Steam Dreams, London to Cardiff, 61306 + 44871, 01/08/19.

And here we have the pair at St Pierre Pill in Monmouthsire on the out,


And WOW, that epic noisy thrash up Sapperton, footplates on both locos lit up as the fireman stoke the fireboxes

 

Excellent Sapperton sequence.

 

I caught this tour along the Severn estuary both ways, Purton on the outward and Gatcombe on the return.




Also a pleasant surprise was the DFR was running, primarily for charter passengers who chose to alight at Lydney but they were also allowing the public to ride.

 

Fantastic to see these locomotives in Cardiff yesterday.

The 'reversed' approach into Cardiff.



Departing Cardiff in the evening. Shame about the wires!

 

Unfortunately, my footage from Frampton Mansell was unusable. I have, however, uploaded the audio to SoundCloud, for your listening pleasure. So, please, turn up the volume and enjoy!

https://soundcloud.com/speed_to_the_west/61306-mayflower-44871-up-sapperton-bank-1st-august-2019

 

Looks like NR have abandoned the Golden Valley to the undergrowth and trees. Not going to many good places to video the way it's going.

 

It's been while since double headed steam has been seen up Sapperton, and it was well worth the wait.

 

Deleted!

 

Please excuse my lack of knowledge, but I have always wondered how double-headed steam locos are synchronised - or not- especially in earlier times when drivers had no communication systems. Do they try and share the effort fairly between the locos? How does this work if the locos are of different power classifications? Does one driver take the lead and the other follow by opening/closing the regulator in response to the leader's actions? Is it all down to driver experience and "feel"? I would value enlightenment from more knowledgeable members. Thanks.

 

The lead Engine has control of the brake other than that it is all down to driver experience and "feel" Road knowledge is of paramount importance.

 

An epic soundtrack on the return at Chalford, here are my selection of the morning and return run plus a friend of mine’s at Chepstow.

 

Maybe but in practice the driver of the second loco does not have to have route knowledge as far as I'm aware. I asked the same question of a WCRC driver who was based in the South some years ago. He said it was all down to "feel" and watching what the driver of the lead loco was doing. He said he had driven some double headers in Scotland where he had no idea where he was going but trusted the lead driver who did know the route. At around the same time Ian Riley's Black 5s were doing several Steam Dreams runs in the South with Ian frequently taking the regulator on the second loco. I'm sure he didn't have much knowledge of Southern lines

 

No it’s probably not essential that the second driver has route knowledge but very much an advantage if they do. Without route knowledge the best the second driver can do is try to mimic the lead engine.

 

Here's my video of this tour, seen at Gatcombe on the outward leg: