On Saturday 27th April 1974, the re-built Merchant Navy Class No.35028 'Clan Line' ran its first main line railtour since it was purchased by the Merchant Navy Locomotive Preservation Society out of BR service in August 1967. Owing to a ban on steam out of London, at the time, the tour started at Basingstoke, before continuing on to the destination of Westbury. The loco has been out of action since 2022, undergoing major boiler repairs at the Devon based specialist company, Leaky Finders. It made a triumphant return to steam earlier this year before returning home to its base at Stewarts Lane, in London. After a period of light and loaded test runs, the loco was finally ready to re-enter service and, on Saturday 27th April 2024, exactly 50 years since that first railtour, Clan Line - still owned and operated by the MNLPS - made its official return, with a celebratory excursion along the very same route it covered all those years ago. Utilising the Belmond British Pullman coaching stock, the excursion was suitably dubbed 'The Clan Line 50th Anniversary Pullman'. With the ban on steam out of London no longer in place, this run had a addition of starting out from London Victoria, before joining the LSWR main line for a fast line run down to Basingstoke and beyond towards a water stop at Salisbury. Once topped up, the tour continued on via Warminster to the original 1974 destination of Westbury and onwards to Bath and, ultimately, Bristol. The return run followed the exact same route, which would see the Merchant Navy really get to flex its muscles on the 1 in 70 gradient from Westbury to the summit at Upton Scudamore, a climb I've wanted to see Clan Line tackle with the heavier Pullman set for a very long time!
The first of two shots sees us at Potbridge, just west of Winchfield on the LSWR main line. Clan Line can be seen in the distance, dashing through Winchfield, chucking out plumes of white steam as she speeds under the M3 motorway along the down fast towards Basingstoke. After a short visit to the Mid Hants Railway, it was onwards to Upton Scudamore, for the return run. Set up in the field just shy of the summit of the climb, we are treated to a pure symphony of sound, as Clan Line makes a brutal assault of the climb up from Westbury. It's been a long time since I last heard Clan Line in full cry like that and it's a performance that will certainly live long in the memory of many.
What a machine!
Filmed on a Panasonic HC-X1500 with an Audio-Technica BP4025 microphone.
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00:00 Potbridge
01:45 Upton Scudamore
5 авг 2024
