RYTC Sussex Belle, 30th March 2011

Can't find a thread for this one, so I'll start one!

34067 on ten cars plus a non working box, photted approaching Kemsing. In Kent. Maybe 2 minutes down at the most. Looked and sounded great.

Used a lens I got for my new hobby of bird photography. Nikon 70-300mm VR. Had to ditch it for birding as the definition goes off badly on a distant bird at 300mm. Got a Nikon Prime 300mm f4 instead for that, which is superb.

First test of the 70-300mm on a steam loco. Good conditions to test as well. Horrible dull weather!

On my Nikon D80. All at 1/125 sec with VR switched on, (it works!). 400 asa. First two at 300mm, third at 75mm. All came in at f10-f11 on shutter priority.

Had to underexpose them all by a full stop. Glad I took a test shot of a juice train first.

Reasonably happy with them. Seems a nice sharp lens for steam loco photography.

 

Great shots Bryan!

 

Photo taken at Ashford

On time, no name plates - box just on tick over

 

Any idea if the nameplates and cabside plaques are still at Carnforth. Isn't 34067 going up to North for a tour in a week or so, maybe she'll go back to Carnforth and have them refitted.

 

Thanks for that.

I find it interesting that the up line has a different gradient profile to the down line that Tangy is on!

The first shot shows that best.

 

nice shot Brian, good to see it working hard

 

Looks like plenty of elbow grease at last.................

 

up north on friday 1/4 to barnetby and back down south on monday 4/4, no visit to carnforth.
mark

 

With the nameplates off, it looks like a shot from 1967 when most Bullieds had their nameplates removed and safely stored in the Nine Elms or Weymouth stores - apart from those already nicked by the minority of train spotting thieves!
So maybe, for 2011, Tangmere could run without its nameplates. That would be fun. Just need to scruffy up the engine with soot and grime. Great!

Nick

 

Showing my age, but I remember seeing 34067 and many of her sisters at Folkestone before they were ever named. Last one I remember without nameplates was 34084 which from memory and notes was still running without nameplates in July 1950.

 

Reports elsewhere suggest that Tangmere has failed and cannot do its booked tour this weekend. Does anyone know what the problem is - did it fail during the Sussex tour?

 

Seemed fine apart from the brakes coming on in the wrong place once or twice. The air pump was also working very hard given that the train was mainly vac braked.

 

seemed to have problems with its compressor and brakes which came on unexpectedly at times and was given diesel assistance up most of the banks. Whether or not these two facts are related I would not know.