The Great Britain II run in the West Country
In what could possibally be the last circular railtour around the UK. Following the success of the first Great Britain run back in 2007. Railway Touring Company decided to do another run. A series of one way tours took place with some loco changes. In this film that focuses the Great Britain tour in the first 3 days of its run.
Day 1: SR unrebuilt Battle of Britiain pacific 34067 Tangmere starts off the tour at London Victoria to Bristol via the Berks and Hants route. 34067 is first seen near Claverton in the Limpley Stoke Valley. After detaching its stock at Bristol Tangmere is then seen leaving Bristol to head down to St Blazey in Cornwall to substitute 5029 Nunney Castle which failed the previous day. She is seen again at Exeter St Thomas.
Day 2: The second day of the tour starts at the sea wall at Teignmouth were Western hydraulic D1015 Western Champion is seen crossing the sea wall on its way west to Penzance.
On the return working with 34067 and 70013 double heading, things don't go as well as they are 1 hour and 30 mins late due to points failure at Penzance. The pair are seen at Combe Fishacre with such power and speed!
Day 3: Tangmere is called once again to substitue 6201 Princess Elizabeth which she failed her fitness-to-run exam at Crewe. Tangmere starts off at Bristol Temple Meads and can be seen here at Horfield bank heading for Preston, via the Welsh Marchess route. The weather wasn't entirely helpfull as the wind was pushing itself directly into my cam, and used a sock to cover the microphone!
The tour will then carry on from Preston to Glasgow, Glasgow to Inverness, Inverness to Kyle, Inverness to Edinburgh and finally to London.
This has probally been my most challenging series of mainline steam shots to make as all the shots were done by me alone, and had to get to spots by train and by bicycle, which had been exausting me quite alot, so bare with me on that!
SYDNEY, EXPLORING its wonderful METRO or SUBWAY (underground), AUSTRALIA
SUBSCRIBE: - Let's go for a ride along this modern, clean and very efficient subway (metro or underground) system in the beautiful city of Sydney (Australia). This system consists of a mix of styles and kinds of trains..Vic Stefanu, vstefanu@yahoo.com. Sydney is the state capital of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds the world's largest natural harbour, and sprawls towards the Blue Mountains to the west.
The Locomotive Exchanges Special with 6233 and 60019
60 years on since the 1948 Locomotive exchange trials, the newly formed British Railways took a series of exchanges with different locos from the former 'Big Four' companies.
To start with I decided to film 60019's light engine movement to Yeovil Junction from Alton were it will stay overnight for next days run.
Then next day Steam Dreams ran the Locomotive Exchanges Special from London Waterloo to Exeter and back, with Sir William Stanier's LMS Princess Coronation Class pacific 6233 Duchess of Sutherland making the trip from London to Exeter, via Yeovil and Castle Cary to Exeter.
LNER A4 pacific 60019 Bittern took over the return trip at Yeovil Junction.
The tour was diesel hauled between Exeter and Yeovil because of so-called 'gauging issues' west of Yeovil.
These two locos 60019 Bittern and 6233 Duchess of Sutherland were once rivals for both the LNER and LMS in pre war days, as they competed to get to Scotland from London in record timings.
With special thanks to David Oldham and Phillip Griffin of whom we teamed up to film 6233 and 60019's run.
35028 Clan Line roars through Grateley with The Waterloo Sunset - 09/07/2017
July 9th 1967 was a date that will never be forgotten – the very last day of steam on the Southern Region of British Railways. To mark the fiftieth anniversary of the actual date UK Railtours present a tour named ‘The Waterloo Sunset’ featuring Merchant Navy Pacific 35028 ‘Clan Line’ throughout. Clan Line was formally withdrawn from service on 9th July exactly 50 years ago (along with all remaining steam locomotives on the Southern Region), having run a total of 794,391 miles before going under MNLPS ownership on August 13th that year.
After her huge success on ‘The Bournemouth Belle’ on Wednesday, she was this time heading for Yeovil Junction via Salisbury and back to Waterloo in the evening. The weather was a bit cloudier than on Wednesday but the weather was pretty hot with occasional sunny spells but since this is Clan Line it was worth seeing.
I decided to head to one of my favourite spots in Hampshire which is Grateley where the engine would be climbing in 1 in 165 towards the summit around a quarter a mile after the station. The station had a few locals who came out to see the iconic engine and I decided to film on the footbridge to get a better view of her in the distance on the approach to the station. The engine came through around 5 mins late but she was on top form as she roared through the station giving a nice long whistle to the onlookers as she heads towards her water stop at Salisbury. I would have probably tried a second shot but lack of knowledge just after Salisbury plus with my car out of action, I had no option but to jack it in for a day.
Hope you enjoy the video. Feel free to like, comment and subscribe for more steam action from Full Steam Ahead.
30163 Tornado and 34067 Tangmere, Torbay and Cathedrals Expresses 5Jul09
Two quite different three cylinder locos on Sunday, both apparently taking it easy in the Southwest, or maybe they just sound that way!
A1 Tornados first Torbay Express sees her coasting past after crossing the Cogload flyover on her way to a water stop at Taunton, then, suitably refreshed, making light work of the climb to Whiteball, seen from a sea of potato flowers. Note: a recent tractor track got me to this location and no crop was damaged by me.
S.R. B.o.B Tangmere on its last scheduled visit to the Westcountry prior to overhaul later in the year faces a 20 m.p.h. restriction, making the climb of Honiton bank in the Umbourne valley a little more challenging, as she twice briefly loses her footing the crew must have been thanking heaven for the dry weather! Next Pinhoe, just in time to see a relaxed pass and finally a last minute grab shot of 34067 just as she is leaving Exeter St Davids for the sidings in seriously deteriorating light, seconds later the heavens opened and everyone dived for cover. Tangmere will be missed as it has been generally reliable and even called on to rescue a number of tours, wouldnt it be great to see her back in Southern green? B.R. green looks so dull on a Spam Can, especially in poor light!
34067 Tangmere on The Cumbrian Mountain Express - 12/04/2012
34067 (21C167) Tangmere on The Cumbrian Mountain Express (Carnforth - Shap - Carlisle - Appleby - Settle - Hellifield - Blackburn - Farington Junction) on Thursday 12th April 2012.
I'm not 100% at the moment and shouldn't really have ventured out, but it was Tangmere, so both shots (on Shap and at Aisgill) had to be from easy reach spots where I could film from next to the car. Not the best locations or filming and a bit unsatisfactory all round but - I did see Tangmere tackle Shap! Thanks to all involved with running this trip.
Maeve and Beth's Cholera Story from Haiti
From my blog - thehopefulwanderer.wordpress.com
How do you feel when you go home? Even the word home can carry so many different meanings and feelings. Is it possible to have more than one home? The old saying home is where your heart is can also bring a multitude of emotions, what if you feel like your heart is in multiple places? My heart is tied to people all around the world, so feeling like I am home is both frequent and rare all at the same time, how is that possible? This past week I was blessed to go to my Haiti home and visit my Haitian family. I am so thankful to have shared this experience with someone from my Milbourne family! So often I have said, it makes it easier to process and explain Haiti, if I have someone who has been there too. It's always weird when your worlds collide, but when you love a place/people so much, you want the people you love to understand why. Thankfully, Cassie (my sister-in-law) does now.
I don't have many new stories to tell from this trip, it was fast and had one purpose - to see people and spend time with them. Mission accomplished! I was able to see many of the people I lived and worked with for the 19+ months I was living in Haiti. I marveled at the new clinic that opened just after I left. I ate Roberto's delicious bbq chicken! I spent an afternoon in the tent camp that has amazingly shrunk from 50,000+ people down to less than 18,000, visiting families that are still waiting to be relocated. I loved seeing an all-Haitian medical team, still working together, providing stellar healthcare to some of the most vulnerable people in Port au Prince. I saw a lot of things that made me smile and several that made me sad, each day was filled with strength building moments.
SO... while I don't have many new stories, my heart is full, anticipating what God has next for me. Here's a video that my wee friend Maeve and I have put together for you. Many of you have heard the Cholera story but this time you get to hear Maeve and I tell it together, from Haiti! Enjoy!
The bells of East Bergholt, Suffolk 19th May 2012
A demonstration of the unique method of ringing the bells at East Bergholt, Suffolk during the KCACR Rochester District outing on 19th May 2012. This is the back 4 of the 5 bells.