VT: The Shap Mountaineer with Tornado - 28/03/26

I was at the back of the train and didn't detect any assistance from D1755 on the return from Blackburn. Not sure it helped much, if at all, on the outward leg from Brum to Crewe.

Will work out power outputs on the basis Tornado was unassisted throughout.

I followed the live signalling diagram on Traksy. Tornado got within 4 or 5 blocks of Tangmere around Oxenholme. Did the crew sight adverse signals in the distance?

 

From Realtime Trains, passing times for 34067 Tangmere (+diesel) and 60163 Tornado (unassisted) and the difference in minutes.

Tornado only 3 1/4 minutes behind Tangers passing Milnthorpe.

 

Great report, as ever, Thoroughly enjoyable read. Thank you for the care and time you’ve spent compiling it. Good to see you, Diana and your friends. Sakina and I really enjoyed the day and the chance to catch up with you on the train.

 

Thank you for your enjoyable report. I think we chatted at Appleby a few years ago. We too joined and left at Warrington - sorry, didn’t see you or would have come up to say hello. I hope Maisie has forgiven you for leaving her with a reduced staff of only one of three feline slaves for the day! We also left our cat Luna with a reduced one pwrson staff!

 

My efforts at carlisle citadel from platform 4 at carlisle after a excellent performance from the A1 60163 Tornado after just tackling shap on the 1st leg of the V.T. shap mountaineer tour from Birmingham new st which me and my friend joined the tour at Stafford.
I booked him in 1st class and I went in tourist enthusiast class also it was a excellent return run over the long drag back to Blackburn via Clitheroe hope all other national preservation members on the V.T. shap mountaineer and fellow steam rail enthusiasts had another excellent day of unassisted steam from crewe to Blackburm here's hoping for more like this tour in 2026 the mayflower tour 12 Sept 2026?.
Davo 56F

 

Thanks Julian, I’m afraid I don’t remember chatting at Appleby but my memory is not as good as it used to be. A pity we didn’t bump into each other at WBQ, I often wonder if there could be a way of recognising fellow NP members. Maisie survived her ordeal as I am sure did Luna. Moving to BST has confused her somewhat, she thinks that she should get an extra meal - Maisie is always ready for food.

 

This was my first mainline steam tour for 2 years and very enjoyable. VT's organisation was excellent, as was the friendly service from stewards. Tornado was superb. I was in the enthusiast coach behind the POB where I could hear the constant light chatter from the exhaust, which sounded very smooth and even. The loco was very sure footed and made rapid progress without ever sounding stressed. Well done all involved. Please do some more unassisted runs, VT. A castle with 9 on over the same route??

 

I think you'll find there was a change of fireman at Barton and Broughton and Graeme fired from there to Carlisle.

 

Some phone pics from Carlisle,

Having given up trying to get a pic from the north end of a very crowded pl3, as suggested on here, I tried pl4. Being a Saturday and with 2 steam locos arriving within a few minutes of one another, it too was congested. Avoiding the crowds I settled on this - a bit too contre jour for my taste!



For all those fans of "Reg", and I know there are many, here are his vital statistics. Reg is a really useful piece of kit and when coupled to Tornado's large water capacity tender gives a tremendous range between water stops. (If I was choosing a nickname for a water carrier, but perhaps in less woke times and without wishing to offend anyone, I would pick the name of the eponymous hero of Rudyard Kipling's poem, "Gunga Din". - he was a better man than I am!)


A member of the support crew has a word with those on the footplate as Tornado waits to depart from (a congested) south end of platform 3

 

Are you saying that the summit board isn’t actually at the summit?

Apologies if the following is restating what is already common currency for the train timing fraternity, but I thought it might be helpful to
just clarify the summit location and observable features at and around this point (sourced from the RPS Mileage Database for ease of reference)

37m 20c (37.25 miles) “Climbing Summit” location as defined by Custom and Practise

37m 22c Footbridge (FB118)

37m 31c Top of 1 in 75/ change to Level

37m 38c Up Goods Loop South Points

37m 50c ((37.62 miles) Shap Summit Sign

(All mileages based on 0m 00c centre of Lancaster Castle station)

From the above, it can be deduced that at the “Climbing Summit” the whole train formation is still traversing but about to surpass the 1 in 75 gradient, whereas at the Summit Sign the whole formation will have just cleared the 1 in 75 gradient and attained level track.