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.

 

Thought it worth dropping in this addendum to the reports posted.

The Shap Mountaineer, 28th March 2026

60163 Tornado against the Northern Fells

Crewe to Barton and Broughton

We really were compromised on the outward run as far as Barton & Broughton, so much so that we actually took twice as long as the weekday Cumbrian Mountaineers. We rarely got above 70 mph; the only sustained bit being after Preston Brook Tunnel down a 118f/569f where we passed 6 quarters at 70/71. Contrast that with 6th November last's Shap Mountaineer with 71000 when we passed 105 quarter mile posts at 70+, most around 75.

Barton & Broughton to Shap Summit

Things were a bit different above Barton & Broughton. We passed 27 quarters above 70, some near 75 on the run to Yealand, most after Lancaster. 71000 scored 39 posts at mostly 75 and 75+.

Both locomotives almost ignored the 134r of Yealand, only a challenge for Carnforth starts as on the CME and previous VT Mountaineers. 60163 dismissed the 2 1/4m in 1min 55.7secs; 71000 in 1min 50.6secs. 60163 then took 3m 16.9s to get to Mp13; 71000 took 3m 6s. From mp13 to 26, 60163 took 14m 21.4s; 71000 13m 30.6s. 60163 had a double amber at Milnthorpe as we were close to the CME; 71000 had slightly more damp rail but on the lower slopes was quite manic.

From mp26 to mp31 1/2, the run up to the lower sloe of the mighty Shap, 60163 took 5m 15.5s with a terminating speed of 73.1. 71000 took 4m 54.3s with a terminating speed of 78.9. from mp31 1/2 to mp37 1/4, 60163 took 6m 13.3s; climbing summit speed 41.8; 71000 took 5m 29.6s with a terminating speed of 46.6.

The combined times for mp13 to mp37 1/4 were: 60163 25m 50.11s; 71000 23m 54.52s.

Undoubtedly 71000's run was something special, but the load was different; for 389; compared to 60163's 11 for 418t. 60163 not only had pretty much 30 tons more weight, we had an extra carriage with 2 sets of 2 axle/4 wheel bogies to haul with the extra resistance on the rails.

It was a real pity we didn't get more similar trains.

Carlisle to Blackburn

Part 1 Carlisle to Appleby

71000 returned aver Shap so no comparisons on the returns.

What we can do is look at the elapsed times we had behind 60163 over key sections.

Running non-stop to Hellifield ruined the Carlisle-Appleby time. We took 42m 47.16s. anytime under 44 mins for a non-stop run is a good one.

Part 2 Appleby to Ais Gill Summit

Appleby to Ormside mp275, the start of the Blue Riband Section back in the day - the train had to have 12 carriages for the challenge - so we didn't quality. We took 2m 13.4s and passed it at 63.1. The aim whether non-stop or starting from Appleby was to reach 60 by mp275. If it was achieved, there was a very good chance of passing Ais Gill's Climbing Summit, mp260, in the mid 40s.

Our run was really good as we snarled through Kirkby Stephen at 46. Anything over 40 is good. Annoyingly, as we left Birkett Tunnel, there was a sharp brake application due to a big yellow tsr30 board in the cess. Our speed dropped to 19.2 at mp264, only 4 miles from the summit. Fortunately we were almost on the easier 330r to Mallerstang and we got to 37.6 by mp263 1/4. From here the sound level went up more than a notch. With excellent firing and driving we were accelerating hard. We passed mp62 at 45.5 and 60163 gave little to the rest of the 100r to the climbing summit, passing mp260 at 45.8.

Elapsed time from Appleby mp277 1/4 was 22m 51.29. That's some climbing and would have been considered excellent had it been an 'uninterrupted' climb. With the tsr 20 taking 25 mph off our speed outside Birkett Tunnel, it was exceptional. Kudos to Alastair and Graeme.

Part 3 Wilpshire Bank

We had everything but a bit if bad weather going for us. No Rochdale Flyer anywhere near Horrocksford Jn so we were able to charge through Clitheroe and get to Whalley unhindered. Speed only fell from 31.2 to 27.7 up the arches, and despite 2/3 slips, all well caught by Alastair, we got to a maximum of 29.4 above Langho, at mp15 1/2. In the damp murky cutting, speed fell to 24.7 as we climbed into Wilpshire Tunnel. Speed fell away then and we passed Ramsgreave and Wilpshire Station, mp13 1/4 at 19.8 and had a minimum of 14 at mp13. A slip or two probably caused that as I was told a lot of the fire went up the chimney!! Shame about that.

I've attached 3 pdfs below. We were inRow 5 of the 3rd Carriage.;

1. For the masochists, the Crewe to Penrith. I didn't time down the bank as we were due to stop at Upperby.

2. The serious running: Barton & Broughton to Shap Summit; and

3. the whole of the unassisted run from Carlisle to Blackburn.

 

Would it be right to think this was a vacuum braked train? If so, is that the first time the A1 has operated a charter in vac mode?

 

All good stuff, but wishing to complicate matters a little, the NR measurement data gives the gradient change at 37m 844yds where the 1/76 changes to level. Some of the newer NR signs give locations in miles and yards, the old distances must be to the nearest chain ie within 11yds. Much as we might like it to be, it’s never going to be exact