5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe and 34067 Tangmere both roaring and whistling up Shap - 16/03/2024 

This is a rare moment for me. For the first time ever, I went to Shap Bank to get Great Western Castle no. 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe hauling the Shap Mountaineer unassisted and 34067 Tangmere hauling The Winter Cumbrian Mountain Express. The furthest north I've been was Horton in Ribblesdale on the Settle and Carlisle Line last year. This year, I went up to Shap Bank to mainly a rare sight of a Great Western Castle on the West Coast Main Line tackling the long and fierce bank towards Carlisle. As promised, 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe would haul the train without a diesel on the back which is brilliant, given how unassisted tours are few and far between in today's market. I arrived in good time and with friends around me, I had very good company the whole time which was just as well.
The two steam engines were quite late, particularly Earl of Mount Edgcumbe which was 45 minutes late due to issues on the diesel leg. Likewise, 34067 Tangmere got up Shap around 20 minutes late. The first steam engine to tackle Shap was 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe, the sun was going in and out of the clouds making it quite nice in places. I expected the Castle to sound excellent up Shap Bank and low and behold she did. Despite being late, Earl of Mount Edgcumbe showed what she was made of, with her distinctive bark exhaust echoing through the beautiful Cumbrian hills and countryside. Shortly afterwards was 34067 Tangmere, the engine sounded nice and the crew were in good spirits as she whistled quite a lot at places. Tangmere flew up Shap, however, there was a diesel on the back giving the loco and the train a full power shove which wasn't ideal, but the Bulleid did sound good in fairness.
After a successful run up Shap, I'll definitely go up to Shap again at some point in the future, and possibly new locations on the cards this year as well. A great show from the two engines, particularly Earl of Mount Edgcumbe and the trusted team at Tyseley in Birmingham.
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