The Pride of Swindon 5043 to Carlisle via the S & C -16th October

5043 looking stunning in the sun at Langcliffe this morning

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27848870@N02/5086227995

 

Any updates? Has she left Hellifield?

 

Yes left Hellifield on time but pathed for a painful 2 and a half hour crawl back to Crewe. On time at Clitheroe but it's stop start all the time

Still it was a stunning run over the S&C which was the main point.

And at least they're not spilling the soup

 

A couple of minutes early according to an update I recieved earlier. Now off to Warrington.

 

5 down I have heard at Blackburn, following the stopper since Hellifield.

The reason I am posting this whilst I am supposed to be on my way to Warrington is a broken accelerator cable decided to slow progress slightly. Luckily only a mile from home so managed to nurse it back at about 8mph on tickover.. :car::frusty::frusty::yell:

 

You'd have overtaken us at that speed!

 

Though in fact we had a great low speed run up the bank to Daisyfield Jcn, 5043 doing all the work and not a murmur from the diesel. Then a clear fast run Blackburn to Lostock. Nice.

 

oh dear...tonight of all nights!! Bad luck.

 

Seen passing WCMLcam (Euxton Junction) at 1916.

 

It looked very nice today, but it's a shame the run told us little about how well a double chimney Castle could tackle the S&C, only how quick it could be shoved along by a Duff. Hopefully, it might get another chance to do it solo at some point in the future. Given the reasonably dry conditions, I don't know if it was necessary to go with the diesel, but I always think it a shame to see trains running well up on schedule and still being assisted at the rear. Still, at least it made it out and back over the S&C with no problems.

 

So, if I'm interpreting this right, the diesel was actually pushing from the rear over the S&C? How dissappointing and unnecessary. that loco would have managed on its own. I bet the safety valves were blowing all the way, as usual. If they don't need to push a Jubilee or Black 5 over the S&C, they certainly didn't need to push 5043.

 

passed me just north of Horton-in-Ribblesdale and the class 47 was most definitely NOT pushing

 

Interesting. An earlier post said that by the speed at which the train passed Settle junction, it was assumed that 5043 had been given some diesel help away from Hellifield. A video has appeared on Youtube which shows the Hellifield departure and the Duff at the back doesn't appear to be doing any work. I guess the true story about how much, if any, assistance was given by the diesel will appear here soon. Let's hope it's a zero diesel contribution.

 

Video here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGUbFvudUR4

One thing I think the diesel was doing, acting as an overgrown generator car. Even though the VT stock is steam heat fitted. Reminds me of the terrible Ethel days 20 years ago.

 

The Earl left Hellifield on time on the return and can be seen here passing the gallery at Nappa http://www.flickr.com/photos/mottyphoto/5087480556/

 

My guess is that how much assistance was actually given will never really be known. At the end of the day, everyone will be happy, the GW fans can believe it stormed the climbs unassisted, while the doubters can assume it was shoved over. I have a reasonable idea what a duff sounds like when it's working, but I didn't see the northbound climb, so can't comment on that. It's perhaps worth noting that, despite the early running, there was a southbound unit a block behind on the return, which may have been the reason for assistance being provided?

 

Lovely pic. Stunning lighting with that dark sky as a backdrop.

 

I sign Duffs and was actively looking out for Sulzer clatter at the back. I can say absolutely that it wasn't providing rear end assistance. Also don't forget that its would also be a major rule flouting issue.

 

How come? Many diesels have provided rear end assistance to steam over the years? We've already been told the duff was definitely in Notch 1 and we have no reason not to take the drivers word that it never went higher than that. So, I'm happy to stand corrected, as it sounded to be working harder than that to me. I do hope they perform a re-run some time with no diesel on the back, so we can truly assess the performance. Regardless, it was a cracking day and it all went without a hitch, which is the main thing after previous GW outings.

Cheers for the comment Craig. I was pretty chuffed to find a hole in the cloud!