Cathedral Express 23rd May

Catpured Tornado this morning on the Cathedrals Express this morning at Rectory Lane Abbots Ripton.
Other photos of Steam Locomotives as well

http://www.flickr.com/photos/a4sng/

 

At last , some sun on it! Downside is that it's warmer now, so exhaust is less visible.
Taken at Welwyn North.

B.

 

No sun up north today :| Not even now...
I ventured over to Copmanthorpe this morning just south of York for the outbound journey.

Footage is now online via the link below.

Footage Available Here

 

I've been out trespassing again. :-D

"The Golden Jubilee" aka "Cathedrals Express"

 

Norty boy, please provide to prove your inocance to the forum...

 

Great run yesterday. 60163 ran very well in the morning with a another superb climb of Stoke, similar to ‘The Coronation’. But the main event was the afternoon, just fantastic that 50 years to the day after 60007 set the post war record for steam traction of 112 mph, the same loco rolled down Stoke Bank on the fast and few hour latter once again graced Kings Cross with scenes similar to those of 50 years ago. Magical.

 

On train footage (start with 60163 at York):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfbmCPHPyZE

York, to Retford, Potters Bar Kings Cross. - Enjoy the sound of that A4!

 

I was thoroughly impressed with yesterdays run. Having not been behind either loco on the mainline it was an eye opener.

'Tornado' just seem to go, with no effort what so ever! Once the train was moving we were off 'like a scolded cock' as Clarkson has said to describe cars on Top Gear. I'm not sure I can recall traveling behind a loco that seems to perform so well as effortlessly.

However 'Sir Nigel Gresley' certainly put on a cracking show on the way back, it was an impressive run. I have travelled behind 'Bittern' and 'Union of South Afirica' in recent years, and neither seemed to make such a sound as No.7 did. I can't wait to get another chance to go behind the loco, the closest I'll get now is to announce the diesel legs departure from Paddington on the 6th.

Does anyone know the speeds clocked on the run yesterday. Spoke to Graeme Bunker and he said that someone on board clocked 'Tornado' on Stoke Bank summit at 72mph, but that was unsubstantiated.

Thanks to no.7 for the video - captured the atmosphere of the Stevenage & Potters Bar departures perfectly!

 

Was very impressed with 60163's run up Stoke, second time in as many weeks. She cleared it at 71 on The Coronation and according to my GPS was going at 72 when we hit the summit on Saturday.

60007 also made a good account of herself but made a very cautious approach into The Cross, almost stopping before we got to the station. Was really nice to see a blue A4 under the station roof.

 

Great shot of motocross bike airborne, but thought this was a thread on Tornado and SNG.

Check your link, he who laughs last laughs longest!!!!!!

 

Thanks for the info. on the broken link, glad you like the shot.

By the way there's no "u" in airborne you ignoramus, he who laughs etc.

 

Post war record for steam, traction?

German high speed pacific 18 201. 182.4 km/h, 113 mph, achieved on 11th October 1972. Also a reported run at 190 km/h, (118 mph), details not yet seen.

And, the same loco on test on 5th July 1995 with the speedo on 180 km/h:-


Photo with kind permission from Jürgen-Ulrich Ebel.

 

The 112mph referred to with Sir Nigel Gresley, was a post war UK record for steam !
Amazing to think that in 1995, yes 1995, another A4 achieved the highest ever speed in UK mainline preserveration with just short of 100mph (100mph was showing on the speedo) down Whiteball bank between Exeter and Taunton on the occasion of the retirement of a driver who had "nothing to lose"!! The inspector got his knuckles wrapped though! The loco was 60009 Union of South Africa. Says everything about the magnficent A4's then and now!

 

What a trip that was !
No. 9 doing what it was designed to do - and seemingly effortlessly too. The look on the faces of Porsche and BMW drivers on the adjacent motorway was a picture to behold as we stormed past them!
The noise of the round of applause under Bristol Temple Mead's station roof was fantastic and well deserved by Driver Barnett. Congratulations wholeheartedly to his fireman too who's name, I'm very ashamed to say, I've forgotten.
I suspect nothing like that will ever occur again now that OTMR is compulsory.

 

Wasn't there also a Duchess run that showed 100 mph on the speedo in the preservation era? Another driver's last run. Actual speed just under 100 mph.

 

30th November 1996, 46229 'Duchess of Hamilton' Shap to Carlisle, Driver Les Jackson's swansong, unofficially 97 mph but the trailing 47's speedo apparently showed the ton. Unfortunately I wasn't there so this all secondhand info..

 

Think you might be right re the xx mph.

When German Pacific 18 201 did it's stuff on 5th May 2002 the first run got a max of 96.4 mph: we braked to let the parallel "filming" electric loco train catch up.

John Barnes who timed it with me, and I checked the data very carefully as he was keen to see if we had beaten the very, very slightly faster speed from the UK pacific. A run I knew nothing about. Anyway he said we hadn't!

That became irrelevant on the second run by 18 201 as we reached 102 mph! Still the fastest steam loco speed in the 21st Century!

And if anyone does beat it I would imagine the loco owners may be keen to get 18 201 into high speed again. With 7ft 6 inch driving wheels that pacific has the capability of running some way above it's definite recorded best of 113 mph.......................

 

Well I made it 71.5mph for 60163 over Stoke, the same as the previous week, but either way very very good.

In one or two places I also though brakes were on a bit early but the driver had a conductor so it could well be he was being rather over cautious compared to a experienced steam driver who could sign for the route. York-Retford was excellent sustained running 65.4mph average start to stop.

 

Driving wheel diameter guarantees little or nothing in the steam locomotive high speed stakes. You can run at 110mph with 5' 10" drivers and without a particularly advanced front end - old ideas die very slow and lingering deaths. Now, what is the blast pipe tip area of 18 201?