71000 DoG on the Lickey Incline

A couple of us waited at Barnes until 22.10 then gave up, was it late or re-routed?

Mike M. (70c)

 

It was through Wellingborough about 40 minutes late on the slow line.

 

youve got to admitted that Duke of gloucester did really well to get speed up through bromsgrove as DOG had a good load of 13+Diseal which i would class a 2. so 15 coaches being pulled up the lickey incline was fantastic.

Its unbelievable to say 3 tours up the Lickey incline has got to be a record since the end of steam? unless anyone knows any different? Hopefully next year tornado will make it up, i had hope that the Duchess of Sutherland would make it down their .

 

It was 30 mins late passing St Albans City and the signal box (which was very crowded!) on the slow line, but the oncoming dusk and cloudy conditions made for poor photography, alas!
But it looked great to the naked eye!

Regards,
John Webb

 

I baled out at Kettering and got to St Albans in time to see her past the box. Looked good enough on video which always works well in low light. A lot of the lateness was caused by B##### trespassers between Corby and Kettering and we stood north of the junction for nearly half an hour. Great day out but at the back a long was from the Duke unfortunately.

 

Sorry was should be way!

 

Sorry to hear of this long delay after what appeared to be a good day out,

probably the usual reason the local radio gets hold

of the news and tells everyone to get out and see it without a mention of trespassing.

It's the passengers and onboard staff I feel for that need to get home.

Mike M. (70c)

 

Go stand in the corner! Not only for suggesting that 71000 sounds like a box, but also for knowing the class numbers of two of those infernal machines! (wink).

I'm told by someone on the train that the youtube videos he has since found do show the box was pushing up Lickey. But that there was still some very good noise from the front, even though he was 12 cars back.

 

"Best guess" amongst the people above Vigo Bridge was that The Duke and the 66 had about half the train each, though the 66 may have been worked harder lower down, to acheive such impressive accelleration. As the train went away towards Blackwell, we could hear The Duke's exhaust clearly over the 66.

It was a DBS operation, wasn't it? Wayne, are you around? Can you enlighten us about the tactics used by the crews yesterday, please?

 

Not really blasphemy Martin as you are pretty much spot on. Did the Shap trials with 71000 back in 1995 and the exhaust from the Duke on both Grayrigg and Shap sounded very much like a diesel, I'd say Sulzer. She was making a fair old racket when she passed me above Vigo and pretty much drowned out the sound of the 66. As a sound recording is was completely different to what Peter Handford did on his Transacord LPs. I don't recall a single track where a train has taken the climb at the fly and everything was banked from a standing start with the ensuing struggle up the climb.

 

Thank to every one concerned i putting on yesterdays trip i had a very good day out, ther was a TSR at Stoke Works Jct 58mph the box then gave ahand to get the speed up to 65 at Bromsgrove lost GPS signal near top but was told it 34mph as for the IDIOTS along side the down fast atKettering north jct (with young children) every thing was brought to a stand still (even the service trains)but thing got better after sharnbrook 51.4 through Bedford plt 1 58.2 through Luton 69.9 St Albans 71.7 between St Albans and Mill Hill we had to stop at Acton Canal Wharf Jct for water (splash and dash) through Barnes at 22-22 1HR late into Waterloo. The day started badly as the Victoria line was suspended so a lot of us had to get to Readind.

 

My effort from Pikes Pool, unsuprisingly similar to Martin & Ricks efforts: http://david1984.fotopic.net/p66191002.html

 

Thanks for that report Alan, interesting reading. I wonder what the load would need to be to have had a box free run up Lickey. Maybe not enough to make the trip financially viable for those promoting it..

 

The idiots were on the bank too...

http://www.trainpics.net/p66185278.html

 

In rather poor light, 71000 crosses the viaduct at Harringworth:
http://aa.photosnaps.org.uk/p66191044.html


Cheers,
Alisdair

 

Did you see the two guys who'd set up their easy chairs inside the fence at the same location? They did move but I was too far away to hear if anyone had given them a rollocking.

 

Hi Alisdair,
I see you fancied a change of scene from ECgen then.

Rgds
Ian

 

I was hoping the sun was going to appear (cracking light in Northampton as I drove through), but never mind - can't win them all!!! At least one other EC chap in the same field as well (BW!)

Cheers,
Alisdair