The Great Britain IX

So tour arrived at Kings Cross and Leander safely home to carnforth, all done for this year.

 

Footage of Leander on the final day...........



Hope you enjoy.

 

Hi Guys,I've taken three images of Leander,2 of the tour and 1 of the ecs move back to carnforth,hope you like the photos,best wishes Tony

https://www.flickr.com/photos/garstangpost/26816824205/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/garstangpost/26749625301/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/garstangpost/26816904965/in/dateposted-public/

 

This leg isn't going to cause significant timetable disruption if it doesn't run perfectly.

 

45699 didn't go to Doncaster ;-)

No headboard was put on any of the.diesels

45699 carried the headboard from Grange to Sellafield on day 4 where it was removed in a position if safety with no ohl

45690 carried the headboard today, day 9 from.Carnforth to Hellifield whereby again it was removed

 

That's probably because not many people were seated in the brake coach or indeed one of the met cam pullmans ;-)!!

Yes work was being done up.from by the steam locos, but as per my post yesterday evening, day 8 contained.4 of the bigger climbs for steam locos and thus a great shame that they involved shoving of some degree

Regardless of whether the train was on time or running late shoving would have occurred.

 

So what would have happened if you had been in charge?

 

Well after they weren't delivered on last year's farce which was.Gb8 and given.that this.was supposedly the last ever.gb tour, I would have ensured some contingency in case of late loco.withdrawal

Albeit loco withdrawal is unfortunate there are currently other locos.available, which had a.contingency been in place, could have been.gauged if necessary

Still, the photters got steam up front.puffing away in their photos and the posh class were too busy stuffing their faces to.notice the.shoving, so let's forget about the.steam.enthusiasts in first class who've paid.a.couple.of grand each year to enable this grand tour.to.actually take place...... ;-)

 

Your contingency I assume would have a loco sitting in steam somewhere with a support crew waiting just in case they were needed then?

Dave B

 

Fantastic shots

Steven

 

Or put two on the front and leave the diesel on the shed.

Where have all the steam loco's gone, if only 4 were available for this trip ?

Given 4 prolonged periods of bans in 3 years, one would have thought the mainline steam fleet would be in tip top condition, Crews hungry and eager for work.

 

*Stretches arms and yawns*

 

This is a myth that is often repeated on NP. I only travel in "posh class" and I assure you that many there are knowledgeable and discerning and dislike shoving diesels.

 

Disrespectful to those who pay the most class judging by his stuffing their faces remark.

Dave B

 

Why should anyone take offence from charterboy's remark? I don't, I enjoy the opportunity to stuff my face from time to time.

 

He's only been on virtually all the GB's over the years (as have others). Whereas some people on this forum haven't been to see it,never mind travel on it.

 

Day 9 began with the earliest start of the trip (for me) and the shortest "working" day - up at 05:45, all done by 10:00. OTOH, it also gave my pals and me the most of what we were interested in filming: unassisted steam in sunshine and glorious scenery. The conditions at Clapham were perfect, with Ingleborough and Pen-y-ghent clear in the distance, curlews, lapwings and larks calling across the moors, bright sunshine and only a moderate breeze. Leander put on a great performance (so much for my "well-informed source" ) and I didn't mess up the long pan through Clapham station and over the viaduct. My final shot was on the edge of Hellifield, complemented by an good array of semaphore signals. The trip home was uneventful, and I had the car unloaded and the kettle on by 3:30pm. It was a little galling, though to be driving through warm sunny weather on the last day of my holiday.

Many thanks to all involved with organising GB9. Maybe it wasn't a "classic" (3 and 5 stand out in my memory), but that wasn't for want of effort and ingenuity on the part of all those working so hard behind the scenes. I hope that RTC aren't out of pocket as a result, and will run something similar again in the future. One line-sider I met said that, when asked whether GB9 really was the last one, @meltonnorth replied "ask me again in a fortnight". Make of that what you will.

The new car behaved itself very well - 58.9 mpg over 2175 miles, no tantrums, no back-ache.

And now I'm back at work...

 

Indeed, I've been on all the Gb tours since Gb3 with the exception of GB5, thus 5 1/2 trips

Thus I think I'm readily placed to comment!!!

I only rarely frequent this forum due to the armchair wibbling

Oh and all trips have been.done first class, thus I reckon around 12/13k ploughed into the steam market as a result of travelling on these tours