The Railway Touring Company, "The Weymouth Seaside Express"
Bristol -- Westbury -- Castle Cary -- Weymouth, Sunday 11th August 2013
In this year of celebrating steam speed records my title may sound a little extravagant but as many know and appreciate already, the speed I am referring to here is the designed high exhaust speed of the G.W.R. Castle class when working hard. Here are three examples of that high speed exhaust as we first see and hear Nunney Castle lift her train out of Westbury Station passing under Fairwood Road bridge to join the G.W.R. mainline west to Castle Cary. Next to Bincombe Tunnel where I had only seconds to set up after fighting through severe holiday traffic and we see 5029 cranking that exhaust level up a little more as she climbs at speed to the summit on this easier side, then shuts-off as she drops into the tunnel. The climb out of Weymouth on the return steepens to 1 in 50 gives us something near the "max" where we see and hear that exhaust blasting anything overhead. I am filming about 30 feet up as she passes under the bridge and cinders are falling on my head (they must have been thrown 50 feet or more upwards!) as she emerges the other side on her way back to the tunnel and the summit beyond! Now that's what I call high speed!!
11 авг 2013
