The Winter Cumbrian Mountain Express 2015.

I admire your courage; I noted you on the hillside as I passed the site on the M6 en route to Tebay services for the Greenholme shot and that was at least 30 minutes before the train was due. I presume you were wearing a double set of thermals to cope with the wind chill.

 

What a brilliant day, Ive over 1 hour of footage on the S&C alone -it sounded so good it was just impossible to stop recording ! all recorded from the BSK at the front (yes I have seen my hand /camera hanging from the window on a few videos above.. sorry about that)

A loco confidently in charge with a crisp steady beat charging at speed , I don't think it was seriously taxed all day... just business as usual.

what a nice loco and fantastic condition, the final climb at Whalley was barely even registered by the loco, but it sure sounded good about its work and it topped it at good speed.
Here's approx. 30 mins of the southbound run:

Joining the S&C and accelerating away (nice sound ricochet off the buildings)
http://youtu.be/qXIVxuB98uo

exiting the tunnel at Culgaith, and accelerating past the British Gypsum factory
http://youtu.be/m3gn77wFDIY

a very confident departure from Appleby
http://youtu.be/anDAZa6Pyk8

speeding through Kirby Stephen
http://youtu.be/vkjoPK-gLHo

saving the best for last grand finale climbing Wilpshire... (1 very minor slip at speed on the bank, excellently recovered ! - listen carefully to catch it)

http://youtu.be/MFeisNaxz8M

Atmospheric departure from Blackburn
http://youtu.be/ZpTlFBBDE14

1st ever mainline trip behind a Duchess for me.. conclusion... it's obviously more powerful than a Brit.. it need an extra 3 on the back to bring out it's full voice but the voice it had was more than good enough

 

Absolutely brilliant! A good microphone wind shield makes a big difference.

 

I still believe the vid you did last year up through Mallerstang is the one to beat, that said, the effort you made to get to the location makes this vid a close run second-many thanks for sharing

 

Thank you very much indeed Al. I just wish I could watch the scene as well as film it.

Thanks Fred. I don't like to over-egg any hardship, but will honestly say it was one of my coldest 'lineside' experiences. Getting up there was ok; it was the sitting around for an hour or so which became rather uncomfortable.

Many thanks Shep - much appreciated. I prefer the Mallerstang sequence too.

 

Ralph was my mentor on this one, I plugged my iphone headset into the microphone output so I could listen to it whilst videoing.
It was without doubt much more windy on the trackside, than the embankment side of the train.

 

Indeed David, the dichotomy of railway photography. It struck me many years ago back in 1978 after a day chasing and photographing Evening Star on the S & C, I got some great photos but I could hardly remember much of the train actually passing!! Concentrating on and the taking of the photo, can rob you of the moment of actually being there witnessing the event, it's even worse with video as you can't take your eye away from the eyepiece until the train has passed!!

I often have an internal fight, whether to just watch the train and mentally burn the image into my memory cells or lift the camera to capture yet another image and risk "not being there" - ever so slightly Buddhist.

The good news though David, is that your videos are a permanent visual treat to revisit and enjoy, as they capture the magnificence of steam working hard in a suitable landscape; all I can say is thank you - and all the other video/photo contributors - for sharing your work with us.

Cheers

Alan

 

I feel exactly the same and with the improvements to YouTube I have almost given up taking video as so many others do it better. I thank all who provide links on NP to their videos. They provide much enjoyment.

 

I did enjoy the Kirby Stephen sequence.

But I did notice a problem with the exhaust beat of the loco. Was the middle cylinder not working properly?

 

Would that be BOTH middle cylinders ?

 

Sometimes Alan i just let the camera run and stand back as staring at a small LCD screen takes away the magic sometimes I think . Regards Steve

 

LOL!

Remember I am a Southern - "3 cylinders are best" - man through and through.

But I do appreciate the great enjoyment that the Duchess must have given many last weekend. But my own trips up there in normal steam days were Brits over Shap and a Jub over the Settle and Carlisle.

 

Many thanks Alan - you're welcome, and I'm sure all other uploaders would echo that. In many ways, I still find it surreal how you can view so many images and videos within hours and days of any railtour. Good times, although the old means of waiting for your film to be processed, waiting for the next edition of Steam Railway, or routing out images in books over time, certainly had its own pleasure.

Not long until the next instalment. Anybody wish to partake in a game of 'what will the speed over Shap be?' I would like to see her at least equal 60009's best speed from 2013 - which was in the low 40s if I recall correctly...

 

Dead right! No.9 produced a series of outstanding 8P performances on Shap in the series of WCME runs in February 2013, chronicled in all their fascinating detail by Mike Notley in SR issues 412 and 413. The particular run which I think you have in mind was the real tour-de-force on 16th February of that year , where the speed at MP37.25 was recorded as 44/43 and a minimum quoted of 42mph, having passed Tebay at 69mph. In doing so, No.9 achieved a passing time of 35 minutes 55 seconds from its start at Carnforth Loop (31.26 miles), and with load 12/ 445/ 475 that must have been pretty much identical to last week's WCME.

So, all in all, and relative to last week's performance, the bar has been set mighty high. On paper, the Duchess, with its superior tractive effort, should have the capability to match the average, and maybe even the best, of the 2013 runs with No.9, so perhaps it will be all down to factors like railhead conditions on the day, the Scout Green lubricator slip effect etc. It will be fascinating to see.....

 

Would be great to see the Duchess take the record from the south as well and do the 'double'

 

46233 makes a fine sight as she climbs away from Scout Green










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