45699 Galatea

You can't beat a good bit of light-hearted banter.
It would be great if 45581 Bihar and Orissa or 45695 Minotaur were to emerge from Carnforth. Two of Farnley Junction's best. Do you agree Victor?

 

Last year 5305 took 12 Northbound over Shap, so A Jub should be able to take that, if not more.

 

I am told by someone who knows such things that the normal booked passenger load for a Black 5 over the S&C in BR days was 10. Not sure if you can extrapolate what the loading for a 5XP would have been.

 

Damn right, that Bihar and Orissa really was something else when an "enthusiastic" crew were doing the business. You never forget a machine like that. Get those two Jubilees doing a Liverpool - Newcastle TOGETHER...................scary. As youngsters the highlight of the day for us was the daily double header over the New Leeds line between Huddersfield and Leeds. The sparks really did fly. Usually a Scot and a black 5, occasionally/rare occasions, 2 Jubilees.
Happy happy days.

 

12 does seem a fair old train for a 5. But a 5 can probably shift anything that a Jubilee can anyhow, more a question of how quickly... Leisurely trip was it. ?

 

Oh yes,don't think we got much past 40 all day... Until we passed Shap going south..then we were looped.
Sounded good though.

 

We did pretty well with 5305 load 12 on the 27th August last year, easily reaching 50-60mph on the WCML and 60mph through Lancaster and down from Shap, though more leisurely on the S&C, with a bit of spirited running to Appleby, but not much more.

Not my vid, but shows the 5 on Shap and the S&C:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcoFBJrH7x8

 

One of my best memories is a trip back home from a Lakeland holiday with two Black 5s on an extra as far as Crewe. I don't remember the load but it was more than 10 and there were long spells of fast running. EE Type 4 south from Crewe.

 

Leander took 12 both ways over the S&C on 1st Sept 2010, hauling The Fellsman. She didn't set any speed records but she certainly wasn't struggling. There was a whisp of steam at the saftey valves crossing Ribblehead in the morning and cresting Ais Gill in the afternoon, and she roared over Whalley Arches in the evening, getting a good run at Wilpshire bank. Two days later she took 8 over Shap and Beattock working The West Highlander and again there was a feather of steam from the safety valves passing Greenhillstairs.

As we've discussed before, the limit is not what a loco will pull up a bank with a flying start but what it can restart from a dead stand.

 

There is a story in a book at home by John Easter Roberts (I'll look up the title tonight) of a 5X restarting a 20 coach ecs train northbound on Shap. It took a long time to reach the summit, but did it. Whether or not this would be acceptable in front of a Pendo is a different matter.

Edit: Just remebered - Hazards of the Footplate!

 

Does anyone know what the boiler in the background of this phot is ?: 22107 37710 Carnforth | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Chimney doesn't look right for a Jubilee, Looks more Black 5/8F, 44932 or 48151 having attention perhaps, or has another class members boiler found it's way there ?.

 

The smokebox plate says 45231, it could be an elaborate ruse though!

 

It's a Class 5 boiler - the handrails are mounted lower on a Jube.

 

45231 has been under overhaul all year at Carnforth,
I'd believe what you see.. It's usually right.

Dont forget as well as 45699, 5690 is under overhaul there too... If there's a ruse it'll probably be a jubilee in undercoat without numbers or names.. That'll test you.
And if they really did want the smoke and mirrors.. (it was said both would be ready together), they could put the name of one, and the number of the other.. Then you really won't know what's done until they've done it.

 

Someone who has access to the magic box would be able to tell you, TOPS number would be the giveaway.

 

I reckon it is 45231 - compare it with this photo & you'll see that rivet for rivet (rivet hole for rivet hole) all match up as well as almost everything else, although the plate directly behind the chimney is new:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...ter_-_Fort_William_-_kingsley_-_02-JUL-09.JPG

 

The picture I found was on a PUBLIC railway group, so I presumed it was ok to repost the link here, I now see it was not. I am sorry for any problems caused and have asked the moderators to keep the link removed.