Chester, Wrexham, Shropshire - October 22

My humble effort from today, showing The Earl at Stafford...

 

Excellent footage as usual Austin. Nice to see you this morning at Wardle and nice to see the loco working so well in both your shots.
For what it's worth here's my very similar shot at Wardle this morning:

 

Couple of photos of this tour. Firstly at Sutton Park this morning, then looking fantastic crossing Cefn Viaduct on the return journey.

 

Just to be different, here is the view at Chirk from the canal side.
Couldn't arrange a narrowboat, I did ask

Scott

 

approaching Streetly Gate foot crossing in Sutton Park.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/31339850@N06/30368430922/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/31339850@N06/30186893960/in/dateposted-public/

graham

 

Excellent photo Scott, I did look at that earlier but it was overcast then. We were really lucky with the light, I think the word unrepeatable is appropriate here, in fact, I stopped several times on the way home to take photos of the vividly highlighted Shropshire countryside, Autumn colours at their best.

Cheers,

Alan

 

Thanks Alan, sorry I missed you yesterday, I had considered that footpath where you were too but this image has been in my mind for some time, and in recent years southbound runs have been rare. To be able to do it with a Castle was just icing on the cake.
( Unashamed plug here -- try the Caffi Wylfa at the viaduct car park - lovely coffee cake )
I think the ideal viewpoint is maybe somewhere just across the canal from where I was so as to see the arches of both viaducts, I'll have to look at that for the future. (optimist !)

Hard not to like Shropshire in light like yesterday afternoon .

Scott

 

Pedant!! (In the nicest possible way). From where I'm sitting (on the other side of the globe) it looks pretty close to Shropshire!. Lovely pics by all btw.

 

Video still of 5043 At Chirk Bank Summit.

 

5043 making for a fine sight over the Welsh Borders. Chirk Bank summit was the highlight of the day with some stunning Autumn conditions on show ! I hope you enjoy =)

 

Oh yes! If only Mike Notley were still with us, I feel certain that he would indeed award this accolade to this tour – just as he did in the past with VT’s similar-in-scope Cotswold Explorer and Welsh Marches circular tours in 2012 and 2013.

We’ve got a lot of good content here from the lineside fraternity, but I think Mick 45305 has skilfully and succinctly captured in the words of just a few paragraphs the very essence of this superb outing – the whole “feel” of it as well as all the good stuff about the dynamics of the Earl’s performance on the day. I’d just like to back up his input by adding a few reflections and perspectives of my own.

1. It was quite a surprise (but a pleasant one) that we were given the road ahead of the late running XC Reading-Manchester service between Wolverhampton and Stafford – 16L on arrival into the former, but 21L into the latter as a result. And this despite a real fleet-of-foot performance from 5043 to the outskirts of Stafford which saw even time reached in under 11 miles (about a mile beyond Penkridge) and a start to pass time of 13m 24s for the 13.91 miles to Rickerscote Lane, where we were slowing for Trent Valley Junction and a slow approach to the Stafford stop. This leg felt fast – really fast – maybe as a contrast to the earlier and calmer 45 mph traverse of the Sutton Park route and numerous slowings as we navigated our way via Walsall to Wolverhampton.

2. The WCML part of the itinerary, with an average speed on the descent from Whitmore of 74.5 mph over the 3.25 miles for MP 150 to Betley Road, was as quick as it needed to be, given our early arrival in the Crewe area with some 12 minutes gained on the schedule from Stafford. I recorded 23m 36s for the 22.56 miles from Stafford to Basford Hall SB (pass), and that was as near as we got to even time. As a result we had an enforced dwell of nearly 15 minutes before being given the road non-stop straight through Crewe Station Platform 6…..a real first for me. As an aside, would I be right in thinking that this was the first steam hauled passenger train (i.e. not including LE/ E+C movements) to traverse the new alignment for the relief line via Searchlight Junction?

3. By any yardstick, the high spot of the day would have to be the Chester/ Wrexham and more specifically the Gresford Bank performance on the return leg. The absolute exhilaration of the Earl’s out-and-out attack on the four-miles of 1 in 82.5 from MP207 to the MP203 summit, the sheer aggression of the soundtrack, and the dawning realisation that this was probably a best-ever performance by steam on this bank……..put that lot together, mix in the rarity value of the experience of steam on this section, and it adds up to one of the most memorable five minutes or so that I have ever experienced on any rail tour anywhere. What was deposited from the Earl’s chimney via our open ventilator onto the table of our Mark 2 TSO bore more than adequate testimony to the energy and the exertion. Beaming smiles of approval from stewards and staff alike. Incomparable!

4. For the record, from the Chester start we passed Saltney Junction (sign) in 4m 18s (1.9 miles), and MP207 in 9m 44s (7.0 miles) where, at the foot of Gresford Bank our speed had decreased only slightly from just under 60mph to 56 mph after an initial 2.5 miles at 1 in 264 up. Thereafter, a progressive and roughly even decrease in speed virtually bottomed out around MP203.5, with the final half mile to the summit averaging a steady 38.0 mph. Start to Pass time from Chester to MP203.25 Wheatsheaf Junction (10.74 miles and a traditional timing point for the top of the climb) 14m 31s, and to Wrexham 17m.15s. If anyone can furnish any more of the intermediate detail I would be very grateful….the excitement of the action was getting just a bit too much to concentrate on the job properly!!

(PS Haven’t seen any video evidence or images of the Earl in action over this section. This is almost unbelievable! Have I been looking in the wrong places/s? Not to have some coverage of this on Gresford would be as unthinkable as, say, not having any coverage of the Cotswold Explorer on Sapperton, surely?)

5. To get some idea of just how good this performance was, it would be helpful to be able to draw comparisons with BR era performance on this route. This is a bit problematical - logs going back to the early-mid 60’s tend to represent the 6/7 coach Birkenhead/ Chester portions of the Paddington trains, loading to around 210/ 240 tons gross respectively. I believe our train, with a consist (REG + 9) and passenger complement virtually identical to the Cotswold Explorer, weighed in at c.375 tons. So at least 50% greater than the heaviest loads from the 60’s era London services. I can’t find any example of ex-GW motive power achieving a start to stop time to match our 17m 15s start-to-pass, the best being a light-load run with 7019 in June 1962 that took just over a minute longer. Typically 20-21 minutes was more representative of actual times over this section. And I can’t find any examples of speeds on Gresford Bank that matched, let alone exceeded, our speeds on Saturday.

I would say, in the interests of balance, that I haven’t checked some of the lightly-loaded but reportedly very brisk Black Five/ Standard Five runs over this section in the final year or so of these services up to March 1967, so I admit that these comparisons with the past could be more thorough. And just as an aside, it’s worth noting that our excellent 57 minute overall time through to Shrewsbury was, on the occasion of the Birkenhead Flyer on 4th March 1967, almost matched by 4079 Pendennis Castle with Load 11, taking just three minutes longer by dint of some particularly fast running down the largely favourable grades from Gobowen to the outskirts of Shrewsbury.

6. All of which is, of course, a massive tribute to the contribution of the footplate crew members on Saturday. So a special word of praise there for their considerable efforts, and a particular mention for Ray Poole, who having been previously described as a “Sapperton Specialist” (see Cotswold Explorer thread) served up something very special with this run and proved that a much broader accolade would be just as deserving. This isn’t a particularly tutored view but I would guess that this run was probably fully equal to anything Ray has achieved hill-climbing with the Earl, even including the much-acclaimed Load 12/ Lousy Weather GB V outing over Sapperton in April 2012

7. All in all, this trip could be described as “Proof of Concept” for the latest addition to VT’s excellent portfolio of out-and-back and circular tours that provide the exquisite match of GW motive power on GW metals, and decent destinations to boot! In the former category, we now have Cardiff, Oxford, Minehead and Salisbury destinations, while the latter group would include the Cotswold Explorer, Welsh Marches, Berks and Hants/ Bristol and now the Chester offerings. Lots to go at, and lots to keep the Tyseley locomotive stud busy for the foreseeable future. Hurry back, Clun Castle. Looks like 2017 could potentially be a great year all round for VT tours!!

 

I've just spotted this one (not mine)...

 

From the milepost side it seemed pretty obvious there are few locations left to photograph from due to the intrusion of the trees. I couldn't even pick out the location we used to favour, some 2/3rds of the way up the bank. I wholeheartedly agree with the view that Vintage Trains have provided some excellent tours this year. They might be shorter than many, for instance the whole tour was barely longer than the outward leg of the West Somerset Stream Express but certainly three trains, The Welsh Marches; The Cotswold Explorer and now the 'Unnamed' Chester tour hit the mark for enthusiasts and destination travellers alike and the attacks on the banks have been exceptional this year due to the superb condition of the Earl and the high standard of firing from Alistair and Dean coupled with the now unequalled driving skills of Ray, and of course Andy on the superb climb of Old Hill on the Explorer. to my mind the Explorer eclipsed the Chester train in my 'Tour of the Year' list and if we hadn't been checked on Llanvihangel Bank, the Marches ranked very highly for the climb of Stretton Bank and that superb run from Shrewsbury to Wolverhampton.
I think we should honour the tradition started by Mike Notley with 'The Mikes' with 'The Nats' perhaps? based on the votes of the members on a shortlist put together in December in various categories:
The obvious ones: Railtour of the Year; Locomotive of the Year; Performance of the Year; could be supplemented by: Driver of the Year; Fireman of the Year; plus suitably 'named' awards for: Locomotive suffering most failures/no-shows; Locomotive pushed around most times by a diesel; Shortest Steam Miles on a tour; Railtour Promoter of the Year etc.

 

That's much more like it!! It really begins to convey just how awesome that climb really was. Many thanks for posting.

Inasmuch as its possible to guesstimate these things it looks like speed was around 43 mph at this point and my guess based on this and the curvature of the line at this point is that this was filmed from an overbridge/ footbridge just north of MP205 at Gresford. Only a guess, though, because I don't know this line at all.

 

Great idea. Strong on Concept, and strong on the Detail too, including the idea of "Shame the Namers" categories. This could happen at exactly the time of year when the "What's Going On" thread doesn't have too much live action to talk about. So why not? The very idea of bringing together lots of strongly held views based on the highly partisan convictions of genuine enthusiasts seems to me to be a great recipe for conflict, controversy and all of that good stuff that makes this part of the NatPres world go round. Needs some sort of "Strictly for mature and consenting adults" barrier to entry though! And a very robust protocol for arbitration and mediation to boot!

 

I was on the road bridge half way up the bank and it was the day my camcorder chose not to work , the noise , autumn colours , clouds of pure white out of the chimney will stay with me for a long time , as the late Alan Freeman once said , if that doesn't turn you on you don't have any switches , well done to VT , another feather in your cap , bring on Clun Castle .