The Waverley Tours 2023

I was really looking forward to being over there today, but the wheels came off my plans early this morning, so no-go. I even had a new camera backpack I wanted to try out, all packed and ready to go. Ho hum.

 

The Green Jubilee making slow progress in Foredale on the way north on 20/8/2023

David Price
Cop Lane on Flickr

 

45699 at Selside Shaw

 

The southbound run at Birkett, running early having missed out the water stop at Appleby. Thought it was going to be pretty much a clagless wonder, until the fireman chucked some coal on in the nick of time.......

 

The return on the south side of Birkett Tunnel...


Galatea at Low Frith

 

45699 seen from Selside Cottages and heard slipping after rounding the curve then the return from a sunny Garsdale Station with a howling wind blowing.

 

Oswald does not usually venture out to watch steam on a Sunday, nothing religious, but we usually have a roast for Sunday lunch and then go out for a walk or watch sport on TV. [As you asked, roast gammon, new potatoes, carrots and broccoli. Or as Saphos might describe it, "Slow roasted Ribble Valley gammon served with new potatoes and a medley of seasonal vegetables".] I digress. I was intent on keeping my steam run going; Wednesday was Tangmere, Thursday 44932, Friday 46115 and Saturday Tangmere again. Today was a chance to add 3 more to the list.

I did not fancy travelling too far so decided to see the returning Jub(s) as she/they passed through Long Preston station on her/their way to the Hellifield water stop. It is just less than an hours drive and traffic was light. I parked on the station car park,. Mrs W and I gathered up our bits and pieces and made our way onto the westbound platform. There was already someone hard at work with cameras and tripods covering most of the conceivable angles. I know the guy, he comes from Blackburn and regularly films on Wilpshire bank. We chatted before he went up onto the bridge to set up another camera position. I chose camera angles that would hopefully not spoil Brian's shots.

RTT showed that our train was running late; how late was crucial as a Morecambe-bound service was scheduled to stop in the station only 2 mins after our train was due to pass through. SL was 7L at Blea Moor which should make it around 18.30 at Long Preston and the Morecambe due out at 18.25 - whew! Except the Morecambe train was a little late. Thankfully, it arrived, stopped, no-one got off, no-one got on, and away it went at 18.27 - I was never worried (Oh yes you were! ok I was worried).

Then the rails began to ring and SL appeared from underneath the distant occupation bridge. She was moving at a genteel pace in readiness for her switch into the loop at Hellifield. The sun had stayed just high enough in the sky to light first the loco and then the coaches as they trundled past. The train eased under the road bridge to where Mrs W was waiting at the far end of the platform. 20C, 9L & 27mph. No fireworks, none were expected, but still a pleasure to see a steam hauled train on a warm and sunny evening.

 

Jubilee class No. 45627 'Sierra Leone' heading the 'Waverley' rail tour over Arten Gill viaduct on the approach to Dent and onwards to Carlisle Chris Cubitt driving, Matt Southwell firing and Peter James Guard (Telephone wires removed in PS)



Some welcome sunshine for 'Sierra Leone' as it works through Garsdale with the returning 'Waverley' to York with David Blair driving, Rob Russell firing and Peter James Guard

 

That was done to "Alycidon" at the weekend for sentimental reasons, as I later discovered.
"The Coronation Deltic", 19/08/23.

 

A former Deltic driver had just celebrated his 100th birthday.

As a treat they arranged for him to ride the footplate between York and Scarborough. 55013 was his favourite Deltic so 55009 was renumbered for the occasion. I see absolutely no problem with that.

 

Well thank you for that explanation, I didn't know that.

 

All part of the service Victor.

 

That is not quite correct Ian. Harry Wilson travelled in the train from York to Scarborough as a guest of the DPS and UK Railtours but he did not travel on the footplate. He did well to struggle into the cab at Scarborough but it was a real struggle. No one ever intended that he would travel on the loco given his age related fraility.

Just setting the record straight

Peter

 

Sounds like Harry is a bit like me, back in the old days I could leap into a driving seat like a young gazelle, not now, I struggle to get mounted., but Harry and myself have still got pulse, we're still ticking over. Good on the old lad for getting out and about.

 

That was as a tribute to a former Deltic Drivers 100th birthday as that was his favourite loco apparently, so I guess more understandable. Plus he did get to see it at Scarborough I understand.
Seems the diesel fans were far more upset at the presence of the 47 on the back.

 

The former railway companies had no such problems with locomotive identities; changing names as they thought fit. Would it be ok if Royal Scots current "owners" decided to revert to its original identity and run as 46152 The King's Dragoon Guardsman?

Pushing it a little further, suppose a mega-rich individual purchased a non running black 5, restored it to main line standards with an authentic livery and operated it with nameplates "Billy the Fish" in memory of his childhood gold fish. Ok or not ok? Same scenario but he paints it orange. Ok or not ok?

Alternatively, the same guy reaches an agreement with the NRM to fund the restoration of say, Green Arrow to main line standards. Authentic livery but named "Billy the Fish". Ok or not ok? And finally, the same scenario but painted orange for 12 months. After 12 months the loco reverts to authentic livery and Green Arrow nameplates? Ok or not ok?

I'm ok with all of these, but suspect that you are not. This is fine, we all have an opinion, there is no right and no wrong. As long as we respect each others views it is amicable discussion on topics such as these that fuels NP.

 

Thanks, particularly for your final paragraph.
Tolerance, and the respect of opinions which you don’t agree with, is rare on here.

 

Do you think so? Compared with some brutal boards, I'd say NP is love and kindness personified. Sometimes there are little misunderstandings......

I think it's one thing a loco swapping identity (46100/46152) but another carrying three identities simultaneously. That seems a bit bizarre. Can I underline all three in my Combined Volume?

 

To me you only have to go back to what happened back in the day to know changing the identity of a loco is not uncommon and certainly not against practice of the pre-preservation days.

Take BR(W) and the tale of Windsor and Bristol Castle’s. When King George VI died in 1953 Windsor Castle was being overhauled at Swindon but they wanted it for the funeral train. So Bristol (Fairly fresh out of Swindon) and Windsor swapped identity. Did they ever swap back? No is the answer. They stayed swapped and well the rest is history.

Galatea has many of Alberta’s parts on her. It does also have a few stamped with other Jubilee numbers. So what is she? Galatea? Alberta? Galberta? Ultimately it’s a working steam loco, one which we are lucky to have and we are lucky Mr Smith preserved her. If he wants he maroon/pink/cerise let him have her that way. It’s his engine. And I’m sure with a certain JS lurking on here ready to bite at anytning anti-WCR, he will happily let Mr Smith know it still winds people up, and it’ll continue

 

I hope the trend continues, i think its wonderful that the owners can bring back long lost engines if only briefly. They can change the identity every week as far as i am concerned. I would love to see Punjab, Hong Kong, Newfoundland ,and many others that regularly came through Kettering when i was a young spotter. As has been said, it is the owners perogative, and it winds up you anoraks!