CME 2023

15/07/2023 - LMS Jubilee - 45699 "Galatea" as 45627 "Sierra Leone" running over an hour late and in foul conditions storms Whalley Banks on a "Cumbrian Mountain Express" heading for Preston from Carlisle via the S & C.

 

Ais Gill. Thankfully dry when it came through, but it was pretty full on stair rods for the wait beforehand. The brolly and waterproof trousers did good.


Galatea at Ais Gill

 

RTTand RRailcam werent working very well today. Checking the CME on RTT there was a gap between Balshaw Lane and Carnforth, no intermediate times. As of 1400 when I was checking Railcam for the Leander move the diagram was still showing the CME as being in the loop.

 

Ps does anyone have the identity of the two diesels behind Leander on its move to Crewe, and did both diesels go all the way to Crewe or did they detach at Preston

 

A couple of images from today, Docker Viaduct and approaching Birkett Tunnel.

 

THE CUMBRIAN MOUNTAIN EXPRESS SATURDAY 15TH JULY 2023


Away on holiday abroad for the first time in a very long while, I kept a keen interest in the weather forecasts for the North of England over the last week or so. As recently explained by Mr Shuttleworth, WCR and RTC only use diesel assistance on their tours when necessary, and I wanted to weigh up the chances of a steam-only train. I fully realise that sometimes a diesel may be necessary but prefer to spend my money on a steam-only tour where possible. Absent leaf fall, heat waves or the need for electric train heating there seemed a good chance of this run being steam-only – that is, if the forecast kept good – that is to say a reasonable amount of rain over the week.

While the presence of rain in the week before the tour would be likely to be the primary determinant of the issue, I couldn’t help but note that of course the fifteenth of July is St Swithin’s Day, and by legend if it rains on that day it may rain continuously for 40 days. Well, if there is any truth in that, after the dousing today, the prospects for steam-only with WCR and RTC this summer should be good indeed.

St Swithin’s Day also has a particular significance for me, being my birthday, and what better way to spend it than with my wife and her sister behind main line steam on two of my favourite North of England routes.

And so it was that on Thursday 13th I took the plunge, and booked three standard class seats for today.

We would be joining at Preston, and as the train rolled into platform 3 on time this morning, there was a 37 on the front and a 47 on the back. The train proceeded to Carnforth without event, the 37 was coupled off and 45627 Sierra Leone was coupled on.

Time for departure came and went – I think the Edinburgh TPE was a couple of minutes late, but at 1128 we glided out of Carnforth Up and Down Goods Loop.

What a start it was. Too good, I feared, and as speed rose rapidly up to 38mph by the bottom of Yealand Bank I feared the worst – that the 47 was still on the back. I made a discreet enquiry of our steward, who came back with the answer, moments later, that there was no diesel in the formation.

The climb to Yealand Summit was taken with vigour, with speed dropping only to 36mph, and the acceleration began along the three and a half miles of favourable or level gradients between the top of Yealand and the bottom of Grayrigg. Speed climbed steadily, and we began the ascent of the 1 in 173 at a pretty healthy 63mph. This had the makings of a seriously good run for a Jubilee with 11 coaches behind the tender.

As one would expect, the speed gently dropped, coming down to 56 before the easing to the 1 in 193 in the Hincaster Junction area, and with a plateau effect in the speed, before meeting the more serious 1 in 111 at 56mph.

Foreseeably, the speed dropped off once more, with 47 through Oxenholme, but with no overt sign of any trouble that might lie ahead. The steep mile or so after Oxenholme at 1 in 104 brought the speed down to around 39mph, and while the performance might now be seen as average, compared with the fast start, it was not troubling.

However, as we met the easier gradients, speed continued to decline, and dropped slowly but surely, such that by the time we embarked on the “sting in the tail” that is the fnal two miles of 1 in 106 on Grayrigg, we had dropped just below the 30mph mark, and we did well to clear Grayrigg Summit at 25mph.

Speed began to pick up after Grayrigg, with a steady increase to 45 by Low Gill, and a start on Shap of at least 60 seemed on the cards, and deep in the Lune Gorge at Dillicar we seemed on track for that, with speed just touching 55mph.

Then the brakes came on. The train continued to slow, and it seemed extremely likely that we were going into the loop at Tebay. Whether this was requested or not was not at that stage clear.

We gently ran into the Tebay Loop at regulation speed and announcements indicated boiler pressure had been thought to be too low to tackle the climb of Shap.

The caution of the stewards’ announcements was understandable, but the wording seemed to leave open the distinct possibility of diesel rescue assistance.

However, as time went on, the situation at the front end clearly improved, and after the passage of one WCML express and one TPE express, a significant pathing gap opened up, such that we left Tebay loop at 1249, just as the heavens opened with torrential rain.

The climb of Shap from a standing start in such circumstances was a severe challenge, but the crew and locomotive, man and machine in harmony rose to it magnificently. Speed had reached 23mph by the time the really steep stuff started at milepost 33.25, settling down to 17-18 after a well controlled slip near Scout Green (flange lubricator perhaps?)

On we battled at much the same pace to the summit, strains of the Jubilee music reaching back to our seats in the tenth coach.

Once over the top, a fast run down the hill ensued, with a peak at or near the permitted maximum, broken only by a 20mph TSR roughly half way between Penrith and Carlisle.

53 minutes and 20 seconds after leaving Tebay Loop, we came to a stand in Carlisle station, just a little over an hour late.

Departure was booked for 1422, and realistically, there was no chance of an on time departure, given the various movements and servicing that would be required, but, entirely understandably, the stewards had no choice but to advise passengers to be back on board for that time, so that the departure was not unnecessarily delayed further, when the train was ready.

Nearly 20 minutes had been pulled back when we finally departed at 1504, some 42 minutes late.

The first eight miles out of Carlisle consist of nearly a mile restricted at 20mph round the various curves and across the various junctions before a further seven miles “against the collar” to the first significant summit at Low House. The climb effectively comes in two parts, with a short easier stretch near Howe and Co Siding. The first part was taken at a pretty rock steady 23mph, with an increase at Howe and Co to around 32, before we dropped back again, clearing Low House at around 25.

Now only in the third coach, we were treated to a true Stanier symphony as Driver Blair made good use of the downhill stretch, touching 51mph before starting to slow again as the gradient once again turned against us on the way through Armathwaite and the Barons Wood Tunnels.

Down to around 46, speed once again rose in the dip through Lazonby, reaching around 55. The climb towards Langwathby was tackled with vigour, with a minimum of 36 before we once again reached easer stretches.

The notes in the margin of my timings record that the Jubilee must now be “properly warmed up”, with “cinders bouncing of the roof”, as we made our progress between Waste Bank Tunnel and Culgaith Tunnel.

A good run through to Appleby ensued, with speed hovering in the late 40s and early 50s, before we arrive in the market town, fame for its horse fair, some 51 minutes an 15 seconds after leaving Carlisle. I have done this stretch in a significantly quicker time, but given the weather conditions an the earlier problems, perhaps reflective of coal quality or other steaming issues, this still ranks as a decent performance, in my view.

A brief splash and dash meant that our steed would not have time to cool down, and with the locomotive watered (during which time I had an ice cream from the platform stand), we were on our way again, eleven minutes later.

No matter how good the crew, the locomotive or the coal, a 5X with 11 on is never going to be in line to be getting anywhere near the Blue Riband but such is the extent to which that piece of preservation history is engrained in the mind of many travelling enthusiasts, thoughts (mine at least) always seem to turn to how well we might do on the measured stretches.

60mph at Ormside Viaduct may be possible for some locomotives, in certain conditions, although 50-53mph has been more common in my recent experience.

Soon after we left Appleby, events conspired such that it quickly became clear that even that lower range would be way out of reach. There were a couple of well controlled slips, on reaching 17-18mph, which probably cost us, cumulatively, around 5-6 mph, but just as that seemed to be behind us and we had reached 23mph, things went quiet at the front end and the brakes came on. Speaking to the driver later, he indicated a faulty signal was responsible. With great perseverance, Driver Blair once again set 45627 (or should that be 45731 – get it?) to her task but with Ormside Viaduct no more than a mile away, at most, and the weather conditions grim, we were clearly in for a very challenging climb, not for the first time today.

We passed milepost 275, the start of the measured section at around 37, battling up the gradient ahead, and with speed steadily and predictably declining, we entered the relative sanctuary of Helm Tunnel at 27. Once out the other end, we had the notorious Helm Wind to contend with and speed continued to decay, albeit with the pace slowing, such that by the time the easier gradients were reached at Griseburn, speed was down to 23.

A workmanlike recovery over the easier gradients ensued. My notes refer to the cinders showing through the open window on to my table, and by the time we entered Crosby Garrett Tunnel, we were back up to 38mph, a full 15mph increase, ready for the long gruelling section ahead up to Mallerstang.

Over Smardale Viaduct (38mph) and through Waitby Rock Cutting (32mph), we powered on through Kirkby Stephen (23mph) before a little rally to 26mph as the gradient briefly eases past the signal box. The long straight up to Birkett Common took its toll as the weather remained grim, with a seeming decrease in the decibel level. We entered Birkett Tunnel at around 19-20mph. There was a heavy but brief slip, and out of the tunnel we came at 18mph, just about holding that past milepost 264.25, as usual, the slowest part of today’s climb.

A significant effort on the easier stretch at Mallerstang meant that we tackled the start of the final three punishing miles of 1 in 100 at a heady 28mph and on we went. My notes refer to the exhaust “reverberating around the fells” as we crossed Ais Gill Viaduct at around 19-20mph, with an increase in speed to 26mph on the flat by the summit board and milepost 259.75, having covered the Blue Riband section in 32 minutes and 18 seconds.

Thereafter, my notes are more sporadic but I did record 43 at Shotlock Hill Tunnel, 50 at Garsdale and 40 on entering Rise Hill Tunnel, with speed dropping for the 30mph restriction through Dent, before our Driver got 45627 back up to 47 by Arten Gill.

After the usual restricted run over the viaduct a fast run down the hill ensued, with speed at or near the permitted maximum, before a further water stop at Hellifield.

It seemed touch and go to me as to whether we would be in front or behind the Horrocksford Junction stopper, leaving Hellifield some 75 minutes late, but we made up a little time as we descended into Pendle Witch Country. We passed the unit just before Clitheroe meaning it would not check our progress on Wilpshire Bank.

The decibel levels increased and, well, what can I say? Shall we just say it was a very good climb up Wilpshire? Anyone nearby could surely not fail to be moved as the 1in 80 was conquered…

All too soon, we arrived back at Preston, some further time clawed back. A day with its challenges, but which were overcome so well. Thank you to all involved. It was a wonderful way to spend my birthday – a great day behind steam.

 

45699 seen charging through Oxenholme Station followed by 45231 gliding out of Birkett Tunnel Carlisle bound then 45699 at Birkett Common as the weather took a turn for the worse.

 

The tree on the left is a killer now to see all the way down the track sadly .

 

Excellent effort, Nige. Looks like gills and scales would have been more useful than a coat out there today.

 

It looked like the area covered by Preston Panel lost all data feeds to down stream systems like RTT. If the train describers linked to the timetable database failed, the signallers would be in real trouble. There is still quite a bit of late running and cancellation of loal services.
Nothing shown on recently cleared items on National Rail Enquiries - perhaps 40' + late running is just accepted on WCML?

Cheers, Neil

 

You’re not wrong there Alan, cheers.

 

According to RTT the two trains actually met at Appleby and stopped there to pass the time of day, one from 1547 to 1609 and the other from 1556 to 1607.
https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:U91399/2023-07-15/detailed
https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:U55480/2023-07-15/detailed
But our new member @Julian Jones's account (post #648) doesn't mention the other train being there.

 

That is correct. In fact both trains were taking water at the same time . Galatea from the water tower and 45231 from a water tanker. Needless to say Galatea was watered the faster so came and went. An additional extra for us passengers on the Cumbrian Mountain Express was at Hellifield where we saw British India Line (BIL) come charging through with it’s support coach en route to Carnforth.

 

The other train was there - I simply didn’t mention it to kept the content at a reasonable length in what was already a long post. Likewise, with 35018 passing at Hellifield. I’ve been on railtours passing one steam before, but can’t remember a day involving passing two. Incidentally, I’m not sure why I’m described by the system as a new member since I think I’ve been a member for the best part of 15 years, perhaps it’s governed by how much activity one undertakes as I don’t post very often.

 

An excellent and informative read, as is your norm. You perhaps didn't get quite the trip that you might have anticipated but out over Shap, back over Ais Gill and up Wilpshire behind unassisted steam is always to be savoured.

 

Picture on Facebook taken by Alistair Moulstone:

 

Wonder if there were ‘friendly’ greetings exchanged on whistles?

 

Thank you for your kind words, David, and sorry you didn’t quite make it to Wilpshire in time.