Hello everyone. This thread will be where I post my YouTube videos and photos from my driver experience session at the Wensleydale Railway on the 4th of May. The videos will be uploaded in stages due to the time and effort it takes to edit them. Part one is available now and is a cab ride in the class 37 from Leeming Bar to Bedale.
Watched it and for the Driver he could have turned on the AWS TPWS DSD switch if applicable to do so.
The DSD was on and the AWS switches on the rear walls were also active. There are no AWS ramps on the Wensleydale Railway so it's not needed. The driver does explain the DSD in the next video where I actually take the controls of the 37. I didn't dare trip the DSD so my foot was firmly planted on the pedal until we stopped where necessary for crossing gates or for a quick break to get some lineside photos.
Part 2 of my videos is now available on YouTube. This is where I take control of 37250 and drive a section of the line between Bedale and Crakehall. I learn how to get the loco moving, stop the loco and control speed using only the power lever.
Thank you hyperlord. It was an amazing experience and has got me wanting to do it again (and hopefully I will again soon). The downside is the cost though at £450 a turn but that does also get you some lunch with the crew and 1 years membership to the railway which gives you 50% off tickets during normal running (not special events or trains), 10% off in the railway cafes and shops, 4 magazines from the railway trust and an annual members only train ride. I think though that for my next driving experience I will go for the cheaper option of driving a Pacer.
Apologies for not updating this thread and also uploading more videos to YouTube. I'm having to use special recovery software due to some files getting corrupted on transfer from the Go Pro camera card to the laptop. I have at this stage managed to recover the videos with only minor glitching, however it seems that I can't then use the recovered files when creating a video as it crashes the video creation software or freezes the video. I will update as soon as I am able to.
An update from Nick I have now managed to put together a video using the recovered video files. I have uploaded to YouTube the full video from Leeming Bar to Leyburn which uses the Go Pro attached to my chest. I have not included the footage taken from the mobile phone as it is difficult to synchronise the video and audio to match with the Go Pro footage. You can watch me use the controls of the class 37 for about 45 - 50 minutes between Bedale and Leyburn in this video and there are also some photos I took whilst stopped at Constable Burton. This video lasts about 1 hour and 6 minutes. I do apologise for the video glitching but it is the best that could be done without paying hundreds of GBP to a specialist company. I also apologise for a few sections of missing audio due to personal or unsuitable conversation happening in the cab.
I have since added another video to my YouTube channel. This is almost the full return trip from Leyburn but we stop at Bedale. Partly due to the battery running out just as I step out the seat to give up the controls, and partly because only qualified drivers are allowed to drive the section between Bedale and Leeming bar due to the non-barriered crossing at Aiskew. There's also around 30 seconds of bonus footage included within the main video a few minutes in. The video length is about 51 minutes.
Nice, must have been awesome to get your hands on a 37, Nick Y! Honestly, make sure you do! Got to drive 45041 (cf. my profile picture) on the Nene Valley Railway last year and it was incredible. It was also rather cheap compared to other similar experiences at something like £175 if I recall correctly.
I watched the video now and I must say I'm stunned how good the audio recording is and how close TSW sounds like the real thing YT "Thumb up" and comment left of course This is something I might consider booking when I visit the UK some day again I'm quite unsure if a driver experience like this is possible here in Germany since I never heard about it
It was fantastic and guess what? I'm doing it again at the end of July and will be doing 2 runs up the line between Leeming Bar and Bedale on that day. I'd love to drive a peak, a duff and some of the many other heritage diesels. I think Nene Valley are possibly doing a Deltic driver experience this year but those will be booked up as soon as they get published. Yes, each railway has their own set of costs for experiences. Also, some railways don't do 1-1 sessions so you have to share roles with others. I had looked at possibly doing an experience at Nene Valley but it's too far for me to travel currently. I chose the Wensleydale Railway for my experience because it's only a 1 hour drive away and I can't/don't travel far due to health reasons. Thank you. It's much appreciated. Yes, the sounds in TSW are really close. The sounds are as good as the Armstrong Powerhouse enhancement pack for TSC. I couldn't hear the 37 on full thrash though unfortunately as the max speed is 25mph on heritage lines. You'd have to look into that but you'd need to book in advance for an experience on one of the railways here as they are very popular and can be booked for months. There may be places in Germany that do similar experiences. Does Germany have heritage railways?
Don’t think we have anything like it here in Germany. I have to admit that I got very lucky - stayed in the UK for 6 months for work reasons and the stars aligned for the Nene Valley driver experience. Anyhow, they are somewhat common in the UK so I wish you the best of luck if you pursue it! Congrats! You are one lucky person Oh, Deltic sounds nice but yeah - that’ll be sold out in no time. My experience wasn’t 1-1, we were always a pair with a pair of drivers in the cab. However, no one wanted to get their hands on a Peak, apparently. So few booked it, that we all got way longer in the driver’s seat than originally planned. I’m not complaining! We do, but not at all in the same way as the UK. Ours are far and in between. Also, compared to what I’ve seen in the UK, they’re really not as popular in Germany with the general population.
Here's a bit of Pacer action from yesterday on the Wensleydale Railway (my personal video). Pacer 143623 at Bedale sporting the Regional Railways livery (just recently finished). Bedale Pacer Bonus at the end of the video is 37250 pulling back into the station at Leeming Bar after being reversed over the crossing to allow 143623 into the platform. I forgot to film the triple lash up of Pacers passing through Bedale back to Leeming Bar earlier in the day as I was doing some safety training at the time to enable me to start volunteering there.
Great clips, I was at Leeming Bar back in December, took my son on the Polar Express, not sure that steam loco they used as it's not my kinda thing but it was great nonetheless.
Yes, the Polar Express is the busiest time of the year for the railway and it makes most of the money to tide them over for the year. The loco is hired in and brought to Leeming Bar. It is an external company who do the PE trains and they pay for the hire of the loco and crew. The Polar Express trains are running again this year and at last count, more than 60% of the tickets have been sold so it is very popular. There may be more videos from the Wensleydale Railway from me as I have just become a volunteer there so I can film things more.
In the latest video from Leeming Bar station platform, we see the ex-Tyne and Wear PTE works loco WL4 performing a shunt move with a coach. This is the only one of its kind left and it has been restored to working order.
Here's another video I took from Leeming Bar station. It shows our class 121 bubble car unit going out for a run for the first time in 3 years for some driver/refresher training. The bubble car ran from Leeming Bar to Scruton and back. I apologise that this video is posted on Facebook and not my usual YouTube channel. I allowed the railway to use my video for promotional purposes.
Unfortunately, my next driver experience in the class 37 has had to be cancelled or postponed due to mechanical failure of the loco. I will still post videos here of anything interesting.
Here's my latest video from the Wensleydale railway. It shows shunter 03144 moving a wagon of rail around in the yard and also a very interesting move called a shunt release which involves 2 locos.
Here is my latest video from the Wensleydale Railway. It is a forward view travelling up the line from the secondman's seat in the cab of class 121 bubble car 121032 (W55032).
