Tornado & Flying Scotsman Over The S&C - 20/10 - 21/10 - 27/10 - 28/10

When was the last overhaul?

 

Seen running in on the ELR after overhaul. January 2016.

 

Its mainline sort of test run on the CME (when it replaced the scheduled Duchess) was Feb 6 2016.

 

I recall reading that the opportunity is being taken to overhaul the loco early (2022 vice 2023) in an effort to see the loco operable during its centenary year (2023).

 

Armathwaite 28.10.21. F4 at a fortnight!

 

On its way back to Carnforth?

https://live.rail-record.co.uk/train/?c=73389&d=28/10/2021

 

Yep it's currently in the loop at hellifeild

 

60163 seen at Aisgill in between heavy showers and straight into a severe southerly wind.

 

Tornado/Flying Scotsman (North East) 27/10/21 Part 1

The moment I had been waiting for all year had finally arrived as I headed south to York to enjoy the 3rd of the Tornado/Flying Scotsman trains over the S&C with Tornado hauling the train right through from Middlesbrough to Carlisle on the northbound leg and Flying Scotsman hauling the return leg as far as York with diesel haulage for the last leg to Middlesbrough. As I headed south to York on Tuesday evening I was nervous about the Scotsman's recent problems and that it would be a no show and this wasn't helped by the fact that adverse weather conditions meant that the loco may have problems getting from Carnforth to Carlisle. As I arrived at York on Tuesday evening I saw Tornado in light steam in the yard of the NRM facing south ready to be dragged by a diesel to Middlesbrough to start the tour the following morning.

The next morning and I just missed Tornado arriving at York from Middlesbrough. I went to the front of the train to see the magnificent A1 in all her glory ready for another crack at the S&C having enjoyed a good run in July on the Viking Venturer tour despite the hot weather. I managed to find out that the driver for the outward leg was David Blair but I couldn't tell who the fireman was although it may have been Chris Holmes but please correct me if I'm wrong. The passengers at the table opposite had found out that the adverse weather meaning severe restrictions on the WCML meant that they may have problems getting Scotsman from Carnforth to Carlisle. I put that thought to the back of my mind and planned to enjoy the outward leg with Tornado hoping the weather wouldn't worsen too much by the time the fun began on the S&C.

We set off from York bang on time at 09:18 am. Unfortunately the train was routed via Castleford rather than the direct route via Garforth. Because the train had started at Middlesbrough we were scheduled to have a water stop at Sherburn-in-Elmet just 20 minutes after leaving York. The water stop went well and we managed to leave at 09:51 instead of our booked departure time of 09;55. Having known about water stops on various charters in the past at Milford Junction I must admit my surprise at the water stop occurring at Sherburn especially as it is a very small station and only the front few coaches fitted onto the platform. We managed to remain ahead of schedule as we headed through Castleford and Woodlesford towards our booked pathing stop at Whitehall Junction just outside of Leeds station. The only noteworthy site past on this section of the route was Castleford Tigers home stadium. A fairly boring stretch of route compared to what we would encounter later on. We arrived at Whitehall Junction at 10:34 8 minutes ahead of schedule and waited for our scheduled departure time of 10:52. The view we had meant we could see trains going in and out of Leeds station including a Class 91 & MK4 stock although I noticed it only had 8 coaches instead of the usual 9.

We left Whitehall 3 minutes late at 10:55 and headed towards our 2nd water stop of the run at Skipton instead of Hellifield. The further west we headed the darker the clouds got and I became worried about what the weather had instore for us. We passed through Keighley and I noticed that there was a DMU working on the Keighley & Worth Valley railway. By this point we were making up the few minutes that had been lost whilst we waited at Whitehall Junction. Tornado was beginning to perform in the way we know it can with the run up to point not having too much to write home about. We eventually reached our 2nd water stop pretty much on time. Interestingly enough rather than at the station itself we stopped just beyond the station in the down loop with a good look across the other side to the sidings used by EMU's that terminate at Skipton from Leeds. Skipton is the end of the electrification with the wires ending just beyond the station but allowing sufficient room for trains to cross tracks after terminating.

We left Skipton a minute or two ahead of schedule and we were finally heading out of urban areas and into the Yorkshire countryside. Tornado was performing well and we flew through Hellifield with great gusto pleasing the crowd on the platform. Unlike on the Viking Venturer tour in July we slowed down as we headed towards Settle Junction with the reason not being clear and this resulted in us losing a few minutes and being about 6 minutes late as the fun properly began. The rain finally came as we started out on the S&C and the performance was a good one as we headed towards Ribblehead. I was impressed to see the number of people that managed to make it out to see the train at Ribblehead as we crossed the viaduct depsite the weather. The climb of Ais Gill was going well and I could tell that there wasn't too much interference from the diesel on the back which was 57313 "Scarborough Castle" which was painted in Northern Belle livery. We managed to make up half the lost time going up Ais Gill which proved Tornado was in good condition and performing well.

After Ais Gill Tornado made up all of the remaining lost time however the wet weather made it in parts impossible to see out of the windows. Eventually we passed through Appleby 3 minutes behind schedule at 13:30 with a stop scheduled at Langwathby at 13:42 for 11 minutes. The stop at Langwathby didn't occur but we had made up the lost time which meant that we were now more than 10 minutes early. The remainder of the journey to Carlisle was uneventful and the locomotive was performing at a very high level as it usually does. This was my 3rd time behind Tornado (all of which have been in 2021) and it has yet to disappoint. Despite running early we were not checked on the way into Carlisle which meant we had a straight run into the station. On our way into the station we saw Flying Scotsman ready to work the return journey sitting in the sidings next to Platform 1 which is were we arrived. Graeme Bunker of the A1SLT told me that the run was very wet and I then asked driver David Blair what it was like and he said he was more than used to driving the route in these tricky wet autumnal conditions. There was a change of crew as John Rogers took over the driving and Fraser Birrell the shovel as Tornado went to turn and stable for the night adjacent to the station.

Part 2 will be about the return journey with Flying Scotsman at the helm. To be continued...

 

Tornado/Flying Scotsman (North East) 27/10/21 Part 2

Carlisle wasn't up to much and the weather was to put it mildly wet! There was absolute mayhem on the WCML with nothing going north or south. Flying Scotsman was hooked up to the south end of the train in the sidings adjacent to platform 1 and was hauled into the station by 57314 which would be at the rear of the train. The driver for the return journey was Chris Cubitt and the fireman was Phil Akester. I was a bit nervous because of Scotsman's recent issues but as I boarded the train I told my steward (a young boy who was helping out during half-term) that he was involved in arguably the highlight of the century so far. I had earlier informed the other steward who was the young boy's father about the outstanding work the A1SLT do in maintaining and keeping Tornado on the mainline. Carlisle station was crowded as expected but I still asked Chris Cubitt how things were and he told me he'd only just got on which means another crew took it up from Carnforth.

Departure was on time at 15:44 and we quickly headed towards Petteril Bridge Junction and the beginning of the S&C at which point the Tyne Valley Line heads in an easterly direction towards Hexham and Newcastle. It was quickly apparent that 57314 was doing more work in assisting Flying Scotsman than 57313 "Scarborough Castle" had done in assisting Tornado on the outward leg. Given recent events this was completely understandable and frankly not surprising. Armathwaite was passed more or less on time and despite the diesel giving a push I didn't feel like it was an overwhelming factor. After a period of less bad weather during our time in Carlisle the weather turned quite significantly for the worse as we headed away from Carlisle towards Appleby where a 10 minute stop was scheduled but my understanding was that the driver would decide whether it would be necessary or not. I was not surprised therefore that the stop at Appleby didn't occur and we passed through Appleby a couple of minutes before our scheduled arrival time.

After Appleby the rest of the climb to Ais Gill was really good. There was diesel assistance but I felt like Scotsman was performing at a reasonable level although maybe not at the same level Tornado was on the outward leg. Visibility out of the windows became almost non-existent at various times. After a good climb we had an equally good downhill run from Ais Gill towards Ribblehead viaduct. Looking out the window it didn't seem as if there was as many people out to see the train on the return leg as there were on the outward leg although this may have been to do with the fact that the weather had worsened by this point and the fact that we were not too far away from dusk. After coming off the S&C at Settle Junction there was a rather sudden stop at Long Preston which gave me the impression that something wasn't right and this may have been the first indication of the brake problems that prevented Scotsman from hauling the northbound leg of the tour on Thursday. We still however made it to Hellifield 13 minutes ahead of schedule at 17:28 and we were due to sit at Hellifield for well over an hour.

We left Hellifield at 18:58 2 minutes behind schedule after a stop of exactly 90 minutes. The leg from Hellifield to our scheduled pathing stop at Engine Shed Junction just outside the proximity of Leeds station was bogged by the fact that we had to follow a stopper train between Skipton and Leeds formed of an EMU. This meant that we ended being 7 minutes behind schedule as we passed through Shipley having only been 1 minute behind schedule passing through Steeton & Silsden. We ended being around about 5 minutes behind schedule for the rest of the leg to Leeds where we were booked to be held at Engine Shed Junction for 14 minutes.

After our scheduled stop at Engine Shed Junction we precede to retrace our outward route via Castleford back to York which is sadly the slower route. I would rather that we had been pathed on the direct route via Garforth but that line is very busy so the only available path was like with the outward leg via Castleford. We had left our pathing stop a couple of minutes ahead of schedule and we kept that up as we passed through Castleford but sadly this wouldn't last all the way to York. Initially I thought that the issues may have been to do with congestion and that we were being held to allow service trains to in front of us. We were held somewhere near Milford Junction which is a traditional water stop for steam charters that go via Castleford. A second signal check somewhere near Sherburn-in-Elmet led to rumours that there may be a broken down train in the area. With it being completely dark outside and my iPhone having run out of charge I had no clue how close to York we actually were. We were stopped again at Church Fenton (as we re-joined the direct line via Garforth) where various trains including both a Cross Country Voyager and a Transpennine Express class 185 went passed. Eventually we saw an empty Northern train in the station and wondered if that was the broken down train that had disrupted our momentum.

Eventually we arrived at York 23 minutes behind schedule at 21:18 as a result of the problems encountered in the last leg of the journey. I asked fireman Phil Akester what the problem was and he said that it was signalling problems. Flying Scotsman retired for the night to the NRM but first headed off to the turntable to be be turned ahead of the outward leg of the journey to Carlisle the following morning. Sadly it failed with Air Brake problems and video footage proves that during the stoppages between Leeds and York the night before the support crew had been looking round the engine which hinted at problems. I saw Flying Scotsman in the NRM yard on Thursday morning as I headed back up to Scotland and I assumed it was just getting ready for the Thursday leg up to Carlisle but alas the air brakes weren't working properly although it eventually headed to Carnforth to be in position for the tour to Stratford-Upon-Avon. I would like to send my sympathies to people who ended being hauled to Carlisle by 57314 on Thursday morning.

Despite the issues towards the end of the return journey I thoroughly enjoyed this trip. Its not often you get the chance to enjoy a trip on the mainline with both Tornado & Flying Scotsman on the same day, especially over a route as good as the S&C. What will next year hold? For both Tornado and Flying Scotsman my understanding is that they will both be out of service at some point next year for overhaul. Tornado will be back in the middle of next year and will spend it's summer on the Aberdonian trains and I hope to be on one of them. In the meantime thank you for reading my two part report on a truly special railtour.