The Welsh Marches - Tyseley to Hereford - Sat 20th Sept

Did anyone happen to take any photos of the train when we were in Wolverhampton platform?

There is something I need to check in the first Pullman....

Cheers!

 

Traffic on this thread may have quietened down, but before this railtour goes off the radar completely, and while 5043 is still in the spotlight with Saturday’s Cotswold Explorer, there is one small but remarkable performance highlight from the Welsh Marches trip that deserves to be recorded for posterity.
It was great to get the news from Ben that the Stour Valley Line had been agreed once again this year (previous Post 8). Last year’ sprint over this section – “this historic 12.9 mile journey” as remarked by Mike Notley in SR421, was completed in 20 minutes 21 seconds. It certainly provided a worthy finale to a brilliant day that fully justified its “Railtour of the Year” accolade.

But this year proved to be even better, with fully two minutes shaved off this time (My notes record 18 minutes 20 seconds, but I would be happy to be corrected on this by any of the other travelling contingent of timers on the train). Ray Poole, I believe, was at the helm for this one, and it is worth recording that the load was heavier by one Mark 2 TSO this year – say 380 tons in total including REG.

OK, so Wolverhampton High Level to Birmingham New Street may not be a classic racing ground, or the stuff of performance legend. But I have looked back into performance archives to see how 5043’s time compares with previous best times with steam and I can’t find anything that comes remotely close to this year’s time. The closest, in fact, appears to have been a 1961 run behind a Black Five with Load Five in a few seconds under 20 minutes.

More out-of-course checks this year may have taken the edge off some of the overall running times (Worcester Tunnel Junction, Abbotswood Junction, Bullo Dock on the outward run, and a trs at the River Teme bridge just south of Ludlow on the return). But a rousing climb of Llanvihangel, surmounted at a minimum of 43 mph according to on-board reports, and energetic running elsewhere, once clear of the Snow Hill-Stourbridge section, all made for a thoroughly enjoyable day out with the Earl.

But it is the finale that this year lives on in the memory, and I wonder if any NatPres contributors can recall any faster steam runs that have ever been made over the Stour Valley line.

Meanwhile, a belated but big, big round of thanks to VT, the crew and – as ever – the on-board staff for a great day out once again.

 

As Ray Poole said just as were were rolling down platform 1 in New Street, "The signallers have done us proud, you couldn't have got a run like that with a Pendolino" And indeed a Pendolino could not have asked for better as we did not have a single signal that wasn't green until the approach to New Street - even the one at the start of the tunnel at Monument Lane was green with two yellows at the station end of the tunnel, one yellow half way down the platform and the one at the end standing at red, the New Street signallers had indeed done us proud with that one and a big public thanks to them. The thought of a record is interestin though, we hadn't really thought of it, but you do have to confess that the railway is a bit better than it was in the days of steam with all those boxes and junctions that Beeching edited out. The track is probably better as well, but with the twists and turns and ups and downs it is never going to be a 100mph line! I have had the privilege of being on the engine both times that we have run over the Stour and it is a very interesting experience, where the twists and turns and the need to keep a watchful eye out for the signals makes up for any lack of high speeds.

Regards
Bob

 

Many thanks, Bob, for the insight and the perspectives on the running over the Stour Valley section. They certainly breathe life into the raw timing data and the recollection of a great run, and for both I’m very grateful.