The Great Britain VII

44932 looked and sounded superb as it passed Leighton Moss (until the driver shut the regulator), making easy work of the exit from Carnforth and reaching line speed after less than 4 miles. Video will follow tomorrow.

 

Dream on.

 

I've mentioned this before and I'll mention it again a light Pacific is strong and sure footed if handled correctly.
I was behind Taw Valley when it lifted 16 coaches out of Bridgnorth without a slip on a drizzly night that's not bad for any loco so maybe Braunton was pushing Nunney

Cheers Dave

 

Ooooh, that's not good! And 3-2-1 cue NP experts ...

Somewhere a long while ago I came across a bit of archive film on YouTube of an engine doing that (or worse) coming into Waterloo sometime back in the 1960s, and I can't for the life of me find it now.

Edit: Check this from 6'07" onwards:



Tom

 

Lifting 16 out of Bridgnorth is impressive, perhaps yesterday was just an off day for Braunton?

 

Driver must've thought it was quite a wheeze at the time. Not a pretty sight.

 

Having filmed Braunton and Nunney at 4 locations yesterday, and comparing notes with a couple of friends, we agree that neither loco could have done it on its own. Nunney always makes a lot of noise, but when Braunton could be heard (e.g. climbing from Penryn to the next tunnel) she was clearly being driven quite hard. All pacifics, especially Light Pacifics, are more prone to wheelspin than 4-6-0s, and the train engine of a double-header often seems more prone to slipping than the pilot, so not surprising if Braunton picked her feet up occasionally.

As for today's performance - frankly amazing! It's remarkable that any Black 5 would be trusted to lift 11 up Filton Bank in the rush hour, starting from cold, but 44932 put on a splendid display, charging past Narroways Junction as fast as any steam loco I've seen there, and dropping to perhaps 15-20 mph at the top of the bank. Although frustrating for passengers and those waiting close to home, today's delays were actually very helpful to those of us pursuing the train. I'd never have got through Hereford ahead of it without the extra 25 mins or so. Yes, it was a shame not to see 6233 today, but 44932 was a brilliant understudy.

The weather forecast looks promising for the Cumbrian coast tomorrow, but I shaln't attempt to match LMarsh's optimistic-looking plan!

 

You're dead right there. Nunney and Ray did save the day.

 

I've had a pretty good trip with 44932 over the S&C in the past, with 11-12 on and no box, so that particular locomotive is capable of punching above its weight on occasions.

 

After todays performance of 44932 , I think that is the best we have seen from her in awhile. Ray knows how to put her through her paces. No stuck drain cocks today. Just think, she will be in Carnforth for awhile for some maintenance and fine tuning. It should be a good summer for her. I really hope that we are getting a good preview of how well things shall go this summer in terms of the locomotives putting in good performances.

 

And of course there are those who measure effort by noise. A Bulleid Pacific and a single chimney Castle in tandem - the Castle will always drown out much of the sound of the Bulleid even if both are working as hard as each other. The clips I've seen on Hemerdon show the Pacific doing her fair share but most of the noise is being generated by the Castle - understandably so due to the exhaust arrangements.

 

I'm sure the crew on Braunton appreciate that considered analysis of their performance and contribution to the running of the tour

Tom

 

Absolutely, the Castle does sound better, and appears to put its efforts down onto the rails more effectively, although they did look well together

 

Not a bad sequence nonetheless.

 

It's not a matter of sounding better or worse, it's simple acoustics. I've been sound recording for over 40 years and when there's a paring of a "loud" loco and a "quiet" one, the sound of the loud one almost always comes to the fore but that louder sound is not necessarily a sign of greater effort.