The Christmas Cheshireman,19/11/16.

My video filmed from Narroways Hill Junction around 7.45 this morning:

 

The 5s tonight twixt Chester and Crewe:


Chris

 

Thanks Stewart, as usual stood in sunshine for about an hour until the train was almost due!

 

Footage of the Fives gunning over the summit at Church Stretton outbound then thundering away from Chester on the return.

 

Went well up through Pilning, anyone have the speed over the top ?

 

It sounds like it was a sucessful day, albeit with a minor problem or two, and all the videos of the day show the Fives in the sort of form we've come to expect from them.

My effort from a dark Nantwich, on the return leg.

 

Of course ....
Out of the big hole at 46.7; end of 1 in 100 42.3; Pilning 44.1 rising to 50 on the level to the foot of the 1 in 68 to Patchway; mile or so into the 1 in 68, Patchway Short Tunnel 44.5, held into Main Tunnel; Exited up the 1 in 90 at 38.7; Summit 36 then eased to 32.5 through station.

 

Probably costly too as we delayed the Manchester-Cardiff by 26 minutes between Hereford and Pontypool Road. Only 3 mins was made up to Cardiff.

 

Really unusual and the Sun played a BIG part. Like it !!

 

Really good day yesterday, despite the time keeping issues. As well as the ridiculously competitive offer to travel; we had forward facing seats, standard class right behind the loco's all day, working steam heat and no diesel! I think I made it 240 miles from Abergavenny, those from Bristol must have had over 300. The fives were well on top of the 12 coach load all day, with plenty of running in the low 60's. The weather was crisp but mainly sunny, the Marches countryside lovely.
RTC were excellent too; plenty of timely announcements and attention from stewards, very nice mulled wine and mince pies and the younger travellers enjoyed a visit from the man in the red suit. I was even allowed to stand at a door window provided I didn't lean out!
Despite the many grumbles on here and elsewhere, it is still possible to get a good steam hauled trip out in 2016! Thanks to all involved for a great day out.

 

Surprised to read this, wonder why we weren't looped at Hereford? I'm glad we weren't, as I think we all wanted to get home after the delays at Craven Arms, but surely would have been the sensible thing to do operationally?

 

Where does that stand in terms of delay mins if there was the opportunity to loop but the signaller chose to decline it ?, surely you can't hold the TOC liable for that ?.

 

We was lucky with the steam heating in coach H. For the return we had a few others join us from a not so warm carriage. Good to see the window/vestibule rule not heavily enforced, this makes all the difference for me. I was also glad we didn't take that operational stop at STJ on the return.

 

The steam heat dropped out between Hereford and Shrewsbury on way up but was toasty at all other times. The stewards were all very fair, despite the immense pressure tour operators are under this year.

 

For those interested in how the 5s went....

Christmas Cheshireman 19th November 2016

You can't escape early starts even when the starting point, Bristol Temple Meads is only 50 minutes away. For this train what with unpredictable motorway closures we hit the road ay 0515 to give us time to collect a friend from Newport. The car was well frozen but the roads were fine and we duly arrived at BTM at 0620.

The stock was delayed by frozen points at Kingsland Road, no real surprise there. Both support Coaches accompanied the engines making the load 12. We were then further delayed by three false starts. The second was a characteristic sharp TPWS brake application which indeed was the issue with 44871, the lead engine. There was talk about taking the engines off and switching places as we stood outside Barton Hill but it kicked back into life and we made our fourth start almost 45 mins down, not what was wanted at all on today's busy railway.

After a quick getaway, Dr Days(17); Lawrence Hill(28); Stapleton Road on the 1 in 75 (34) speed dropped below 20 as the 0715 Avonmouth-BTM crossed from Narroways Hill Jn. Unsurprisingly it was a steady climb then up the remaining 2 miles of 1 in 75 and we passed the summit at 24.9. we were lucky with a path across Filton Junction and had an unimpeded run to the Magor Water Stop. We love this route as it challenges the engines and crews so many times. It's all downhill to the Big Hole which we entered at 54.5. the climb into Wales is the steeper one, almost 4 miles at 1 in 90, 3 in the tunnel. We burst out at 40 into a frosty landscape and with the two 5s working hard, slogged up the final mile of 1 in 90, topping it at 37.6.

Apart from the tanker being on the wrong side of the railway at Magor at first, the water stop was uneventful. Being 30 minutes down actually gave us a good path to Maindee East and onto the 'Marches' route an Maindee North (15). After crossing the Usk River Bridge(23) the climb to Cwmbran and onwards to Pontypool Road starts over mixed grades to Ponthir(42). The 5s then made a noisy climb up the 4 miles of 1 in 120/106, with speed falling slowly to 36 before we were checked by a yellow signal a mile and a half in, just where the 1 in 106 started. This seemed to be due to the Milford Haven-Manchester being at Cwmbran Station and brought our speed down to just over 24. The 5s picked up to 26 before braking for our pick up at Cwmbran.

It was a slippery restart but the 5s soon got into their work and we had a superb climb of the over 2 miles of 1 in 95 towards Pontypool Road with speed rising to just over 29 before the 1/2 mile of 1 in 358 into the station(43). It's undulating to Abergavenny. We got to 59 down the dip after Nantyderry and the 5s were worked quite hard on the gentle climb from Penpergwm(50) to Hardwick(38) at which point we slowed for our final pickup at Abergavenny, just over 30 minutes down.

It's treacherous around Abergavenny this time of year with plenty of leaf fall, frost and wet rails to contend with. Wisely our drivers - Mick Kelly on 44871 and Pete Roberts on 45407 took it gently, but still slipped a couple of times getting away on the curve which is on the 1 in 85. After the first half mile it steepens to 1 3/4 miles of 1 in 82, met at 16. The 5s were driven steadily and speed rose to 23 a mile in; to 26 as the grade eased to 1 in 95 for the final mile and a half to the summit. This final section was really noisy and smoky and the summit was topped at 33, excellent for the conditions but losing us 6 minutes to the schedule. This was fortunately irrelevant as following services were concerned. That's all of significance, climbing wise, on the first part of the journey.

Mick and Pete worked the 5s down the grade through Pontrilas(56); then over mostly level/gently falling grades through St Devereux(59); Tram Inn(57); then up into Rise Hill Tunnel(55); Rotherwas Jn(55) to arrive at Hereford Up Relief 41 late. The engines were taken off and after a couple of trains passed, backed into the bay for watering. This lost us another 6 minutes to the schedule. The 5s blasted out of Hereford and passed Shelwick Jn(39); Moreton-on-Lugg(55) and hit the bottom of the 2 miles of 1 in 100 to Dinmore at 59. We roared into the tunnel at 57, blasted out at 54 and got to our 'max' of 60 soon after on the falling grades. The gentle climb to Leominster was met at 62 and the station passed at 59. No chasers on the parallel road surprisingly. We passed Wooferton at 62 and it must have looked impressive as we burst out of Ludlow Tunnel into the station at 59. Speed was held in the high 50s over the gently rising grades to Onibury LC(57).

It's here the climb of Stretton Bank starts. The 5s were worked hard and speed was 59 at the foot of the 1 1/2 miles of 1 in 112, falling to 51. We passed Stokesay(50); Craven Arms(48); after a minimum of 42 we picked up to 45 up the 3/4 mile of 1 in 105. The 5s used the falling gradients to hit 57 before dipping to 56 at Marsh Brook. With a lot of noise from the front we only lost 3mph on the 2 miles of 1 in 112, then crested the summit of the short 1 in 150 at 54. We charged down through All Stretton Halt at just over 60 and held 60 most of the way to Sutton Bridge Jn(30), still 40 minutes down. We were held at English Bridge Jn and lost another 7 minutes and again in P3 at Shrewsbury where we left 51 down. Couldn't figure out why from RTT but signallers always have a reason...

We made a swift and noisy departure from Shrewsbury. A mile or so past Shrewsbury Box we met the mile of 1 in 100 at 31 and topped it at 39. Gentler grades to Leaton LC saw speed rise to 56. From MP182 3/4(62) our speed fell to 53 at the top of the mile and a half of 1 in 178/132. A bit further on after a dip(60) we topped a mile or so of 1 in 132 at 52. We crossed Whittington LC at 40 but then the climb to Gobowen was checked for a reason not evident on train or RTT. We drifted into Chirk, our water stop on this leg, 58 down. There was a big tanker there but we'd walked from 4 back along the platform onto the bridge before the hoses were connected. The pump wasn't up to much and didn't 'pop' the hoses as you see on the Bells and Two Tones tankers. The coal was well down the tenders on both engines too. The combination of the slow watering and having to wait for the Holyhead-Cardiff to clear the single line over Gresford lost us another 10 minutes.

The 5s charged down the bank to the Dee viaduct(51), then lost 8 mph to the mile and a bit of 1 in 83 towards Ruabon after which it was pretty much downhill to Wrexham(46, 66 late). We got to 60 down Gresford Bank and with an uninterrupted run into Chester arrived at 1410, 64 down after an adventurous and entertaining journey.

Despite the foreshortened layover, the 5s left the reception sidings and backed the train into Chester Station almost on time. It's not a particularly taxing route to Crewe and we duly charged out of the station and got to 60 about 8 miles out in just over 10 minutes. The 5s held around 60 over the gentle climb through Beeston Castle and speed increased to 62/3 a couple of miles from Crewe. We drifted into P12 virtually on time. There was a momentary stop but not the expected crew change so we assumed that had happened at Chester with Ray Poole on the lead engine, still 44481, and Ian Riley on 45407. We charged out of the station and passed Gresty Lane at 52; Nantwich(60) and hit the bottom of the one significant grade - a mile and a quarter of 1 in 97 at 60 with speed falling gradually to 51. The line climbs for the next 6 miles to the approaches of Whitchurch. The first couple of miles average out at 1 in 165 over which speed only fell to 49. The mile+ of 1 in 230 was topped at 55 and it got noisier over the mile of 1 in 110(51); mile of 1 in 107(48) and the final 1/2 mile of 1 in 115(48). Not sure why, but there was a bit of hard braking(34) before we swept around the curve through Whitchurch at 47. Speed rose to 64 on the falling grades and was held around 61 through Prees, Wem and Yorton. We drifted through Shrewsbury right time and after Sutton Bridge Jn (35) did a bit of noisy climbing up the 2 miles of 1 in 127(43). There are changing gradients for a few miles and a dip where speed rose to 54 at the foot of the 7 1/2 mile long Stretton Bank. It starts with a short section of 1 in 130(54); then: a mile and a half of 1 in 562 through Dorrington (55 down to 51); a mile and a half at 1 in 105/150(51); the steepest section, a mile of 1 in 90 where the noise level increased(48); half a mile of 1 in 117(47) that took us onto the final 3 miles, mostly at 1 in 100.

The 5s sounded superb as they gave nothing to the gradient, passing All Stretton at 47 and then storming the final mile+ of 1 in 252 through Church Stretton at 53. An excellent climb in the wet with 12 up. It's pretty much downhill after that and we passed Marsh Brook LC at 63 before drifting into Craven Arms DGL 2 early. We had the same problem with the tanker here and consequently left 30 minutes late, something you do not want to do on this route. We left the loop and passed through the station at 26, making good use of the falling grades to get to 61 in 2 miles. The Manchester-Cardiff was only 20 minutes behind us so it was important we kept to time. We crossed Onibury LC at 63; Bromfield LC at 61. Speed dropped to 57 as we climbed noisily through Ludlow and its tunnel, and then we went a bit quickly for a few miles.

There's a short climb of 1 in 372 to Wooferton(58) followed by just over a mile of 1 in 100/115(51). Then it was downhill to Leominster(61). We met the couple of miles of 1 in 122/153d/300/264 at 58 with speed falling to 36 around the tight curves into Dinmore Tunnel. We charged into the night again and blasted through Moreton-on-Lugg at 61; slowed for Shelwick Jn(29) and drifted through Hereford Station at 23, 32 minutes down.

Due to the station stops we were still 18 minutes ahead of the Cardiff Train. South of Hereford there's was a nice noisy climb to Red Hill Tunnel. It starts off with a mile and a half of 1 in 220/287(47)/143(47); 3/4 mile of 1 in 92(44) and a final mile of 1 in 104 into the tunnel(42.6). It's downhill for the next 8 miles; Tram Inn(55); St Devereux(61); Pontrilas a generous 60 in the dip with a touch of the brakes taking us to the foot of Llanvihangel Bank at 55. It's not a vicious bank like the northbound one. The first 3/4 mile of 1 in 216 saw speed fall to 53; then a mile+ of 1 in 170(53); a 1/4 mile of 1 in 300 down(54); a mile of 1 in 204(55); 3/4 mile of 1 in 100(51); 1/2 mile of 1 in 99(49); a mile+ of 1 in 100(45.4); the final 1/2 mile of 1 in 512 to the summit, passed at 44.1.

Normally it's a rapid run down the bank through Abergavenny but as it was a set down, the max was 53. We left Abergavenny 31 down with the Cardiff only 10 minutes behind us. Not good with a potential water stop to come. We charged out of the station and passed Penpergwm at 61.5 but slowed a little over the Usk Bridge to meet the mile and a half of 1 in 80 at 57. Despite a lot of noise from the front we only topped this section at 38.4. Speed rose to 49 over the 3/4 mile of level/1 in 416 down and then the final mile through Nantyderry saw it fall to 44.6. after a mile of 1 in 141 down(53) there's just over 2 miles of 1 in 104. Little Mill Jn (1/2 mile in) was passed at 51; a mile in(40) then the 5s were eased to drift into Pontypool Road, 31 late, for the booked water stop.

By now we were holding up the Cardiff service and it was being held just south of Little Mill Jn. We took the full 25 minutes allowed to hopefully take on enough water for a non-stop run to Bristol, pathing permitting. We got to 58 down the 1 in 95 but were still 29 down at Cwmbran. Ray and Ian made a serious attempt to make up time and we got to 60 in 2 miles down the bank. The approach to Maindee Jns is a slow one due to the restriction over the Usk River Bridge(15). RTT was showing us a possibility of a clear path to Severn Tunnel Jn and beyond but we were on the relief and only achieved a max of 45. We got a bit worried when we slowed to 16 where we were due to take water, but the signals changed to green and we picked up speed rapidly to pass through the station at 38, 7 minutes early, and use the 1 in 90 down to enter the Big Hole at 53.

Personally I can't understand why passengers get off at Cwmbran. Who'd want to miss the climb out of the Big Hole and up through Patchway Tunnel to the summit? We could feel the 5s attacking the mile and a half of 1 in 100 to get to the eastern portal of the Big Hole. We burst out noisily at 46.7 onto a further mile and a half+ of 1 in 100(42.3). Then there's a break of 1/4 mile of 1 in 636(45) followed by half a mile+ of level track starting at Pilning(44). Ray and Ian used it well, picking up to just over 50 to meet the fun bit - the almost 2 miles of 1 in 68 into Patchway Short(44.5) then Long Tunnels(44.5). The grade eases to 1 in 90 once in the small bore tunnel. We burst out of it at 38.7 with a minimum speed of 36 on the 1 in 90 before being eased through Patchway Station at 33.

Remarkably for a Saturday Night we had a green across Filton Junction and after our set down at Filton Abbey Wood we were allowed into P6 4 minutes early.

All in all we had an excellent day out with Ian's Black 5s, just as we've come to expect. The issues with 44871 at the start of the day fortunately didn't cause us any real problems. The support crews did a magnificent job at Chester to get the engines ready for a right time departure. Thanks to everyone for running a proper steam hauled train over a challenging scenic route.