4464 Bittern to do 90mph on ECML - 29 June & 27 July 2013

Wonderful stuff ADB! You'll have to change you name to John Snagge, Raymond Baxter or Peter O'Sullivan!

Can't wait for the 90 to be reached. My last UK steam 90s were all on July 8th 1967. Three of them, two behind Light Pacifics and one behind a MN.

Lets hope there are more than that individually today.

 

Don't know where just past but it was fast..

 

A tour delivering what was promised, superb effort.

 

Here's the view (looks the same

 

Biggleswade 0909, at 90.

 

Sandy, 0912 @88.

 

A NEW RECORD...

 

This is cracking stuff.

 

Amazing stuff.

 

Just over taken a service train on the slow , mid 80's running now.

 

Just had a sustained 90 for a few minutes, slowing for Huntingdon

 

Unit overtaking us on the slow, south of Huntingdon.

 

Stopped south of Huntingdon. ( Bittern took that easily, the acceleration from Hitchen took seconds, and sustained it no issue, it really could have gone for more).

 

Posted on the BBC London Local new live feed which I think is a twitter feed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/england/london/

RAIL RECORD BID0904:

A historic locomotive will mark a rail milestone today as it blasts up the East Coast Mainline at the fastest speed travelled by a steam train in almost half a century.
Bittern, an A4-class engine that was built in 1937 and is almost identical to the world's fastest steam loco, Mallard, is expected to hit 90mph en-route from London to York.
The run commemorates Mallard hitting a record 126mph near Grantham on 3 July 1938 - a feat that remains unbeaten 75 years later.

 

0926 Huntingdon, on slow.

 

BBC are on the train, as well as a few others, been interviewing a few people.
I elected for standing at a nice window and passed on breakfast, had other things on my mind at the time

 

Good to see the BBC covering this, do you know if its a national or local news crew.

 

Potters Bar to Hatfield - 5 miles - standing start to 70+ on what i'm pretty sure is a fairly stiff rising gradient - fantastic effort

 

75mph at Sawtry, on slow towards Peterborough.. All of a sudden this seems routine.

 

I recognised the reporter, but honestly don't know, bloke heavily made up, they said there going to do a live broadcast at some point.

We've got 90 either side of Newark, and Doncaster to Colton Jn, my guess would be the latter.