The Elizabethan

It's just the whole " I like x , but can't stand and absolutely hate y", can get a little tiresome, rather like a kid watching Thomas the tank engine, if certain traction doesn't interest you, fair enough that's your choice, just don't see the need to constantly tell everyone that.

 

Hear hear, very well put !

Maybe "Hatherton Hall" and "spamcan81" should watch some old vids of Thomas the Tank Engine together, and shout obscenities at BoCo the Diesel. Might help get the frustration off their chests ?

 

Looking at my photos of the northbound, I noticed that Alycidon (which is in the best livery of all the Deltic schemes) has a fluorescent orange outline on the outer window frames.

Why is it there? H&S?

I've just noticed in cropping the attached photo that it's carrying its horns on the upper nose, in front of the windows. I recall Ballymoss having them there in the mid 60s and I also seem to recall it was the only Deltic so adorned at that time. I used to wind my mates up at the trackside by announcing that an approaching deltic was Ballymoss before we'd had a chance to see the number. They never twigged that the horns were in a different place, and I didn't tell them.

The prototype had horns on the cab roof, and also DP2, but Deltics normally had them tucked away down by the couplings.

 

It's the standard cant rail warning line, although the route taken round the window frames does look a bit odd!

Foxy

 

All Mainline registered Diesels/Electrics have the Orange Cantrail, I think even the Mk1/2 Railtour stock does as well.

 

Did other Deltics have them moved there later on ?, other Deltics in pres appear to have them in the same position as Alycidon now.

 

To be honest, I can't remember. But I'll look at some old photos I took later on to see if they show anything.

EDIT.

I've not got much to go on. By the 70s other things were grabbing my interest, but I've got some very poor photos of 55006 in Jan 78. 55002 in March and October 78 and 55012 in April 78 that all appear to show something that may be a horn on the top of the nose in front of the window, so it appears to have been the standard practice by then.

Further EDIT.

I've dug out Crepello from April 78. With a bit of imagination you could turn that dark smudge in front of the window into a horn.

 

Oh my God. What a brilliant idea. Odd to think though that even in these vids, the diesel is the villain and quite rightly so lol.

Come on guys chill out. I love my beloved steam locomotives because of the memories it brings back from my youth and the fact that no other form of transport stirs the juices of the general public than a steam train. That is a fact. Just look when a mainline tour next passes through your station and glance at the unsuspecting passengers and see their reactions. Pure magic and why? Because of steam. Says it all really. Magic.

 

I think the look on the faces of the "passengers" as we passed Durham Northbound, would be just as good a reaction i suppose!!!!!

Was a real comedy moment as D9009 went to full power after exiting the viaduct, but fortunately quick thinking saved the day..

 

What a load of ballocks. You seem to have not cottoned on to the fact that I actually like Deltics.

 

Erm - Its a bit long! Mods is there a posting size limit? I've just looked and i'm over 3 pages in word! Hope its of interest now!

 

[video=youtube;Ig4e66Zr5Qc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ig4e66Zr5Qc[/video]

 

The Elizabethan,
Long, Unique, Epic, Fantastic…Expensive finish!
Well the day started with a 03:30 alarm call to ensure I was on the 04:32 train into London, arrival at Kings X for 06:16 where I met the other 3 members of my party, the tour was in Platform 1 with a Class 67 at the stops but uncoupled from the train.
Deltic 9 looked resplendent in her two tone green, but one of my party remarked that one of the engines didn’t seem to be running quite right; to my untrained ear she sounded lovely http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8laPhIjQh78 there was barely enough time for a few quick snaps before we were being given the hurry up by the guards (06:45) to try and ensure a prompt departure, My party were in Coach B virtually right at the back of the train and had joined several coaches from the rear but we still had a delayed departure which was odd as there were large numbers of virtual empty carriages at this point!
We started out from the Cross then for no apparent reason ground to a halt in Gasworks tunnel, after a short delay we were underway again with a strong smell of diesel oil vapour left in the carriage….Hmmm!
Going up the hills out of the Cross brought us to a stand again at Alexandra Palace before we were shortly after switched onto the main and seemed to be running along in fine style.
We passed one of my old spotting grounds at WGC and Alycidon appeared to be running well if a little on the smokey side. Then just outside Hitchin a heavy brake application…”this doesn’t feel good” was my initial impression and this feeling appeared founded when peering out of the window Alycidon appeared to be enveloped in thick grey/black smoke, the chap in the window next to me said “Oh dear we have ten foot high flames here” I had a quick look from his window a minute later and snapped this.
After *35 mins or so we got underway again with a very slow gradual pick up of speed and wondered if we would limp to Peterborough on one engine and then see what happened from there. We departed from Peterborough on the slow line then got switched back onto the fast at Helpston, by this point it became apparent that Deltic 9 was being allowed to continue with the tour as we worked our way up the ECML towards Doncaster.
A noisy departure from Doncaster followed with the Napier engines being worked up gradually in a superb crescendo of noise.
After a short sprint on the main; York was our next scheduled stop. Departure from York was slightly delayed as we were now out of path but it wasn’t too long before we were underway and flew past Darlington station.
On the outskirts of Durham there was a tannoy announcement regarding the stop at Durham station; it effectively requested that all passengers did not get off the train to take photographs; then to all of our great surprise we went straight through the station without stopping - leaving quite a few bemused and angry passengers behind.
In reflection I think it was the right call (by whom I have no idea!) as a GNER service must have been hot on our heels and so it proved, within 3 mins of stopping at Newcastle the following normal revenue service arrived and with our departure held; enabled the passengers who had been left standing at Durham to join the train.
Non-stop to Edinburgh was now the plan (though I think we ground to a halt somewhere close to Dunbar) and the magic ton was achieved between Belford and Goswick (well according to one GPS that I saw in passing!) we continued to Waverley where a fast approach in allowed us to halve the deficit between Dunbar and the Scottish capital alone!
The sound of Alycidon idling in Waverley following that run will stay with me. Wonderful.
Waverley station is currently a building site, so with limited space on the platform and limited time available to see some of Edinburgh; my party decided to forgo extensive picture taking and go and grab some late lunch.

We were requested that we were all back punctually in order to leave; with the empty stock due in at 15:40, we were all held outside of the platform and waited until the walls were reverberating to the sound of Deltic thunder as Alycidon brought in the empty stock with Tornado already attached at the other end. Sadly the stock was late in arrival so gave no opportunity for a photo to be taken prior to departure though I’m sure a few did and this again meant that we were *5/10 mins late leaving Waverley.
Tornado seemed to whisk the train away from Waverley at such a rate I wondered if we had some rear end assistance from Deltic 9! Tornado then commenced to run around her 75 mph maximum until the first scheduled water stop at Wooden Gate Junction somewhere around Alnmouth this was a great bit of running and has already been posted - 75 mph seems effortless to Tornado; surely 90mph must be allowed. Would this not make pathing a little easier (if required to run at a higher speed) or allow for more chances of recovery time if a tour is scheduled to run at 75mph and starts to run a little late?...more on this later.
From the stop at Alnmouth more superb running resulted in a 2 minute early arrival in Newcastle it is hard to convey in words the feeling of being whisked along at speed behind any steam locomotive on the mainline. Video’s help and I have a few of this tour that I may post on You Tube If I think they are good enough for others to appreciate.
It was shortly after leaving Newcastle that our late running started and just seemed to be compounded at every subsequent water stop. Delays in getting a path into Tyne Yard followed by a very lengthy stop whilst Tornado was coaled and watered I suppose was inevitable. In total this cost us around *25 mins.
Now out of our booked path we couldn’t gain access back to the mainline incurring more delays, some fine running to Durham ensued though to be fair it’s a relatively short sprint to Durham.
More delays at Durham station where as far as I can make out the station staff held us a lot longer than was necessary and it took a passenger who had disembarked at Durham to remark that it was down to the staff to give the all clear - yet more time lost. We were now around *30 mins late.
The start out of Durham has been discussed on here previously but here without a sign of any slipping Tornado lifted the 14 coach train up the gradient towards York - with only one visit into a loop, more fine running ensued and a few minutes’ worth of time regained on the schedule we arrived into York and proceeded to Doncaster.
Again at Doncaster we were held awaiting a path into the mail depot, then again a longer than usual water stop followed by yet more time lost awaiting a path back out of the yard – We were now around *45 mins down.
Departure from Doncaster yard aside Tornado quickly worked her way up to her permitted maximum and held this virtually unbroken all the way to the water stop at Connington loop. With little traffic about we were not looped and positively flew through Retford, Grantham and Peterborough. By limiting Tornado to the permitted 75 mph especially down this famous racing stretch is a shame and virtually impossible to recover any time on schedule and on this very special run it was a shame that we couldn’t have had some authorised 90 mph running to try to recover some of the deficit. (My earlier point regarding higher speed running could apply to any tour if the schedule is not quite maintained due to extenuating circumstances).
At least out of Connington we were underway in good time but Tornado took a little bit of time to climb the gradient out of the loop for the set down at Huntingdon. Looking at the schedule I’m not sure if this timing was actually achievable. Part of this may have been down to Tornado slipping briefly when she went to pull away but compared to the some of the other restarts it did appear that Tornado was being nursed slightly.
Departure from Huntingdon was swift and the acceleration there for all to see, for yet more 75 mph running and I was just beginning to look to see what might be achievable with a fast run into the Cross in comparison to Elizabethan schedules in the late 50’s early 60’s when a heavy brake application and a change of lines brought us to a swift stop. (**An engineer’s possession of the main had resulted in us being signalled onto the Hertford loop so I’ll speculate that the stop was either for a preceding train to clear the section or a check on us to make sure the driver signed the road. I can’t claim this accurate in any way) but I was disappointed to miss out Digswell viaduct and WGC again and previous experience of the Hertford loop was that it was a very slow and ponderous route having been routed that way on a tour in 2005.
I’m glad to say though that Tornado flew round the Hertford loop with very little time lost compared to the scheduled main line run! This was a splendid effort and a 0:46 arrival at Kings Cross gave an figure of a little over 40 mins behind schedule.
Unfortunately this also ensured that for those people who had joined the tour at Kings Cross were now seeking alternative methods of transport home. The last tube train had left and I was fortunate that trains run out of Paddington to my home town of Reading a lot later than most other London Termini.
I’m afraid to say that for the other 3 members of my party- a taxi fare of £120 was the damage to get back to their start point and this was very good bartering/value considering how far out of London the taxi driver was asked to go.
So in summary a very long (a 24 hour day for me from the time the alarm went off to arrival back home!) but ultimately an unforgettable day out, my first mainline run behind a Deltic, my first time north of York on a train, the memory of my head out of the window - Tornado racing through Grantham and Peterborough in the dark with her whistle sounding all indelibly etched into memory
A massive thanks to the DPS and the A1 locomotive society for a unique tour and as I commented to one of the many stewards on the trip “The only way this can be beaten is with a tour using all four LNER pacifics or more likely one of the Deltic’s, Tornado, Flying Scotsman and one of the A4’s…”
I also spare a thought and offer huge thanks to all the stewards and particularly the crews of the 2 locomotives who potentially would have had longer days than mine, thanks for making the day possible and for making it in my eyes at least one of the best ever.
For those of you who are still reading this – this is the end! But I hope that it gives you some impression of what it was like to be a part of this quite fascinating fantastic tour.
Cheers and thanks for reading.
*Please note all timings are currently based on memory and not fact as I can’t find my copy of the timings taken. Please feel free to correct as necessary.
**Please also note that a lot of statements are my own personal opinion and may not be based on the true facts.

 

For those that are interested please find a few pics that i've uploaded to Flickr taken on the day.

The Elizabethan 25th July 2012 - a set on Flickr

 

Thanks for posting. It is always good and interesting to get the story of why we were waiting by the line side and why I dropped off to sleep in bed whilst waiting for the sound of Tornado returning. I also see you are making good use of the athlete's procession to post it!

John

 

Just back home - had a couple of extra days chasing 46115 on Thursday and 46233 yesterday, as well as North York Moors Rly and a trip on Whitby branch; then overnight train home to Cornwall.

The Elizabethan tour was memorable - really glad that the Deltic made it all the way, and that I was in coach A at the front for Tornado - magic!

 

To dublo6231; thats an excellent write up and brings reality of the trip to a reader; thanks. shame really that with all the good running on the return journey, the timings must have been tight enough for Tornado not to have pulled some lost time back. But then if you can't get away from Waverley on time, a path is lost and you don't stand a chance. Pete ps glad theres someone else on here from Berkshire where plenty of steam appears !!

 

Not sure if it was on here or elsewhere but somebody posted that none of the delay on the southbound run was down to 60163, it was all pathing issues.

 

Hi all,

Spamcan81 - I think the only part of the schedule that Tornado didn't quite maintain was the last water stop out of Connington to Huntingdon. I still can't find my detailed record of the timings and its now driving me mad! So an appeal to anyone who might read this! If you have a copy please contact me via this thread or PM.

Thanks