'THE CORNISHMAN' with 5029 - July 10th

Through Lipson Junction (Plymouth) at 11.33; no further info on formation etc as I'd actually forgotten it was coming down, and it surprised me as I was putting the washing out!

 

Yattton Loop.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/16582147@N07/5921624344/

 

Saw her from more or less the same location
My that engine has some bark.
Have seen quite a few go through there, but nothing as noisy as that, fantastic!

 

Here's my bit of video of the move on Saturday.

[video=youtube;OgcEngcjeaE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgcEngcjeaE[/video]

 

It does, doesn't it! As an guesstimate, the amount of time I could hear it for before it passed the garden indicated I must have heard it pretty much the length of Embankment Road, then past Laira shed; pretty impressive.

 

And with that, through Lipson Junction again at 19.31 on the return; time to shut the smoke alarm up now...!

 

Just got back from watching Nunney up Hemerdon. What a noise! I was about three quarters of the way up and at that point it was slow but steady. Film will be available tomorrow.

 

some photos from today fro totnes- keyham and plymouth at http://keyhamtrain.weebly.com/the-cornishman-10-7-11.html video to follow tomorrow also 60163 on torbay express at newton abbot at http://keyhamtrain.weebly.com/10-7-11.html

 

Oh wow, I've never heard such a fantastic bark before tonight with Nunney on Hemerdon. Was about half way up, and a bit worried she might not get to the top, but what an awesome performance by the engine and crew. Well done, I loved it. And my wife is now hooked too! I've got an HD video here....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOQ4rVly1ow

(edited to update YouTube link)

 

Stormed Dainton this morning and sounded lovely on the return tonight but was crawling towards the top.

 

Here's my video, taken at Tigley, Forder and Hemerdon:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5W9Tz1gR2Y

Also a couple of photos taken at:
Tigley - http://www.flickr.com/photos/hemerdon/5923335524
Forder - http://www.flickr.com/photos/hemerdon/5923334994

 

What a fantastic weekend for steam fans everywhere! I cannot imagine another one quite as spectacular for the rest of the year, but I could be wrong.

A great weekend too for Pete Roberts who was the West Coast drver responsible for the epic run up from Salisbury non top to Waterloo on Saturday and the return run with Nunney Castle on the Cornishman yesterday. This was Pete's first ever run over the South Devon banks with steam and he told me how much he was looking forward to it when we spoke at Waterloon on Saturday evening.

As a Nine Elms man in his youth, he is clearly a Bullied man, but he also acknowledged the attributes of GW steam and was really looking forward to tackling the 1-43 of Hemerdon bank.

From the reports, he clearly did a great job and as for crawling over the top, that was always going to be the case because 5029 is a single chimney loco and even back in the 50's and 60's, going over he top at 15mph was the norm for a Castle, so I am told.

Well done Pete!

 

Brief Summary of trip ( will add more later)

Great run on the way down, Crew Ray Churchill and Dean Morris - the usual high standard. We got checked going through Totnes and had a red signal on the 1 in 60 section at the bottom of Rattery, did not quite stop down to 1mph before signal turned green. Ray showed us what a good driver to get us up Rattery, 2 or 3 small slips on the climb ,and Nunney was steaming well ( Thanks to Dean).
On the return Ray C drove back to Plymouth, when Pete Roberts took over. John Shawe was firing from Par. Nunney was not steaming well on the return. 8mph over Hemerdon, & ditto Dainton. We stopped a mile of two from Whiteball summit for a blowout due to lack of steam. Arrived 25 minutes late.The pathing was not good on the return followed DMU along Sea Wall, then looped at Dawlish Warren for a Cross country( we actually arived early at DW despite the lack of steam).

 

What a fantastic run!

This was the first time I've experienced 5029 (or any Castle for that matter) over the South Devon Banks or the Cornish Mainline on its own and I for one was not disappointed.

Also as many have seen we went tender-first from Swindon to Bristol on Saturday. It is believed by some that this is the first Castle (or GW loco??? Correct me if I'm wrong!) to go tender first along this route since the 60s!

Bring on 5029's first 'Weymouth' in 2 weeks time!

 

Looked and sounded good Ben, waiting now for the 5029/4936 trips.

 

some video from yesterday at totnes and plymouth on return at http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=keyhamtrain#grid/uploads

 

The highlight of the run for me was the superb handling of the loco on Tigley by Ray Churchill, the virtual re-start on the curving gradient (1 in 71 at that point, I think) was masterly. When the loco slipped about ¼ mile further on but the slip was checked so swiftly that it almost never happened. A true master class.

The return was a different matter. Peter Roberts handled the loco well but I suspect the difference in experience of the fireman over the banks told somewhat. I don’t know what the fire was like at the bottom of Dainton but speed fell away quickly even on the gentle lower slopes, as has been said we made into the tunnel at 8 mph, too close for comfort! The stop on Whiteball was just over 1/4 of a mile from the summit, the loco was almost at MP174.25. All the way from Exeter it was clear things were not going well as speed rose then fell away, we had left Exeter with safety valves lifting. From Taunton we were still struggling with speed never more than 68 mph but we were pleased enough to get home without further problems.

My 10 year son summed it up at Bristol “We’ll we’ve arrived but not really in style”.

Nevertheless a very enjoyable day and many thanks to all who made it happen. I hope it isn’t another 6 years until the next time a solo Castle runs to Plymouth.

 

8mph ouch! You certainly wouldn't want to stall on Hemerdon (or Dainton for that matter). As I mentioned earler, this was Pete Roberts first with steam on the South Devon banks and having only come on at Plymouth North Road, he very soon must have reaslised what a mountain Hemerdon is to climb. Even with a fast run past Laira giving a run at the bank, it is amazing how quickly speed falls away. It is testament to Peter (and Ray Churchill earlier) that in the face of such adversity with an engine a tad off the red mark, it is a fine achievement to get this steed over the top and away.

Well done Pete and Ray and firemen who had to fight against the odds. Toil, sweat and great skill barely does justice to their fine work.

Nick

 

Memorable run yesterday,simply awesome,I for one couldn't care less about records,5029 to me will always be the best Castle simply because of its noise and the fact that it isnt a super break every record loco,much better to have a good old slog along the way! Two of the best trips ever in recent weeks,this and the 8F round the south east,both thanks to the "Wake everyone in the county" nature of the loco's!

Was praying on Dainton that the usual bad adhesion problem going into the tunnel didn't kick in but thankfully she kept her feet.

Best run I have had over the devon banks. As good if not better than the run with 5051 solo a few years back. Thanks to all involved,what a great trip!

On train vid from the front pax coach going up Hem/Dainton is now up at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVlcXYDPOAw&feature=channel_video_title

Cheers,
Mark

 

Glad nothing drastic happened to 5029, ie a stall, otherwise it would of been plastered all over another certain forum like 71000's recent incident was. This particular forum seems to be frequented by modern traction lovers who are blatantly anti-steam. By their posts I think most of them work on the current network.