70000 - Cumbrian Fells Express - 30/05/2015

Some great film footage there and thanks for sharing.

If I had been travelling on the Brit though I would not have been too happy. Climb up Shap ruined by that plodding Jubilee. What was it burning?
Filthy exhaust!

 

Ais Gill passed in 28 41 from Appleby @ 47mph. Good recovery to 51 at Mallerstang after Helm Tnl 25 slack. 36 mph at Ramsgreave from 28 on the viaduct.

 

Great video Steve, shame that Britannia was, ahem, held up by the slow preceding train on Shap, but her performance over the S & C looks to have made up for that. Belting sound & vision as usual Steve. Many thanks for sharing. Cheers, Alan

 

Thanks Alan , a bit odd that 45699 was not put in at Grayrigg or Tebay as the Brit was less than four minutes behind Galatea at Oxenholme .

 

Brilliant video Smithy.

 

Nice film and good to see the "no heads" rules being enforced rigorously.

 

Back at Crewe 25 early. Got road at Farington Jn ahead of late Pendo. Lets hope we don't have to wait here for an hour!

 

Nice.

 

What a wonderful video. I never thought we would see that sight on Shap ever again.
Pretty frustrating for the DBS crew on 70000 though as the Brit safety valves lift furiously in the background as 45699 struggles up the bank. What were they burning on the Jubilee?

 

Looks like they were burning old tyres on the Jubilee.....

 

Or Victor's old socks!

 

Speeding through Barons Wood, BR 7MT Class 4-6-2 No. 70000 'Britannia' makes a fine sight with the return working of the 'Cumbrian Fells Express'

 

A bit odd that WCRC put the weaker of two locos on this tour unassisted, yet 45690 had a diesel on the back on what is, Miles Platting aside, an easier route.

 

Amazing footage Phil, never seen anything like this before.

Steven

 

The scene on Shap was surreal,the Jub approaching me with the Brit's smoke in the background was simple incredible!

The shots already uploaded are stunning,who'd have thought this was 2015,and following the recent events with WCRC! Steam is alive and kicking it would seem.

My shots:

45699 with 70000 in the distance (smoke of):
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mark-walker/18274823485/

70000 on Shap:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mark-walker/18087017448/

70000 at Birkett Tunnel:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mark-walker/18087011508/in/photostream/

Cheers,
Mark

 

Great stuff as expected from you Steve, first thing I looked at after our brief chat today.

Steven

 

Some shots from me with video to follow at some point. Second shot a going away of 70000 with Galatea in the distance.

 

When aren't there? Carnforth still using up the Daw Mill sweep-ups presumably?

 

In that marvellous video from Shap, the Jubilee is not only making black smoke but also apparently exhausting a lot more steam than Britannia. With the same load and going at about the same speed, the only reason for more steam is using it less efficiently, by a much longer cut-off. The nominal TE is somewhat lower, but I suspect that the boiler pressure was well below what it should have been. As ragl says, this isn't the first run up Shap apparently spoilt by poor coal.

 

Interestingly, that train was closer behind the CFE than the CFE was behind the CCE. CFE driver possibly holding back a bit more to avoid having to stop dead on the bank?