adjunct of unimatrix 01]

if you go on tornados website all the torbay express services are listed as Pathfinder now

[willc]

If anyone would like to get a close-up look at Tornado, it will be visiting Didcot Railway Centre from Sunday until September 2 and will be in steam hauling trains on the centre's demonstration line on Wednesday August 26 and over the bank holiday weekend, when the broad gauge replica loco Fire Fly will also be in steam.

http://www.didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk/news/latest.html#news02

[Chris from Nailsea]

'Tornado' is on the Severn Valley Railway this week - from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

New steam loco at valley railway

The first mainline steam locomotive to be built in England since 1960 is making its debut on the Severn Valley Railway (SVR).

The Tornado, a ^3m Peppercorn class A1 Pacific, was built by enthusiasts in Darlington over a period of 18 years.

It set off from Kidderminster in Worcestershire earlier, to make the 16-mile journey to Bridgnorth, Shropshire.

The locomotive will remain at the SVR over the half-term holidays, making two round trips a day.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Bristol Evening Post:

Steam train knocked out of service

A historic steam locomotive due to run trips from Bristol this summer has been taken out of service after faults were found in its boiler.

Tornado, completed in 2008 after an 18-year campaign by enthusiasts, was the first mainline steam engine to be built in Britain since 1960.

The ^3 million locomotive has been pulling passenger trains since January last year but has had to be withdrawn after two suspected faulty stays ^ internal strengtheners in the engine's boiler ^ were found during a routine inspection by fitters on Saturday, when she was due to haul The Bristolian to London and back.

The discovery follows the identification of five defective stays in late May and early June, which were replaced along with seven neighbouring stays.

The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, which owns and operates Tornado, took the decision to temporarily withdraw her from service to complete an investigation into the cause of the defect and repairs.

All of the trust's customers have been advised of the situation and will be informed of Tornado's planned return to service as soon as possible.

Last year hundreds of people in the Bristol area turned out to see the A1 Pacific loco on excursions, standing beside the tracks and lining platforms at stations along the route.

Tornado was to have headed a series of weekend excursions called the Torbay Express.

The preserved GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) King Edward I will now take her place at the head of the train for the next trip on Sunday.

A trip to Carmarthen on July 10 will still run but not with Tornado and the next day's excursion to Kingswear in Devon has been cancelled.

Visits to the preserved West Somerset Railway in the week beginning July 12 have also been cancelled.

Information on when Tornado will return to traffic will be posted on www.a1steam.com as soon as it becomes available.

[JayMac]

Well, there you go. Modern traction just ain't as reliable as the old stuff! 

[inspector_blakey]

I was already having a bad day, then read that article this morning and it got worse