Great to watch again I remember watching it at maybole golf course heading to girvan then stood on a bridge waiting on it coming back also I remember the 2 in May 2019
I do enjoy seeing steam in the countryside Mark so these three locations suited me fine. You managed to get some sun combined with cold, still air giving some lovely billowing exhaust trails especially from the Duchess. Thanks for sharing. Take care - Chris
Unless I'm much mistaken I believe the film of 828 leaving Southampton (from 29:38) is from the afternoon of 27-12-1997 from her trip to Westbury. I helped to prepare the engine the previous day or so and was in the support carriage. A golden memory.
Wonderful video. It takes me right back to my boyhood. I used to stand on a local footbridge waiting for locomotives to pass under me and and wave to the drivers. They always waved back. One time when I got home my mother said, 'I see you've been watching the trains again.' 'How did you know Mam?' She just smiled and told me to look in the mirror. My face was covered in smuts.
Pressure must be well down, about 175 psi instead of 225. Another couple of hundred yards and it would have stalled, judging by the deceleration as it approached the tunnel. 5043, though, steams like an absolute demon. I'd imagine it just roared up the bank "with the greatest of ease".
The coal may have been poor quality, but never knock a young fireman's first efforts on a steep incline. Nunney Castle did indeed slow down somewhat, yet one can easily see how determined she was not to be defeated. Steep inclines like this have tried time after time to make Nunney Castle give up, and failed miserably. No steep incline is gonna defeat this powerful 4-6-0, no matter how hard it tries. Nunney Castle is made of sugar, spice, all things nice and sterner stuff. Make no mistake.
Hi Kelly - I wasn't knocking the young fireman. I was sympathising. A real "baptism of fire" ;-) You're right about Nunney. I've seen her apparrently close to stalling several times but never seen her actually beaten. There are 2 shots of her climbing Hemerdon earlier the same day on the disc: Steam Age Pictures volume 47: Mainline 2011, GWR Locomotives. That was even more epic. You could count the seconds between exhaust beats before she cleared the summit! I hear she's getting a larger superheater, similar to 5043's, as part of the current overhaul. It will be interesting to see what difference that makes. She'll still have a single chimney though.
No engine is bigger than its fireman and this one was not quite up to it maybe for quite understandable reasons. Another couple of hundred yards of that gradient and Nunney would certainly have stalled, to judge from the rate of deceleration as it approached the tunnel. There's nothing wrong with Nunney but it does need a proper diet.
@@loco42041 If blame has to be apportioned it can only lie with the fireman as it is very obvious the pressure is well down but I have great sympathy with the fellow who simply cannot get the practice of day-to-day work as was the case in steam days. The driver did what he could - not opening out too early as that would have brought the pressure down even more with a poor-steaming engine. From just before the bridge the loco was absolutely flat out, foot-on-the floor-in-bottom gear in motoring terms and the driver no doubt had his hand on the regulator watching for a slip which had it occurred would have been curtains. In 1959 I watched a succession of trains come up this bank (yes, I'm quite old). It is the easiest of the four South Devon banks. The technique was to go hard on the lower easier part of the bank and allow the speed to fall quite low at the top, without having to give the loco a hammering. You could almost call it a canter. The top part is very steep (1 in 38/43/37) but short, only 0.65 of a mile.
Never criticize the fireman unless you are aware of all the circumstances appertaining to the engine on the day. I'm a fireman and bad coal can cause no end of problems no matter how good the fireman is.@@Rosie6857
41312 LMS Ivatt 2-6-2T service autumn steam Gala in 2003 until last ran March 2009 and then back to steam again in early 2016. Douglas 0-6-0 Fuller used to be Thomas event on MHR. 80104 BR Standard 4 2-6-4T visited from swanage railway. 473 Brich Grove visited from bluebell railway. 34081 SR 92 Squadron 4-6-2 visited from nene valley railway and then back again in 2017.
Superb video Mark. Great to see you uploaded a video after such a long time. Hope you are keeping well. We had uploaded a video of Sir Lamiel yesterday. What a coincidence. Hopefully you will upload more. Take care and stay safe. Kind regards C&A
Would rather see her stay on the Mid Hants. She is a very popular and loved engine there. She would be better off there too. Lets be honest mainline steam won't be with us in 10 years time the way things are going.
I worked on 850 lord nelson for many years driving and firing when she was at Eastleigh she was the worst steamer out of all of the Nelson's under BR days her firebox stays leaked so bad that when she cooled down the spray of water put the fire out up the front
Why on earth is the fireman still firing with about 50 yards to go? It cannot possibly do any good. Good vid but a bit of a horror show for this ancient student of loco performance.
Hi. I am in that line of people shown at the opening long shot of the train. this was my first steam on the Lickey - even though I had been at Bromsgrove Teacher's training College in the early 70's and endured Class37's banking. Thanks for sharing this. And my film is on Super VHS - rubbish quality now!. John
Heartening to see...I saw this old girl upon delivery to the Plym Valley Railway in the early 80s...I thought nothing on earth could get her back in steam...sterling stuff!
Lovely to see her in action. I work in the Foundry in Wadebridge Cornwall that refurbished her. Several of the guys who worked on here are still there including the guy who made her name plate.
