46115 & Class 37's on full power; The CME & The Retro Cumbrian Coast Explorer 11-07-2015
The title says it all really. On a warm but breezy 11th July 2015, 3 railtours headed north through Cumbria and 2 of them, Retro Railtours' 'Retro Cumbrian Coast Explorer' from Chesterfield to Carlisle with DRS 37's 37612 & 37604, and the Cumbrian Mountain Express from Euston headed by 46115 are shown here. The 3rd was a Statesman tour to Ravenglass.
Looking at Line speeds on the Cumbrian Coast, Arnside seemed like a good place to go for the class 37 shot as a speed restriction through the station meant that they would be accelerating across the Kent Viaduct. What actually happened was even better though as the late running of the preceding Transpennine service to Barrow meant that the next section to Ulverston was only just cleared as the tour reached Arnside and the resultant eruption from the pair was simply brilliant. Notice the orange men on the other side of the river who had been waiting for the tour to appear.
The next stage involved a fast drive up to Shap Summit to see 46115 heading the Cumbrian Mountain Express over the top, or at least that's what was supposed to happen. On arrival we were informed that the driver of the class 90 heading the tour from Euston to Carnforth had committed a SPAD at Rugby, and since the nearest DBS train crew depot was at Bescot it had only just got going again. Predicting an approximate time that it would now pass by, after a circular walk around Shap Wells we headed south again to Woodhouse, at the foot of the climb to Grayrigg, deciding to wait until 1500 to see if it appeared. The prediction was pretty much perfect, and, closely pursuing another late running TPE service, 46115 came absolutely flying past running 190, yes, 190 minutes late on full power and then some with the driver clearly trying to recover as much time as possible, although making up the whole 190 minutes would have been physically impossible...
46100 & 45699 on Full Power; 'The Scot Commemorative' & 'Spirit of the Lakes' 16-04-2016
Having one Steam hauled tour up the Cumbrian Coast in a day is infrequent enough; having 2 in 1 day is very rare. So when 46100 was booked for a Northbound Run up the coast and 45699 was booked for a Southbound run, it was clear that this would be the place to be.
The 1st shot was meant to be of 45699 heading light engine from Carnforth to Carlisle at Cinderbarrow Lane just outside Burton in Kendal, however a very late change of plans saw this move cancelled and other arrangements made, as we shall see later, so we begin with what was meant to be the second shot of the day at Newby Bridge on the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway. Bagnall 0-6-0ST 'Princess' was the loco rostered, and in glorious sunshine is seen making a rather timid departure from the halt with the first service of the day to Lakeside.
But now on to the important shots. As Norrthbound steam on the Coast is so rare, there was only one location that we could really consider doing the shot, and this was the Leven Viaduct, between Cark & Cartmel and Ulverston. The Scot came into view running a few minutes behind and, unsurprisingly, the regulator was only cracked open while running on the Level at the maximum line speed of 60mph.
The timings for the Scot were extremely slack due to running right behind a service train all the way to Sellafield, and, as such, we had overtaken the tour again just 15 minutes after leaving the viaduct. With a second bonus shot on the cards, we stopped in a layby on the northbound A595 at Whitbeck where there is a good view of the line. I had had my eye on this shot for a while but was never able to use it until now. The Scot was putting in far more effort here than in the previous shot and thundered past running more or less on time.
The southbound tour, the Spirit of the Lakes 'Carlisle & Cumbrian Coast' from Bridlington was booked for a steam hauled run all the way down the coast, however for some reason, an eleventh hour change saw the steam leg reduced by half, now only from Sellafield to Carnforth. This saw 45699 run tender first with its support coach north up the Coast to meet the tour. Following this development, we abandoned the planned shot on the ratty and crossed the footbridge on Ravenglass Viaduct to Saltcoats. Again running more or less on time, the Jubilee trundled into view, slowly crossing the viaduct on its way north, not far behind a service train. To the north of Ravenglass was a 30mph tsr, hence the slow running.
For the final shot of the day we headed a couple of miles down the road to a Cumbrian Coast classic; Eskmeals. With no activity at the adjacent gunrange today we were able to get on the sand dunes once again to get a shot of steam from them at the second attempt. Because of the stiff north wind, rather than go on top of the highest dune like last time, I decided to go about 2 thirds of the way up, which was almost completely sheltered from the cold wind. The aformentioned 30mph tsr just outside Ravenglass only added to the stunning scenery the location offers, as 45699 then accelerated hard away across Eskmeals viaduct ready to attack the short climb up to Bootle.
18th May 2017 35018 British India Line Light engine test
Carrying the number 98818 on the smoke box and cabside and a Bodmin nameplate, 35018 British India Line ventured on to the mainline since 1964 for a light engine test run from Carnforth to Hellifield and back.
It Is seen on the outward leg running sedately through Bentham.
An overheating inside big end meant that a number of stops were made to allow it to cool down.
It is reported that it eventually reached Hellifield and ran back to Carnforth again with a few stops
15th to 18th November 2016 45699 Driver Training
45699 Galatea is seen on the second series of driver training turns for WCRC. This time the train was made up of Galatea and six coaches and ran around the full circuit from Carnforth - Hellifield - Blackburn - Preston - Carnforth. from the 15th to the 19th November 2016.
Day 1.Locations are Bentham, Mewith, Wilpshire and Ramsgreave, Bay Horse. Having seen ACW71000's video of 45699 on Langho bank we can only assume that the engine lost its footing in Wilpshire tunnel as the only explanation for its slow speed through the station on the final climb to the summit
Day 2. Locations are New England Viaduct Capernwray, Wennington, Burrow lane Ellel, Lancaster Castle
Day 3. Locations are Borwick, Wennington and Oubeck loops
Day4. locations are Clapham, Hellifield, Langho, Forton and Bay Horse
Hope you enjoy the video, feel free to pass comments
UK - LMS 6201 'Princess Elizabeth' departs Hereford on June 15 1991
Rare footage of LMS Princess Royal Class 4-6-2 locomotive 6201 'Princess Elizabeth' departing Hereford, England on Saturday June 15 1991, with original sound recording.
Although I can find no record of the event it is probably a 'Welsh Marches' special which were popular at the time. The loco does have a headboard but is indecipherable.
It has a mix of BR Mark-1 coaches including a LMS lead coach, 9 GWR Brown & Cream and one odd 'Network SouthEast' coach which looks like a buffet car.
48151 Powers past Hoghton hauling the WCRC Santa Special 03-12-2017
It's been some time since a Santa Special last ran on the main line. However, in December 2017, West Coast Railways ran 3 tours round the Lancashire Circle through Carnforth, Hellifield, Blackburn and Preston on 3 consecutive Sundays, specifically as a Santa Special and Christmas dining train. After a successful test run a couple of days earlier, 48151 took the reins of the first run with 13 coaches in tow and a class 47 on the rear to provide electric train heating.
When we reached North Yorkshire the weather was far better than they had said it would be only a couple of days previously, with the sun shining down on the nearby 3 peaks. The original planned shot was Kettlesbeck Bridge but such was the number of onlookers already there when we arrived that we just turned around and went to another bridge in Kettlesbeck around 1/2 a mile further on towards Settle Junction. With timings along the little north western always containing a lot of slack, it was unsurprising that the 8F came powering round the S bend in the distance around 5 minutes early, looking and sounding superb with the 47 on the rear just ticking over.
Rather than go where the masses would now be bound (in other words, Langho bank), we now headed for Chapel Lane bridge at Hoghton, arriving with plenty of time to spare and with the sun still shining. In hindsight now, this probably wasn't the best place to go as despite being a dead end the road was actually quite busy and all the locals turned out a few minutes before it came too. Again though, the 8F was making plenty of noise as it crested the summit of the brief 1 in 110 climb from the River Darwen viaduct with the 47 again providing minimal assistance on the rear.
45690 Roars past Helwith Bridge hauling 'The Waverley' 27-08-2017
After only being able to get out once in the last 3 months, what better way to spend the Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend than heading to North Yorkshire for some shots of 45690 working the 6th Waverley of the summer season. Steam hauled throughout from York to Carlisle and back, this gave us an opportunity to use some locations that hadn't been utilised in some time.
Just over an hours drive brought us to Cononley, the last station before Skipton on the Aire Valley line from Leeds and last used in April 2013. With it being a Sunday, there was little risk of EMU's getting in the way of the shot so we set up on the Leeds bound platform with just over half an hour to go. The wait was well worth it as 45690 flew through the station, easily doing at least 60mph and running right on time over the level section towards Skipton.
While the tour stopped at Hellifield for 45 minutes, we continued on to Helwith Bridge, one of our favourite S&C locations (which is why we've done more shots there than anywhere else on the line...). Again, running pretty much on time and tackling the tough climb well, the Jubilee thundered past, gaining considerable speed on the level section to take onto the next part of the climb.
37603 & 37611 working 1Q14 01-05-2013
Under Normal Circumstances, I wouldn't bother filming Network Rail Measurement Trains unless they run down rare track (in other words, down to Southport etc.), and this occasion definitely falls into that category. In 1 evening, the train, headcode 1Q14 from Crewe TMD-Blackpool North then Blackpool North-Crewe CS would visit 2 rare lines; the Preston Docks Branch, and the Ormskirk Line, the latter once being part of the L&Y main line from Preston to Liverpool Exchange.
We begin on the Preston Dock Branch, at Strand Road level crossing, which splits Network Rail track on one side, and that of the Ribble Steam Railway on the other. It has been some time since a 37 last ran along here, the last known occasion being 'The Preston Docker' in 2008. 37611 was leading across the crossing, with 37603 heading the train back up the tightly curved 1 in 29 incline to the Main line at Preston. This was a shot I had wanted to do for some time, off Christian Road Bridge, with a 37 at full power, and that was exactly what this was. After clearing Fishergate Tunnel, 37603 literally erupted round the bend; the clag says it all.
This was also the first time, although I have lived close by all my life, that I had been able to capture a loco hauled train on the Preston-Ormskirk line, and so I naturally decided to head for my 2 favourite locations on the route: Lathom's Farm, between Rufford and Burscough Junction, and the the field binded by the Ormskirk line, the Wigan-Southport line, and the former west-north curve linking the 2 routes, which was lifted in the 1960's. However, because the train was only booked to run down this section around 2100, it would have to be a perfectly clear evening to attempt the 2 shots, which, thankfully it was. As can be seen though on the North Curve shot, the light had very nearly run out by 2120 when the train returned bound for Blackpool South and eventually Crewe.
46100: Wilpshire: 22/12/2015
46100 Royal Scot finally returned to the mainline in late 2015 for the first time since 1962; after initial running in on the Severn Valley Railway the LMS 4-6-0 made her way to Crewe, then on to Carnforth on Monday 21st December 2015 to put her in place for her loaded test run the following day. We catch up with the 'Scot' at Wilpshire making a lovely sound as she bursts out of the tunnel and hits the last stage of the climb.