SHAP DOUBLE TAKE! Mighty GWR Castle 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe & SR 34067 Tangmere 16/3/24 

Nicely captured Ian, thought I’d replied to this but must not have pressed send, good to see two steam charters back to back on Shap with a great performance from the Castle, when I used my iPhone a few years back I got a Gutmann fur wind shield for just over £20 from Amazon which made a big difference to the wind noise, cheers 👍

I used to be on trains pulled by Castle class locos when they were the Kings of rail on the line between Aberystwyth and Shrewsbury in the 1940s and 1950s. Good to see 5043!!!

" What's the fuss? " says the Earl, " It's only 1:75. I was built for twice as steep."

I was in Coach E behind 5043. I have little time these days for mainline steam because - as was the case here with Tangmere - the diesels have taken over the hard work and the steam locos are often just for show. It seems so fake, but then it also seems like most of the paying guests are there for the "dining experience". However on this occasion I was impressed by Vintage Trains' claim that the Earl would be climbing Shap in BOTH directions, "unassisted". We were also told it would be steam all the way from Crewe (where I joined) to Carlisle and back to Brum. Later that was quietly changed to steam from Carnforth and back to Crewe only. Still more steam than they got on the Tangmere run. But then I realised the grand claim of "no diesel assistance" is pretty feeble with only 8 coaches on plus a GUV! I think the impressive bit in the end was that The Earl kept up a steady 65 to 78mph (the highest I recorded) much of the way from Preston back to Crewe. But I'm a Southern man at heart and for me nothing can beat the ascent of Shap on 9th April 2022 by 35018 British India Line with 12 on, every seat taken, and no diesel on the back! That was seriously impressive and somewhat unexpected. There were a couple of ominous slips near the summit and the speed dropped off to a measured 23mph but we made it!

Haha! That first shot Tangmere made me chuckle! First I thought, bloody hell she's absolutely flattening Shap! But then as she went by, barely a sound coming from her and the 47 really giving it a boot full! Sorry Tangmere, you ain't fooling anyone! 🤣🤣🤣 But still, better than nothing I suppose. In comparison, a lovely shot of 5043! Just love the rhythmic beat of the castles! Good job!

Diesel was definitely assisting Tangmere in the first shot

All the day's action, without diesels, with diesels and diesels on their own. Thanks, David

Excellent video of the Castle and the Battle of Britain in action on the West Coast 👍

Bet the castle feels homesick, away from God's Wonderful Railway.

Nicely captured. Regards, John

O the joys of old age!!

Very good Ian , the Earl certainly stole the show but Tangmere always gets a shove 😂

It can't get better. Super good steam video. Joe Sub + bell is a must.

So where was the smelly 47 pushing at the back😂😂 oh I see it got left behind 😂😂

I was onboard the tour with 5043.

what are all those sticks/posts in the forground?

Poor diesel got left behind

I wanna see all these steamers, but you dont see any in Scotland

Really no diesel in the rear this time?