Royal Duchy series 2014

Waits for the Torbay to overtake at Exeter. (TBX thru St Daves at 1115).

 

Two steam charters along the South Devon seawall in 5 minutes ........in 2014 !! <BJ>

 

I hope they get Dawlish cam sorted as it has been down most of today

 

Oh no! I am in Central London on Saturday evening watching my team Holland and Costa Rica in Quarter Finals of World Cup. Extra time? Penalties? I may not be heading back out of Waterloo until the early hours which will render me out of action on Sunday.

Why do I mention this?

Because the chance to repeat something I have not seen since 1961 i.e. two steam trains passing Newton Abbot within minutes of each other is something that I would also not wish to miss. Yes, it is true that a Black 5 never transgressed down to Devon in those days, but who cares., It is steam. I guess I may have to rely on the excellent videos that will no doubt be posted.

 

A case of priorities. Footy or steam? I know which I'd choose.

 

First train from Paddington gets to Dawlish 10 minutes before the first tour. Hmmm, I wonder if it's worth the risk on the forecast to get a shot of a Castle on the seawall with matching stock...?

 

Working on a similar plan. Was considering driving but usual suspects for a car share are otherwise engaged or have forgotten the pass code for their wallet.

 

Hi,
I was wondering whether anyone knows why the crew of the black five when the train was stopped at Exeter St Davids was letting members of the public visit the cab, are they allowed to do this or not didn't know whether their were any set rules.

Many Thanks And With Kind Regards
YRM,.

 

I'm not sure if there are any rules about this, but I think it depends on the length of the stop. The water stop at Exeter on the down Royal Duchy is a long one (45-50 minutes). For shorter stops I don't think they encourage it.

 

oh ok

 

there are no set rules as long as the engine is stationary and there are crew on the engine, it all depends how long the train is stopping for in this case water, and all depends on the crew and owner's rep if they are willing to let public on the footplate, it happens very often, myself included have been up on the footplate of several engines when in a station,

 

Had an excellent day chasing the Duchy, with a bit of Braunton on the side! Flawless running by the 5, and some superb performances to boot. Best shot of the day for me was Coombe Fishacre, and here's a couple of images from two videos. One from the main shot, and another from a wide still shot, taken on my Galaxy S3. Not too shabby for a phone

 

Very nice. Well done. <BJ>

 

Thank you, kind sir. Good to see you again yesterday

 

Another wonderful day with brilliant performance from 45407 and Ray Churchill, one of the best trips I've had with a Black 5,

 

My video of 'The Torbay Express' & 'The Royal Duchy' railtours yesterday.

 

redrock https://www.flickr.com/photos/tguppy37401/14611125793/in/photostream/
tiverton https://www.flickr.com/photos/tguppy37401/14404410818/in/photostream/
huntford https://www.flickr.com/photos/tguppy37401/14568029646/

 

Another superb performance by 45407. A little bit beyond belief we managed some slightly better climbs, and in the case of Dainton on the return, a supreme effort. We were all surprised to find Ray Churchill at the regulator at BTM and not Andy Taylor. Andy was unwell and Ray was 'persuaded' by a bit of arm twisting(?) to step in at short notice!!! The run from BTM to Flax Bourton summit was entertaining and the summit speed was almost 54. We rattled through Nailsea at a little over 64 and got to Yatton a little early. the run to Taunton over the levels was effortless in the low 60s. We thought the climb to Whiteball was good last week but this run was better. No real charge just climb holding the mid 50s until the last mile and a half, the sped only dropping to a shade under 40 at the tunnel mouth, the top of the 1:80. The run out of Exeter was excellent and the 'max' of 60 was reached 2.5 miles out. We approached Newton Abbot at 57 and passed Aller at 59. The speed was still 50 at MP 216 1/2, but the speed fell back as the bank steepened We went into the tunnel at just over 23. After the usual slowing on the approach we blasted through Totnes at 58 and passed Tigley at just over 16. Unlike last week, there was not much of a fall in speed towards Rattery and we passed the summit at 25 and entered Marley Tunnel at 35, an excellent performance.
After rain in Plymouth we struggled a little getting to the Royal Albert, slipping on greasy rails around and after St Budeaux. Once across we had another fine run through Cornwall, passing through St Germans at 50 and only falling to 38 at the summit. After Menheniot at 58 we topped the short 1:74 bank at 44. We got to 59 at the foot of the short steep climb to Doublebois, a couple of miles with a ruling grade of 1:70 ish that we topped at 42, The second shorter climb to Doublebois was topped at 41. The final 2 mile climb from Lostwithiel to Treverrin tunnel, in the 1:60s was noisy and we went into the tunnel at 31 from a starting speed of 39.
The return didn't disappoint. The return climb into Treverrin, again 2 miles at average grades of 1:60 was noisy and the tunnel entered at 18 after a slower start from Par. After the slowing to 40 through Bodmin Parkway, the 5 accelerated to 52 on the lesser grades and then after a noisy climb up changing grades mainly between 1:70 and 1:90, we topped Doublebois at 39. Plymouth was a surprise as Bill Warriner, not Pet Roberts took over 45407 so we ended up with the same drivers as last week.
The charge out of Plymouth wasn't as rapid as last week and MP 242 was passed quite a few mph slower. However, as is often the case, the speed drop was more controlled and we hit Hemerdon summit sightly faster at just over 24. We passed through Totnes station at 57 and began a quite superb climb to Dainton Tunnel. The 5 hammered around the severe curves in the low 50s and attached the last half mile entering the tunnel at just over 28, 10 mph faster than last week.
The run from Exeter to Whiteball Summit was 16 seconds slower, the Summit speed being 54 as opposed to 56 last week. The Exeter-Taunton section took 23 mins 24 seconds, slightly quicker than last week. The journey time to Yatton was a minute longer than last week, but again 34 mins 51 secs for the 32 miles, almost an even time again. This week we weren't checked at Worle and were able to attack the gentler 'summit' at Flax Bourton which we passed at 56. we got into BTM 2 mins early after another exhilarating day.
Again, on behalf of all the fortunate travellers, photographers and 'watchers' huge thanks must go to Ian and his support crew for bringing the their magnificent 5 down from Scotland to rescue the Duchys. The performance of 45407 way exceeded expectation and this week showed it was it's norm not just a one-off. Ray Churchill and Bill Warriner were full of praise for the engine. Thanks too to the firemen whose names I didn't manage to get. Their efforts were seriously appreciated. The September season has a lot to live up to.

 

I'd like to echo that, it was great to see the way 45407 performed. A welcome visitor to the South West anytime.

Here’s my video, taken at Starcross on the outward run and at Newton Abbot and Tiverton Parkway on the return.

 

some photos from sunday 6-7-14 at http://keyhamtrain.weebly.com/6-7-14-torbay-ex-and-royal-duchy.html