A4s and a Princess not worth a mention then??

60009 Perth to Inverness - a stotter of a tour - no mention

6201 Coast to Coast - 60019 KX to somewhere in the trees south of Donny

I would like to have been on the former - especially if it could have been combined with Hampden Park - but it isn't to be.

I feel a grandad's day out to the NRM, with a side trip to Retford, and a pint at the Buffet Bar coming on - all combined with passing steam machinery here and there.

A week out of three cylinder thrash up to Ribblehead, and I'd rather be back on board than linesiding - c'est la vie I suppose.

 

The Princess is mentioned on this thread Frank
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=18770
2 hours to get from Lime Street to Man Vic -- obviously a joker in the Network Rail planning office!!

 

No. 9 seemed to perform extremely well yesterday, tackling Druimuachdar and Slochd in fine style both ways with load 10, generally gaining on the booked times. A typically efficient A4 performance with very little in the way of visible exhaust (except for early in the morning).

Approaching Druimuachdar summit on the way north:
[attachment=1:3r3s7o1i]60009-Druimuachdar2.jpg[/attachment:3r3s7o1i]

Cruising up the 1-in-60 over Culloden viaduct on the return:
[attachment=0:3r3s7o1i]60009-Culloden_Viaduct.jpg[/attachment:3r3s7o1i]

 

And it was still late ](*,)

Neil :-#

 

Good to see No 9 got some good weather too.

6201 and 60019 were both performing well, and 6229 is looking superb - I got some nice shots of the Streamliner display despite the NRM.

It has to be said though that Princess Elizabeth is looking a bit shabby - seven years out of overhaul, or eleven months of outdoor storage???

I have said it before and will say it again - I'll bet if an offer to run her in green were made by the 6201 society they could get her repainted twice in quick succession at no cost to them!

 

Fine photos - thanks for sharing

STEVE

 

Load 10 is impressive. Did 60009's first trip over Druimachdar in the early 80s. Load 7 and BR wanted to bank it from Blair Atholl. Thankfully John Cameron said no. Sounded good with 7, must have sounded really good with 10.

 

There is no doubt that No. 9 was on fine form and yes, she sounded great. The climbs were all made at a good speed with a minimum of fuss, no excess clag, and it was easy to forget just how long and steep they are. All particularly pleasing given that last autumn it was looking like she could be retired from the mainline. Let's hope all that's behind her, although isn't the ticket up fairly soon? All credit to the SRPS and Mr Cameron for providing something of a mainline steam revival north of the border. Long may it continue...

Was that original tour the one with the 'Osprey Express' headboard? That headboard was used yesterday as far as Aviemore, before being replaced by the 'SRPS Railtours' one.

 

I'm pretty certain that was the name of the train. Worked Waverley to Aviemore and back. Frustratingly the whole train went to Inverness for servicing but we weren't allowed to stay on so those of us who cared about such things missed out on the climb to Slochd.

 

That first picture is superb. =D>