Cumbrian Mountain Express 2022

It's a Merchant Navy, so no surprise. It's a great shame that their can't be a comparative trial with the other one. One of the Southall drivers reckons 28 is the stronger engine.

 

Looked like Mick Kelly driving at Grayrigg.Roly Parker was the guard but not sure who was firing.

 

Nice patch of sunlight just in the right place. Return CME 27.08.22

 

35018 at Grayrigg summit and Aisgill summit.

 

A southerner at the summit, No. 35018 'British India Line' speeding through Shap with the northbound 'Cumbrian Mountain Express' to Carlisle, Mick Kelly driving, Martyn Soames on the shovel and Roly Parker Guard north and south



With threatening skies all around a fortunate splash of sunshine lights up Birkett as 'British India Line' works the return 'Cumbrian Mountain Express' back to Crewe

 

Definitely took the reigns off the great Mr Hodgson, never a dull show when Mr Kelly is on the shovel.

 

Mick was driving and firing now that’s impressive Liam

 

To round things off, a time of 21:34 posted on the Blue Riband section. Everything else was going to be anticlimactic in comparison to the work on the WCML but still some great running, and a day I’m very sorry to have missed out on.

 

35018 seen charging through Grayrigg and climbing to Aisgill Summit.

 

Oh dear Graham you are not having the best of years. If anybody on the train had a detailed log then I would love to hear from them

 

BIL certainly appeared to be on top form today so Oswald set off to see what the Merchant could do on Wilpshire Bank. I decided that a change was required and made my way not to the station but to the overbridge on the Blackburn side of the summit. The service trains came and went (RT) and the Rochdale bound train (that BIL was following) cleared Daisyfield Jn. BIL had left Clitheroe 5E, so would probably be held at Whalley, and was due here around 17.55. The heavy cloud of a couple of hours ago had given way to some pale and patchy sunshine.

A couple of minutes late BIL appeared, a thin blue/grey haze shooting skywards from her wide chimney, a feather at the safety valves. She moved through the distant station and climbed the last few hundred yards to the summit, her paintwork shining in the odd patches of sunlight that waited patiently in the deep cutting. Once over the top Mick closed the regulator and heavy clag spewed from the chimney - tasty! [If only Oswald had framed the shot more to the right or used a little less zoom . . . ah well, "If wishes were horses, beggars would ride."]. She passed under the bridge and curved away behind the Brownhill Arms and down towards Blackburn. 2L, a very pleasant 20C and no breeze. An uneventful drive home. Mrs W was already home, her team had lost (again). Oswald decided to keep his mouth shut and his head down!

 

British India Line at Shap Wells and Ais Gill:

My apologies for the large edit on the return - one of the tripod legs collapsed. Now to find an appropriate allen key.

 

Thing is we don't do hotels so we'd have had to have been on the road at 0400 ... and you can bet a lot of dosh it wouldn't have been as good if we'd been on it; and worse, they stopped for water at Appleby so we'd have been able to get some ice cream. More upset at missing the ice cream than the train!!!

 

It didn't take water at Appleby, it just stopped for ice creams (Mik Kelly wanted one as well) and it meant a shorter stop at Hellifield as well.

 

Best time of day to be travelling, no traffic and watch the Sun come up as you go

 

35018 British India Line going well over Docker viaduct with the CME of 27/8/2022

David Price
Cop Lane on Flickr

 

A day of two halfs in the end and well worth the trip north as it always is. The Northbound run will be remembered for a while. The return looked 'par for the course' with the Merchant Navy well in command.

 

Hi there. Do you have the overall time plus any other times and details. Thanks

 

Hi Don, sadly I wasn’t travelling yesterday. These figures were passed on by a friend, whom received them from Bill Long.