A short compilation of Tyseley's flagship locomotive, British Railways built Castle Class 4-6-0 No.7029 'Clun Castle'. This video covers four of her runs undertaken between April and June of this year. Fittingly, we start off with her inaugural run, on April 6th, marking her official return to main line service for the first time since the 1980s! Titled as 'The Cotswold Explorer', this run took the Castle from Dorridge to Oxford and back, running outward via Cheltenham and Swindon, then back via Evesham. We kick off the action at Sapperton Tunnel, where we eagerly awaited the sight and sound of Clun attacking Sapperton Bank, for the first time since 1985. She didn't disappoint, as she barked her way up the final winding section of 1 in 60 towards the tunnel. Truly, a sight to behold! Our next shot, sees her at Chipping Campden, running back to Dorridge, along the Cotswold Line.
The following two shots see her on May 18th, working another 'Cotswold Explorer'. Once again, she is seen working hard up Sapperton Bank, viewed this time from one of the two foot crossings at Frampton Mansell. Another fine show! Much like the previous run, the return leg sees us on the Cotswold Line. This time, we see Clun at Fawler, running along the single track section between Wolvercote Junction and Charlbury.
A fast shot now, as 7029 is captured at Bredon, just north of Ashchurch. Filmed on May 25th, she was working 'The Welsh Marches Express' from Dorridge to Hereford, via Gloucester, then back via Shrewsbury. A further two shots were planned after this, as she was due to run another 'Cotswold Explorer' on June 1st. That run, however, was unfortunately cancelled.
The final three shots see her working in Oxfordshire on June 15th, in conjunction with 175th anniversary celebrations along the Oxford to Didcot line. This day saw her working two different railtours, one running from Solihull to Oxford and back, called 'The Oxford 175 Express', while the other was a circular luncheon tour, running to and from Oxford Parkway. This ran south along the Cherwell Valley Line, then east along the Great Western Main Line, north along the Chiltern Main Line then, finally, back west along the Bicester to Oxford line.
Having missed the run down to Oxford, as I was otherwise engaged with filming Flying Scotsman heading to Worcester - see here: • Around The Bend: 60103... - we start off at the footbridge, just south of Kennington Junction. 7029 is seen in fine form, as she storms away from Oxford with the luncheon train. After having some luncheon ourselves, we headed on over to Oddington, where the sun makes a miraculous appearance, after we'd endured nearly an hour of torrential rain. Our final shot, captures 7029 at the pretty location of Tackley, working back to Solihull with the return leg of 'The Oxford 175 Express'. This was another moment of good fortune, as not 5 minutes before her appearance, the light was completely gone and we were caught in yet another heavy rain shower, although not as long as at Oddington, fortunately!
Filmed on a Panasonic VXF990 with a Pro Sound L92AA microphone.
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30 сен 2024
