Churnet Valley Railway Cauldon Lowe Mince Pie Specials 29th & 30th December 2012

The Churnet Valley Railway will be running its annual Mince Pie Specials to Cauldon Lowe on Saturday the 29[SUP]th[/SUP] and Sunday the 30[SUP]th[/SUP] of December 2012.

This will be the first time that the newly restored S160 6046 will be running over the steeply graded line to Cauldon Lowe. With the gradients range from 1 in 40 – 1 in 59 for 7 miles this is a spectacular opportunity not be missed.

Due to the sanders not yet being fitted to the S160 the train will run with one of the Class 33 diesel locomotives on the rear should the S160 need any assistance if the rail conditions are bad. With the additional weight of the Class 33 the total train weight will be around 350 tons which will give the opportunity to hear the S160 working hard.

There will be two return trips per day starting at Froghall, the Froghall departure times are 10:30 & 13:20.

Ticket prices are as follows;
[h=3]Adult : £17.00 Seniors : £15.00 Children : £10.00 Under 4's FREE[/h][h=3]Family Ticket ( 2 Adults & 2 Children ) £52.00[/h]
For further information please visit the website: Churnet Valley Heritage Railway Line - Staffordshire

For some of last years spectacular footage see: Cauldon Lowe Winter Warmer; featuring 'Black 5 No. 44767 George Stephenson'. - YouTube 44767 approaching Apesford Crossing.m2ts - YouTube

Regards

Chris

 

And to whet the appetite, some videos of 6046.

[youtube]mYW9SrLj1kU[/youtube]

[youtube]9x_Cr4NfSec[/youtube]

 

Hmm.. there's brave!

 

Sanders are not needed on the normal Froghall - Leekbrook Junction line as the gradient is only 1 in 200.

As per my post we will be using the class 33 on the rear of the train to provide assistance on the Cauldon Lowe line if needed. If its not needed it wont be doing any work!

Regards

Chris

 

That's good to know. Should sound good up there.

Is there a reason 5197 wasn't fitted with sanders? I remember a run at KWVR with it, and there's a video on youtube of a similar run, where it slipped nearly the whole way to Oxenhope in the rain due to lack of sanders. It was ok in the dry, but in the wet it was really struggling. Fingers crossed for dry weather next weekend!

 

What a run that was... Hopefully the trip up to Cauldon won't be too nostalgic in that respect!

 

A very technical reason !

When we were moving 5197s sandbox around the yard one day it slipped whilst being moved and one of the sand valves snapped off ! Like most things it was due to be dealt with but other things took over and it just never happened.

We are going to try 2 different types of air sanders on 6046 and see which is best.

 

Looking forward to my yearly visit to The Black Lion!

 

Looking ahead to the weekend the weather is looking good for the first runs of 6046 to Cauldon Lowe: BBC Weather : ST13

Regards

Chris

 

6046 has been on a loaded test run to Cauldon Lowe today with no problems experienced and will therefore haul the trains this weekend subject to no issues being found over the weekend.

Regards

Chris

 

S160 6046 up Cauldon! S160 6046, Cauldon Lowe Runs, 29/12/12. - a set on Flickr

 

Todays shots of 6046 up Cauldon 6046, Cauldon Lowe, 30/12/12. - a set on Flickr